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For the past 10 years, pretty much every day, somebody asks me how to put together the perfect promo tape. From variety acts to singers, jugglers to emcees, comedians to serious thespians, producers to choreographers, and of course magicians, magicians, and more magicians, all are looking for the perfect way to present their idea effectively on the medium of video.
Truth is, there is no chiseled in stone answer, as every presentation is original. Every singer has his or her own interpretation and every magician works his or her own magic. There are many different facets to consider in the construction of the perfect video. One of the first topics to come to mind is the length.
IS BIG BEST? How long should my video be???
The Zen Master might answer, “How much video is necessary to convey your idea?” I would agree with the Zen Master.
It may not be necessary for the comedian to go through his entire repertoire in order for the agent to get an idea of his delivery and personality. One bad joke could kill ten good ones. Perhaps think in threes. Three really good jokes, three good routines, three good juggling tricks, three great songs, choreography from 3 different shows… This is not an industry standard, but merely a workable guideline, if you have trouble deciding.
Keep in mind that in life, there are many distractions. If an agent is watching your tape and gets called away in the middle of it, he may be left with an incomplete feeling. When will he/she get the chance to watch the rest of it? If the tape is fairly short, perhaps the time it takes to make a decision will be shorter as well.
Remember that the purpose of a promotional video IS marketing and marketing has a strong element of psychology. A tape that is too long might suggest insecurity. Uncertainty as to what may be your strongest point may be your weakest point. A short, concise tape suggest that you know where your strengths lie, and you can get right to the point. Remember that age old showbiz phrase, “Always leave them wanting more.” Perhaps the greatest compliment would be if they would call and say, “we’d like to see more, please.”
SOMETIMES BIG IS BEST!
There are times of course when you need to keep enough length for them to get the idea. If you are pitching a show concept, they may need to believe that you have enough show material to cover an hour to an hour and a half impacting production. A serious actor may need some character development before they blow you away with that big emotional scene. A comedian may need to show that they can hold the audience for more than five minutes.
Bottom line: let the concept dictate the length.
Keep the objective of your message in focus throughout the video. The narrower the subject, the more clearly your point is made. The broader the subject, the more varied the points are. Remember that one bad scene can destroy ten good ones. Put in just what you need; what you are confident with. If you are wary of a particular scene, it’s out. The way you feel as you hand over the tape is 90 percent of the sale.
Suggested lengths:
Variety Act 2 – 4 minutes
Comedian 3 – 6 minutes
Singer/Band 3 – 7 minutes
Actor 4 – 10 minutes
Show Concept 8 – 20 minutes
Questions of comments can be emailed to buzz@sundance-video.com.