[KinkForAll] Promo videos: help me make experimental "trailers" more awesome?

[maymay]

There was talk of making "promotional videos" or "trailers" to help publicize what KinkForAll is all about some time ago.[0][1]

Since KinkForAll unconferences are often the epitome of talking-head content, it will probably take some work to make promotional trailers representative of the events as well as exciting. Thankfully, we're a very talented group of people. :)

I've taken a first stab at compiling a 1 minute long experimental promotional video using some KinkForAll content I had on my hard drive, and I set it to a shortened version of Garbage's "Androgyny" since I like that song and I thought it was more or less relevant. I believe what I've done legally qualifies as "fair use." (If not, let me know how to correct it and provide a reference so I can learn more.)

Take a look at my first draft attempt here:

http://vimeo.com/11015948

I'm not totally sure this is "right" or even "good," and as I've never done any creative video work before (except for previous KinkForAll video recordings), I'm pretty sure I'm not the best person for this. However, I've been excited by the prospect of having these kinds of short promotional videos ever since the people on this list suggested they might be a good idea, so at least now we have something of a blueprint to work from.

Note that I've stayed true to the ideal of not assuming any particular audience, which I feel is very important for KinkForAll to continue to do.[2][3] I'd be really thrilled to work with someone on this project, or to hand it off to someone else. Anyone think this is cool/fun/worth their time? Anyone have feedback for me about the video I made?

Cheers,
-maymay
Blog: http://maybemaimed.com
Talk show: http://KinkOnTap.com
Community: http://KinkForAll.org
Volunteering: http://ConversioVirium.org/author/maymay

EXTERNAL REFERENCES:

[0] http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall/browse_thread/thread/5bcef94131110773/3da4ac2562ef85c4
[1] http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall/web/global-community-projects
[2] http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall/browse_thread/thread/2ae6551aadde16ce
[3] http://wiki.kinkforall.org/HowToGiveGreatKinkForAllPresentations

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[Sarah Dopp]

Wow! Go you!!

The only constructive revision input I have is that the first few screens that show people talking are a little disorienting, because you feel like you should be able to hear them.  Might be stronger to start with still photos (which make sense when paired with music), and add the screens of people talking a little later on, once the viewer has picked up on the fact that this isn't about what they're saying -- it's about the fact that they're talking.

That said, I'm sure someone with more experience than us (psst! hey ani niow...) could create something royally amazing with the concept.

~Sarah

[maymay]

On Apr 18, 2010, at 12:59 AM, Sarah Dopp wrote:

> Wow! Go you!!

Thanks. :)

> The only constructive revision input I have is that the first few screens that show people talking are a little disorienting, because you feel like you should be able to hear them. Might be stronger to start with still photos (which make sense when paired with music), and add the screens of people talking a little later on, once the viewer has picked up on the fact that this isn't about what they're saying -- it's about the fact that they're talking.

That makes a certain amount of sense to me. Maybe if I have time tomorrow (yeah, right) I'll play around with that.

Other feedback I got privately and also from Twitter includes:[0]

* Use higher-res photos. There are apparently photos on Flickr that weren't uploaded by me and are not yet part of the KinkForAll group but that are tagged appropriately I can use.[1]
* "Weird" is misspelled, but it's misspelled in the UrbanDictionary.com citation also.
* The quotation marks around the UrbanDictionary.com citation are of different sizes. Oops.
* Mix more videos in with the stills, because they contrast pretty heavily and too many stills in succession doesn't look "dynamic" enough. (I think I only half-understand this.)

So, as I thought there would be, there are definitely ways to make this better. A form of Kaizen.[2]

> That said, I'm sure someone with more experience than us (psst! hey ani niow...) could create something royally amazing with the concept.
>
> ~Sarah

That's my hope, too. :)

In the meantime, please keep the feedback coming! Thanks, everyone!

Cheers,
-(a very sleepy) maymay

Blog: http://maybemaimed.com
Talk show: http://KinkOnTap.com
Community: http://KinkForAll.org
Volunteering: http://ConversioVirium.org/author/maymay

EXTERNAL REFERENCES:

[0] http://twitter.com/zalsoa/status/12386580193
[1] http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/kinkforall
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen

[Bitsy]

Yes, I fond myself expecting to here clips of people talking, like a movie trailer, and found the lack a bit disorienting, untill I figured out there wasn't going to be talking.

Also, how did you choose the pictures?  I know KFA is very young and white, but there was one good pciture of a non-white person, and one good picture of an older person (visibly over mid-30s).  I don't think is a good idea to over represent diversity things, as that feels really fake, but it be good to think about.

Bitsy

---

From: Sarah Dopp <dopp...@gmail.com>
To: kinkf...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sun, April 18, 2010 3:59:39 AM
Subject: Re: [KinkForAll] Promo videos: help me make experimental "trailers" more awesome?

Wow! Go you!!

