How To Make A Video Game Sound Design Demo Reel | 10 Tips

[@mikilin3705]

Thank you so much for sharing! I just got into the world of sound design, and I am glad to discover your channel! I need to plow through all the videos haha : )

[@daviddumaisaudio]

That's awesome! Glad you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! If you ever have a sound design question, feel free to leave a comment on any of my videos and I’ll do my best to answer it. I may even do a video about it :)

[@mikilin3705]

@@daviddumaisaudio Thank you so much! Will do!

[@dimonmay]

reeeaaly realy helpful clip! Thank you a lot, honorable fellow

[@fishoscine1220]

Hi David, Thank you so much for this incredibly informative video. I create sound design for film, adverts, logo/intro, and games. - Would you suggest making a specific demo-reel for the job I'm applying for. I.e strictly omit film SD when applying to a games company? - Also, I'm wondering if ypu have advice about the copyright legalities of using footage for redsigners? - Lastly, of course, showcasing credited work is preferable. Do you think it's acceptable to include only redesigs, for us beginning our careers without real-world credits? Many thanks again. Happy New Year. ✌️🙂

[@daviddumaisaudio]

Hi, yes only redesigns is definitely acceptable. In terms of copyright issues, technically, you should be contacting the company to request permission. But, it is common practice to just download and use the reels. It’s not like you are making money off of the reel so it really shouldn’t be an issue. If you can make a demo reel specifically for a job, that would be best. For sure when applying to games, only include game clips.

[@fishoscine1220]

@@daviddumaisaudio Thank you very much. I appreciate your reply and time.

[@ApocalypticSound]

Hey David thanks for the advice on creating a Sound Design Demo Reel. A few questions if you are able to: 1. You metioned about 3 demo reels that are a minute long, and then mentioned 3 20 second demos. Is that you submitting 3 1 minute demos or 1 1 minute demo that has 3 different games at 20 seconds a piece? 2. Most of my sound library is based off of 3rd party sounds at the moment, and I don't have a room that is built for sound design yet, nor the equipment. Would like you said, layering different sounds be suitable or would original be the only way to go? Thank you in advance!

[@daviddumaisaudio]

1. I would aim for my demo reel to be around 1 minute long and use 3 clips that are about 20 seconds each (for a total of 1 minute) 2. Layering different sounds from 3rd party libraries is totally suitable.

[@ApocalypticSound]

@@daviddumaisaudio Okay awesome thank you for replying! I've been making a list of games I want to re-design for audio because of your video so I'm excited once again. Thanks!

[@LearnTrainPlay]

Just started on a demo reel so thanks for the tips

[@daviddumaisaudio]

You're welcome!

[@pipposound]

Hey! Thanks for the tips. Just a heads-up that the checklist link is returning a server error

[@daviddumaisaudio]

Hey, Thanks for letting me know. I'm currently looking into it.

[@pipposound]

@@daviddumaisaudio and thank you for emailing me the PDF directly, the quick response is very appreciated!

[@HoneydewAddict]

Hi, thank you for the vid! I'm really new to the idea of making Demo Reels, can anyone tell me where you get the gaming footage? Or do you take it yourself?

[@daviddumaisaudio]

You can take it yourself from playing the games you own or you can use cinematics and other gameplay videos from KZbin. If you are taking it from KZbin, it is “technically” illegal, but really game companies won’t care and it’s not like you are profiting from it. So yea, KZbin using OBS is a good way to go. If you are taking content from another channel, best practice is to ask for permission.

[@ajryangameaudio]

Awesome tips, David, thanks! Really appreciate the video.

[@daviddumaisaudio]

Thanks. Glad you found it helpful!

[@Kzarkses]

Thank you for the tips !

[@oleg.ptiitz]

Should the games chosen be 2 - 3 max old? Thx a million ton, it's such an enormously helpful video

[@daviddumaisaudio]

You’re welcome! Glad it helped. For the games chosen, it’s not necessary that they be 2-3 years old. Not like there’s any rule for how old (or new) a game should be, but I wouldn’t recommend people include games that are 10 or 20 years old.

