Creating A Short Photography Website Video
eLocal, an Internet local search marketing company has developed a series of short 15-20 second website videos for a wide range of occupations. The company has cleverly made each video sufficiently general that it can be placed on any website dedicated to the profession for which the video was made. In this way, the videos can be sold at a wholesale cost, and thus are available in a price range affordable for many small businesses.
Among eLocal's many website videos, two are specifically made for photography websites. It is worthwhile examining them to see what works and what is effective in a short video for this profession. The two videos can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/elocalvideoexamples#p/u/8/SYkuCFjdHpY (73350000_03 Photography) http://www.youtube.com/elocalvideoexamples#p/u/9/K9aTpKehtLg (73350000_01 Photography)
Both videos use a format which is standard for photography website videos they present a series of photographs of the artist set to background music. The effect of such videos depends on the quality of the photographs, how they are arranged, the quality of the music and the interplay between the music and the photographs. The appeal of photography website videos is liable to be personal with some people liking a video that others hate, and visa versa. Therefore, I can only present my own opinion.
The two videos have contrasting approaches in their presentation. Video 03 presents well spaced photos. Each photo is displayed by itself and remains on the screen for several seconds. There is variation in the way the photographs appear, with each of the photos using different special effects, i.e. one comes in via a spiraling motion, one comes in with a fold in fold out motion, one comes in from the side, leaving a comet trail of duplicates behind, etc. The photos follow one after the other, and while captions appear on the screen, the captions appear at the bottom and do not break up the presentation of the photos.
The other video presents photos in a random and more chaotic way. At times more than one photo appears together. The interval between photograph appearances is random, with some photos merely flashing on the screen and others staying on a bit longer. At times when more than one photo is showing, they appear and disappear at separate rates. On multiple occasions, there is only a dark screen with a white caption.
The caption style and the musical selections also vary a lot between the two videosIn the first video, the captions are family oriented, and heartwarming. "Capture your style, your family, your moment." The caption in the second video is more imagistic "See yourself through our eyes."
The musical background in the first video is a guitar vocal. The vocalist says "the spirit of music got you out of control," "something's got you and your losing control, wooh! wooh!" Whereas, the vocal in the second video is not made of words but rather vocalizations, "eooh, eooh…etc."
In the first video we only hear a segment of the song, however, because the song is broken up into segments, with a chorus between each segment, we hear distinct parts of the song, which are complete in and of themselves. In the second video, we have the impression that we are listening to a segment of the song with the beginning and end cut off.
Personally, as an independent observer, I am much more attracted to the first video, which presents distinct appealing visual and musical elements, than I am to the more chaotic second video. The photographs are mostly photos of families. The first photo is of a man, but he appears to be a family man or at least a man solidly engaged in a business or profession. We can identify with these photos, and with the lifestyles. Just for starters, these are the kinds of people that like to document their lives in photographs.
The second video presents photos in a helter-skelter chaotic way. It is hard to tell what's going on, and it is hard to relate to the photos. They come and go so quickly that there is no time to create an appealing web presence. The music is chaotic. Whereas the first video the song about losing control reminds us of the happy times when family like takes off in moments of joy and we totally lose ourselves in the moment. These are the very times, family members are likely to want to immortalize in photographs.
My take home message from reviewing these two mini photography website videos , is that the goal of a website video is not so much to stun the viewer as to attract him with a well created display that allows him to appreciate what is being offered in the context of appealing music that enhances the mood engendered by the photos.
