I would love to hear your feedback about my web site. It has been a long time coming. I know some of you have already seen it but I'm looking for some final feedback. Please let me know if your having any problems. Please note that I'm aware of the buttons sticking in some sections. I'm planning on doing a lot of updating soon. Thank you for your time as always.

Michael
www.mdfilms.net

Other than all that Flash garbage, it's cool. Flash may look neat to those with broadband and the current plugin. But is extremely annoying to those who don't have it, and lots don't. I naviagted to your page with my dial up account. It took almost 30 seconds to load, then I had to wait for all the garbage to play cause the "skip" button was so far down at the bottom that I could not click on it. Even with my broadband it's not that great of an experience and the "skip" button is still too far down to click on.

If you ditched the Flash, the site would totally rock. You should also have a Windows Media Player format in addition to Quicktime. Not everyone uses Quicktime. I persoanlly can't stand it

Just my .02

Dear Adam,

Wow, what a way to start "other that all that flash garbage, its cool", I'm really glad you liked it. We dont live in the 56K world anymore. I dont have time to waste designing around that. Sorry about that all garbage and the click button being so far away. I have no problem with someone who didn't like something but your comments dont make any sense, things like "If you ditched the flash, the site would totally rock". Almost everyone uses quicktime, sorry you still like grainy WMP. Your the first person to have speed problems, maybe you check your connection speeds, sounds like your having a problem. Sorry for wasting your time.

Just my .02

PS what is your web site address again?

Mike don't take it personal, you asked for feedback.

Nice design but I think the flash plays too long. You should consider putting a bypass-flash button under the "Enter Website" button because realistically, if you've seen it once that's enough, Fewer clicks to enter a website is better IMO.

Edit: I dug in a little further and I really like the different colors you used for the individual tabs. Excellent design.
I really like the way you did the photos in the about tab but it's not clear that you can click on the gray bars under photos.
You've got quite a bit of programming behind the scenes and it shows. Very nice work.

The flash introduction looks cheap and amateur, especially the font you used. And I had to maximize my IE window to see the entire website, as you hid the scroll bar. Besides that, it looks pretty nice.

But don't ask for feedback unless you can handle negative reactions. The same thing happened when you posted your video "she". Some people liked it, while others had reservations, and you got very upset and said that no one understood what you were trying to do, and that everyone was wrong, etc, etc, like a teenage boy.

If you're looking for critiques, then you should be open to change, and open to the idea that you might have done something wrong. Otherwise, it's pointless.

Micheal
I'm with you, I have no sympathy for anyone still on lowspeed internet (sorry lowspeed guys, highspeed is only like $5 more these days).

Anyway, I like the website layout. Nice work!

However, I do agree with the others that the flash goes on for too long. I'd like about 3 seconds of it before getting to the of the site. Also, I didn't even see the "skip" button. Make it more noticable.


PS, I don't think Adam meant that your flash work was garbage, just that flash in general is.

Micheal, I went back over your site after reading some other peoples feedback. I had no idea that you could click the grey bars in the about section to change pictures. You might want to make it a little more user friendly in terms of letting people know "Hey, you can click here to do this!"
I also watched your demo reel. Nice footage.

going off of what others have already said, i think sites like DVI rock cause they tell it like it is. the good, bad and ugly (or is it the other way around?). honesty can be a bitch but if you use what they have said to you and build and rebuild your creative work (in whichever medium, movies, music, flash, etc.) it'll only get better. great classic art is achieved through prolonged revisions. there are no 'geniuses' that achieve it through the first draft.

intros, either html or flash doesn't work cause it'll look cool the first time but gets annoying after that. it's like this site:

http://2advanced.com

their biggest design flaw is having users click on an enter button and then flashing them. first all web surfers are ultra lazy. it's best to have all your info upfront instead of after a intro page or movie where the user has to interact with the content to get into what info they want. for example if i want 2advanced to quote me i have click on enter and wait for splash then click on sales tab. or if i want to contact them. same process. same with your site. they have to jump through hoops to get info. a site should give people the info they want as quickly as possible without hassle.

as for flash itself... i really luv flash, i think it is truly the future of the web... but that's also its problem... the FUTURE not the present. i think as human beings we want want some sort of animated interactivity... flash is one of those tools that will bring us to that level. but the fact right now is most people don't have broadband in the world... and those who live miles and miles away from any major cities will almost NEVER achieve it save through satellite. heck some don't even have telephones to dial up to the internet!

the final quibble as to do with when you click on right hand resource/link, ratecard and disclaimer policy the entire flash darkens. then when you click on music video/shorts it is STILL dark. so if you can make it so when you click on music video the resource/link disappears and the screen is bright again that'll rock.

now onto the positive. i like the design because... there IS a design =). i like the date/time and the blurred background graphic. it's definitely very unique.

No DVinfo.net in Resources & Links? We're crushed!

Dylan. . .I'm curious about your comment regarding the price of high speed internet. There're ISPs that offer 56k for ten buck a month, or around there (and I don't care about ads and whatnot; cheap is cheap). I KNOW I've never seen DSL or Cable offered for $15, or anything less than $26 or so (and that's only the first year, then it balloons). If you know who's offering broadband cheaply, please let me know. This isn't meant to be sarcastic or anything--I'm genuinely curious about your comment.

as of now verizon DSL is $29.99/month. 1.5m down and 178k up. i think comcast cable is $50 but 3m down and 384 up. i know of no other services cheaper at the same baud rate.