[@brettjanzen]

Hi David, Thanks for sharing, this is all really helpful! I have a couple questions about redesigning. I assume you mean taking a clip and redoing audio for demo purposes? How does copyright work on stuff like that? With film it can be so tricky with using a copyrighted video clip and having videos taken down and such. Are video game clips different? Or are there only certain games that you can use for redesigning? Thank you!

[@daviddumaisaudio]

Yes, that’s what I mean about redesigning. I think copyrights work differently for video games than movies. I don’t remember hearing about video game videos being taken down on KZbin, BUT I may be very wrong about that. I’ve never posted my demo reels on KZbin. My demo reels are on my website so I can’t really comment about copyright issues. If you look on KZbin though, there are millions (if not billions) of gameplay videos. This makes me think that video game copyrights are different from movies. Don’t take my word for it though. I’m no legal expert. Just commenting on what I have noticed. Hope this helps.

[@MichRyc7]

Thank you for great tips

[@hiddenparad0x657]

Hey David, this video was amazing. I have a question as someone who’s trying to break into the video game industry as a sound designer. I’m currently putting together a demo reel of all of my work, but because I have no professional experience as a sound designer outside of film, I’ve mainly been taking silent stock videos off of the internet to practice with and use in my reel. What advice would you have in getting more/better materials and work in your reels?

[@daviddumaisaudio]

Get some video game materials to redesign and use that as your reel. Leave out the film footage.

[@soundstothecore3714]

Appreciate the video bud!

[@daviddumaisaudio]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment!

[@bsbllspdy]

Hey David! I really love and appreciate all these tips! I am curious about something though. I’m currently remaking a shooter trailer, and it involves gunshots and explosions. If I didn’t record the gunshots and explosions, should I just not include them in the sound design rework?

[@daviddumaisaudio]

You definitely can. Just make sure to have them fit in the context of the demo reel.

[@llanomarco8094]

Thank you for your advices David,　 I would like to ask you your opinion in something that I believe it was not mentioned in your clip: Would you put in the same video captures of real games that you worked on it and video captures of stuffs that you did by yourself (Sound replacement, practice games...)? Don't you think it can be confusing?

[@daviddumaisaudio]

Hey, Yes, I think both are ok. Ideally, you’d want to get to a point where your entire portfolio is filled with games you have worked on. But for those starting out, having video captures of real games you have redesigned alongside games you have worked on is normal. You just have to make sure you identify your work properly. What would be confusing and what I would NOT suggest you do, is having a video capture that has original game sounds as well as your own redesign. Whatever audio is in your demo reel should ONLY BE YOUR unique sounds. Hope this helps out and makes sense. This is my take on this. Ultimately, what matters is that you showcase your skills and abilities whether on games you have personally worked on or not.

[@cheney7231]

You are really nice! Thank you so much.

[@daviddumaisaudio]

You're welcome!

[@augustnp4770]

top thank you!

[@Rivessound]

Helpful ty.

[@daviddumaisaudio]

You're welcome

[@mexmax1657]

Great video. :) I want to get into sound design, producing some music for a few years now, but I need new stuff for my brain/ears. May I ask you something? How hard/easy is it to get into this and make money with it? I mean is it as hard as with music production or photography? Market is flooded with people who do stuff like this, so I don't see a real future in Music or Photography, but I feel like there are more possibilities in game sound design for getting a job.

[@daviddumaisaudio]

I find it interesting when people are deciding to join an industry or job based on how hard it is to get in or make money. From my point of view, all industries (especially creative industries) are highly competitive and challenging. BUT, I also believe there is room for everybody. Also, I believe you should do what you love and figure out a way to serve people doing what you love because that’s how you can make money. Additionally, when it gets challenging (which it will regardless of industry), you’ll have the will and desire to keep going, grow, and get better. Looking at it from a different perspective though, I see sound design as being a market with a lot of unmet needs. There are a lot of opportunities specially for video games. I find it is a growing market. That does not necessarily mean it will be easier. It is still “competitive”, but there is a lot of opportunity out there in my opinion. Personally, I have made money creating music as well as sound effects. I have just done it differently for both. Hope that helps.

