Getting your intro professionally made?

[WaltInPA]

I've gone through a bit of an evolution since starting my channel. My original intro was made up of about 4 panning shots of my bike, then you'd hear it start, then it would fade into the actual content. In all it was about 15 seconds long. At the time it seemed pretty cool and I was happy with it. Then I started watching a few of my own videos and caught myself skipping my own intro.

The Intro I use now is 5 seconds long and I fade it for 1 second over my actual content (so it works out to being on the screen for about 4 seconds).

I also use "Community Intros" where I have other Motovloggers introduce my channel. Most of them are pretty short but in the grand scheme of things they are probably a little long for what I'm trying to do with them. I'm sure people are skipping ahead.

I almost clicked post and totally forgot to answer the question....

I made my own intro in both cases. My Outro, on the other hand, I did purchase on Fiverr. I'm still struggling with Fusion in Davinci Resolve and I wasn't happy with what I came up with on my own. Rather than use a free End Screen template I decided to have something made that was closer aligned with my channel.

Fiverr can be hit or miss - I've had a couple of good experiences and a couple of really bad experiences.

 

[Dewey316]

I also use "Community Intros" where I have other Motovloggers introduce my channel. Most of them are pretty short but in the grand scheme of things they are probably a little long for what I'm trying to do with them. I'm sure people are skipping ahead.

I really like your community intros! I also like the montage one you had on your latest video.

My intro is 9seconds total, and I usually start the content with 1sec overlap and crossfade with the logo. It may be a little on the long side. Generally my stats show that those 8-9 seconds aren't where I lose people. I lose people in the first 10-20 seconds which is usually well I am doing some talking or other intro to start of before I run my intro. I think people who are going to watch more that 20 seconds of a motovlog even if there is a intro will still watch, people who aren't going to watch a motovlog will click off in the first few seconds, intro or not.

 

[Drakhen99]

Walt, I've done the same - evolution! I started with a 15s intro, morphed to a 10s one, clipped that down to 6, and now if I have blank space for 4s or so, I just do the text overlay and done. I come up with different video transitions in DR to use to fade into the content.

I've seen a distinct Dip in YT-speak on my intro in a few of my shorter videos... less so in the longer ones.

-John

 

[scooterwuf]

I’ve used templates where you import stills or video footage and add your own text. I’m not sure if that’s the same as having a professionally made intro or not but it saved a lot of time on my part. I’m probably due for a new intro, but if shot it, it’ll probably be too long, so I’d have to find another template that I like.

- Wolf

 

[Dewey316]

I’ve used templates where you import stills or video footage and add your own text. I’m not sure if that’s the same as having a professionally made intro or not but it saved a lot of time on my part.

Yup. That is how mine started off, it was a photo-slide show template, and I went it and did a whole bunch of work on the speed of things, to go from a slide-show to the flip-book look mine has. Even though I spent a lot of time re-timing and customizing it, if I had started from scratch, I probably wouldn't have had the skills to make mine, and it would have taken even more hours than it did.

 

[Moto Mengy]

I made my own intro in both cases. My Outro, on the other hand, I did purchase on Fiverr. I'm still struggling with Fusion in Davinci Resolve and I wasn't happy with what I came up with on my own. Rather than use a free End Screen template I decided to have something made that was closer aligned with my channel.

Your new outro is pretty rad Walt. It made me spend a rainy evening last week trying to make my own fancy outro but so far I haven't been able to make anything I want others to see!

I won't pay for any intros or outros though. I know its worth the money but I'm running my channel on a budget of zilch just for the challenge of it, I want to do it all myself and learn along the way. Probably means I'll never make a better intro or outro than I have now but I do like trying to do it myself.

 

[YBGuy]

I'd be put off by any intro that long, was about 30seconds... if it was like that every vid, I'd either be skipping it or unsubbing.
You could try "Fiverr" a lot of folk use that service to get people to make logos and intros etc.
I'd def look at keeping it below 15seconds, and preferably around the 10 second mark.

