Graphiti School of Animation’s ‘Making of a Showreel’ seminar held in Mumbai on November 21, 2008, showcased a series of presentations that set a platform to learn and share knowledge on the art and craft of making and packaging a showreel.
What’s a showreel?
A showreel is a demo reel created by a student, which showcases his/her skills and talents in a specific department. Since animation is a comprehensive mixture of various elements like lighting, texturing, compositing, modeling, rigging and other pre production aspects; the event stressed that specialization in a particular department complements a job application.
The presentations threw light on what industry analysts think a showreel should and should not contain. Those who spoke on the subject included various heads of departments, Subhojit Sarkar from Rhythm and Hues (lighting and compositing); Rohit Lad and Kailash Shah from Graphiti Multimedia (modeling); Asif Sayed from Crest Animation (animation and rigging); Anand Pawar from Graphiti School of Animation (pre production) and Pooja Buch from Graphiti Multimedia (human resources).
Lighting, texturing and compositing
Subhojit Sarkar began by pointing out a mistake that most students make while creating their showreels. He said that, most students begin the process of making a showreel even before completing the duration of their course. Since, they do not possess complete knowledge of the subject; this does not do justice to their work. According to him, a showreel must contain original work and not the training exercises done during the course. In case of group work, the area of contribution should be mentioned. Duration of the showreel must be short, from three to five minutes.
A lighting showreel
– Separate renders showing breakups of light passes – beauty, occlusions, shadow, specular, etc. It can comprise a scene of different time spans showing different moods of light, morning, evening, night, etc.
– Since it is difficult to render hundred frames, a showreel can have single frame render of 3D scenes, instead of a complete walk through.
– It can have examples of indoor, outdoor or character lighting (one character in different lights).
– The showreel can have pictures or paintings highlighting the knowledge of the lighting theory. “Photography is looked at as a very important aspect in lighting; hence attaching sketches, paintings and photographic images help compliment the showreels,” he said.
– The showreel can also have examples of mixing a CG prop in a real working environment.
– Trying to incorporate a CG character into the real world environment or live-action scene shows the student’s effort.
– Display of a screen capture of the scenes in Maya to show the lighting setup is also feasible.
A texturing showreel
– A 360-degree turntable render of models with texture applied to them.
– Maps and work should preferably be saved separately in .jpeg or .tiff format displaying examples of diffuse, specular, jump and reflection.
-Texture can be applied to both 3D characters and props. It can be both organic and inorganic.
– The showreel can also show dimensions and shading knowledge and can have a model displaying the UV mapping set up of the character.
A VFX and compositing showreel
– A VFX should have a detailed before and after format shot for skill display.
– The showreel should primarily focus on basic skills of rotoscopy, wire removals, color corrections, chroma pulls and masking.
– It can show examples of CG integration and color correction into a live-action background.
– It would be an added advantage to highlight knowledge of 3D camera tracking of a live-action background. It can also show different elements that have made a composite in break-ups.
Subhojit also advised that fast cuts should be avoided because they may irritate the evaluator and give the impression of concealing a flaw. “A first impression is the last impression and therefore, the first few seconds of a showreel must evoke interest.”
Modeling
“A showreel is a showcase of your strengths and interest,” said Kailash Shah. Modeling is the first phase of production and is crucial for elements that make a film – characters, backgrounds (BG) and props. Skills needed for modeling are drawing, sketching, study of anatomy and study of clay, Shah added.
Three basic elements of a modeling showreel are: a) character modeling, b) BG modeling and c) architectural texture.
Character modeling can be realistic, cartoony or stylized. Techniques used must include mesh flow. If a student is not confident in using lights, he must refrain from using them, Shah cautioned. It is necessary to mention details like the date of model creation, the software used and the time spent on the creation, which helps judge the speed of work and analyze the progress of the artist.
BG modeling can be stylized or realistic. One must combine the relative scale focus in one. A BG should not contain characters and it should not include texture. The model should be gray in color, highlighted if necessary, and a turntable should be used for the render movement of the model.
In architectural modeling, a walk through must not be longer than two minutes. The relevant skill sets required for architectural modeling are measurement and planning, through which the final output can be observed.
Kailash emphasized that the duration of a showreel should be restricted to two to three minutes. Only the best work and two to three models which are really detailed must be presented, because quality is more important than quantity. It is an added advantage to show models in different poses. It shows the students understanding of the anatomy. It is better to stick to formats like .jpegs, .mov, .mpeg and DVD resolution for images and videos. Only final artwork must be submitted and plagiarism must be avoided.
