How Long Should a Demo Reel Be? Mine Runs 54 Seconds

How long should a demo reel be? My 3D demo reel on Vimeo is 54 seconds long. I could have made it three minutes. I had the footage, and I liked a lot of it. I cut it anyway, and I think the reel is better for every second that’s gone.

If you’re building your first reel, you’re probably hoping for a number. I’ll give you mine, and then I’ll tell you why I think the number is the least useful part of the answer.

A demo reel, if the term is new to you, is a short video of your best work. It’s what you send with an application so someone can see what you can do before they read a word about you.

A reel is an edit

I treat my reel as an edit. The archive, everything I’ve ever animated, lives on a hard drive, and that’s where it belongs. An archive answers “what have you made?” A reel answers a narrower question: “what’s the best you can do right now, and can you tell the difference?”

The second half of that question matters to me. A reel shows my work, and it also shows my judgment. Every shot I leave in is a small claim that I think it’s good. (A shot is one continuous piece of animation, from one cut to the next.) If one of them is weak, the viewer learns something about my eye that I’d rather they didn’t.

Why mine runs 54 seconds

I didn’t aim for 54 seconds. I kept removing shots until every one left was a shot I’d defend out loud, and 54 seconds is where the cutting stopped. With more work at that level, the reel would be longer. With less, it would be shorter, and I’d be fine with that.

Here’s my thinking, and it’s only my view. Whoever watches my reel is busy and owes me nothing. I can’t know how long they’ll give me, so I assume it won’t be long. A short reel that ends while they’re still interested does more for me than a long one that gives them a reason to click away. I’d rather someone watch 54 seconds twice than two minutes halfway.

So if you want a number from me, here it is: as long as your best work lasts, and no longer. For a first reel, I’d guess that’s often under a minute. That’s fine. I’ve never believed anyone awards points for extra seconds.

What earns a place

I ask the same four questions of every shot.

• Does it show something no other shot in the reel already shows?
• If this were the only shot someone saw, would I be glad?
• Is it finished, or am I hoping nobody notices the part that isn’t?
• Can I say plainly what I did on it?

A shot needs a yes on all four. The first question does the most cutting. Two shots that prove the same skill are one shot too many, so I keep the better one and let the other go.

The last question matters most on group projects. If you animated the character and someone else lit the scene, say so in a small line of text on screen. It takes nothing away from your part, and it means nobody has to guess.

What I cut, even when I love it

The hardest cuts are the shots I’m attached to for reasons a viewer can’t see. The one that took the longest. The one where a technique finally made sense to me. The one I was proud of a while ago and have since outgrown.

Effort doesn’t show up on screen. Only the result does. A stranger watching a reel has no idea which shot cost a month and which cost an afternoon, and they shouldn’t have to care. I try to watch my own work the way that stranger would, and it’s uncomfortable every time.

Cutting a shot from the reel doesn’t erase it, though. It can sit in a portfolio, or in the film it came from, where it has room and context. The reel is only the front door.

The order matters as much as the length

I put my strongest shot first. I don’t build up to it or save it for a big finish, because I can’t count on anyone reaching the finish. The opening seconds are the only ones I can be fairly sure get watched, so they carry the best thing I have.

My second-strongest shot goes last, so anyone who stays leaves on a good one. The middle is where I show range, and it’s also where a weak shot tends to hide. If I catch myself tucking something into the middle because it isn’t good enough for either end, that’s usually a sign it should go.

Where breakdowns fit

A breakdown is a short sequence that shows how a shot was built, for example the bare model, then the lighting, then the final image. I like them in small doses. A breakdown earns its seconds when it answers a question the finished shot raises, like “did she model that too?” When every shot gets one, the reel starts to feel like a lecture, and the time you saved by cutting is spent all over again.

Why I keep two reels

I work in both 3D and 2D, and I keep a separate reel for each. My 2D demo reel on Vimeo runs 40 seconds. Someone looking for a 3D animator shouldn’t have to sit through hand-drawn work to find what they came for, and the reverse is just as true. Each reel makes one argument and then stops.

Moving between mediums is a big part of how I work, and you might think one combined reel would show that better. I don’t. A reel that keeps changing the subject asks the viewer to do the sorting. Two short reels, side by side, show the same range and let each person start with the one they need.

The tools are the easy part

I edit in Premiere Pro, but nothing here depends on it. Any editor that lets you trim a clip and drag it to a new spot will do the job. The hard part happens before you open the software, when you sit with a list of everything you’ve made and start crossing things off.

One test costs nothing. Play your reel for someone who wasn’t around while you made the work, and watch their face instead of asking what they think. The moment their eyes drift is your next cut.

If you’re cutting your first reel, try taking out the shot you’re least sure about and see whether you miss it. My guess is you won’t. And if you’d like to see the longer work that reel shots come from, it’s all on the page for my films on emily.art.