How important is having a showreel?
It dawned on me recently that the last showreel we cut for Coolbox (or KingFilm as I previously traded under) was 8 years ago! To be honest (and not meaning to blow my own trumpet) it wasn't something I ever felt I needed when attracting new clients or pitching for work. There always appeared to be a steady stream of work, that mostly came about through word of mouth. And if I ever needed to show clients examples of our work, I would send links to specific (relevant) videos in our portfolio.
However, we recently had an overhaul of our website, and asked Andy from Planet Amazing to work on the design and build (here it is if you'd like a nosey). Andy recommended we include a nice looping video on the homepage - essentially a micro-showreel to add some movement to the site and give a platform to show off our best work as soon as visitors land.
While sourcing the content for the looping video, it occured to me that while we had all the footage from our favourite projects at our fingertips, it seemed like the logical thing to do was cut a 'full-length' showreel.
If nothing else, going through all that lovely footage, piecing it together, choosing the music and adding the graphics was quite a cathartic experience, and provided a nice opportunity to reflect on what an amazing few years we've had, and how many fantastic projects we've been lucky enough to work on. We're a small company but we punch well above their weight, in terms of the clients we've worked with (Johnnie Walker, The East India Company, Brother, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Facebook, Pizza Express, Paypal, Glengoyne Distillery, The Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, Scotrail , Coca Cola and most recently The National Lottery).
On reflection, and contrary to my previous stance ('Oh I don't need a showreel'), I actually get A LOT of use out of the new Coolbox reel; it goes out with every proposal as standard, is embedded into the website, linked to in my email signature, along with becoming a visual calling card we can use at speaking events, conferences, trade shows, etc.
Is a supplier having an up-to-date showreel important to you?