The only constructive revision input I have is that the first few screens that show people talking are a little disorienting, because you feel like you should be able to hear them.  Might be stronger to start with still photos (which make sense when paired with music), and add the screens of people talking a little later on, once the viewer has picked up on the fact that this isn't about what they're saying -- it's about the fact that they're talking.

That said, I'm sure someone with more experience than us (psst! hey ani niow...) could create something royally amazing with the concept.

~Sarah

On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 12:15 AM, maymay <bitethea...@gmail.com> wrote:

There was talk of making "promotional videos" or "trailers" to help publicize what KinkForAll is all about some time ago.[0][1]

Since KinkForAll unconferences are often the epitome of talking-head content, it will probably take some work to make promotional trailers representative of the events as well as exciting. Thankfully, we're a very talented group of people. :)

I've taken a first stab at compiling a 1 minute long experimental promotional video using some KinkForAll content I had on my hard drive, and I set it to a shortened version of Garbage's "Androgyny" since I like that song and I thought it was more or less relevant. I believe what I've done legally qualifies as "fair use." (If not, let me know how to correct it and provide a reference so I can learn more.)

Take a look at my first draft attempt here:

   http://vimeo.com/11015948

I'm not totally sure this is "right" or even "good," and as I've never done any creative video work before (except for previous KinkForAll video recordings), I'm pretty sure I'm not the best person for this. However, I've been excited by the prospect of having these kinds of short promotional videos ever since the people on this list suggested they might be a good idea, so at least now we have something of a blueprint to work from.

Note that I've stayed true to the ideal of not assuming any particular audience, which I feel is very important for KinkForAll to continue to do.[2][3] I'd be really thrilled to work with someone on this project, or to hand it off to someone else. Anyone think this is cool/fun/worth their time? Anyone have feedback for me about the video I made?

Cheers,
-maymay

Blog: http://maybemaimed.com
Talk show: http://KinkOnTap.com
Community: http://KinkForAll.org
Volunteering: http://ConversioVirium.org/author/maymay

EXTERNAL REFERENCES:

[0] http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall/browse_thread/thread/5bcef94131110773/3da4ac2562ef85c4
[1] http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall/web/global-community-projects
[2] http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall/browse_thread/thread/2ae6551aadde16ce
[3] http://wiki.kinkforall.org/HowToGiveGreatKinkForAllPresentations

[maymay]

On Apr 18, 2010, at 7:12 AM, Bitsy wrote:

> Also, how did you choose the pictures?

Like this:

On Apr 18, 2010, at 12:15 AM, maymay wrote:

> I've taken a first stab at compiling a 1 minute long experimental promotional video using some KinkForAll content I had on my hard drive

That is, I didn't carefully select pictures, I simply threw some pics into the video project that "I had on my hard drive," because this was a first draft attempt, a "blueprint"[0] so that someone else (or myself, in the future) could more or less understand the idea of what a promotional video might be like.

> I know KFA is very young and white, but there was one good pciture of a non-white person, and one good picture of an older person (visibly over mid-30s). I don't think is a good idea to over represent diversity things, as that feels really fake, but it be good to think about.
>
> Bitsy

Definitely. And there doesn't just have to be 1 promo either. :) We can make many, if we want to.

Cheers,
-maymay
Blog: http://maybemaimed.com
Talk show: http://KinkOnTap.com
Community: http://KinkForAll.org
Volunteering: http://ConversioVirium.org/author/maymay

EXTERNAL REFERENCES:

[0] http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall/browse_thread/thread/fbb9d642153c4da0#msg_7ccbdd625fb19d43

[maymay]

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd incorporate your suggestions for improving the
KinkForAll promotional trailer last night. Here is the result:

http://vimeo.com/11159836

As you'll notice, I moved still images to the beginning and videos
nearer to the middle and end. I also reworked some of the Ken Burns
crops and transitions to make more sense with this new arrangement.
Finally, I also added captions to show the various topics and locales
that were featured.

I feel this second version is far better, thanks in large part to
everyone who offered such constructive feedback. So, since we don't
say it often enough, another THANK YOU!

I'm happy enough with this version to call it "done," but would still
love to hear more feedback, if you have any.

In particular, please note:

* I couldn't find all the images I used in hi-res versions.
* I couldn't find appropriate images of over-30's individuals or of
dark-skinned people. (Did I just miss this? If so, please point me at
a URI. Thanks!)
* I carefully selected these pictures out of the pool of photos
available at the KinkForAll Flickr group.[0] If there are more (and
perhaps better) photos somewhere else, please let me know and/or add
them to the KinkForAll Flickr group so they are made available to
everyone who would like to use them.

Thanks again for all your input and I'm looking forward to hearing
what you think of this (final?) version!

Cheers,
-maymay
Blog: http://maybemaimed.com
Talk show: http://KinkOnTap.com
Community: http://KinkForAll.org
Volunteering: http://ConversioVirium.org/author/maymay

EXTERNAL REFERENCES:

[0] http://www.flickr.com/groups/kinkforall/