Still shots. Each time a component is referenced or a box cover is referenced, show a hi-res still shot of the component. This will take quite a bit of editing, but it will be worth it.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Saturday, November 28, 2009 - 08:02 pm: Edit

I agree with Tos.

At one point SVC says about the damage chart that it is much faster but those who do not know will wonder "faster than what?"

I suggest an early mention of SFB so to create that context or cut that line from a future version (or just say the one die for ten point is fast instead of faster).

By Phil Shanton (Mxslade) on Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 04:23 am: Edit

In the "Why Retailers Should Buy" video, you should also mention the Breifings, the Deluxe Space Maps, and Megahex products as support products for the game system (I know alot of retailers have no idea what these products are).

The unboxing video was great, if you have that done for the entire set of FC products it should get the attention you are looking for(it's much cooler to set what's inside rather than just the contents blurb on the back or a website description)

By Will McCammon (Djdood) on Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 04:36 am: Edit

Agree with the above.

A quick intro from SVC would be good. Otherwise, he is some hands and a disembodied voice with a Texan accent doing the sale pitch ;) The pitch (in particular the retailers video) is a very personal-pitch. It seems off to not establish the person first, real quick-like.

Hi-Res still shots of products are infinitely better than camera video. Editing them in is no big deal (you just let the audio run and substitute the still for the video frames - most video software can do this easily.

A "card" at the end with the ADB logo and contact info (websites, etc.) would be highly recommended, as would a constant "promt" at the bottom with something like federationcommander.com, or other key website.

Even without, the videos as-shot are effective and far better than the previous state of not pursuing this marketing avenue. SVC does a good pitch.

The retailer video in-particular was well done. Nice pacing. Far less "verbal garbage" than a lot of folks would have ended up with ("umm", "like", "you see", "eh", etc.). I don't know if you rehearsed it first or not, but it came across as a confident unrehearsed, spontaneous informational pitch (the most effective kind).

I'd recommend shaking up the MySpace page with these and some other new content. Setting up a FaceBook page for ADB would also be a good idea, as MySpace is dying fast (social network sites seem to have a half-life of about 3 years).

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 10:35 am: Edit

Rehearsed? Probably at a convention or two.

By Michael Bennett (Mike) on Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 03:11 pm: Edit

One suggestion...

Is it possible to have a short vertical board at the back of the display table? That would do two things for you:
1. Allow you to position stiff things like the box cover, ship cards, boards, etc. at an angle so they are easier to see, and
2. Completely block any view of you behind the products except for your hands.

By Michael Bennett (Mike) on Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 03:13 pm: Edit

Duplicate post.

By Jason E. Schaff (Jschaff297061) on Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 04:37 pm: Edit

Along the same line as Michael's suggestion:

You might get a better view of the products and product contents with less "fiddling" if the camera were shooting at a downward angle from a higher elevation.
(EDIT - It looks like the current shot is at somewhere around a 20 degree down angle; I'm thinking more along the lines of a 45 degree down angle.)

Upon re-watching, I think "Why Retailers Should Buy..." is definitely better narrated and holds my attention much better than does the "contents of the box" video. This may be a dumb idea, but how about starting with the box contents spread out on the table, and packing items back into the box as you describe them. The idea would be to get a better initial "Wow! Look at all the stuff you get!" effect.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 11:00 am: Edit

Thanks for the comments. Really, they're encouraging and helpful.

Yeah, I noticed in mid-video that Mike got me the wrong boosters, but I figured the point would be made.

I did not rehease any of that. Total wing-it.

I made it a point NOT to show my face or mention my name. The video is not about ME it's about the products.

I really like the "website at end" thing and will mention this to Eric.

By Fred J. Kreller (Kreller1) on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 12:29 pm: Edit

I would suggest some more powerful lighting (or just *more* lights) so we can see the items in all their glory. And for just "winging it" I think you did very well!

By Lawrence Bergen (Lar) on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 06:00 pm: Edit

I watched the "WRSB" video again with the sound off and noticed that you did a fine job of keeping you hands out of the way of the camera.

I would agree that the lighting might be done a bit better and the angle of the camera raised a bit to look more down upon the products. I am not sure if it is the lighting or the camera resolution but these products have such vibrant imagery upon them that seems to get left behind in this video (I know it is a rought draft and you are looking for areas to improve). The colors of everything looked a bit washed.

If you look close you can see your face reflected in the first half of the video off of the shrinkwrap of the product in the foreground.

The lighter color/tone of the table does well enough against the dark colors of the products.

With the sound on:
Your voice comes across well in most areas.

You only stumbled toward the end of the Rom Border items. Your voice trailed off a bit and was slightly 'soft' in this area. Neither of these are a deal breaker since it was relatively unrehearsed and would be better if you practiced.

As far as not mentioning your name I would at least mention your name and the fact that you are the owner/creator (some title) that gives you credibility (not G.O.D.).

Your face...nah I would leave that off for the reasons you mentioned and for the fact that by starting with a face it would feel like "uh oh, another home brewed video". Rather start with the FC logo (or ADB logo) and fade to the game box on the table.

