When the greatest asset of a film or TV craftsperson is his or her credits, the digital domain provides a big advantage. The speed and ease with which video, audio and text can be manipulated and hard copies can be authored allows for the efficient assembly of a reel that can be distributed on a compact DVD. Reelsuite has recognized this and launched a service that helps craftspeople of every stripe to promote their skills to the rest of the industry.

The Toronto-based company is marketing itself to every link in the production chain, from directors to DOPs, producers, actors, animators, SFX artists, talent agents and production companies. Industry adoption of DVD was initially slow, but as consumers have recently warmed up to the format, content providers have likewise caught on to its industrial benefits. It is far quicker to burn a DVD than to dub a tape, which allows Reelsuite to guarantee same-day turnaround. Also, it is much simpler to digitally add or subtract content from a reel than it would be to re-dub from bulky analog tapes.

Reelsuite is the brainchild of cofounders Andrew MacDonald and Ray Dumas, both working cinematographers who felt show reels had to get with the times.

‘The initial idea was to develop a place for guys like us to get our reels done, because it’s such a hassle,’ MacDonald says. ‘[In the past] you’ve always had to find some off-time, bug an editor and squeeze into an Avid suite somewhere at an hourly rate. We were thinking, ‘Why don’t we open up a place that does just reels?”

MacDonald says that when he looked into getting a DVD reel made a couple of years ago, it would have cost in the area of $10,000. But with the advent of DVD-R machines enabling anybody to economically burn DVDs, manufacturers of the more stable professional Glass Mastering systems have been forced to substantially lower their prices as well. Reelsuite has opted for the Mac OS X platform and authors discs on Apple DVD Studio Pro.

Interactive menu

A Reelsuite demo for a local cinematographer provides an interactive menu dividing the DOP’s work into commercial and music video categories. There is a long list of clips in both sections, and the user can scroll down to any clip and select and play it via remote. This function is handy for time-challenged producers who might only want to preview work in keeping with their own prospective project.

Reelsuite stores its clients’ clips in a personal archive for future reel editions. This way a new reel can easily be produced with each new credit, without the need to transport material that is already digitized. Clients can access their reels and individual clips online via QuickTime, and can rearrange the clips, order reel copies and indicate where they are to be shipped. The client can also direct interested parties to the site to view materials at no extra cost.

Of course, services such as adbeast and ReelsOnDemand already offer a like-minded Web service, but Reelsuite places greater value on the DVD. Nobody understands the need to present material in as pristine a form as possible as a director of photography, and today’s Web-streaming technology simply does not allow for nearly as good a picture rendition as a DVD.

‘We’re into making you a really good DVD, putting your own branding on it and making a nice package,’ says MacDonald. ‘We’re all about the hard copy. It’s not a dot-com or an idea – we’re making a physical product.’

MacDonald admits to being irked by opposition from some prodcos that seem to still be married to the 3/4′ format.

‘If you ship a 3/4′ tape overnight to L.A., it’s $42 with FedEx – if you ship a DVD, it’s $22,’ he points out, adding that future hardware availability is another advantage of DVD. ‘As of this year, Sony is no longer servicing those 3/4′ machines. Sony’s interest is to get DVD players into the marketplace.’

At press time, Reelsuite had just launched its redesigned website.

-www.reelsuitedvd.com