More ideas for bad videos

Subject: More ideas for bad videos
From: "Peter Neilson" <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:07:18 -0400

On occasion a "corporate image" designer gets his hands on video or website production. In my limited experience that means the first thing the viewer sees is meaningless swirly artwork, or maybe pictures of the headquarters building. And that's not on just ONE video, landing page or book cover, but on every single one of them. They all look the same!

My reaction to that kind of video? "How can I skip over this stuff?" Or, "Time to get a snack while this junk rolls through." Fortunately there is usually music or a mellow voice, the ending of which signals the beginning of the actual material I wanted to see. (Not true, though, for HR-mandated "training" videos. Nobody wants to see them. Or even to keep the certificate you get for viewing them.)

Other items to annoy the viewer include those brief, flashing shots of not-quite-sure-what. "Wait a minute. I think I missed something. Let's go back." STOP. SLIDE BACK. VIEW AGAIN. "No, I didn't. They were just showing their skills at video editing. Sheesh."

Every video should pass the "sheesh" test. No viewer, from inside or outside the company, should say or even think, "Sheesh!" at any point in the video.

Occasionally a video will contain images that are difficult to comprehend. The accompanying voice-over says, "As you can see here, or as you would see if we had better video quality..." On the other hand, here is a video in which the auto-stabilizer in the camera messed up the view, making the production even more exciting. Watch the piano jumping around at 1:34. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3hbPLN7nh8

--Peter Neilson, who does not have a TV and who is not a fan of most video except for Youtubes of Groucho or of Tom Brier.
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References:
how useful are video tutorials/screencasts?: From: Phil Stokes
Re: how useful are video tutorials/screencasts?: From: Peter Neilson

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