Rhyme & Reason Showreel
The creative agency, Rhyme & Reason Design, was ready to show off their recent client work in a new way - a fast-paced, splashy showreel that would catch eyes and excite viewers to explore their services. It was an honor to manage and develop such an important marketing landmark from start to finish.
Roles - Project Manager, Designer, Motion Designer
Creative Direction - Karen McKenzie
Storyboard & Style Frame Support - Emily Wack
Audio Mixing - Giovanni Scheno
Agency - Rhyme & Reason DesignCREATING THE SHOWREEL
INITIAL DEVELOPMENT
After researching current trends in agency demo reels and showreels, I drew up a document laying out recommendations and key decision-making points around purpose, length, content, organization, placement and promotion.
To quickly organize the “what” from an enormous quantity of potential content, we began with a list of clients and tactics and turned those into very loose, rough notecards.
As project lead, it was a pleasure to steer us through from infinite potential to decision-making milestones. Thanks to Designer Emily Wack for her support and collaboration in this phase!
STORYBOARDS
The notecards were then arranged in Figma to form a very rough storyboard that could be easily and quickly adjusted. With input from R&R’s Creative Director, Karen McKenzie, these boards formed the basis for building out full style visuals.
STYLE FRAMES
Then it was time to dig into the build. Although some shots were of existing animation projects (e.x. PIKE’s launch video), many showcased materials that were not developed for motion (e.x. business cards), or would need to be shown outside of the platform they were developed for (e.x. social posts, web designs). Even shots from animation projects couldn’t necessarily be brought in as-is - they would need to flow with the reel’s motion and timing.
This required new mockups, thoughtful layouts, and attention to brand guideline details. Music options were also researched and presented.
ANIMATION
After receiving the green light, I began animating. I first took our music selection and did a rough breakdown of timing, to ensure each client’s shots kept pace and flowed with major moments in the song. Giovanni Scheno assisted with fine-tuning of the music.
From there, I translated each frame into motion, shot-by-shot. It was an interesting challenge to ensure consistency in motion dynamics over the course of the project, which took place when there were lulls in client work.
UTILIZATION
The showreel found its home at the top of Rhyme & Reason Design’s website. Beyond users from google, audiences were and are directed from social media and employee email signatures, plus a dedicated eblast and blog post.
It has become a key marketing touchpoint, whether viewers are considering engaging R&R for work, or re-engaging in new ways after seeing R&R’s breadth of capabilities.