Since I started my entertainment company a year ago, I'm really enjoying looking at the entertainment business from 'both sides now.' When creating a video from an artist's perspective, I want to include flashy opening and closing titles, full length songs and my contact details. From an agent's perspective, when I'm looking at a video that has been submitted to me by an artist interested in being represented by GME, I want the video to be unbranded (without the name of the act, or any contact details), no longer than 3-5 minutes in length, and the absolute best, show-stopping clip showcased within the first 4 seconds of the video.
No Branding: You can include a description of your act in the opening title ... 'Today's Hits Party Band', but not the act's name. Some agencies like to give an act they are representing a name that's unique to that agency. With my company, I don't mind if the acts name is in the opening / closing credits, but the closing credits of the video should not contain any contact information. YouTube footage is good, but I prefer Vimeo footage because it's much cleaner and doesn't cross link to other videos on their site like YouTube does.
3-5 Minutes Long: The same rules apply as with your 'Kick-A** Song' on this one. The promo video should be the length of a song and no more than 5 minutes long. You've got about 8-15 seconds to capture the viewers attention. Don't waste this time on the opening credits, get right to your best clip of your best song. If you've captured the viewers attention, they will watch more.
4 seconds: Your first clip should be happening by the 4-second point and should have wowed me by 8-15 seconds. If it hasn't, that's a lost chance for getting representation. The same holds true for potential clients who are viewing your video. People are generally quite busy, and bookers, event planners, etc., are even more busy so make the most of having their attention!
The clips in the video should be 90% 'live' footage either captured from shows, or filmed in a studio. You can include a few still photos, in fact I recommend you have a still photo as your opening and closing title page, but the entire video should not be made up of still photos with your music playing in the background.
The most important thing to remember when putting together your showreel is to make sure your clips clearly show the viewer who you are as an act! Make it obvious that you are perfect for their event by knocking their socks off in the first 8 seconds of your reel!
Here's a link to an act I work with who have a fantastic showreel:
If you have a great showreel that would be a good example to others, please include a link in the comments. I'd love to have a look.
Until next time ... happy music making!!
No comments:
Post a Comment