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who wants to critique a audio demo reel?

I'm trying to build a demo reel of the work I've done (in order to get more work (to build a better demo (etc))). But I'm not so great at judging what pieces are my best, and what bases I need to cover, etc. So this is my first draft at a general reel. The plan is to do specific ones as well, since I've certainly got enough material for a horror focused reel, etc. Just audio for now, but once I've got the pieces locked, I'll put some video/titles/descriptions, etc. Anyway, here it is:

http://soundcloud.com/joshloughrey/demo-reel-take-1

What goes on too long? What is too short? What should be cut entirely? What am I missing, stylewise, to make this a better reel? Any and all feedback is welcome. Tear it apart, guys!
 
When in my role as a music supervisor I want to hear a lot of variety. I really appreciate a composer who has a web site with individual labeled examples - Chase, Battle, Comedy, Romance, Mystery, Magic, etc. (or at least a cue title). That way I can listen to specific examples that pertain to the type of film on which I am working. I also really like it when I can see the score with the visuals, although this is not always and option for the composer. I then pass on my candidates to the director. (BTW, I do the same with source music - bands and the like. As an aside, I was really disappointed when MySpace eliminated the "sounds like" and "influenced by" search categories; it helped me rapidly find songs that were similar to the temp music.)

The point here is that I don't want to listen to several minutes before I get to what I want to audition; I just don't have the time. If what I am listening to doesn't grab me in 10-20 seconds or so I'll move on to other cues on the site.

Check out these sites as examples:

http://billbrownmusic.com/music.php

http://www.stevengutheinz.com/credits.htm

http://www.benedictnichols.com/#!
 
I would agree with Alcove and add; if you are trying to sell library music then just a list of your individual tracks would be best but if you are trying to sell yourself as a film score composer then you need to demonstrate the ways in which your music combines with visuals to aid the storytelling. Note that I said "ways" and not way! Being a composer of good music is largely irrelevant to fimmaking, it's your ability to drive a film with music which is of paramount importance.

On the purely technical side, your more sparsely orchestrated arrangements are by far the weakest, both in terms of the production and of the source samples/patches you've used. Your fully orchestrated tracks are quite passable by very micro budget film standards or very low budget TV standards but your simpler pieces are definitely in the no budget category.

This last paragraph sounds harsher than I intended, I hope you find it useful.

G
 
Thanks for listening, both of you! More focused/stylistic reels are definitely in the works, as well as a visual reel once I get the pieces locked. Since I'm not trying to sell library music (at this point), but my skills as a composer, I think a general/diverse reel is still important, but I agree that video is the best way to go, once I have the pieces locked.

And never too harsh, APE, particularly since I've been working with no-budget but hoping to move up to low-budget, that's sort of inline with where my career is! If there are particular bits that stand out as not as good, let me know! I've received some other feedback about the clip order, so hopefully I'll have a couple revisions before I work on the video portion.
 
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