I’m a Junior Shake Compositor looking for work in the LA area, and would like to hear advice from others who have already gone through this process. I have a couple of years of compositing experience under my belt, working on smaller projects and one independent feature film. There are no giant explosions or 3D creatures on my reel, but I think given my limited resources, it makes a good impression:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymajer/
Any advice at all is appreciated!
Jay
Sorry I dont have any advice for you as I am in the same boat as you. I did want to comment on your demo reel, it looks great. The only thing I didnt care for was the lava shot witht the missles coming down. Its not a bad composit, just overall doesn’t seem to fit the quality of the rest of the reel. The shot with the eyeball in the hand is great! I also really liked the girl in the woods with the blue birds(or whatever) are flying out of the ground behind her. Overall the reel is good, I would like to know if it is good enough to get a job. Let us know how it goes.
I agree I thought it was strong. I’m an animator not a compositor but I do agree with Six60Sicks in that you need to get rid of the Lava shot it’s not nearly as good as the rest of your reel.
Also the rule when we look at reels in the studios I have been employed at and when making my own is to put your BEST WORK FIRST! This is crucial I think if you slid the lava action to the back and left everything else as is you would have a much better chance at employment.
Where did you get your couple of years of experience?
Thanks for the replies. I’ll see about replacing that lava shot. Is there something specific in the shot that bothers you?
My experience thus far is limited to freelancing for television, and working on one independent feature film (Sea of Dreams, 35mm), so I’ve really been learning in a vacuum. What I’m really looking for is an opportunity to work with and learn from others with more experience than I have.
From my experience the best way to get work is to know people. And that means just moving here and knocking on peoples doors until you find it. The work is out there, you just have to find it. Get in with a small studio, meet other freelancers and work your way from there. Good luck.
-R
well done i think you will get a pretty good job!i really want to know what kind of software you used in all that pic?and which is you favorite one?
hey wow cool stuff on that reel!
I thought the skull dude was quite unnecessary ,but
that girl and the glowing things was so cool, especially when
it flipped to a ‘normal’ pic and then back. Also, the burning
touch was so great, everything from flames, smoke and the
look on that guy’s face.
Other stuff looked just regular cool 
Hello,
I am a recent graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Art center has a very professional Directing program that requires a lot of high tech volunteer work, as students there are usually shooting spec spots that need to look 100 times better than their bugets allow. When I attended I was able to walk on to a number of projects and establish relationships with people that normally within a year or two will be out in the real world hopefully shooting projects. As you know, good talented people are hard to come by in LA and good creative relationships have the potential to grow enormously. Directors tend to stay with the same people (when things work well) So, I would recommend taking a drive up to Art center (it is a completely open campus, you don’t need to be a student) and posting some flyers around as a freelance shake compositor…You might be able to make some really good working relationships that will lead to more work. There is a bulletin board for the film department where you can post a flyer.
Jay, I would say to check out the Los Angeles Siggraph Convention which is a great place to meet people in the industry and develop a good amount of connections. It’s held once a year and obviously you would want to bring some business cards along with multiple copies of your demo reel. You can go here for more info.
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