Did somebody say submit your video portfolio?
Yes somebody said that. That somebody was a member of a group of my fellow classmates from Hans Zimmer’s Film Scoring Masterclass, who are collaborating with students from my Werner Herzog Filmmaking Masterclass. The collaboration provides Werner’s students an opportunity to create a short film that will be featured in a documentary spearheaded by a group of students in Hans Zimmer’s class. The film will be part of a unique documentary that showcases the importance of music in our lives.
As someone who is a singer, songwriter, music producer, I always get excited whenever I hear the word music. My music brain cells get happy! I get smiley! 🙂 I signed up to participate without a flinch of hesitation.
And then I saw that phrase…
Then I read the words: “submit a two minute video portfolio.” “Uh oh, the moment of truth is here!”, I thought to myself. I planned a long time ago to create a video portfolio, but I’d always put that task on the back seat. I immediately got to work. Since I I had never made a video portfolio, I did that “thing” that everyone in today’s world does when they want to research a new skill – I YouTubed how to create a video portfolio! 🙂 I found a good video How to Make a Filmmaker’s Showreel I loved the host’s suggestions.
If any of you want to make a video portfolio, I hope the insights I gained from my experience will help you with making your own video portfolio.
Choose your best clips
The host suggested that you should review your videos, films, documentaries and choose the best clips that you think best represents your work. For example, maybe you’re good at taking close-up shots of people, animals or buildings. Or maybe you’re the sensei of wide angle shots.
Create a story
Story-telling is a big deal in today’s content-driven, content-soaked world. According to an Entrepreneur.com article by Adam Toren, “stories are what people remember. Even when they forget names and faces, they rarely forget the story and how it made them feel.” Considering Toren’s and the YouTube host’s point, I decided to create a story around my video portfolio. I wanted my video portfolio to tell a story that illustrates:
– the range and depth of human emotions
– the importance of the environment
– the connection between humans and the environment
– the different tasks and activities that humans participate in
You can check out my video portfolio below:
Create themes
The YouTube host also suggested creating themes in your portfolio. For instance, you can ask yourself: “Will my clips show nature scenes? Scenes with people or animals in motion? With the host’s point in mind, I wanted my portfolio to show scenes that illustrated themes such as movement, deep thinking, humans speaking and the influence of the environment.
Have good, suitable music
As per the host’s suggestion, having good suitable music in important. For example, you can ask yourself, whether classical music is the best music choice for a nightclub scene? With regards to my music selection, a friend of mine who’s a DJ made a song for me for short film/documentary that I made called: “A Change Labber’s Journey“. I thought the song also worked well for my video portfolio.
Have a memorable beginning and ending
This is my tip for you! It is also something I’ve realized and have known for a while. To begin with, I’m sure you know about the importance of having a “hook” in your story. It’s always an excellent idea to have an image or a sound that draws listeners and viewers to consume your story. With that point in mind, I liked the idea of starting my video portfolio with a close-up shot of my actress’s face from my most recent short film: “Memories of Missy” someone’s face. I also wanted to end the video with the time-lapse, ending clip from my short film: “A Chase in a Park”
In conclusion, I’d like to note that, we can gain by participating in opportunities. Moreover, these opportunities should give us a chance to showcase our work. These opportunities are also good ways to learn what information prospective clients need to help them make a hiring decision.
Question: Have you made a video portfolio? Or perhaps you’ve made a portfolio recently? Comment below. Your comments will inspire me and others!
