Looking for honest feedback on this...

I know, catchy title right


I'm looking for some honest feedback on a few different main catagories.

Video and Animation: 0 - 10
Music, Voice, and Sound: 0 - 10
Software (Windows/Web): 0 - 10

To download the video file (Windows Media Video), use the following link.

Video Download
http://update.elwoh.com/videos/Elwoh_FinalRender_All.wmv

File Size: 37.8 MB
Length: 10 Minutes


Make sure that you have your sound up loud enough to make the room rumble , hehe.  The experience is much better if you have a good sound system, especially with a sub.


I cannot give you a link to download the software, however you can view the software from this video (for it is a product demonstration video ).

For the video I used Adobe After Effects 7.0, and Cinema 4D; for the music I used FL Studio XXL Producers Edition (aka, Fruity Loops).

The software (Windows, and web) is written in a combination of C# and Visual Basic, purely .NET 2.0.

It took me about 2 weeks total to get the entire system complete (video and all).

For the graphics design of the video, and software I used ole' faithful... Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 .


Just let me know what your honest opionons are of the video, music, graphics, and software are.

Thanks,
Travis
thowle -at- elwoh -dot- com

As I already told you, I have no idea when do you get the time to develop all this along with going to high school each day.

I really like the applications you develop, and we should see more of this stuff on Channel 9 and less ./ provoking discussions.

From the start up until the talking it is VERY impressive... Like - "Did this cost 10k to make?" - impressive. But then comes in this melodrome voice that crackles on my speakers ... I mean killing the mood or what?

Plus admitting that is IS complex doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

I think looking at the real application is/was a mistake. You should have listed off the features ... advantages / disadvantages. I mean is this a sales pitch or tutorial? ... It doesn't do either well.

If it is a tutorial then clear off all the marketing BS... Show the application full screen and break it down into small tasks (e.g. "How to add a classroom" ... "How to add a student").

If it is a sales pitch then get rid of the application completely and go into PowerPoint mode.

I skipped passed the "Ports" bit as it is so illogical and confusing... I have absolutely NO idea what that was about. Is it about TCP ports? ... If so then why are you using ports 1 to 7? Those ARE reserved.

Thank you for the feedback Manip.  Basically, this video is a little of both, but then again neither.

It will be used as a demonstration video, to a point.  While still trying to show advantages to using this system.

 

By ports I mean the physical port located on the switch.

Travis H. wrote:

It will be used as a demonstration video, to a point.  While still trying to show advantages to using this system.

I wouldn't use it as a demonstration video... I'd use up until the talking as a demo but then use screenshots and splash features.

You always want to sell more than you have; this video kind of under-sells it... By the time it answers simple questions about feature X and feature Y people are already asleep.

Channel 9 might demo software like this; but they do it one feature at a time... They don't try and show off the most obscure features of a product in a video.

Plus, unlike C9, you need to convey a lot of information in a short period of time - There is no time limit on C9's viewers.

I'd do stuff like:

"Complete student management system" <Screenshot of a list of students>
"Room organisation and control system" <Screenshot of a room with its info visible>
"Attendance tracking" <A graph?>
"Can be accessed from any web enabled device" <Shows mobile phone, PDA, Tablet PC>
etc

Is it a demo or sales pitch? A sales pitch means to get someone interested, a demo means to keep them interested.

Really good video!

I'm not going to repeat what everyone else has already said.  Though, choose either promotional video or tutorial video, not both.

If you go the promotional video route, make the text less defined (go easy on text outline).  Right now, the text doesn't blend well with the fancy FX, etc.

If you go tutorial...you might want to close out of all other applications (such as MSN Messenger ).


It's nice to see some real apps here on C9!

Travis it looks great! but these guyes here are right, either a presentation video or a tutorial, my application was differnt because i neded to show why it's different then the built-in features in QB, i needed to show how easy it's is, so it needed to be a tutorial like presentation.... but maybe i was wrong even so.

Shrage

Way too much promo stuff, while beautiful it's a bit much all those logos...if you're going to do something like that show the different applications that you have developed + the other companies products as well.

Also you leave alot of dead time where there is talking with no movement of the mouse, I thought that the video had frozen.  I don't know who your pitching to but if it is the Department of Information Management for the school or district your going to completely lose them on the promo stuff, mind you people develop great software and don't do promo work, where people who build crap try to hype it up with flashy video. Just my opinion.

Plus Full screen it instead of keeping that reflection on the right hand side.

37 seconds to get to the title.

Several things that don't jive well: the 'and' takes way too long. Do you even need it? You could do your Elwoh thing followed immediately by the other logo. No need for the and there, it's pretty much implied that they are two separate organizations.

As said above, don't say 'complex'. Just say 'powerful' "The application is incredibly powerful, yet easy to use blah blah blah"

Looks pretty good, I'd say. I'll venture to guess and say a lot of it is done with Adobe AfterEffects, and after working with that program, I must say, job well done.

