# Any tips for creating a portfolio website as an aspiring film and game composer?



## gohrev (Jul 15, 2021)

Hello!

If I were to build a portfolio website to support my outreach to filmmakers and game developers, what should I be mindful of? I came up with:

Three to five "spotlight" works (full version) -> hosted on SoundCloud? Or native on the website itself? Or..?
An overview of styles I can write in, to show my versatility? I was thinking of snippets of 30 sec per style (e.g. 'something romantic', 'car chase', 'royal march', etc.)
Short bio
.. what else?
Very grateful for any pointers you may have for me - have a great day!
-W


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## mybadmemory (Jul 15, 2021)

As someone who has spend quite a lot of time the last 10 years looking at portfolios and applications (albeit for designers and not musicians), id say the following would still hold true:

1. Shorter always wins. Write a few sentences, not an essay. No one has the time, or the interest to read it. And don't be boring: Be personal.

2. Get straight to the content. If you email, include a clickable link to the website. And make sure that there is a play button on the first screen. No one has the time or will to search for it.

3. Always include a photo of yourself. I know it shouldn't matter but it does. Faces are easier to remember.

4. Remove any work that's bad. And start with the best. Is less better than more? I'd say no. More is better, as long as it's all top level. The quality is what's important.

5. Unless you're a professional webdesigner and developer, go for something like Squarespace. It will look more professional. And again. Play button on the first page or the tab get's closed. Next!


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## gohrev (Jul 15, 2021)

Excellent advice there, @mybadmemory !! I want to keep my page very lean, and I might opt for a single (endless scroll) page. If that's alright with you, I would love to run my design by you once I start building the page. 

Squarespace looks excellent, by the way! I was going to go with good ol' Wordpress, but I think Squarespace will be a lot easier to get up and running + maintaining.


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## ryst (Aug 14, 2022)

gohrev said:


> Hello!
> 
> If I were to build a portfolio website to support my outreach to filmmakers and game developers, what should I be mindful of? I came up with:
> 
> ...


Based on my experience, I'm not sure full versions are the way to go. I'm currently creating a new reel where I have 12-15 tracks, the ones that sound the most outrageous (attention grabbing) and I'm only playing 20-30 seconds of each. Again, just from my own personal experience, people don't seem to have time to listen to full tracks because they have so much they have to listen to. So I'm completely forgoing any full tracks and only doing snippets.


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## Nico5 (Aug 14, 2022)

ryst said:


> Again, just from my own personal experience, people don't seem to have time to listen to full tracks because they have so much they have to listen to.


Do you have any sense on what your purchase funnel looks like?

For example: Could it be that short versions are more useful for earlier in the funnel and longer versions might be useful for later, when your prospective client has put you in the second or 3rd round of short listing and is now seeking deeper engagement with your material?

And true to the nature of the funnel I would expect a significantly higher number of site visitors to only look at short versions, and fewer visitors sit through longer versions. And in that context it might be mistaken to judge the relative value of short vs long versions by comparing how many people are watching them.

imho - A good website facilitates multiple phases/steps in the purchase funnel and in that context allows a visitor to interact at different depths of interest.


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## JohnG (Aug 14, 2022)

Great one @mybadmemory . Spot on.


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## gohrev (Aug 15, 2022)

ryst said:


> Based on my experience, I'm not sure full versions are the way to go. I'm currently creating a new reel where I have 12-15 tracks, the ones that sound the most outrageous (attention grabbing) and I'm only playing 20-30 seconds of each. Again, just from my own personal experience, people don't seem to have time to listen to full tracks because they have so much they have to listen to. So I'm completely forgoing any full tracks and only doing snippets.


I would agree with you if my website were to act like a direct B2C sales channel — but it's really just an online portfolio, where I can park some of my work, hoping it may convince people to work with me


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## ryst (Aug 17, 2022)

I was referring to the "convince people to work with me" thing. But my 2 cents is really only worth about 1.4 cents. 


gohrev said:


> I would agree with you if my website were to act like a direct B2C sales channel — but it's really just an online portfolio, where I can park some of my work, hoping it may convince people to work with me


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## ryst (Aug 17, 2022)

Nico5 said:


> Do you have any sense on what your purchase funnel looks like?
> 
> For example: Could it be that short versions are more useful for earlier in the funnel and longer versions might be useful for later, when your prospective client has put you in the second or 3rd round of short listing and is now seeking deeper engagement with your material?
> 
> ...


Yes, absolutely.


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