With sound and all. This is what I put together last night. I realize it's a tad bit dark, but that was the brightest place in the restaurant. Also, if the magic looks rushed, that was because we took over a hundred pics of me and Reggie performing, and had limited space left. I'm going to get some better footage in the next few weeks though.

Any thoughts? Good, bad??

http://vimeo.com/3036728

Thanks!
Steve

Movie Maker titles made it suck, it's also boring to watch.

I prefer fast pace trailers with music, and as you said the camera quality sucked as well as lighting.

The trailer just didn't buy me.


By the way I'm not saying anything bad about you, just the trailer.

I didn't think it was boring at all.

For a promo vid, I think the most important thing has to be giving people a chance to see your audience having fun--clearly the people you were performing for were having a good time.

The only problem--and it is a killer--is just what you suspect. The video is just way too dark. You may want to check to see if your editing software allows you to lighten it up a little bit.

I also didn't think the titling "sucked" either, although I'm not sure I'd bother throwing in the ad pitch of "Want to book Steven" though, rather just end it with your web address, or email address.

Also, you may want to consider only using one chop cup sequence rather than two.

Otherwise, good work and a nice first effort.

I thought the video was ok, but one of the things I didn't like was the silence when the titles were on. I'd have some background music playing all the way through, so you don't have any silence in it.


That's just my opinion.
Dan

Steve,

I thought it was pretty good, but as mentioned before, it was a bit dark and some sound during the titles would be nice as well.

Mario

Guys, got a new video with music added. Will post shortly.

Thanks for the comments!!
Steve

In Imovie standard on a mac you could change the contrast and lighting.

Sorry Mark...I'm on a pc. No mac here!

Here's the new vid, with music.

http://vimeo.com/3042657

Hmmmm.....

Well what I noticed first was that the folks you're performing for are really diggin' your mojo which is always fun. I can't tell you how many live performance demo's I've seen where the audience looks bored to tears.

I would lose that chart you have playing in the very beginning...it doesn't sit right with what the demo is about. It's too "excorsist" sounding to me. I agree that you need a soundtrack...but that one ain't it. I also believe that it should play dominantly at the start and then you can back out the track to a quiet whisper and then right at the end for a climax to the video you can increase the volume. You can't do any of that in Movie Maker.

However, you can with both Adobe' Premier or PowerDirector. You can also change the brightness in both programs which your demo needs.

I do like the length...it's not too long! Overall...I think it's pretty good...but your video editing skills don't match your magic skills...lol! (I'm guessing we're ALL in that boat!)

I would stay away from Windows Movie Maker for your editing.

Lyle...

Thanks for the extensive feedback, as well as the numerous suggestions I've gotten here and via pm/email from others. As of now, the video is on the site. Check it out: http://www.simmonsmagic.com

It might not be the best, but I've been told it's better than nothing for the time being. I am meeting with Eric Henning on Thursday to go over all my marketing materials, web site, etc. I'm really looking forward to it, as I always learn a lot just from talking with him.

Again though, thanks for everyone's input! It' always great to get this much advice!!

-Steve

P.S. I'm typing this from my new laptop. I wonder if I can write it off as a business expense, since it helps with printing contracts, keeping up with clients on the road, etc...

Steve,

It is possible. I am depreciating mine. I use it soley for business purposes. Check irs.gov or your accountant for more details.

Mario

Is it me or does the blonde drop the F bomb in your video?

She does. I was curious why no one else had noticed it.

Eddie

Strangely enough, this is not always true when it comes to promotional material, particularly a video. A bad promo video on your website can be the thing that becomes a kill switch for a potential client. If they see a cheesy, poorly produced, poorly edited video, it can honestly send them running the other way as opposed to not having a video at all on your website.

For quite a long time, I didn't have a video on my site and got a lot of work because of the quality of my website (which I'd like to think is pretty good considering a lot of the stuff I've seen). I waited until this January to put together a promo video because I wanted to have the money and resources to do it right. Thanks to folks here on the Café and my own marketing mentors, it's already helping me out.

Something is better than nothing is just an excuse to create a rushed finishing product. This is how people excuse themselves for having home-printed business cards and myspace pages posing as their professional website (please note that I'm not saying you have these, it's just past examples of what I've seen when that phrase has been used).

In all honesty, your video isn't doing you any favors. You're probably a very good performer and your video should reflect that. My suggestion is pull it until you can get a good one up there that shows exactly who you are.

P.S.- I also caught the F bomb in the video. You might want to mute it when she says it or bleep it out.