Credits in a promo video
 

Currently my small production company is producing a promo video for an elementary school. They are trying to raise money to build a new school and want something to show to potential doners. We are kind of new to the buisness and was wondering if there are any issues with ending credits. The credits would be of the production company and some free lance people that also helped.

About 8 credits all together. The video ends right now with contact information for the school. I tried to then transition into credits however a black screen with rolling credits seemed extremely out of place. I also tried popping one credit up at a time although that didn't look good.

It seems to me that a promo video should be credit free. When the target audience finishes watching it, they should think about what they have just seen and pull out their check books. I realize exposure to other people is very helpful but I'm not sure if I like it in this case.

I guess the question I am really trying to ask is whether or not credits are added to the end of promo videos. If so how do I make them not look so out of place compared to the rest of the video.

We asked the client about credits. They were completely fine with it and sort of encouraged us adding them.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

-Patrick

Yes you can, a single page with the name of your company and/or the names of those who helped. Usually no longer than 5 seconds at the end after the contact info. My company puts this after everything we produce. Whether it's for tv broadcasts or for dvd productions. It's basically your call, just keep it short and sweet. Just a quick fade in and fade out at the end.

Mark Bournes
Shark Video Productions