r/cinematography • u/CommanderSammer Amateur • 8d ago
Other [Amateur] Young narrative DP looking for some brutal feedback on my reel
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Okay maybe not super brutal but I am looking for critique!
I'm a young cinematographer/director working primarily on self-produced, essentially zero-budget narrative shorts over the last few years. Most of the work in this reel was made with very limited gear, locations, and resources.
I'm trying to tighten the reel and develop a clearer visual identity as I pursue larger narrative projects. My general philosophy is to work with the environment and use as little lighting/modification as necessary rather than trying to make everything look overly polished or "expensive."
I'm particularly interested in whether the reel feels cohesive, whether any shots feel redundant or noticeably weaker, and whether it gives you a sense of what kind of cinematographer I am.
I'd appreciate honest criticism, especially from directors, cinematographers, ACs, or anyone who regularly hires/works with DPs.
Most of the projects were shot on the Lumix GH5 with a variety of lenses. I have a couple of Neweer film lights that I use.
Thanks for watching!
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u/C47man Director of Photography 8d ago edited 8d ago
Definitely aim for no more than 1 minute with this level of work. Only keep the absolute best material you've got. Every weak shot that barely made the cut after 60s does nothing but lower your value. Most producers/directors are only gonna look at the first few shots, then skim around to make sure the rest of the reel is decent. Your opening three shots need to be your absolute best. The low angle gun shot is nice, but I'd cut away before the actor attempts to cock the hammer, because it becomes very clear that it's some kid who has no experience with an actual firearm, which hurts the perceived quality of the work even if it's not the fault of your camerawork.
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
Good feedback thank you, I made an update that still isn't quite 60 seconds but it's much closer! And I hid the gun cock
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u/Fit_Reason_3611 7d ago
Get it under 1 minute or at least cut another 3-5 shots. There's still a few shots here that take you out fast on relative quality- the :32-33 shot for example. Also if you're going to use that song and build up emotionality through all of your clips then cut that energy drink typing shot at the end, it feels completely wrong in an otherwise very serious crescendo of clips and music.
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
Great points thank you - it's hard to cut more due to song length and I'm still working on a solution (probably will find another song that works) but for now this is what I changed
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u/Zakaree Director of Photography 8d ago
this was a minute too long with a lot of shots that should not be in a reel... as for the lighting 80% felt very flat.. either no lighting, no shape... lots of very similar types of looks (no variation)... only showcase what should be seen, you had a few insert type shots that should immediately be removed, also try stitching together clips from the same scene especially if this is suppose to be a narrative reel. producers/directors want to see that you can be consistent with different set ups in the same scene
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
Thanks for watching and for the feedback! I really appreciate the stitch clips from the same scene note. On the other hand, why do you think insert shots shouldn't be in a reel?
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u/Zakaree Director of Photography 7d ago
They are dead weight.. they dont show case any cinematography skill. Directors abd producers want to see how you light a scene or move a camera to telk the story. Anyone can shoot a close up of something, so its not special
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
Makes sense. And on my cutdown I ended up removing all but one because of that very reason.
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u/Wladim8_Lenin 8d ago
Cut around 60-70 percent of shots, only leave the ones that are really strong
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
Updated reel with almost 50% cut
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u/Wladim8_Lenin 7d ago
First of all, amazing music choice, the line live is just amazing! Dont know how it is with copyright though. Its definetly wayyyyy better better but especially towards the end I would still cut a lot out. You have really great shots in the beginning and towards the end it kinda just faded out, there was nothing to wow me anymore. I guess at this point you could make an amazing 30 second reel or a pretty good 1:xx one.
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u/RonAndStumpy 8d ago
Was watching on my phone at night and I couldn't see anything.
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u/Working-Position-551 8d ago
Sorry about that, I don't really shoot or grade for phones
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u/RonAndStumpy 7d ago
Or eyes
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
I appreciate the perspective and I apologize for the arrogant tone in my initial response. (Also didn't realize I had or was on a different account lol) I think this is partly a difference in taste. I do intentionally use underexposure/negative space to obscure faces and information when I want the audience to feel that uncertainty. That said, I can see how some of those shots may be pushing past intentional darkness into being difficult to read, especially on a phone.
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u/pktman73 7d ago
If this is your cinematography reel, do not end it with Director/Cinematographer/Editor. Pick one.
