KickstarterForum.org

Including a video on your Kickstarter page is highly recommended. It is a great way to catch possible backers’ interest and introduce them to your project. In fact, a post by Genius Games outlines some stats on Kickstarter videos – they show that only about 36% of campaigns without videos are successful (compared 44% of those that do). They also pointed out that the most successful campaigns have videos from 1 to 2 minutes and that videos over 6 minutes had the lowest success rate.

These kinds of guidelines can help tell you what is best for most crowdfunding projects, even though there are always exceptions. Here are some basic steps and things to remember when creating a great Kickstarter video to help make the process feel like a breeze:

Research

Research is a necessary first step for most elements of a crowdfunding project, and your video is no different. It helps to look at successful and unsuccessful projects in your category to see what they may be doing right or wrong. It might also inspire you by exposing you to styles you wouldn’t have thought to use otherwise.

Check out the full post on CrowdfundingPR!
http://www.crowdfundingpr.org/make-kickstarter-video/

Thank you for this helpful information!

I've noticed videos that tend to drag on for more then 3 minutes aren't as successful as the ones that get right to the point. Also, i've noticed the best videos capture your attention immediately, and leave you with a closing statement you won't forget.

Happy to help! I agree, it definitely has a lot to do with not letting the audience get bored, then you just lose them.

I think a lot of people though forget to be themselves in videos. They try so hard to be just the product, and forget that we're trying to support the team as well. Don't forget to use professional fun, if that makes sense. I don't want to be bored, I want to be entertained and informed... chances are I'm watching this at the office or on my phone on the bus.

Sorry this is such a long read but here are some tips i have to shooting a video. I reshot mine two times to get things to the quality level I was looking for.

Also, FYI, college students are a great source for cheap if not free help with making a video. Its a win, win situation.

If that is not available here are some suggestions from a first time videographer.

1. Create your pitch and make a storyboard. watch other peoples videos to see what works well.

2. Shoot our speaking parts and shot ideas using your smart phone. the quality will be rough but it will give you a chance to know what you want when the real production begins.

3. Get some royalty free music that fits what your pitching.

4. Put it all together with any additional imagery to see how it looks. see how the video flows. Is it fairly quick and to the point? Do you come off as sincere or arrogant? Making this rough cut will help you work out the kinks in your video before you make any real investments. How does the music feel when you watch the piece? If there is a change in tempo in the song, does it correlate to what is happening on screen? Kickstarter apparently ranks projects on the main page based on, among other things, complete video watches. This means that it is important that your video be to the point and not have any lulls that might have someone click away from the project.

5. Use a presenter mic, the type that clips on to your shirt. It helps filter out extraneous noise in the room rather than a mic that is built into or on top of the camera. it will make a huge difference in the quality of your film, background noise is really a quality killer. I also rented this part from the same outfit. Trying to dub over a video is really tough to get right and can be very time consuming and frustrating.

6. Having some interesting camera movements can be a big plus too. I went and built a camera truck out of a skateboard and some VCR parts. I know that's a bit wild but it wound up making the most interesting shots in my video. It was definitely a challenge to get working well tho.

7. Now that you know exactly what you want for a video, you can hire someone to shoot it, get a college student, buy a nice DSLR, or as in my experience RENT ONE (you get a nice camera for much less). I worked with a local outfit called aperturent.com and they will also ship the items you need. I rented a Canon 5D, and a 7D on a reshoot (someone used the name I had picked before I released my product). Both worked well, the 5D was much nicer but for most shooting needs a 7D or even a Rebel would work just fine.

A good quality lens is also important. My best shots on speaking parts came from a 17-55mm lens. I shot them close, but not uncomfortably close so that the background was blurred slightly. That brought the focus to me and helped me come across as the focal point of the scene. This is helpful when you are not shooting in a place that is all that attractive (like my apartment).
I think my video turned out really well. It might be a bit long tho. Which might explain why im finding it tough to get my KS to the top of the page. I might shoot for a 1 minute video next time. We will see.

How many videos are recommended? I've seen campaigns with just one but it seems that ones that have the fastest funding or the highest over funding have multiple videos.
Also, how important is it that the person running the campaign be in the video versus other people speaking about it?

For how many videos, I think the idea is to keep the audience engaged. Obviously have your starter video there ASAP, but as you need to release updates, put additional videos on. I've been doing that, and my campaign isn't even launched yet. Once it's launched, plan to post videos as often as you need.

This is the opinion of a crowdfunding rookie though, so take this with a grain of salt.

Thank you for the great tips

Awesome tips for creating a Kickstarter video!

@noenddesigns - Great tips thanks for sharing!