Cottage Video Review please

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cottageguru
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Cottage Video Review please

Post by cottageguru »

My son has just completed a video addition to our listing. I'd appreciate any comments and/or feedback.

http://www.clrm.ca/cottages_haliburton_ ... video.html

Many thanks
Heather

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LaVilleauTady
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Post by LaVilleauTady »

Heather, I thought the video was professionally shot, scripted and voiced. The cottage looks great.
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

Heather: Nothing wrong with the excellent video except the time it takes to download here (I've got broadband). When I tried to navigate around the site whilst it was downloading, the video went back to the start. I'd be tempted to make the video an add-on for later viewing, once a punter's had the chance cherry-pick through the site and liked what they've seen.

Unfortunately, most casual punters don't have the patience to wait whilst you do an artful striptease - it's kit off ASAP or they're gone.

Jim

PS: Nice cottages and a good site. Very tempting.
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remote
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Post by remote »

Yet another place I'd like to stay at! :D
A turkey is not just for Christmas
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cottageguru
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Post by cottageguru »

That's an interesting observation on the fact that you can't multitask around the site while the video loads. I hadn't found that and we are on a satellite internet connection which is only marginally faster than dial up. We'll have to do a workaround on that one.

Motey, I would love to stay there too, but it's always booked!! All I ever get is my 4 hours on a Saturday for the changeover.
Heather

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A-two
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Post by A-two »

Heather,
Good job! It loaded instantly here, no download waiting time at all, but I am on a broadband cable connection, which is faster than ADSL.

From the nit picking department:

1. The www. address is buried under the Youtube logo. I would post-edit to add a black and white caption with the website address at end - nice and big in the middle of screen in very clear legible type, to attract Youtube referrals to your site.

2. The deer shot is enchanting, and of course it should be included - but the camera shake might give the impression that deer are such a rare occurrence, you had to run out and grab it while you could and no time to get the tripod out. Hope that makes sense. I wouldn't worry about it, but I would replace it when the opportunity arises, or you might even get away with a couple of static still shots of some deer there. (Deer do stand still quite a lot).

3. I appreciate that you're trying to get as much into the commentary as possible, and it's very well written. However, the English accent is going to slow down comprehension for foreigners, and it's a little too fast for my taste. My OH, who is native Brooklyn, often can't understand English accents on TV - he just about gets the sense, but misses any details, and your details are quite important as they add extra info to the visuals, not just describe them. I can try it out on him over the weekend if you would like extra feedback? Even though I'm a native English speaker, I had to really concentrate in places. This may have something to do with the volume levels, which are a bit low. I had it cranked up to max on both Youtube and my PC and it was only just loud enough on my laptop, which has no external speakers hooked up, but is usually adequate at 50% on the volume control.

These are all small points, but overall, I think it's an attractive and professional looking presentation, that is going to be effective and draw a positive response. So I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars. Well done, I am envious and motivated!
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cottageguru
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Post by cottageguru »

Many thanks A2 for that comprehensive feedback. I think Mike is probably reading this and he'll take that on board. We did have some concerns over the English accent and how understandable that would be to our north American target market, so we could trial another one with a Canadian voice. Mike's wife has done voice overs on commercials before so we'll try one with her doing the talking.

The deer footage was taken out of the car window on the way back from the cottage, hence the shake. There's tons of deer around there, so we could probably set up the tripod and wait for another to come along.

Does anyone else have video on their listings?
Heather

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Martha
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Post by Martha »

I think it's a really good idea, and it gives you a good feel for the place. No download issue for me.

I agree with A2 (Joanna? :))about a Canadian voice being, perhaps, better - I did find the words a bit unclear in some places as well (I'm from the UK). I wonder if, from a marketing perspective, it might be better too? It's a very Canadian holiday, perhaps it should have a Canadian voice...

One more small thing - in the master bedroom segment, the voice says "ensuite bathroom" as the camera pans onto hte living room, which I found briefly confusing.

Well done though! We've talked about doing this at the chalet, and I also feel motivated on seeing this! It really works well.
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skimottaret
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Post by skimottaret »

nice but perhaps try hosting video at another site which loads quicker than youtube.

i found vimeo.com to be very good, quick and easy to use to embed into your own website. you can always keep the youtube one up as well
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cottageguru
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Post by cottageguru »

i found vimeo.com to be very good, quick and easy to use to embed into your own website
Thanks - I'll try that one.
Heather

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MartinP
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Post by MartinP »

When I clicked on the link I saw the text but no video. There was no sign that anything was missing. Then I realised that, like many people who get fed up with Flash adverts, I had disabled all "plug-ins". I suggest you add a note below the video saying "If you do not see a video window above this message, please ensure that you have enabled the 'Flash' plugin in your browser. You may need to download and install it from here." (The loading time was fine for me - about a second).

I agree that the talking is too fast and clipped. I'm from North Yorkshire and a few words went by me.
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Ju
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Post by Ju »

No problems with the load time, or the comprehension, but I think I would prefer a Canadian voice to give it more of a canadian feel.

Looks like a great place, and it is the best done video I've seen for a rental.

Ju
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Windy
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Post by Windy »

I thought the video looked great and liked the deer shot - wouldn't have noticed anything jerky about it if it hadn't been pointed out.

I did wonder where it was for 10 seconds or so though and clicked on various links to hunt it down before realising that I should wait for something to appear courtesy of YouTube.

I did find the voice over a bit hard to understand and I speak with a clipped jerky over fast English accent myself :wink: so I feel able to comment without fear of being called picky.

Out of interest where did you get the music from - we have quite a neat video done by a fellow lodge owner that he lets me use, but I had to remove The Jam "Town called malice" soundtrack as I was worried about copyright and ended up putting on a fairly shabby electro tune I did myself using some sequencing software. It's a great pity as the line about " a 100 lonely housewives clutching milk bottles to their breasts" was tied perfectly over a shot of some local cows. Ah well.

What's the consensus on "borrowing" a few minutes music in cases like this?
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MartinP
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Post by MartinP »

Windermere Lodge wrote:What's the consensus on "borrowing" a few minutes music in cases like this?
I wouldn't risk it. The music companies use quite aggressive money grabbing tactics if they find out (and you can be sure that they have plenty of people looking out for infringements.)
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cottageguru
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Post by cottageguru »

On the music, I'll have to check with Mike but I think he paid $25 for about a 45 second piece.He looped it so it runs twice. I'll find out where he got it and post it on here.

No, it's not worth the risk of infringing copyright so unless you know a musician who will compose you something unique (that would be good) it's best to pay the price - which is pretty small really.
Heather

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