OpenReel Reviews

With the addition of Webcam and Android phones to the platform, the app is accessible to just about everyone. Subjects (guests) find it similar enough to Zoom or Teams that it doesn't intimidate them. Great quality and controls for director make this a great tool.

Hard to find huge flaws. Recent interface upgrade to 2.0 improved director side control and ease of use a lot.

If you regularly produce video content, this will be worth the investment.

Reduces travel costs and speeds up post-production timelines while still being able to direct and guide a subject. Through COVID, it became the ONLY way we could produce some of our new content, so it was a life-saver.

Now, we use the tech to produce internal communication pieces at an attractive price-point. The new UGC "self-record" link option is super easy for subjects to use, and the company keeps adding features that really support ease-of-use + great quality.

OpenReel is highly intuitive and smart. They're consistently consulting with clients about what they want and need and improving the product. Most of all, the customer service is unmatched. I actually know the names of people who work there, who are available to help me IN THE MOMENT I'm having an issue. I have never been treated so well by a tech company. I know my experience matters to them.

Now and then, as with any emerging tech, things break.

Tech to record high-quality video remotely makes it affordable to produce content all over the world.

OpenReel was a savior to our business during the pandemic when in-person shoots were not feasible. It captures footage locally so that there are no worries about picture quality or hiccups in recording due to wifi or network problems. Even post-pandemic, OpenReel is a great way for us to capture footage with colleagues who are in different locations effectively so that we don't have to send a team to travel and capture the shoot.

OpenReel techs were always available to us when we had high-profile shoots to ensure that nothing went wrong and help us troubleshoot if we had any issues arise during the filming.

Some of the downsides, that aren't necessarily the fault of OpenReel, is getting users up to speed on how to use the app and get the app downloaded. There were times where we ran into trouble because the user may have been using an older version of the app or they weren't able to log in to the session in a timely manner. We were always able to resolve the issue, and thankfully they were done during a pre-run-through - which is highly suggested.

The benefits of OpenReel are that you are able to capture high-quality footage without being there in person. OpenReel is very easy to use and the OpenReel team has been very helpful in training and tech support.

I use open reel to capture alumni content. I use open reelto tell people about the organization I work for . Tell stories that aren't alway heard.

I feel like 2.0 has a few issues that having been figured out yet. Cause us issues where sometimes it recorded sometimes it didn't. .

I've been able to show more content from all our sites and make sure divese is seen.

The quality is massively better than using webcam platforms like Zoom and Google Meet. The fact that content is recorded locally ensures there are no bandwidth issues that degrade quality.

Depending on the speed of the interviewee's internet connection it can take a very long time to upload files after recording is complete. Since they typically can't leave their phone to sit and upload, it would be nice if the app allowed them to copy the recorded files to their computers and upload from there.

OpenReel far outweighs any webcam platform for capturing remote content and is a reliable way to record high quality footage without having to worry about the bandwidth of those you are recording.

The biggest problem OpenReel has solved is being able to capture footage that is not limited by poor bandwidth. The fact that it records in 4K using the full capability of a device's camera is great.

OpenReel is fantastic - easy to use, amazing customer support, lovely UX and straightforward steps. And best of all, the SPEED of download and quality is beyond.

Honestly, nothing yet. Everything so far has been a game-changer for our clients.

Just call Justin - he'll sort you out.

Turnaround time on filming, issues with talent (usually executives) fumbling with set-up, time delay in getting the footage from the talent, quality of footage (light, balance, colour, audio, frame rate, etc.), number of people involved in the filming, savings on equipment and i am sure there are more.

Director controls allow for exact selections for the scene media feeds, settings and quality.

I love that each feed is recorded seperately and locally and that the file can be uploaded as it is being recorded.

The teleprompter feature is a game-changer too!

Nothing so far. The training sessions were sucvh a big help in getting up to speed with how the applicaiton opperates. Maybe something that could be usefule is the ability to add a simple title or lower thirds name card on top of a video source.

I needed to capture remote customers talking with someone in our video studio and send our studio camera feed through the open reel call and record the best quality remote video. We're able to do all of that!

OpenReel is more than an app. It's a system that allows you to capture video files locally from a webcam or phone. This significantly ups the production value over a simple Zoom recording.

There are still quite a few constraints during the recording process, and the cost is high.

Plan well ahead of time for your shoot. Prepare a simple gear package that includes a ring light, microphone, and iPhone adapter that you can send out. Talk to participants ahead of time so they know they're responsible for the setup.

I'm able to keep my video production company busy with lower-priority projects - one-off software demos, community activist interviews, and corporate newsletters. During the pandemic, in-person production has dropped off a lot as companies realize that some of the video work they were doing wasn't absolutely necessary. OpenReel fills a niche.

OpenReel allows us to create the highest-quality video, quickly and in a way that puts participants and our teams at ease. It continues to improve with 2.0, making it even easier to use and better organized. By having multiple collaborators on the video call, we can easily divide and conquer - one directing, the other asking questions or handling the interview. Also, we can see what's happening, coach subjects and do multiple takes easily when we see something may not be right. The interface for downloading and/or converting the videos is also great. No more dropbox or email l inks. It's downloaded before we hang up.

There are very few downsides. You still have to know a bit about video, formats and handling an interview, but the technology has worked well. The 2.0 interface and tools have improved many of the downsides from 1.0.

Before using OpenReel Capture we would not have done near as many videos as we do now. We used to let people shoot their own and just email or dropbox it to us, without knowing what we were getting. This way we can see and hear real-time, re-do takes, coach them and get much better results. Even those who are not good on camera, or who would not have done this on their own, are working with us and giving us usable video, when before, it would not have even happened, or would not have been used.

The quality of OpenReel's Capture 2.0 platform mixed with their now universal device type (Apple + Android) make it a no brainer for virtual video production. The local record capability on the device itself is also a game-changer when compared to other options available.

Package that all up with customer support that is always available and willing to help and you have the recipe for a successful video shoot each and every time.

There really isn't much to dislike. There were some bugs early on, but like everything that scaled rapidly during the start of the pandemic it just needed time to work out. We haven't had any hiccups and all of our early challenges have been either addressed, fixed, or OpenReel customer support staff has educated us on proper usage of the platform to guarantee our success.

I highly recommend this product if you are in need of supplemental video recording options or main video recording options due to travel restrictions or safety protocols. It is a great tool and has expanded our capabilities and relevancy.

OpenReel Capture has allowed us to remain relevant in a very challenging time for agencies whose success is largely due to the success of their video department. It has also given us the flexibility to record anywhere in the world almost instantly at any time.