Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum The New Cunningham - a video

Rich,

You lead a charmed life here. You know the old trick of the occasional private seller/newly-minted member who starts a thread asking for advice on how to go about selling the cherished family herloom and is looking for feedback on how to price it? Usually the opening post comes with pictures and a statement about just how excellent the beloved old turkey is. Of course the last thing the guy is looking for is market exposure....just like you.

You've got plover eating out of your hand here....the same plover who slams a Yamaha guy in Chicago for a naivie salute to Yamaha on its birthday. I guess he must be finished with his tally of how his side is ahead. So what else is new? The term 'double standard' almost seems inadequate to what passes for selfless promotion around here. I guess there's good reason why plovers often live in marshes pecking here and there in the mud till they come up with something or other to eat.

My advice? Just keep feeding that stuff about Watts and Hamelin saying the Cunningham is clearly a very good piano for the money. Members here are too slow on the draw to note the point at which selling replaces sharing. Oh, and if by chance you overlooked it in the video, you should slip in a mention of the house piano you placed in Sung's studio over at Curtis. If you don't have q promo clip, you can use some footage of the junket to NAMM the two of you made. Of course he was only there to get feedback...just like you.

As for the video, I didn't watch it. Other vendors here pay for their ads and I very rarely click on theirs. Can't see a reason to click on something that pretends to be what it isn't.

Rich,

As a former producer of educational documentary video, I would offer the following suggestions, many of which have already been pointed out in various forms:

1.) Write a script if you haven't already - even if you don't plan to have any dialogue. Storyboard your ideas, even in a very basic way, so you can understand the flow and how you want to convey the message. Planning makes the finished product far better.

2.) As with the previous item, come up with a message. What do you want the viewer to think/feel/act on when they are done viewing the piece? As I watched this, I thought, "This is nice," but when it was over I didn't really have a "takeaway". I wasn't motivated to learn more about Cunningham, or have it suggested that I should want to try one, etc. You can also tell the viewer what you are going to do, or the idea you want to convey at the outset. "We think our pianos are the greatest, and we're going to show you why as we take you through the exacting process of how a Cunningham is made."

3.) Choose a very basic font for any text. Arial or a good font with a serif - it's far easier on the eyes and allows the viewer to concentrate more on the visuals than reading the text. Rather than have text "cards" (your text between stills) superimpose the text on the image of possible, taking up no more than 1/4 to 1/3 of the screen, and have it at the bottom. Use fades for the text transitions if you use text on a background by itself - slides and bounces distract the viewer and look amateurish.

4.) Transitions - stick with one style of transition and use it. Don't get the amateur's obsession to use every transition that's available. Fades or cross fades are good and don't "jar" the viewer like cuts and slides. The "KISS" approach is always a safe one here!

5.) Still images - get the very best quality still images you can - when poor quality images are imported into video, there are often losses due to the conversion that affect the quality. Start out with high definition, high quality, well composed and lit images, and they will carry through well in the final product.

6.) Assume nothing about your viewer. I didn't realize that it was Andrew Watts at the close, but when someone mentioned it, I had an "a-ha!" moment. There was nothing in the content that would have made me expect to see Andrew Watts in the video. Use a stripe or other visual cue to identify the person if you want the audience to know who it is.

7.) As with #6, credit or identify the music in the background if you can, ideally at the beginning. It can be a distraction for someone to sit through the video wondering what the piece is while the video is playing. It's also a good opportunity to point out that it is being played on a Cunningham - don't expect your viewers to make that assumption.

Close with some sort of a tag or bump, that is, tell the viewer what they should do next. "Visit our Web site at www.cunningham. com for more information", or "Call us at xxx.xxx.xxxx" to schedule a visit to experience a Cunningham". Encourage the viewer to act, and give them directions as to how they should do so.

I hope I didn't sound critical - it is my intent to be constructive. I think you have a wonderful product, but if it isn't presented properly it won't matter - the perception might be poor if the presentation is as well.

You are more than welcome to contact me off list if you have any questions. I am more than happy to help if you like.

Dan

It's a great pic of Andre Watts. He's very popular and recognized here in the Philly area.

Rich:

Is the music accompanying the film played on a new Cunningham ? I just want to be clear about it.

People who know nothing about pianos grasp the concept of a stencil piano instantly.

I think it's more like 90% of all piano shoppers, including more experienced ones, have never heard of stencil pianos or the idea behind them.

I think it's more like 90% of all piano shoppers, including more experienced ones, have never heard of stencil pianos or the idea behind them.

I was baffled by the picture of Watts at the end. I don't know who he is and he doesn't look friendly in that picture. Furthermore, even if I knew who he was, it wouldn't mean much to me that he slouched around at some point on a bench in front of one of your pianos.