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Blake McGrow
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Series Producer/Director/PD/Camera/Preditor

Created 1 year ago · Last updated 1 year ago ·
Are TV freelancer showreels a useful marketing tool? Can a career condensed into a few highlights make an impact, or is it too easy to create an illusion of... Read more
Are TV freelancer showreels a useful marketing tool? Can a career condensed into a few highlights make an impact, or is it too easy to create an illusion of talent & experience?
Where is the line between valid self-promotion & egotistical vanity?

A stylish showreel is undoubtedly one way of standing out amongst the competition. For Directors, Cameramen, and Shooting Ap’s, a sexy montage of their best work can be instantly captivating, leaving little doubt as to their technical & creative abilities.

Producers, however must forgo highlighting their vital ability to tell a compelling narrative in favour of visual flair. In which case, a whole show/episode would clearly be preferable. But do busy production companies have the time to spare? If you are lucky your last credit was a must-see ratings blockbuster. Problem solved.

So who is watching the precious showreel you have spent hours slogging over in your latest bout of self-unemployment? From my own personal experience when hiring, I will always view reels, but only once I have narrowed down potential candidate CVs. Therefore, whilst the reel is not opening any doors, it may just prevent them from being slammed shut.

Having said all that, for what it’s worth, I’ve just updated mine. You never know.

https://vimeo.com/923287029

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Blake McGrow
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Blake McGrow shared a video

Series Producer/Director/PD/Camera/Preditor

Created 1 year ago · Last updated 1 year ago ·
With unscripted television currently on its knees, the last thing we freelancers need is competition from AI generated video. But is AI really a serious option... Read more
With unscripted television currently on its knees, the last thing we freelancers need is competition from AI generated video. But is AI really a serious option for Broadcast? After delving into various AI technologies last week, thankfully I can report that the current answer is a resounding NO. But it soon will be... and I had good fun investigating...

Edited on 22nd Jan 2024 10:09am

14 comments
Matt Ainsworth
Nice work!
Rob McCabe
Great work. Scary and impressive at the same time. If people didn't catch Dr Alex Connock's recent Directors UK talk about AI and the media, he's someone worth reading (for both a micro and macro perspective). Even if you don't fancy digging into the creative workflows that are increasingly available, he's got some fascinating insight into some of the bigger picture consequences for us all (copyrights etc). Also a good reminder that this stuff can be harnessed to help (and not just undermine)!
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Scott Breckenridge
@BlakeMcGrow wow! Fantastic work. 👏👏👏
Jo St Mart
I have noticed as an Archive Producer that AI bunches up several different clips and combines them into 1 video, leaving the video questionable and unauthentic. This also applies to images. AI has been sending images of the Russian-Ukraine war that date back to 2014, but the dates are 2023. As an Archive Producer, I spotted the anomaly immediately, but someone who doesn't have a trained eye will fall for the missed information. They've already duped the papers.
Blake McGrow
@JoSt Mart I am not quite sure what you mean by AI bunches up clips? In the film above all the images are AI generated so nothing is real, even if it is attempting to generate a famous face or landscape. It will always be an interpretation featuring incorrect artifacts and anomalies, at least for now. So I struggle to see how AI could even be an option for anything factual, especially news? Maybe I misunderstanding, but I'm curious to know what you mean by 'Ai sending images of the war'? Thanks
Jo St Mart
What I mean is AI groups up news clips from different stories and sends them as one story. I work across print and TV. Reuters and AP use AI footage and images and send packages to the nationals via FTP. This means some, not all, footage and images are not authentic. Lots of discrepancies when covering the Russian v Ukraine war. Does that make sense?
Blake McGrow
@JoSt Mart Ah yes thanks. So its not necessarily Ai generated images as much as AI collating footage & images. That must be a nightmare to fact check. If it is already causing ripples in factual news, when the floodgates open it's going to impossible to distinguish fact from fiction, unless experienced first hand. Scary times
Jo St Mart
Exactly, very scary!
Dan Gooding
@BlakeMcGrow congratulations…this is brilliantly terrifying.
Joe Farr
Well done Blake
Luke McLaughlin
Fascinating stuff Blake! I actually thought the VO was you doing a funny voice.
Blake McGrow
@LukeMcLaughlin haha, its not the best AI in places, the northern Attenborough
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Luke McLaughlin
@BlakeMcGrow It's really encouraging to see the regions represented in your chilling hellspace
Nikki Nerini-Hobbs
This is brilliant.
Blake McGrow
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Blake McGrow shared an image

Series Producer/Director/PD/Camera/Preditor

Created 2 years ago · Last updated 2 years ago ·
Very proud to have spent the last 8mths working @Viacom on this great 4*90min 'Brit Pop' series. Please tune in for EP1 on Sun 12th Mar, 9pm on CH5 for some... Read more
Very proud to have spent the last 8mths working @Viacom on this great 4*90min 'Brit Pop' series. Please tune in for EP1 on Sun 12th Mar, 9pm on CH5 for some awesome tunes & interviews with the artists, journalists & producers who played a vital role in #Themusicthatchangedbritain #Britpop

Blake McGrow shared an image

Blake McGrow
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Blake McGrow shared a video

Series Producer/Director/PD/Camera/Preditor

Created 2 years ago · Last updated 2 years ago ·
My daily commute to the edit over the last 8 years has seen the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station.... So I filmed it on various iphones.
2 comments
Sarah Lee
This is great @BlakeMcGrow. I love how the newspaper headlines create the timeline
Blake McGrow
@SarahLee Thanks Sarah.
Blake McGrow
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Blake McGrow shared a video

Series Producer/Director/PD/Camera/Preditor

Created 4 years ago · Last updated 3 years ago ·
The evidence based on my personal video hits over the years would suggest Production companies don't generally view showreels when searching on TM? When I am... Read more
The evidence based on my personal video hits over the years would suggest Production companies don't generally view showreels when searching on TM? When I am hiring, I do tend to watch, but only after I have narrowed down the potential field. Of course its easy with good editing to create a false impression and showreels are unsuitable for highlighting long form narrative skills. As an SP/D a whole show is usually preferable. I'd love to know what other people & companies think.
4 comments
Geoff Harris
I'd watch a DOP showreel, a director's reel and other craft people like costume, production design, but factual, maybe. A person's craft needs to stand out in a reel and generally documentaries look very similar.
Jimmy Hedger
I've always tried to keep an up to date reel to sell my (some would say dubious) directing ability - although in the past couple of years I'm convinced that in TV, reels very seldom get looked at by talent managers or execs, although when in comes to branded content or ad work its the first thing that people ask to see. Personally I think its a bit of a shame that reels seem to have become almost an outdated concept. Your reel by he way is top draw
Blake McGrow
@JimmyHedger Cheers Jimmy, but surely you meant Top Drawer. The one full of junk that's rarely opened.
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Ben Seale
Cool reel, grats.