Recruiters watch dozens of reels a week and decide in the first few seconds. A good showreel is short, clear and honest about what you did.
Lead with your strongest shot
Put your best work in the first ten seconds, not the last. If a viewer stops early, they should already have seen what you can do. Weaker pieces can go, because a reel is judged by its average shot, not its best one.
Keep it under two minutes
Ninety seconds of excellent work beats four minutes of mixed work. Cut anything that is not clearly better than the shot before it, and end on a strong piece rather than fading out.
- Show the role you want: animation, lighting, compositing or modelling
- Add a title card with your name, role and contact details
- Credit group work and say exactly what you did
Show less, show better, and make every shot earn its place.
Add a breakdown
A short breakdown that shows wireframes, passes or layers proves the work is yours and shows how you think. It also helps a recruiter who is not sure what they are looking at.
[Demo] Stand-in article written for the design. Replace it with Arena’s own article before launch (CI-46).
