CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, September 23, 2009

How to Decide What to Include in Your Portfolio

FreelanceSwitch: "Remember when you graduated from school or first decided to become a freelancer? You likely didn’t have much work to show and had to scramble to fill your portfolio. If you now have a few years under your belt, you’ve probably started to build up quite a collection of finished pieces.
The importance of having a professional portfolio website has been discussed on FreelanceSwitch – it is essential for the modern freelancer. But how do you decide what to include in your portfolio?"

3 comments:

Brian Alderman said...

I have to admit- I haven't updated my "portfolio" in almost a year. And that portfolio is not even online. My next steps are to move to an online portfolio, and then work on keeping it updated. This is an arduous task, but one that is essential for me to do! The article brings up some interesting points regarding what to include- particularly in the view of a client list. However, i would love some information on what someone who has never done professional work could include?

Brian Rangell said...

A lot of these tips sound very similar to my considerations when composing my college application portfolio. I decided to go with a chronological approach, starting at the end of junior year and proceeding right up to the week before my interviews. I specifically selected materials that showed more and more complexity and responsibility as they went on (for example, simple meeting notes and prop requests for my first SM position leading to lively pictures and notes from collaboration with BC/EFA for my final show) and also included materials from a directing credit, feeling that providing some variety would show a more well-rounded representation of my capabilities. For me, this was a very effective way of showing development over time and establishing my current level of mastery at the exact time of my presentation.

Annie J said...

I'm with Brian. I don't think I've actually updated my portfolio since I came for my interview. I don't really know how to start an online portfolio, but I'll definitely look into this. This article really helps so much. I've always had problems with decisions like what to put into my portfolio, and now I feel like I won't spend over 2 weeks trying to figure out what should, or shouldn't, be there. This sets the perfect guidelines for what to do, and not to do.