Demo tapes

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paulisphotoman

Well-known member
How long should a good resume tape be ?
Should it mainly consist of packages or can you mix in some vo'-sot's & vo's ?? I guess the main question is, does it really matter, as long as those stories are visually strong ?? I think I might know what the response will be, but any good input is always helpful...
 
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rugbyphotog

Member
I'd like 3-4 strong packages. Don't really want to see VO's. I want to know that a possible candidate can shoot and edit a 1-2 minute piece with good nats and strong visuals. Anything over 10-15 minutes is WAY too long.

Remember, I need to see something that is different from all the other tape coming accross my desk. Start off with something that will catch my eye - something that will seperate you from the pack.

But I also want to see stuff that is a normal daily shoot. I want to see something that is shot and edited on the same day.

I just fired a guy because he didn't know how to edit. He had a strong tape - but he never edited the stories.
 
El Guapo

El Guapo

Well-known member
In my opinion...
VOSOT's are useless. They don't tell me anything about you as a photog/editor. 3 to 4 packages is perfect. Five is almost too many. 6 is way too many. Don't be trapped about leading with hard news. Put your best, most unique story first. Also, try to put in a story that didn't have much natural b-roll, and required creativity on your part to visually exectute the story. Also, make sure your work is clean, clean, clean. I recently watched a tape full of jump cuts, axis crossing, shaky/shouldered video...it was sloppy, ugly stuff. He probably thought it was "creative"...it wasn't. It was just bad.
 
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paulisphotoman

Well-known member
I had a feeling that 3-4 packages were plenty..
I'm back shooting news having started in news in small markets, then moved to production companies where I shot and edited commercials, documentaries, etc...I was taught how to edit for those areas, but in doing research about news photography reels, I know they were different.
I don't agree that VO'SOT's are useless, since a vo'sot that is strong visually should still be included, but only include one...I will respectfully disagree, since I put one vo'sot I shot on my tape in market 151 and am now shooting in market 46. I agree packages should be on there, strone ones, but strong vo'sots I wouldn't rule out...but that's just me...thanks guys
 
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