I’ve learned that there are many ways to approach a sizzle reel, and the best approach is to first think of your audience and what you want to communicate to them.  Knowing your audience is key to how long the you want the reel to be, and in some cases where you want to post it.  The average is about 3-6 minutes.  However, some will be much shorter, and some much longer.  

There isn’t one good type of sizzle reel.  It all depends on your style, how your style intersects with or runs through the show, and how you want to use the video.  In many cases a reel is used as an ad or teaser for a show, and you are highlighting reasons they might want to go to your next show or to hire you for an event.

Some will add quotes from reviewers or audience members to their reels. If you get a note from an audience member that you want to add to your reel, it’s always best to ask if they are ok with your using their words in a reel. If the quote is from a review that has been published, you only need to give attribution (Author’s name and publication.). Permission then is not required as long as you are accurately representing their words and giving credit to the source.

Figure out what you want to communicate with the reel that also demonstrates the thing you want the audience to pay attention to.  (Voice, comedy, dance, fun, band, feeling the feels, or multiple things. Usually multiple things.) One approach is to have an arc that might resemble that of a show, exciting at the beginning, traveling and learning/getting close in the middle, and ending strong.  Strong doesn’t always mean loud, but instead should clearly demonstrate, visually and audibly, the connection to the audience at the show.  Imagine a viewer who wasn’t there.  Share something that will create the desire to be at your next show.

The least expensive way to create a reel is to provide very specific in and out points from the original video. First, you must download the video from Dropbox. You do not need a Dropbox account to download a file. You will then compile a list of times to the cuts. Add the minute and second mark, and once it goes over 1 hour mark, enter the hour, e.g., 00:38 (38 seconds); 01:25 (1 minute 25 seconds); 20:59 (20 minutes 59 seconds); 1:04:01 (One hour, four minutes, 1 second.) If part of your patter is to be included, you can type something like, [01:25 start where I say “xyz…” end at 01:45]. Anything that will get us on the same page as to the start time. You can use the same format for individual videos. The clips for sizzle reels are going to be shorter, but stitching the cuts will add up to around the same length as an individual song separated from the show.