868 promotional intro nearing completion -- ideas to improve it?

[efoote868]

ok, i've been slaving over this for a couple of days.
i've still got several parts to add, that also need to be finished, but nowhere near as important as the *exciting* attention getter

the video can be found here (~29 mb / 2 mins)
and also on google video here

tell me what you think, and any suggestions on making it cleaner/toning it up would be greatly appreciated

[Greg Needel]

I think if you could make a smaller file or upload it somewhere like google video or youtube so it would be easier to watch.

[efoote868]

well, the quality for some of the sections is bad enough, i'm uploading it to google video (however i hate their format, and this is taking forever). i'll have the link when its done

[Nuttyman54]

who is the intended audience?

[efoote868]

Originally Posted by Nuttyman54

who is the intended audience?

its actually to draw cooperate sponsors, though i'd imagine the team will use it long afterwards.

keep in mind this is only the attention getter, so theres alot more dull stuff...

[Dan Petrovic]

I like the idea of using footage from 2003-2006. Most teams use footage of the previous year as their promo videos.

[Lil' Lavery]

I'm assuming the actual informational part for the sponsors as to what FIRST is, your team goals, etc. is coming up later in the video, so all seems well in that respect.
The only comments I have is the switch in the music seemed kinda abrupt, if you could soften that or transition it differently I think it would add to the piece. Also, the ball dumping sequence was a bit long, if you could find a shorter dump or speed up that footage somehow it might be a bit more appealing.
Other than that, absolutely fantastic work. Best promo intro I've seen in a long time.

[efoote868]

thank you

i have tried it both ways, speeding the dumping scene, and this, and the general opinion was that a slower dumping scene was better (more realistic, some people complained it made them dizzy, etc).

i agree, the music transition is abrupt, i haven't figured out how to change that, but i'll be working on it.

[Nuttyman54]

I like it, though you may want to trim it down if it's going at the begining of a longer, explanatory clip (which is a good idea, I might add). I also agree that speeding up and/or trimming the dumping sequence is probably a good start, as well as some of the tetra-stacking sequences. The main trick that I've found to making music transitions work is to ensure that they happen on-beat.

[bear24rw]

That actually kept my attention for the whole video, most other promo videos i have seen didnt keep my interest

Good job i enjoyed it

[Tom Bottiglieri]

Thunderstruck is such a great song for a FIRST video. I was almost done making a video with it until I came across this song...

I would suggest keeping one song or the other for the entire video, or at least one song per "chapter." Maybe move the cuts around so more dramatic things happen when the music hits harder. (aka the bass drum in the beginning of thunderstruck.. you could have the robot cresting the ramp,raising off the ground, capping the goal)