Which of these corporate videos is the best?

[Robert Wheeler]

Here are three corporate videos produced by two different companies for the same annual event. I would be interested to hear which of these videos the UKBF members think is the best marketing asset, and why that is so. I would also like to hear any additional observations on the strengths and weaknesses of each video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pp-FC4tr5s (produced in 2006 for the 2007 event marketing campaign by Company A)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ztkNfiLVM (shot at the 2007 event by Company B)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlVz_W_TOXs (shot at the 2008 event by Company B)

Thanks,

Robert Wheeler

 

[Robert Wheeler]

For some reason Youtube had randomly changed the status of the first video to 'Private'. This has now been corrected and anybody can view the video.

 

[Jon236]

I think if you removed that daft frame on the 3rd one it has the best content, not only in the way it's presented, but also in the way it reinforces the benefits of the show.

The first one was shaky (and not in a gritty ER way) and had too many establishing shots, horrible music and I'd already switched off by the time people started talking. It didn't showcase the product very well either.

The second one was fine and had many of the same benefits as the 3rd one, although I found the framing a little off-putting again.

My problems with the framing may be because i work in Television and so we don't really have to deal with such a specific way of producing video as the corporate producers do.

 

[ROY JONES]

Hi
Definately the third one,more punchy,modern with great reviews and info.

 

[Robert Wheeler]

Thank you for your feedback, gentleman. I really value it greatly.

Jon236, can I bounce a little bit more off of your analysis?

From the viewpoint of someone that works in the television industry, do you think it is an expectation for corporate video to have certain 'production features' such as on screen graphics and background music?

I am version interested in your criticism of the music on the first video as it is limited to two intro and outro stabs and amounts to a total of about 15 seconds of audio. Can I read into this that you think that the techno type music that accompanies the other two videos adds value? If so, in what way does it actually add value?

I actually produced the first video, and the intro and outro stabs were introduced as a concession to the client, as I wanted no music at all. I have never understood what the point is of music beds from corporate video, as in theory most corporate products and services are being sold to business people, not behooded teenagers who would probably think most stock techno music is really lame anyway. I find it quite incredibly that even the BBC News has a continuous ominous music bed these days!

Roy Jones, you have really really interested me with your assessment of the third video. Would you mind if I asked, what is it about the video that says "punchy" to you? Where do the reviews in the first video fall down compared to what is presented in the third video?

I would also open this out a bit and ask if anyone has any opinion on how these videos have been delivered to Youtube. Is there any one video that looks better or worse in terms of encoding?

Thanks again for your feedback.

 

[ROY JONES]

Thank you for your feedback, gentleman. I really value it greatly.

Jon236, can I bounce a little bit more off of your analysis?

From the viewpoint of someone that works in the television industry, do you think it is an expectation for corporate video to have certain 'production features' such as on screen graphics and background music?

I am version interested in your criticism of the music on the first video as it is limited to two intro and outro stabs and amounts to a total of about 15 seconds of audio. Can I read into this that you think that the techno type music that accompanies the other two videos adds value? If so, in what way does it actually add value?

I actually produced the first video, and the intro and outro stabs were introduced as a concession to the client, as I wanted no music at all. I have never understood what the point is of music beds from corporate video, as in theory most corporate products and services are being sold to business people, not behooded teenagers who would probably think most stock techno music is really lame anyway. I find it quite incredibly that even the BBC News has a continuous ominous music bed these days!

Roy Jones, you have really really interested me with your assessment of the third video. Would you mind if I asked, what is it about the video that says "punchy" to you? Where do the reviews in the first video fall down compared to what is presented in the third video?

I would also open this out a bit and ask if anyone has any opinion on how these videos have been delivered to Youtube. Is there any one video that looks better or worse in terms of encoding?

Thanks again for your feedback.

To me personally,i liked the snappiness of it,clear information from businesses and visitors.I would like to see it maybe without it being in the 'box' but as it is i thinks its clear and concise for the products on display.

 

[Robert Wheeler]

To me personally,i liked the snappiness of it,clear information from businesses and visitors.I would like to see it maybe without it being in the 'box' but as it is i thinks its clear and concise for the products on display.

Thank you for the clarification Roy.

 

[Jon236]

Thank you for your feedback, gentleman. I really value it greatly.

Jon236, can I bounce a little bit more off of your analysis?

From the viewpoint of someone that works in the television industry, do you think it is an expectation for corporate video to have certain 'production features' such as on screen graphics and background music?

I am version interested in your criticism of the music on the first video as it is limited to two intro and outro stabs and amounts to a total of about 15 seconds of audio. Can I read into this that you think that the techno type music that accompanies the other two videos adds value? If so, in what way does it actually add value?

I actually produced the first video, and the intro and outro stabs were introduced as a concession to the client, as I wanted no music at all. I have never understood what the point is of music beds from corporate video, as in theory most corporate products and services are being sold to business people, not behooded teenagers who would probably think most stock techno music is really lame anyway. I find it quite incredibly that even the BBC News has a continuous ominous music bed these days!

Hi Robert,

I don't think its an industry wide pre-conception, as much as it is just my own pre-conception of what a corportate film looks like in comparison to a broadcast film.

I think the 'techno' music adds a reassuring repetitiveness to the film that ties the whole thing together and makes it feel like a whole entity as opposed to just a load of clips cut together.

I don't think it matters who your viewer is, it is all about viewing experience, and they would all expect the same subliminal viewing conventions when watching a video.

As far as on-screen graphics go, I personally hate gimics, and that weird letterboxing that was going on in the 3rd film detracted terribly from what was actually a decent film. The second video's graphics were too compartmentalised and made the video look like a DVD menu.

I think sometimes people can over complicate things in order to make them more appealing..or so they think. If in doubt, a nice 16:9FHA film that has been nicely cut together with some background music to bring it together and some opening and closing graphics is the way forward...in my opinion anyway.