Hi everyone I am nearing the end of editing my documentary. I was asked for a sizzle reel. I didn't have one. I did have 3 clips that were representative of the 3 main areas of the film. So I chucked on a short intro and sent it away. I cannot cut a trailer/sizzle reel to save my life and am going to pay someone to do it near completion of a rough cut. My question is should I even bother showing this to anyone. Here is the link to it. https://vimeo.com/1037884804/7d44e12636?share=copyI have been working on this since, well a long time. I am not a reliable observer anymore.
Thanks!
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Hi, Jack Hilkewich. I don't have a lot of experience with sizzle reels -- and I have zero experience with documentary sizzle reels -- but your sizzle reel seems like it's put together well.
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Hi Jack. I think you should show this to people. It's nicely shot and the story is interesting. I don't know if I would call this a sizzle reel because there usually a bit shorter in runtime, but people should see this.
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This is a trailer, not a sizzle reel. In either case, it's far too long. Three minutes is the max to keep people from falling asleep. I'm attaching a link from my sizzle reel. It uses footage from other films to give investors and producers a clue what they're getting into.
All that being said, why does a documentary need a sizzle reel?
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/831867168
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well done if you ask me
Thanks everyone! Bill McCormick a couple of times over the course of the making of this film I have been asked for a sizzle reel from distributors and broadcasters. It happened again recently so I tried to make one. I went with 3 separate clips that showcase the 3 main pillars of the documentary but I feel that without knowing how these pieces fit together it may seem a bit disjointed. So I don't know if this will do me a disservice or not and maybe I should wait until I have a rough-cut finished.
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Hi Jack Hilkewich, Adobe has some tips that could help you. If you'd like to talk to the guy who did mine, IM me and I'll share his info. I don't take a cut if you hire him. But I will vouch for his work.
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/discover/sizzle-reel.html
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You should use that... it gives you just enough to make you want to see the rest.
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Hi Jack Hilkewich - some terrific advice here and I think your gut is spot on. This is more of an extended trailer than a sizzle reel, which would have one tone and a little more pace. The films looks beautiful. The sections feel a little disjointed, as you reference, because there are tone and pace changes. Bill McCormick has some smart thoughts - a little less is more (3-minute range) a little more fluidity in the pace and tone can go a long way to grabbing your viewers. That all said, what you have really does look great and you should be proud of, and excited about, that.
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Sam Sokolow I wish I was excited. Right now I am just exhausted. I just started a new job 3 months ago and trying to edit at night and on weekends. However, having good feedback really helps give me the motivation to keep plugging on so I really appreciate all of your comments. I will just keep editing and forget about the Sizzle/Trailer for now.