Market Research - Showreels

We were asked to do some market research into other showreels for courses similar to ours, so the first thing i did was go to YouTube and search for "Game Design Course Showreel", below is the first video that popped up as a result:

Swansea Institute Games Design Showreel 2007

This showreel focusses  solely on gameplay footage, something we should definitely avoid, not least because the majority of the work that we can showcase isn't in game! I found it to be a tad confusing at times and the video looks quite dated but then again it is from 2007, on top of this i felt the music didn't really fit with the video.

So, with the belief that a more recent showreel might be slightly better, I added "2012" to the search, which lead me to the videos i have summarised below:

Student Showreel 2012 - Wakefield College

This video demonstrated a distinct style, featuring the logo you see above which appears in the bottom corner of all the footage as a watermark, a nice touch. It immediately starts playing The Prodigy's 'Invaders Must Die' which is a good choice as it has a nice build up. The footage reflects this buildup before performing several satisfying video jumps in time with the music. The first part of the video consists of level fly-throughs that are all filmed very well in-game using some sort of path-based 'dolly' system i am unfamiliar with. It gives a very professional look to everything.

After this section, and again in fitting with the music the video switches to showcasing particular areas such as artwork and 3D renders using a mixture of stills and videos, the switch comes just as the music reaches a break which i find to be a particularly nice touch.

Overall it adheres to the notion that showreels must present the best/most impressive work at the start of a video.

BA Game Art - Show Reel 2012 - St Helens College

This video is more of a showcase of work than the last video, it's simply a slideshow of images appearing under various titles such as Environment, Vehichles, Character, etc. There are no moving images, perhaps this was deliberate so that the still artwork didn't stand out by comparison as it did in the Wakefield College showreel. The music wasn't really tied to what was happening on screen but provided a constant soundtrack that complemented the video overall.

I feel like this video is not something we should be aiming for, i would like our showreel to be exciting whilst also showing some great work.

 

University of Bolton - Games Showreel 2012

This showreel is far shorter than the other video's i've watched, in some cases this may be a better timeframe to use as it presents a more manageable chunk of video for the viewer to digest. The videos style seems very professional but much like the last video i find it rather... subdued. It's layout and theme are great, and the actual footage they are showcasing is fantastic, but the weak soundtrack that is again completely disconnected from the footage doesn't really draw you in as much as i think it should.


The main thing i noticed in all of these videos is that none of them show the actual premises in which their respective courses take place. I can either take this as a sign that any such footage is unnecessary, or that i have an opportunity to do something original on my hands! My instinct tells me its most likely the former reason but i would certainly still like to try and make it work with the time-lapses if i can, my assumption is that it would need to be worked into the theme of the video.