Capstone 2 Extra Credit • 5 Points
Demo Reel + Portfolio Website
Turn your NCAD motion design work into a marketplace-ready portfolio package: a tight demo reel and a website that looks and functions like a working motion designer's site.
The Challenge
Build or update your motion design portfolio so it is ready to show to clients, studios, internships, employers, and collaborators. Your site should present your work, your process, and your strongest projects with the clarity of a professional designer entering the marketplace.
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Your NCAD Work Comes Together Here
All the assignments, motion studies, project experiments, process work, and finished pieces you have made over the years at NCAD can become material for your demo reel and website. This extra credit is about packaging that work so people can actually understand what you do.
Demo Reel
- Length: No longer than 2 minutes.
- Format: Landscape/horizontal presentation.
- Content: Your strongest motion design work, edited for impact and clarity.
- Purpose: Show range, taste, timing, polish, and the kind of motion designer you are becoming.
Portfolio Website
- Platform: Existing portfolio site, low-cost/free site builder, or custom site is fine.
- Function: The site must be usable, easy to navigate, and clearly organized.
- Content: Finished work, process, case studies, contact info, and a clear motion design identity.
- Goal: It should feel ready for someone outside school to review.
Show The Work
Your best projects should be easy to find. Use strong thumbnails, clear project titles, embedded video, and direct links to final pieces.
Show The Process
Include sketches, storyboards, moodboards, styleframes, motion tests, animatics, breakdowns, or behind-the-scenes development where it helps the project.
Show The Thinking
Larger projects should have short case studies explaining the problem, your role, the concept, the process, and the final outcome.
Before You Submit
- Homepage: The first screen makes it clear you are a motion designer.
- Work page: Projects are organized and easy to browse.
- Reel placement: Demo reel is prominent and easy to play.
- Case studies: At least one larger project includes process and thinking.
- Contact: Email, social, resume, or contact path is obvious.
- Mobile: Site works on a phone without broken layouts.
- Video playback: Embedded work loads and plays correctly.
- Polish: No placeholder text, broken links, empty pages, or confusing navigation.
What To Include
- Your strongest finished motion work first.
- Short clips from multiple assignments or projects.
- Clear examples of timing, design, typography, compositing, animation, and polish.
- Project variety without making the reel feel random.
What To Cut
- Weak work included only to fill time.
- Long intros before the good material starts.
- Unfinished tests that do not help your case.
- Anything that makes the reel drag past the strongest 60-120 seconds.
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Marketplace Ready Means Clear And Usable
A portfolio site does not need to be expensive or complicated. It needs to work. A reviewer should understand who you are, what kind of motion work you make, where the reel is, which projects matter most, and how to contact you.
What Earns the Points
- 1 point: Demo reel is landscape, polished, and under 2 minutes.
- 1 point: Reel shows strong curation of NCAD/project work.
- 1 point: Website clearly presents the student as a motion designer.
- 1 point: Site includes work, process, and at least one case study or project breakdown.
- 1 point: Site is functional: navigation, video playback, mobile layout, contact path, and no broken placeholders.
Submission Standard
Capstone2_ExtraCredit_DemoReelWebsite_StudentName_YYYYMMDD_v01
Submit your live portfolio website link, your demo reel link or file, and a short note explaining what you updated or built for the site.
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