ComboVid.com

Just wondering what you guys think is a good range for the length of a combo video, and what the ideal signal to noise ratio is(combo to filler ratio).

For me, I prefer the length to stay between 4 to 6 minutes. Any shorter and it's too short to have enough stuff to satisfy me, and any longer and it tends to get boring... I'm not talking about godly videos that would rule regardless of length, but for a normal good-effort-even-if-it-doesn't-turn-out-well combo video, I think 6 minutes is the breakoff point.

For SNR, I'm actually not sure. The answer I originally thought I would say is infinity, that is, no noise at all, but just seeing combo after combo would also get dull. Perhaps something like 4:1 is a fair ratio to shoot for. Obviously it has a lot to do with the music, but even so, I think there's a limit on how much filler you want to see.

How about you guys?

Since this involves a lot of subtle factors, it's kinda difficult to pin down a number. Most of my videos are a couple of storyboards followed by pure content. But i always give it a moment before i start the combo and then wait for the combo counter to disappear before i move on to the next clip. Under another editing style, the length of my videos could be cut by 10% or more. Yet showing the entire sequence without sharp cuts has its benefits too.

Overall i've always been a proponent of substance over style, but at the same time i always wanted to make my videos look just a little bit more flashy. Could never find the time to learn proper editing though.

In any case, 4:1 sounds fair as long as there's nothing wrong with the video. Quality trumps quantity. If a video is full of terrible unoriginal combos or distracting editing, the whole thing becomes noise.

I never thought of it numerically but i definitely agree that the length of the intro and credits sequences should be proportional to the size of the video. For example, two minutes of credits on a four minute video is garbage.

Also, acceptable SNR changes based on the kind of video it is and the kind of "noise" it has. If you're talking about explanations in a tutorial video, i think that usually counts as content. If you're talking about anime clips in any video, i think that should count double for noise. Also if you're talking about a trailer, you could get away with a 1:5 ratio since content isn't even expected.

I think it's almost impossible to quantify by numbers. There are 10 minute Combo Videos that feel like 2 minutes and 2 minute Combo Videos that feel like 10. Honestly, I think you should make the Combo Video as long as you can maintain making it intersting. Good content is good content. If it's good, people will be willing to sit through it, regardless of how long it is. For example, ZenFire's 10-minute Haohmaru video is an excellent 10 minutes well spent. When I watched it, it didn't feel like 10 minutes at all. And then there are some 10 minutes videos (I won't name names... ^_^) that feel like I want to end my misery after 2 minutes.

As for signal to noise ratio... I say the less noise the better. And if you have noise, try to make it significant or use it to smooth out / improve your editing. Make sure it serves a purpose (giving viewers "breaks", syncing stuff to music better, etc.). If you find yourself making filler for the sake of making filler, just make sure it's fun to watch. Once you start going crazy with fancy editing and it serves the video no real purpose, pretty much you are forcing people to watch you please yourself.

Bleah, my answers are all so vague. "It depends and... it depends. It's your judgement." Hahaha... That probably didn't help at all.

- James