Animation
Asif Sayed began by saying, “Animation is time consuming and it is an ongoing process. No one can be a perfect animator through out his life.” He stressed on the need of specialization and demonstrated some basic fully animated shots.
According to him, in a showreel, the best work should be placed first. The second can be an average one and the third should be the best. Content should cover the basic principles of animation like squash and stretch, anticipation, follow through, over laps, etc, a great concept is not that important.
The showreel must have a separate walk cycle and a run cycle. The artwork should cover the facial expressions and acting is a vital component of animation. Artwork can also include sketches or poses. They show the students passion and hard work.
He stressed that one must avoid a camera shake, for eg, when the character jumps and falls down. It makes the analyzer see the lack of confidence in the artwork.
Pre production
Anand Pawar explained the three basic elements of filming: pre production, production and post production. Pre production is the base of animation and modeling. According to him, planning is essential for the entire production process, from lighting to characters to models.
Story boarding
Story boarding is a sequence of drawings that display visual animation and drawing skills. In a showreel, one can portray their acting skills and artistic abilities. They can also draw landscapes. According to him, one must submit complete work and the best ones should be shown first in a showreel. The showreel must have variety in artwork and details should be shown at every level.
Concept designing
In concept design, one can make layouts and graphic images of characters or landscapes to highlight variability.
Character designing
Character designing is important to show the character’s personality. The student must display work that shows the ability to make variable characters in terms of the personality, style, nature, etc.
The skill sets for pre production include the ability to identify with cultural references, anatomy knowledge, ability to bring out strengths, performance and personality in a character; consistency in work and knowledge of other elements like rigging, modeling, texturing, etc.
Layout
Layout is graphic designing that helps the concept take a constructive form. Good showreel must also have architectural and painting knowledge.
Sketching
Sketching is fundamental part of animation, and helps physical movement of thoughts. Acting is also a thought and expression. Hence, samples of both can be included.
Pawar concluded, “By making a showreel, you are practically trying to sell your artwork and it has to be packaged in such a way that people are convinced enough to buy you.”
Human resources
Pooja Buch from the HR department helped students to understand that their artistic work and skill will not stand a chance if it does not reach the right hands. To ensure that it does, certain steps should be taken.
She asked the audience, “Who is responsible for the showreel to reach the right hands?” She further elaborated by showing that a student might apply through various mediums: online, mailing, courier, post and in person.
A showreel must accompany a resume along with a covering letter. The showreel should be labeled correctly with the mention of the candidate’s details and details on where s/he saw the advertisement.
One must send personalized mails. Sending mails to all the studios together shows disregard for the studio. The showreel must be checked before it is sent. Links on websites must be attached to the mail.
One must also mention details of the institute s/he studied the course in, the specialization and date of course completion.
After presentation of the showreel, the candidate is called for an interview wherein, he must be careful of his body language. He must be well informed about the company he has applied in.
She concluded by saying, “The animation industry is driven by passion. A student needs to be updated on new developments and learn to go beyond references. One must possess the fire within to move ahead.”
Online showcase
After the informative presentations, Abhishek Chandra from CGTanta took to the stage to inform students on how they can make use of the internet to showcase their showreels online.
He mentioned two ways of presenting a showreel online: free services and paid services, and stated several reasons for a showreel to be showcased online:
Coverage and reach- the internet has the power to reach a wider spectrum of people globally and hence it can help make a showreel popular.
Better packaging- placing the showreel on a blog or on a personalized website shows seriousness of the work.
Ease of approach- the internet facilitates easy online approach for students, where they can research about the studio they would like to apply in, and reach them via their contact details. At the same time, the showreel can even reach anywhere internationally.
Preventing copying artworks- copying of artworks can be prevented by doing a good amount of PR on a blog and on a personalized website.
Studios looking for artists- making the showreel online may also help studios who are on the look out for artists.
Chandra and Chand, Co-founders of cgTantra, concluded the presentation by announcing the launch of a new showreel section on their website.
BS Abhilash from Graphiti presented a case study on the making of an award winning animated short film, Who’s Next. The presentation highlighted the various problems faced by the team during filming and the steps they took to overcome them.
Students’ awards
Anand Gurnani from AnimationXpress Network announced the Animation Achievers Awards for students. The initiative would give students a chance to display their talent and a platform to hone their skills and keep improving them.
AnimationXpress also announced Animation Ahoy, an educational and sight seeing tour for animation students including a studio visit to Siggraph Asia and places like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
“The event was very informative and all that I have learnt here is definitely going to help me when I apply,” said an animation student.
The seminar brought out a clear synopsis of what the analysts in the animation industry think should be the way an applicant must project himself and how a showreel is a reflection of the applicant.