SHOWREEL 1 - PAUL TER VOORDE
(Paul ter Voorde's 2017 Showreel - credit: Paul ter Voorde)
Ter Voorde showcases a lot of positive qualities in terms of animation showreels.
Firstly, the music fits very well with the animations, even reminiscing to some of the projects shown (e.g. Eddsworld and Teen Titans Go!). The music's engaging, but isn't overly distracting; it really works well with the action scene animations ter Voorde shows off.
The editing is good, matching up with key beats of the music at the right time. No clip overstays it's welcome, and no one project has clips repeated more than once.
There are titles where appropriate, and they look professional and clean. The showreel lasts 69 seconds, which is a little under what we've been recommended, but not by too much.
I do have one piece of criticism and that's in his intro and outro title cards. They're plain black with white text, with the outro also including his self portrait and his character Skeff. While it's clean looking and professional, it's not awfully engaging. From other showreels I've seen, the cards often have some kind of personality to them, be it in font or colours or background. But these leave much to be desired.
SHOWREEL 2 - JESSE ZHANG
(Jesse Zhang's 2018 Showreel - credit: Jesse Zhang)
Zhang's showreel is, in accordance with the showreel outlines we were given, almost perfect.
The lo-fi music fits with their style, which is somewhat melancholic (if that's a way to describe a style). The only dialogue in the music is at the very beginning, playing over the title card.
The cuts are made in time with the music, but not on key beats; they happen just before the beats, each time on a very particular sound. They've also added titles and program icons on top of the footage, with the titles describing their job role in the project. This is a great touch, as it will allow people watching the showreel to know what programs and roles Zhang can fulfill.
The titles are visually pleasing; the blank black / white backgrounds with corresponding text in a handwriting-esque font gives them a lot of personality. I also think adding a small avatar is a nice touch too, and looks especially nice on the intro card over black.
The showreel lasts 88 seconds, which fits perfectly into our recommended duration.
But alike ter Voorde's showreel, I have one piece of criticism, and that's with the music editing. When a clip with dedicated audio for lip-sync came up, the music cuts entirely; I feel like just dipping the audio down would be less jarring than having it disappear completely.
SHOWREEL 3 - JOSHUA MUTTER
(Joshua Mutter's 2017 Showreel - credit: Joshua Mutter)
Mutter has a pretty good showreel here!
The rule of leading with your best foot forward is absolutely on show here; while the introductory clip lasts for quite a bit, it shows some absolutely superb animation. It's probably the strongest piece in the showreel, so it was appropriate to lead with it.
One of the best touches Mutter adds is putting his reference footage along with respective animation; it shows his methods, and it shows just how accurately he can recreate a performance.
He has an opening and closing title card, each with relevant information for each. What makes his more interesting than ter Voorde's or Zhang's is how he injects more personality into it. Mutter opts for a textured background, and includes more colours than just black and white. He also has a brand logo included, which is good.
I have constructive criticisms though. Mostly, the music. It's really overbearing, and while it is somewhat fitting for the energetic animations on show, this particular track is too loud and bombastic. There's also the case of the track gaining an internet following in meme culture.
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