How long should a video be?

You can read all over the internet that videos should NEVER be longer than two or three minutes.  When we get asked the same question, our response is “a video needs to be as long as it needs to be,” length should be the last thing on your mind. There’s no doubt that most videos are about three minutes long since that tends to be the limit of many people’s attention.

Consider for a moment your own video viewing experiences.  You’ll think nothing about sitting through a two hour movie but a two hour presentation streaming on the web is definitely another story.  On the other hand, if you found a great how-to video, maybe on fixing a clogged sink, you’d probably watch all of it to hopefully prevent you from calling a plumber.  Always let the content drive your program length.  If you have a lot of content that you think people will enjoy, consider making multiple smaller videos. There’s even a chance that Google will rank you higher because you have many videos vs. just one long video.

Of course you also need to consider your audience.  If you want video for a trade show, be sure it’s something solid that will hold people’s attention and hopefully drive them to talk to people in the booth after watching.  The shorter length will give more people an opportunity to see the entire clip vs. losing them to a long video.

And when you’re ready to research price, we always caution people to watch out for deals that advertise a low “cost per finished minute” or special rates for thirty or sixty second videos.  Broadcast television marketing still requires people to think in short time blocks but that’s not the case with the Web.  Over the years, we’ve created hour long programs at a fraction of some of our more complex thirty second videos, it’s all priced on what the client needs.  If you think about it, your website is your own 24/7, on-demand, broadcast network.  People can now view your content on their own time, when and where they want it.  In some cases, you might want to give people the ability to download your clip so they can share it with others, you can’t easily do that with TV.  Also keep in mind that recording and editing a one hour seminar can often be significantly less expensive than producing a complex, thirty second commercial.

QR Codes in videos

QR (Quick Response) codes are those funny square boxes you can find on all kinds of product.  Invented back in the early 1990’s, they were initially used for inventory tracking.  Companies are (more…)

Make your videos Timeless

Make your videos Timeless!
One of our goals is to create videos that get used for years and years.  The following tips will hopefully give you ideas to extend the shelf life of all your content. (more…)

Making Videos without Video.

We frequently get calls from people wanting to do videos on a limited budget.  The following example shows how creative use of still photography and Photoshopped graphics can make really decent video. (more…)

Surprising results from Facebook video tests.

For some time now, we’ve wanted to test the limits of uploading video to Facebook.  We’ve learned some really interesting things that we wanted to share with our followers.  (more…)

Tips for Production Assistants

Breaking into the world of production can be tricky but one of the best ways is to start as a PA (production assistant). Historically, the smaller the crew the more responsibility you’ll have but that’s not always the case. (more…)

Video at NPR

(L to R) Jay, Monica Brady-Myerov, Ron Steenbruggen, Matt Eddy

Many of you who follow our blog know we’re big supporters of Matt Eddy and officialmattsplace.org.  In June of 2011, Matt and Ron Steenbruggen were interviewed by Monica Brady-Myerov on the NPR program Here and Now.  We decided showed up (more…)

Google uses video to recruit

We frequently hear companies complain that it’s hard to find good people.  The fact is good people want to work for great companies.  So let’s assume you have a great company but it just doesn’t sound credible coming from you, the employer.  There’s probably no better place to hear the truth than from (more…)

How to add video to your Linkedin profile

Linkedin continues to be one of the strongest ways to build your business or personal connections.  New features are always being added and it’s important to check your profile frequently to see what the newest offerings are.  What many people don’t know is you can have videos play directly on your profiles.  There’re an array of ways to accomplish this but our favorite and easiest way is with YouTube and Google.
The steps are pretty straight forward.  You’ll need the following: (more…)

Guinness World Record Success

Back in 2010, we got a call about building a custom camera system for a world record attempt, crossing America in a wheelchair.  The requirements were pretty extreme but as we learned more about the person and the purpose, we couldn’t say no. (more…)