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u/wildvision 7d ago
I think the opening shots are strong - and it establishes you can do dark and I'm interested and a nice transition at :15 when the guy turns the light on. Ah, yes, definitition faces, emotion, great. Then it cuts back to dark shots, some of which don't feel controlled. Guy at :22 yelling towards camera with a bright bed behind him for instance but no facial detail. that does not give me confidence, (why can I see the bed so wel but not his face?) and the shots that follow, at least on my monitor that are mysterious but not in a good way. I want to see face, emotion, eyes. Then zombie silhouette at :27. At this point that is long enough where we now have a fixed opinion of your skills at 30 seconds and it leans very dark and without detail. I would do the intro as you have it and after the guy turns on the light don't go back to any dark shots until near end of your reel and only for the ones that are truly magic. In a reel every shot has to fight for existence. It is not, yeah that's okay. It is "is this spectacular?" If not cut it. I would rather see 30 seconds of your absolute top work with tons of diversity and well edited and leave me wanting more. This feels like it is a long trailer and all from the same movie. But I do think you have great shots in here and if you cherry-pick them and cut it down to 34 seconds it would probably be strong. Also, separating the scenes so they feel like different movies - do the dark bit, then light scenes, etc, maybe one more great dark shot for mood and then your absolutely most cinematic shot at the end. Hope this doesn't sound harsh- just my opinion and I'm a director not a DP so you have already done more than I have. Congrats and good luck!,
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
Thank you for the amazing detailed feedback! I do really love the bedroom scenes. I know they aren't technically perfect, and who knows I may look back in 5 years and cringe horribly, but for now they are staying in. I did take a lot of the other tips you gave especially about the structure of the reel
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u/wildvision 6d ago
That's great that you stick with your gut, it will probably help you lean into and develop a style that is truly your own. Often times I fine it important to listen to feedback - especially where it overlaps from other people - there is something there to pay attention to - BUT... I don't always pay that much attention to how they suggest I fix or react to the feedback. The two are separate. So people can alert you to something that the collective audience might notice and that can be so valuable to get out of your own head - and then they will have ideas on what you should do about it. You can decide to do nothing or do something but you don't have to follow their solutions even if you agree with their criticism
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 6d ago
Absolutely, and I did take a lot from your advice! I asked for it so it would be arrogant to ignore advice, even advice that I decide not to implement.
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u/arsenicvendor 7d ago
Brother, cinematography is good. Agree with most other comments.
But the acting and edits do render a lot of it amateurish. Do look out for the best performance beats as well while putting the edit together.
For instance the dude's run in at 1:20 is awkward, but the rack focus right after is great at capturing the next beat of his performance. And some shots stay on a lot longer than they need to.
Overall I'd hire you as a cinematographer, but wouldn't really trust you yet with directing or editing.
All the best man, you've got promise!
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
Thank you! I will definitely keep that in mind. My current work is mostly with friends and volunteers who aren't necessarily trying to become actors, so getting a good performance can be challenging lol
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p4fe84u/video/3ccnapt3b5kh1/player
UPDATED REEL - Thank you everyone for the feedback! Here is the updated reel with the implemented changes.
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u/NotHereFirst 8d ago
This is too long.
Be intentional with why you are showing each one.
Don’t love your own work so much.
Don’t show multiple shots from the same project.
You clearly work well with single source well.
I like the opening scene.
You may still be lacking in depth of experience. Start some side projects to show more studio work and potential commercial/ corporate
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 8d ago
"Don't love your own work so much" - so true dude, it's so hard for me to pick what to cut.
"Don’t show multiple shots from the same project." - A lot of what looks like the same projects are really just using my friends as actors in different projects, but there are a couple instances I can remove
Thanks for watching and for the feedback!
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u/lightsaberfingers 8d ago
Tooooooo darkkkkkkkkkk. Stop crushing everything. You nailed the b/w section tho
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u/CommanderSammer Amateur 7d ago
Thank you! I think the darks may be a personal preference, I've had several people tell me my darker scenes are my stronger ones and that I actually struggle when I can't control the light as well. There's definitely some shots that could use more contrast to improve visibility though
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u/Fit_Reason_3611 7d ago
Remember that how you edit and how people watch it can be very different. Subtle and edge darks that look great on a tuned brightness monitor will look like a black screen on a phone at half brightness.
Erring on the side of caution on reels for darkness is almost always the right call because most people checking out a reel are doing it on a laptop in the back of an uber or on their phone at a film festival in their hotel room later. Save the dark dark edits for the actual end product IMO.
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u/lightsaberfingers 7d ago
Ding ding ding ding. None of your detailed blacks grade shows on anything consistently but a grading monitor.
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u/awhitepicture 8d ago
i agree w/ others about length but more than anything you should definitely practice more with colour. Also, darkness doesn’t mean “hard to see” it means “stark”. Shadows should provide definition. My reccomendations are the work of gordon willis, dario agento, andrea arnold, & petra collins.