Create an Eye-Catching Demo Reel with These Video Editing Tips & Resources

Are you looking to create a new demo reel showcasing your work? Before you do, let me share some tips I’ve gained over the years, which hopefully will help you during the process.

With over a decade of experience in the video industry, I’ve crafted numerous reels for myself and clients and reviewed countless demo reels for job applicants during my tenure at an ad agency. In many instances, your demo reel holds even more weight than the qualifications listed on your resume. In this article, I’ll provide insights into the best practices for making your demo reel stand out from the rest!

A demo reel serves as a videographer’s visual calling card, showcasing their skills, creativity, and versatility to potential clients or employers. It’s a condensed compilation of their best work highlighting various projects, styles, and techniques.

A well-crafted demo reel should captivate viewers, demonstrating the videographer’s ability to tell compelling stories, capture stunning visuals, and evoke emotion through their work. Whether showcasing cinematic wedding highlights, dynamic event coverage, breathtaking landscapes, or engaging promotional videos, a demo reel is essential for videographers to exhibit their talent and attract new opportunities in the competitive industry.

Ready to put your best foot forward? Here’s how to craft an eye-catching demo reel!

First, we need to decide the purpose of your demo reel and who it is for. Are you using it to apply for jobs? Are you using it to attract new clients? Or are you just trying to showcase your skills in the industry in case you need a reel for something in the future? (Such as a presentation, editorial feature, etc.) Knowing who your reel is for will help you decide which content to showcase.

For example, if you’re trying to attract new clients, you should showcase a host of your video skills and things you can do. Or, if you’re applying for a job with a specific skill set in mind, you can focus your reel on demonstrating that skill. 

For the most part, a demo reel’s primary purpose is to act as a creative portfolio or visual resume. However, demo reels are also great for attracting new clients and showcasing your skills. 

The best tip I can give for crafting and editing a killer demo reel is to keep it brief. Someone wise told this even before the age of TikTok and the rise of short attention span content. The biggest newbie mistake you can make is making your demo reel too long. I can not stress this enough: you want to leave the viewer wanting more. You never want someone to get “bored” watching your demo reel. 

The length I recommend for demo reels is between 30 seconds and 1 minute and never longer than 2 minutes. Your demo reel should only contain your best work, not everything you’ve ever done. In my opinion, the sweet spot for a demo reel is around 45 seconds. If you are applying for a job, the interviewer is likely watching dozens, if not hundreds, of demo reels, so if your reel is too long, I can assure you they won’t watch all of it – if you’re lucky, they might skim through it.

A shorter, punchy demo reel will help ensure they watch it from start to finish, ideally leaving them wanting more. Here is an excellent example of a short, punchy demo reel by the motion designer Trae. Reels to attract new clients have a little more leeway since they’ll likely showcase a wider variety of work. However, I still suggest keeping them under 2 minutes.

As I’ve mentioned, your demo reel should show only your highest-quality work – so be sure to show your best shots first to immediately “wow” the viewer and get their attention. People often wait to show their best work at the end of their reel, acting as a “finale.” However, the viewer might not wait to watch your reel’s ending if the reel’s beginning is weak. So ensure you capture their attention immediately by getting straight to the good stuff. 

When editing your demo reel, keep your project files well organized. Staying on top of your files will allow you to easily customize and update your reel in the future. I’ll often create a new demo reel tailored to each position I’m applying for, which might mean swapping out 1-2 shots for something else.

Making your project easy to edit allows you to tailor your work quickly and efficiently to whom you pitch it and makes it easy to add or remove shots over time. (If you created your demo reel and finished a cool project a few months later, you can easily add a shot of it to your existing demo reel.)

Another reason you’ll want to make your demo reel easy to customize is to create multiple reels. Having multiple reels in your repertoire allows you to quickly send a client or job opportunity a demo reel seemingly tailored to them. For example, I might have a demo reel focused on motion graphics work, one for videos I’ve shot and produced, and a general demo reel featuring a combination of both. 

You can make your demo reels feel similar in style, such as using the same music or the same length, or you can go for a completely different vibe. If you’re using your demo reel to apply for jobs, I’d suggest keeping them similar; if you’re trying to attract new clients by showing various skill sets, you’ll probably want the reels to have their own distinct feel and tone. 

As someone who’s made many demo reels in my time, I want to mention a few editing tips that have helped me over the years. 

If you are applying for a job, your demo reel should have a brief title card stating your name and title. (Such as an After Effects Artist or Video Producer) This title card should only last a few seconds, but you can also apply your flair and style.

Likewise, at the end of your demo reel I recommend having an ending card that shows your contact email and portfolio website to ensure the viewer knows how to reach you if they lose track of your application. This reel by Filipe Consoni demonstrates a beautiful stylized title card and end card.

I also recommend having a music track on your demo reel. Music can help with the pacing of your edit and help bring the demo reel together. However, I recommend only using royalty-free music on your reel to avoid any copyright claims with commercial music. The last thing you want is for your demo reel to be copyright-claimed, meaning your interviewer can’t see your reel (and you may not realize this until it is too late!)

Envato Elements is an excellent option for this, providing access to a plethora of royalty-free music and many other resources, such as title templates, accent sound effects, fonts, and more. 

Your demo reel is essentially a montage of your work, but it can also serve as its own creative piece, depending on how you edit and stylize it. Get creative with unique transitions and sound design to make it your own!

Regarding where to host your demo reel, I’d recommend YouTube or Vimeo. Vimeo seems to be the most popular choice among professionals as it offers the most player and customization options. Although Vimeo has superior video quality, it can feel a bit clunky at times.

YouTube, on the other hand, is reliable and most compatible with all video hosts. The biggest downside of YouTube is there isn’t much player control, so after the video ends, the viewer is immediately met with other “recommended videos,” which can be distracting. Both have pros and cons, so go with whichever one you are more comfortable with. Over the past few years, I’ve typically gravitated more toward YouTube since I value player compatibility, shareability, and better search engine results. 

To recap, make sure you know the audience for whom your demo reel is for. Keep it short and sweet, and only show your best work. Make it easily customizable in case you need to switch out some shots depending on the job you are applying for.

Don’t be afraid to make multiple variations of your reels. That way, you can quickly send the best one to an interested client or interviewee. Stylize your demo reel edit and get creative to make it your own! Post your demo reel on a reliable video host like Vimeo or YouTube. And head over to Envato to start crafting your killer demo reel today!