In 2017, I felt that I’d hit a ceiling in my freelance career, and I was having a hard time breaking through. I was working with the same handful of clients (who I still love & work with to this day), same budgets, and oftentimes more time between projects than I wanted there to be.
I’d been resistant to the idea of putting out a reel, because I felt that if someone seriously wanted to check me out, they’d spend a little time actually watching the work in my portfolio. Part of me knew that was unrealistic, but I kind of resented the ADD aspect of reels & didn’t really want to enable that mindset. It felt like a trend that I didn’t want to follow. On the other hand, I needed a boost, so in early in 2018, when I had a stretch of down time, I decided to kick those stubborn thoughts & just do it.
I’m glad I did.
I actually enjoyed the process of it. Every time I sat down to cut, I was able to get into a zone with ease. The song I used, which I was able to get the license to, definitely helped with that. The piece turned out better than I expected, and it was particularly gratifying to see my work showcased in a tight 60 seconds.
Not only that, after the release of this reel, I was quickly in a new stratosphere in terms of clients & budgets. There was a definitive before & after. I was now collaborating with teams that brought me on to projects for brands like Microsoft, Amazon & AWS, and REI. I knew that this reel would cause clients to see me as a stellar editor, first & foremost, but the opportunities haven’t only come in that form. I feel fortunate that I regularly get to work with great people who respect the process of video production & editorial work. There’s also been a difference in the amount of down time between projects, and that’s definitely not a complaint.
In hindsight, putting this thing out to the world should have been a no-brainer. Not sure when I’ll put out the next one, but I’m looking forward to it. There are still more stratospheres to be reached.