Demo reel finaly done!

[John Warner]

hey there folks. as some of you know, i've been going to the Vancouver Film School the past little while. well, i'm just graduating now and starting the job hunt. here's my reel as it stands.. sory about the slightly lossy film quality, i'm still strugling with compression. any tips would be apprecieated.

Here's the link:
<--RIGHT CLICK, SAVE TARGET AS--> (http://student.vfs.com/~3d45john/longreel.mov)



here's a few simple example shots:

http://student.vfs.com/~3d45john/demoscythe.jpg
http://student.vfs.com/~3d45john/demosly.jpg

[Herr-Maestro]

http://student.vfs.com/~3d45john/demoscythe.jpg
cenobite!!!

[MAUL0r]

nice stuff. I'd hire u! too bad i'm still a student heh

[adam]

For some reason the movie won't download properly /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[John Warner]

maulor- thanks man.

is that right? i've heard terrible things about the vfs servers. didn't work even when you right clicked and saved target as--??

[Daz]

I couldn't get it to d/load either ( from Firefox ) so I resorted to i.e and it worked OK.

Some very nice quality stuff in there mate. Good presentation too. The scythe meister and Stallone models are really top notch stuff. I dont think the doctor character is quite up to the same standard. His hands are absolutely enormous, the base face a little lacking in definitio and that mocap on him really does not suit his character one little bit. But If its a rigging test thing then fair enough. I think what it might lack in content is serious anatomical stuff. There isn't really any human musculature study stuff in there for instance. Any 2D work to show?

I would think about who you are aiming the reel at. If its CG houses/film, then I would lose the low poly character at the end. It just doesn't seem relevant. If it's game studios you're looking at then there isn't enough realtime content. Hope this helps and good luck!

[Daz]

oh yeah and wheres the shout out to polycount?! ;-p

Dont forget to state that you did the textures and lighting ( and Im assuming animation ) too. Thats If thats the case. Or make sure you have a shot breakdown that accompanies the reel explaining which aspects you did. Ive interviewed people from film before and theyve just got all these clips of movies in their reels. So Im like 'er what did you do here then?' and it turns out they animated someones little finger or something. Kind of cheeky If you ask me.

[JBoskma]

Hey man, nice reel. I'm thinking about getting on VFS as well. I have some questions, if you don't mind. Could you add me on msn or icq?
msn: jelmer@boskma.org
icq: 124294125

[John Warner]

Daz- thanks for the reply- that's a great help.

yah, i agree that the doctor doesn't hold up. it was a stupid concept from start to finish and my time could have been much better spent on something such as anatomy. i totaly agree with the doctor, and almost considered cutting him.. but decided that it was completed work and i might as well have included it. it's funny how after all the anatomy studies i've done in my own time, i never spent the time to put any into my reel. no, i have no 2d work to show... well.. none that is any good. truith be told, i'm not a good 2d artist.

i do have a cut that's aimed at visual effects houses, but the difference is that the animated shot at the beggining was cut, because i was told by the H.R guy at digital domain that it wasn't relevant and he didn't like it.. either way, you're right about the focus of the reel. i should have spent more time planning on who i was applying for.

polycount!! i totaly forgot! i'll go back and touch up my credits. it just so happens that i forgot to include a few other people that have helped me quite a bit. i'm gonna head back anyway and add them, and polycount deserves a big smooch i think /images/graemlins/smile.gif. and to answer your question, i did everything in the reel. the only thing i didn't do was capture the motion capture from an actor. it was taken from a library of maya motion capture files. you dont think that "all visual elements by john warner" is clear?

JBoskma- i'd be MORE than happy to give a full review of the school when ever you'd like. unfortunately i'm at school right now and can't add anyone to my msn (i use a web based msn that can't accept or add people) so i'll have to wait untill i'm home, which is god knows when

i could always write a full VFS review in general discussion. good idea?

[JBoskma]

Well I sorta have some more questions about the signing up, and admission process. Do you have an e-mail adress I could write you to? (pm it if you want)

[John Warner]

ah of course. silly me.

drop me a line at either
3d45john@vfs.com
or
johnny_warner@hotmail.com

[Red Crane]

oh hey JBoskma i was just checking out your portfolio page and it says something abouthide your childern..just thought i'd mention the spelling error cause i'm crazy and can't seem to ever ignore a spelling mistake in any form unless i make them /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[JBoskma]

heh thanks Red Crane, my website will be up anything time soon though /images/graemlins/smile.gif. Please stay on topic.

[flachdrache]

Hehe, like your reel very much /images/graemlins/smile.gif. Start could realy be a teaser for a hellraiser game. The camcorder thing at the end is my fav (of course:) but it could be a little brighter also i think you end the video too soon. Music down, fast credits/address and thats it - just wonder if a obligatory "demon jump in ya`face_walking down the floor" would be too much but it would be a good counterpart to the slow/dark start. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

just my 0.02$, fd
[arg, spelling]

[iansnyder]

Woah. I am not gonna act like I can crit you or anything, but I just have to say: the surprise at the ending really caught me off guard! /images/graemlins/smile.gif Really nice little touch, but I don't want to spoil it /images/graemlins/smile.gif Also, I do have to agree that the mocap on the doctor was like "why is he stutting?" :P , and it also seems like the low-poly guy at the end doesn't really fit, like the others were saying. I personally really like the whole video though /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Silva_Spoon]

Downloading now but only at 16 KB/sec wont be done for another 40 min. :[ Cant wait to see it though. Love the characture of Stallone /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[Josh_Singh]

dude you should apply to Incog studios, they make the twisted metal series (1.2.and twisted metal black) and are owned by sony. I think they would like your style. They are located here in salt lake.

[John Warner]

ooh thanks for the responces folks.

and no i dont mind if people dont stay on topic, but thanks very much.

flachdrache- thanks alot. i've had crits that it's too dark. the problem is that when i put it on vhs it's too damn bright. i should try and brighten the web version i guess. eveven tho none of the damn monitors here at vfs are calibrated. i apprecieate your input but i think that i dont think i'm gonna head back and add anything new. quite frankly i'm sick of this project /images/graemlins/smile.gif

iansnyder- thanks alot. and i'll take crits from anyone, we're all artists on these boards /images/graemlins/smile.gif

silva- haha yah the vfs servers aren't too hot sometimes.

ghost- thanks alot, i'll put it on the list. i'm gonna start applying everywhere and anywhere.

thanks again guys. much apprecieated.

[Silva_Spoon]

Great job man, time well spent. Both your working on it and my DLing it :}