Hi Mitchell, welcome.
Best of luck to you in your move to LA, but I do hope you know what you're getting in to because it doesn't sound like you know what you're leaving behind. I've worked in DC (which is pretty close to MD, relative to CA) for just over 11 years now, and while it's certainly not all the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, there's quite a few opportunities for an aspiring young sound editor here.
Last I checked, DC was the 6th largest media market in the country. Off the top of my head I can think of about 10 major audio houses that work on national programming & ad campaigns. Each have multiple editing and mixing suites and all are always interested in those willing to put in the time and energy to learn the craft. If TVs not your thing, there are 3 or 4 AAA game developers (most that I know are in MD) which have audio needs as well. All that aside, I understand the allure of LA, and reiterate, best of luck to you in your move.
As for your work, I'll hit the COD spot first:
Something that I've seen (heard) recently is a trend of just having the sound design in a sound design demo. I like this idea. It really puts your work under a microscope and shows what works and what doesn't. So it'd be nice to post a version sans music too. Of course, I think keeping the music version posted is important as well. It's a good cut, your edits work well, and being able to display balancing the mix between Music, SFX, and Dialog is significant too.
First off, I commend you on your choice of material. You've done a good job choosing a piece that presents an opportunity for a dynamic soundtrack, from ground shaking explosions to stealthy movements. It's a bit of a double-edged sword though, as many people will be very familiar with the content as it is "supposed" to sound. You've done a good job with sync and editing the FX, but there's a couple of things that I noted while listening to your clip multiple times.
Variation - I'd like to hear a little more variation in the fire-fights. To a certain extent this comes down to library and plug-ins. Regardless, for my tastes, most of the battles sounded too similar.
Part of that may be solved with my next note: Depth - Multiple locations sound the same. For example, the AK-47 firing around the corner of a building (:53) sounds as though it's in the same space as the guy firing out the top of the Jeep going through the airfield (2 seconds later). I want to hear more building reflections if I'm in the alley between two apartments vs. the openness of an air field.
Detail- The baddies stalking the airport @ :24? I want to hear the glass under their feet, and the airline call board flickering all to "Delayed" is screaming for something. Try leading the shot @ :32 with some snowy crunching footsteps running up to the gap to emphasize the jump. The guys in the tunnel @ :40 are hauling ass, but they make no sound. The rattle of their gear in time with their steps would sell it a little better when the roof crumbles in. Also, it seems that every gun shoots a bullet, but after they leave the gun they make no sound. There's a fair amount of bullet trails that give you an opportunity for ricochets and bullet bys that would fill out some of the scenes that don't have any obvious "hard" action FX in them.
All in all I like what you've done here, and it grows on me each successive listen. But one of the first things I wrote down after the first listen was "Arc". Overall, it doesn't really go anywhere. You did build in that nice pause in the space shot, which I like, and seems like the apex of the drama in this short story. But building up to it and coming out of it felt a little weak. It seems like a good opportunity to use some contrast of continuously escalating, fast-paced warfare, that culminates in this moment of "silent" destruction, and then slams back to earth with helicopters, motors, bullets, jets, explosions, etc.
As for the Scratch Animation, I find it tough to critique. There's sound and music, which conveys a dreamy unease. It seems to match the picture. But without knowing what the focus or intent of the project actually is, I hesitate to find fault or praise in it. Plus, I gotta get back to work...