One thing I am DYING to know: What'd you use to achieve the VS2005 tab look in your app? I used to use SandDock before freeware support was ripped, so I tried to develop my own. That has kinda turned out meh.

Overall, good work, but there's room for improvement.

I think, as everyone says, the animation and the music is fantastic.  If you want constructive criticism...

1.  The application is a pretty sober one, so doesn't sit so happily with the computer-game style of the start of the demo.  That's not a criticism of the intro, because its fantastic, but if I was shown a demo of this in a sales pitch, I'd be immediately suspicious that the frailties of the application are being "hidden" behind the flashy graphics


On the content...

1.  If this is either a pitch or a first tutorial, show what the application does as an overview first.  Do not throw them in at the deep end.  For instance, from the moment the voiceover starts at about 1:09 to 4 minutes in, is entirely superfluous.  Showing the content of menus does not really help.  Then, because you haven't really shown what the application does, at 4 minutes in, the tutorial grates in places.  Example:  you show the creation of a High School, and then say "logically the next step is to create a device".  It is?  Why?

2.  It would help if you showed a real-world-to-system mapping.  Start by showing the real world scenario, show how this maps into the system.  Then, all the way through your tutorial, keep refering the watcher to this mapping.  This will help show how the system works, why it is needed and stop the audience thinking "why would I do this?" (especially in reference to the High School-devices-classrom scenario detailed above).

3.  Any chance of renaming the product to something else?  Is it more for managing school setups, as opposed to just classrooms?  And there are so many products these days competing for that CMS abbreviation!


Anyway, the product looks really good, and the demo is great, and I am more than a little jealous that you have the talent for doing stuff like that.

ricodued wrote:

One thing I am DYING to know: What'd you use to achieve the VS2005 tab look in your app? I used to use SandDock before freeware support was ripped, so I tried to develop my own. That has kinda turned out meh.

Overall, good work, but there's room for improvement.

.NET 2.0, VS 05 has the office style tabs and more. The way the tabs are colored and designed depends on what theme you're using, in this case he was using the MCE.

Well done Travis!
- Steve

Thank you all for your comments and feedback about the video and software.

I know that just by watching the video, you can't really get a totally straight forward and steady feel for the software, however all of your comments; especially Cider's latest comment are being very helpful to me at this time.

I've spoken with Manip earlier about some of his posts via MSN Messenger; I've compiled a basic list of ideas based on the ones given by Manip, Cider, and the others to throw at you all for the next revision of this video (It has to be 100% complete by March 9, 2006).

Main Ideas for New Revision:

1. Shorten the introduction peices (the two logos).
2. Start out (after the intro) with showing the potential problems schools may have that would encourage them to search for a solution such as this.
3. Display a logically correct network-design, and work-flow mapping of the system; showing how the teacher basically has ultimate control over the student machines.
4. Briefly describe the process of essentially "Shutting-Off" a classroom, and announce the advantages.
5. Finally, show the outcome of that policy being enforced (Students being disallowed access to the internet, etc).
6. Ending the video in the way of the current.

I will begin working on this soon, and re-post the video for your review.  However, I'm still looking for reviews from you all on the new layout of the video (above), as well as the animation and sound of the present video.

Thanks,
Travis

Cider wrote:

.NET 2.0, VS 05 has the office style tabs and more. The way the tabs are colored and designed depends on what theme you're using, in this case he was using the MCE.

Well done Travis!
- Steve

Steve is right in the sense that the new release of Visual Studio (2005) contains new control elements and themes to accurately display the interface using the colors of the currently selected theme (in windows), howerver to the main question asked above...

I'm using a mix of custom controls, as well as Infragistics common windows form controls to make the MDI children appear under a tabbed MDI interface.

Steve411 wrote:

.NET 2.0, VS 05 has the office style tabs and more.

Wha? I'm fairly sure it doesn't. There's the regular tab control and ... that's it. Where's this Office-style tab control?

ricodued wrote:

Steve411 wrote: .NET 2.0, VS 05 has the office style tabs and more.

Wha? I'm fairly sure it doesn't. There's the regular tab control and ... that's it. Where's this Office-style tab control?

I beleive that the tab control in Visual Studio .NET 2005 automatically assumes the theme of the currently activated one in Windows unless otherwise told to (e.g. UseThemes being False).

The Tab control provided with Visual Studio 8 is just a basic control, as in VS7, except the newer version has a few more advantages; one being the option to enable themes.


My reply above should answer your question about the MDI tabbed interface.  Let me know if you need help with anything else.

Thanks,
Travis

Thanks, Travis and Steve. Helped clear some confusion.

ricodued wrote:

Thanks, Travis and Steve. Helped clear some confusion.

I forgot to mention that apart from the VS05 theming, Elwoh developed a custom control library that utilizes more of the colors you specify on your system. Among other things.

See ya,
Steve

Didn't watch it all, but yeah, narration could be better I suppose.  The graphics are spectacular though.  It isn't too much splash, but don't make it longer.