[@mexmax1657]

@@daviddumaisaudio this definitely helped a lot. :) Thank you man. This is Kind of what i was hoping /expecting to hear. I think the market and oppurtunities in Sound Design for games isn't as flooded as e.g. photography is, since you need much more skill and time for it and it is more of a "niche" thing. Thank you. This gives me some more hope than my photography stuff to be honest, I really need to find my way finally with 34 years on this earth now.... ;)

[@daviddumaisaudio]

@@mexmax1657 If you're healthy, you still plenty of time. Commit yourself to your craft no matter which you choose. Go for the long haul :)

[@sunjuhargun]

Thank you for this great video! Wanted to know if you have any tips for anyone who probably does not have experience in working in sound design for video games but is confident with the skillset to design music that could eventually fit. Strengths are mainly in the area of ambient and soundscapes. Understanding not all game genres would be looking for this sound how ever I do feel there is a place for this. Any tips or advise how one could start?

[@daviddumaisaudio]

Depends what you want and what your goals are. If you want to be a video game sound designer, then at some point you’ll need to branch out and show that you can do more than just ambiences and soundscapes. That is a great start, but unfortunately not enough to get work (at least not in a AAA context). My advice for where to start is to do what you like and are already good at. If that is soundscapes, then start there. Practice doing more. Practice replacing soundscapes from other games. Offer to do soundscapes for smaller game projects that are in development. As you create more soundscapes, start exploring other sound effects that you may be interested in creating. Slowly build up your skills from there. That’s just my perspective, but hopefully this gives you a place to start and direction to move towards. Hope that helps!

[@sunjuhargun]

@@daviddumaisaudio thanks for taking the time out to reply back! And appreciate the feedback and tips 👍

[@xylvnking]

My teacher in college quit his job mid semester to go be the audio guy at digital extremes lol

[@daviddumaisaudio]

Oh cool. Who was that?

[@kurtwilloughby8821]

Hi, thanks for doing this video - it's really given me a lot to think about. I was wondering if I might ask your thoughts on what might be best for someone in my position. I worked for an indie company for a few years but sadly got made redundant along with a lot of the team. This was 2+ years ago, and during that time I stepped away from sound design work. I have done a little bit recently and would like to look at getting back in to it, and so would like to actually make a demo/show reel. The problem I have is at the moment, in terms of video games, I only have the work I did with that company from a few years back to show. I did some work for them that never got released, which can't be used. And the sound for the games that have been released was a mix of recordings I made (the lesser part), sounds from the franchise's old games (I joined after 2 games were already out, so a lot of sounds were re-used or revamped), and sound libraries (rarely, if ever, were these sounds just dropped in - I preferred to edit, manipulate, layer, etc when it came to these). Because of this it's hard for me to just grab a section of the game(s), state I was the sound designer and leave it at that. In theory I'd have to pick out different elements to show off, but then this means cutting together a number of clips going between things. I'm just not sure what is the best way to approach making a demo video from this. I do plan to also make a showreel using a couple of short films I've worked on, but obviously that doesn't help when it comes to applying for video game work. I also plan to do some videos redesigning audio from other games, but I don't want to just skim over the game work I've already done (though maybe that would be best?).

[@daviddumaisaudio]

Hey. So if it’s possible, you could find clips where it is just your sound design and you could use that for your reel. Even if the clips are short, like 5-10 seconds, that could work. You could then cut and paste the clips together, but you’d probably have to find a way to do that creatively so that then transition smoothly from one clip to the other. If that isn’t possible, then perhaps it is best to start from scratch and do a full demo reel with redesigns. Nothing wrong with that.

[@azariahjoseph316]

Instablaster

[@alenazeta140]

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[@nandocordeiro5853]

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