New article at ProShowThink

[BarbaraC Profile Private messageWebsite]

I got thinking about intros to slide shows while I also happened to have a pen in hand, and a new article was the result: Intros

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Barbara

[ginger Profile Private message]

Hi Barbara,

Just wanted to let you know that I'm really enjoying your articles on your new blog. Lots of good information you have.

Keep 'em coming!

ginger

[im42n8 Profile Private messageWebsite]

I can only imagine that building a book a topic at a time is much less stressful and much more fun than going by a deadline and schedule. You definitely are giving tidbits for thought and info. I have never heard, before, about any relationship between anti-terrorism and the rule of thirds (or the golden rule)...!



Dale

[VidQueen Profile Private messageWebsite]

Love this article, Barbara

....my two cents....if you're a company (not a hobbyist)....put a tag at the end of your video not an opener at the beginning.

To your point about movies vs tv and length and location of the Production Tag, Movie Production companies will put their tag at the beginning and then a simple listing again in the credits. For a tv show, you'll see a similar (but shorter) tag at the end of a show ("Sit, Ubu, Sit....good Dog!). If you are a Slide Show Production Company you'll want to follow the later formula. Short and sweet at the very end

Write, Barbara, Write....good Girl!

Jennifer

[ernie Profile Private message]

Jennifer...Good information you provided on tags. Are these "rules" per say, in the industry or does this information come from your observations? In other words, who established these guidelines. Thanks for the information. Ernie

[ernie Profile Private message]

Jennifer, are topics like this covered in the new photodex book?

[VidQueen Profile Private messageWebsite]

Hi Ernie,

This isn't specifically discussed in the book, as it pertains to businesses vs. hobbyists, but there is a section on starting and ending your shows. Not quite the same thing, as it's referring to the beginning and ending of your actual show, where as we are talking about a completely separate element that advertises the Producer of the show.

I suppose you could say that the way I mentioned it is the industry standard.....I'm struggling to come up with an occasion where the Production company didn't have a Tag at the beginning of a movie or at the end of a tv show. You could certainly correlate those instances with length of the movie or show, but I, personally, think it has a lot more to do with money. Multi-Billion dollar film companies WANT you to know BEFORE the movie starts that they are responsible. TV shows are really more associated with the Station that carries it ("Lost" = ABC) rather than the production company (s) ("Lost" = Bad Robot Productions). ABC is the financier; they get first dibs on the opener, not the production company.

When I make a show for a client I know that family and friends of my client are the main audience. The story should be the big opener, not the name of my company. That's just how I roll

Jennifer

[debngar Profile Private message]

Jennifer...Good information you provided on tags. Are these "rules" per say, in the industry or does this information come from your observations? In other words, who established these guidelines. Thanks for the information. Ernie

My 2 cents....

Anything goes. But consider this from the audience's point of view. Every single time you watch a video done by one of us users, do you want to have to sit through the same annoying 30 seconds of self-promotion? I don't. I don't mind a quick 6 second intro in the beginning that identifies the producer but 30 seconds is excessive IMO. Since it's placed at the beginning, the viewer is forced to sit through it.

Yes, it's a marketing thing but I still don't like to do that to my viewers. There are other ways to put your brand on your video. If it's on YouTube, your channel can have your branding on it with links to your website and such in the video description. The packaging/jewel case can also have branding/contact information on it.

I put my plug in at the end. It's usually just a short slide, no more than 6-8 seconds or so depending on the circumstances. I've started to include a hot link to my website (if it's a Presenter version) or may string out the slide time of the last slide a bit longer if I have to also include a music credit or something like that.

There are no rules. But IMO if the viewer is inconvenienced by being forced to watch a 30 second intro, they may wind up voting with their "Off" button before ever getting to the actual show.

[ernie Profile Private message]

Thanks you all for your thoughts, I'll anxiously await to read more in the photodex book when it arrives.

[BarbaraC Profile Private messageWebsite]

I believe we all need to look at our productions from the viewpoint of the audience because that's who we're trying to reach. The end of a really good show can be a strong position for a promo, and in that position it also doesn't feel quite so...what? Self-aggrandizing? Wow them with a show, and while they're still wowed, you can say, "And oh by the way, I, the Grand Poobah of Dimmenschnitzel, did that."

Barbara