Oh whoa..30 seconds? I'd say 5 seconds tops for an intro. Something fast, fun and interesting would be nice. Don't want to spend too much time on the intro though. My Passing Traffic Tuesday intro keeps getting shorter and shorter mostly just by me making the title credits not last as long. I have overlaid vlog audio and a little music in the beginning to try and keep engagement going.

 

[diega666]

Fade, My name, two or three words of what I'm going to talk about, fade, even a shorter not fancy title, fade, video. That's my formula. I'm too poor for bollywood intros or outros!

 

[scooterwuf]

There are a number of places where you can get free templates for intros and outros. Try sites like Premium Beats (in their blog section), Motion Array, videohive, and graphic in motion.

-Wolf

 

[B.Vation]

I’m not sure about intro’s, I tend to skip passed them as I find then annoying.

 

[YBGuy]

I’m not sure about intro’s, I tend to skip passed them as I find then annoying.

What if they are only 3-5 seconds long? : P

 

[ADVonZERO]

Using a website like Fivver, you can scroll through different types of intros by creators, pick one that suits your style, send in some random clips and they'll create an intro for you - all for around $15. Worth it IMO

 

[Baldbiker]

I might just check that out. Thanks!

 

[scooterwuf]

I’ve found a number of free templates and slide shows built specifically for Premiere Pro, After Effects and Final Cut. You can pay for some as well and many just require to drop in your logo, photos, or video clips, and rewrite text where needed. Some have music, but replacing a track isn’t hard either as long as it pairs on a rhythmic level.

Premium Beat (in their Blog section) and Motion Array are a good place to start.

- Wolf

 

[YBGuy]

Fade, My name, two or three words of what I'm going to talk about, fade, even a shorter not fancy title, fade, video. That's my formula. I'm too poor for bollywood intros or outros!

Haha, nice! Whatever works. My PTT titles are pretty chill too. Just texts that slides in and out.

 

[SighBored]

Keep your intros short, but if you want that professional touch it's still valid option to have one professionally done. Just need to find the right pro with the concept that is what you're looking for.

 

[YBGuy]

Keep your intros short, but if you want that professional touch it's still valid option to have one professionally done. Just need to find the right pro with the concept that is what you're looking for.

So true. You guys could take a stab at 99designs.com. I found some cool designers there. Not sure if they do video though.

 

[Riderguide]

I've experimented with a few including some quite cool intros but even I got bored with them pretty quickly so I knew any potential viewers would too. I've eventually ended up using the smallest 'transition' clip mostly. Two to five seconds dubbed with some guitar from my son's band. Quick and simple then on to the content. It needs some fine tuning but it does the job. I tend to have a slightly longer clip for the end of the content to accommodate any end screens but I'm looking also to minimise that. I don't want people clicking off too quickly during a long boring end-trailer for another one of my uploads. Doesn't help the stats.

Above all of this I regularly freshen up other things such as thumbnails to improve my CTR and sometimes adjust the look of my home page to keep it fresh. I think small adjustments across the channel are a good way to keep it all interesting including if any stuff you think should be performing better, checking out the tags/keywords and seeing if any changes can improve traffic. Or any end screen adjustments - like I did a Quad Lock review three or four months ago now, and then an update because QL released a new better version of their product, I almost forgot to change the end screen on the first version to introduce the second video/update, which if done, in theory should lead to a follow on view straight away. I love doing it, just a bit of a male autistic streak that has me fine tuning the channel.

 

[YBGuy]

Wow, that is a lot of good info RiderGuider. I also think small tweaks are a good way to go because then you at least have a baseline on whether CTR or time spent on a video improves. If someone does a full revamp to their YT page, it might be hard to tell what works and what does not.

 

[Theodor]

...I got bored with them pretty quickly ...

That is a good point. Maybe keep the tune, for unifying tone, but create a separate humorous visual, to swap out in every couple of videos, to keep the viewers looking forward to the intro? Still should be short though.
Who can come up with so many different short visual jokes though?