I would trim those Klingon claws before shooting the official one.

Agree on the web address for both videos.

All in all I can see where this type of video could be a great benefit to educating potential distribution clients. Nice job.

By Fred Jacobs (Fredjacobs) on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 07:28 pm: Edit

SVC:
I watched your "WSRB" video and thought it looked generally good. I have a few suggestions for the final version.

1) You should identify yourself in the video ("Hi, I'm Steve Cole, __________ of Amarillo Design Bureau and creator of Federation Commander, and I'm going to show you why stocking this game will help you increase your sales potential." or something to that effect) even if you will only be operating in a voiceover capacity. You do want to make it clear that this is an official company representative doing this and not simply some fan-developed video.

2) You had a good command of the camera's view of the table, but the items got partially lost sometimes while handling them above it. A quick video shot with the camera in its final shooting location to set up "marks" should help.

3) Instead of opening and closing the boxes, you should cut to shots of opened boxes. You had a little problem reclosing the miniature box, and this detracts somewhat from the professional image you want to project.

4) On a related note, doing a still shot clearly showing all of the elements of each of the sets that you showed may help emphasize the sales potential better; the piles of product look messy and lose some of the effect.

By Michael Bennett (Mike) on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 09:23 pm: Edit

A video featuring minis might be something to consider for later on.

It would be interesting to see closeups of the fine detail that your minis feature. It would also be interesting to see examples of how some hobbyists have painted their minis of the same type.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, December 01, 2009 - 11:15 am: Edit

I think mixing photos into the videos is a good idea, and Mike says he knows how to do that. Indeed, I think he's already done that with the Klingon Border one and we'll upload a new version of it today.

We will certainly do a video about minis. Probably more than one. Current plan is to do a new video every couple of weeks, and to make videos about new product releases a part of the marketing plan.

I continue to refuse to say "I'm Steve Cole" in the videos. They videos are not about me, I don't want to promote the "cult of personality", and way too many people think I have way too big an ego.

By Will McCammon (Djdood) on Tuesday, December 01, 2009 - 12:42 pm: Edit

It couldn't hurt to drop the game-publisher's name a few times though. There's no ego issue in that and it's information a customer should have.

"Amarillo Design Bureau" should come out in the same sentence as "Federation Commander" for customers, if the marketing to cross-product sales is working.

I look at SJ Games as an example.

They've done a great job of positioning their corporate name as a "brand" - I never describe Munchkin, or GURPS, or OGRE without usually saying " SJ Games' " first. I've noticed my "barely" gamer mainstream-ish friends know the name SJ Games and are more willing to "try out" a game with his logo than from other companies.

Interesting how they have steered my speech and my friends' perceptions, but that's effective marketing for you. fnord.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Tuesday, December 01, 2009 - 12:53 pm: Edit

I could not agree with Will more.

By Glenn Hoepfner (Ikabar) on Tuesday, December 01, 2009 - 02:57 pm: Edit

Some of the photos of the minis should come from the hundreds of photos that SFBers here have submitted for the numerous monthly contests. I don't know if there are any legalities to be concerned about, however . . .
1) It has always been my impression that any submissions to ADB become the property of same, and
2) I have no doubt any painters of these minis wouldn't mind having their work displayed as part of the ADB presentation.

By Will McCammon (Djdood) on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 01:04 am: Edit

Reaper just put their first pitch-video up. Very nicely produced.
http://www.youtube.com/ReaperMinisTV#p/a/u/0/h52M0lWitYc

(as-usual, discus is mangling the link, so it will have to be cut-and-pasted)

By Terence Sean Terry O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 01:35 am: Edit

SJ Games just posted an unboxing video of their game The Stars Are Right, very well done, it's the kind of thing I think ADB, Inc should be doing.

The Stars Are Right

And the unmangled reaper link is here.

By Shawn Hantke (Shantke) on Saturday, January 02, 2010 - 01:50 pm: Edit

I really like the newest video "About The Star Fleet Universe"

Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/starfleetgames#p/a/u/0/Z-EE1RoVytg

I think it turned out much better than the first two videos.

By Will McCammon (Djdood) on Saturday, January 02, 2010 - 02:30 pm: Edit

I agree. All three have been good and worth doing, but the extra polish on the newest shows.

By Shawn Hantke (Shantke) on Saturday, January 02, 2010 - 03:10 pm: Edit

Perhaps a Star Fleet Alert should mention the videos.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, January 03, 2010 - 12:32 am: Edit

Good idea! Somebody email me to do that.

By Lawrence Bergen (Lar) on Sunday, January 03, 2010 - 06:24 am: Edit

All three are valuable. They get better as your experience doing them grows. The latest has a greatly improved audio and the logo at the front is good. The video quality seems a touch grainy in comparison to the SJG videos linked above. All things considered these are good and you should continue to do them and watch others who are doing them for ideas on what to do and not do.

Side note: I laughed when the SJG video for their game "Nanuk" said their rules were very big. (They were 6 pages including the pictures).

By Shawn Hantke (Shantke) on Sunday, January 03, 2010 - 01:19 pm: Edit

email sent