How to make a standout showreel

For aspiring filmmakers, videographers, directors and anyone wanting to shoot video for a living, a well-made showreel demonstrating your technical skills and highlighting your personality and interests is perhaps the most important factor in getting work.

The kind of showreel you'll make depends on the specific industry you want to work in – documentary showreels should display storytelling skills, for example, while in the commercial industry you should demonstrate creativity and technical acumen. However, all showreels are about showcasing your work and yourself to potential employers.

British freelance filmmaker and photographer Roxy Furman, who specialises in content about animals and the natural world, completed an MA in wildlife filmmaking in 2021 and set about creating an impressive showreel in order to secure clients (a music-free clip of her full showreel is below). Roxy has grown an impressive audience via her various social media channels, and has worked with organisations including the BBC and RSPB, as well as brands such as Rolex and Jack Wolfskin.

"I had been sharing my work online, but it was in social media posts here and there, put out on the assumption that if people want to see my work they'll jump online and find it. However, the reality is that if you want to secure filming jobs, the people who commission them have very little time to search through multiple posts on different platforms.

"A showreel is something you can send out that sums up what you do and how well you do it in one well-presented video. It enables videographers to show more of their work in less time, which is especially important when you are starting out."

"If you gave five people five cameras and asked them to go and film something, they'd all film it in a different way. This is why it's important to imprint your personality and filming style within your showreel. This is where your craft at storytelling and adding your own magic to the scene comes into play. When I was putting my showreel together, I wanted to show my own personal angle on the world."

"Time is of the essence when it comes to showreels, as you have to keep people's attention and make sure they are interested in your footage. My showreel is less than two minutes, but even if people watch just half, I hope it gives them an idea of who I am, my approach to filming and what I can deliver when I film.

"Some people say that showreels should be between three and five minutes, but if 10 people send through a five-minute showreel, that'll take nearly an hour of someone's day to watch them all."

"I shoot a few different genres – along with the wildlife, I have created films about women in society and also some food videos. When it comes to the showreel, though, mixing these projects together didn't work to produce one that flowed. So I made the decision to compartmentalise these genres and keep my main showreel solely for wildlife filming. This then allowed me to really drill down into which clips I wanted to share: ones that would tell the best story."

"Having a range of shots in your showreel is important, as it demonstrates to potential clients that you can capture a real variation of footage. In my case, this meant including some more technically difficult scenes, such as filming in backlight. Varying focal lengths, compositions and lighting styles will all help add that mix, which will ensure that your showreel keeps the viewer's interest and doesn't feel too one-dimensional.

"That said, it can't be too jarring, so the trick is to keep that variation while making sure each scene flows to the next and feels like a natural progression through the showreel – remember, this should feel like a complete film rather than a collection of clips."

"Shooting the footage is only half the job; editing the showreel together can take just as much time. My approach is to start by collecting all the footage I want to use into one folder. I watch through the footage I've captured and I mark up the in and out times where I think it would look good in the showreel. Next, I move on to selecting the music, which is hugely important because the footage needs to fit with the timing and beat of the music, not the other way round.

"If I'm creating a showreel or some other shorter video, I use music from a stock music site, but if I'm creating a longer video, then I work with a composer to create some bespoke music to act as a soundtrack for the film, as this gives me more scope to tailor the style and length of the music to match the footage. Think carefully about the tone and pace of the music – does it match the feel of the footage and the message you want the film or showreel to portray?"

"Once you've created your showreel, don't forget to add the final touches, such as colour grading the footage. I've been using the Canon EOS R5 C, which gives me a big choice in the look of the footage I capture. For example, I can shoot in one of the default Picture Styles and this allows me to add more of a stylistic feel to the footage there and then, so I can see it while I'm filming. Alternatively, I can record using the Canon Log profiles, which I will then grade back at the computer."

Roxy's tips should help you focus your approach for creating your first showreel, which will act as a 24/7 advertisement for your videography. This is your opportunity to not only show who you are, what you're passionate about and how well you can capture your subjects, but also to show how you can make the most of the features and functions offered by the latest hybrid and cinema cameras.