Michael, I was not trashing your site. Once you get past the flash, the site very good. I just think you need to get rid of the Flash intro.
You may not like Windows Media Player, but the fact is, you want people to view your content. That's what it's there for. The more tools you give to your users to view the content, the more friendly the site becomes to the user and welcomes them to return. Nobody wants to visit a site where they have to sit through a 30 second intro to visit the site and then have to constantly keep upgrading their drivers if they want to continue to visit.
Like someone else mentioned. Web users are lazy. Make it as easy as possible for them to enter the site and to navigate.

My site is www.armamentinnovations.com

My products are not up yet, but as you can see the layout is super simple and super easy, and looks good too. It's all right there in your face on the first page. Nothing beeping....blinking...flashing....zooming....twirling...bouncing....spinning....

Now if you are a professional designer or aspiring to have some professionalism in your graphic design, then you should definitely take the time to design for low-K speeds. Even if a lot of people out there have broadband, a lot of people out there still have 56k. As a designer you should be reaching out as far as possible to your audience, especially to the many people out there still on low-bandwidth. I know its a friggin biyatch to accomodate your design into the many browsers, and versions, and speed limitations but it's all worth it. You just might be able to acquire a wider fan base than before.

As for the design elements in your site. I really think its needs some work. Don't get me wrong, I can definitely appreciate the fact that you have put a lot of time into creating this thing but it needs some improving.

Keep your flash intros short, sweet, and simple. All those moving lines & graphics accentuate NOTHING about you or your work. It's just noise like the many, many, many other flash driven sites out there. To me it looks like you're showing me what you can do with flash rather than what you can show me about you-- which is your primary goal right?

Also, I encourage you to intregrate flash elements into HTML rather than keeping it strictly Flash. But if you really want to keep the flash, you should economize your swf's. If you haven't learned actionscripting then you should definitely get into that. It may lighten up the weight and make your elements run smoother.

As far as the layout goes I really can't say I am agreeing with it. The scale of the text and the graphic elements really strike me as odd. Sorry to be so vague but it just seems like there is no order or sense of structure to the look of the site. My eye is moving everywhere and it's hard to know what's important and what's supplemental.

Sorry if I seem a bit harsh, but I'm just telling you an honest opinion, and I really want to try and give you something constructive. I like the work you did on "She" and it would be a shame if your work wouldn't be seen because your site was too exclusive for the flash & broadband bunch.

After all, you are on even ground with all the other websites out there. Your website is a first impression. If you alienate your audience right off with all the flashy-ness then all the great work you've done for video would be at a loss. Hope this helps.

<<<-- Originally posted by Josh Bass : Dylan. . .I'm curious about your comment regarding the price of high speed internet. There're ISPs that offer 56k for ten buck a month, or around there (and I don't care about ads and whatnot; cheap is cheap). I KNOW I've never seen DSL or Cable offered for $15, or anything less than $26 or so (and that's only the first year, then it balloons). If you know who's offering broadband cheaply, please let me know. This isn't meant to be sarcastic or anything--I'm genuinely curious about your comment. -->>>

Ok, I guess dialup was cheaper than I though.
My opinion is that if you can't afford an extra $15 for highspeed, you probably can't afford a computer either. $15 ain't much these days... A movie and a popcorn, a twelve pack of beer, a quarter of a gas tank, or a dinner for three at McDonalds. I'd take highspeed internet over any of those. Yes, even the beer.

The last time I looked, I think about 15% of websurfers use a high-speed connection.

Good unity in design btw.

Yeah, most people are still on dialup, including myself (and I can afford a computer =P), but I'm not paying, an extra $50 a month for cable, and that is my only option, like a lot of other people. If you're creating a website you're still going to have to make it easy for dialup users to access and navigate for a little while yet. Also, multiple formats for the video would be nice.

Jeeze, how much is your cable internet if it is $50 more than your dial-up???

I guess I'm spoiled where I live, I pay about $25us for my cable internet.

Honestly, I swear the only people I know still on dial-up are my 80 year old grandparents. And Jesse.

I don't know about you, but cable costs about $45 to $50 in the Los Angeles area. Please tell me where I can find high-speed internet for $25 a month for a year, not $25 for the first 3 months or any other promo like that. Trust me, I'm all ears. (** no sarcasm intended **)

And as far as owning a computer & affording the luxury of high-speed internet, some of us actually have to work a little harder to acquire those things. Just because you have that luxury doesn't mean you have to forget about the rest of the people out there. I'd rather try to reach as many people I can rather than cater to the digital snobs who think that low-band is for "nobodies".

In any case, information in general should be something that people can acquire easily. And a good designer should be mindful of that. Do you really think that people who subscribe to low-band are any less important?

I seem to remember SBC Yahoo DSL is/was around 26.95 a month for the first year, then goes up to some higher price per month.

Yes. . .there's a bit of arrogance there--not catering to people with dial-up. Seems you'd want to cast your net (whatever it is) as wide as possible, UNLESS you're only targeting a specific group of whoever, and KNOW they will have broadband, and therefore really DON'T care about people with dial-up.

Thanks for all your comments, the good and the bad. I will add this site to the links. And to answer your last question - yes. When working in the field of video, I cant use 56k to push anything. Most of the people that use that cant really do anything with video work. I dont mind that 56k users cant really do anything on the site. They cant do most things that have anything to do with video or media content. I dont see why its really a big deal. Get high speed. If you cant, then your going to miss out of some things.

Michael,

The flash is pretty, but off-putting. There was too much going on for me. I prefer simpler designs.

If you maintained the same look but reduced the animation, I'd like it much better.

I agree with the folks lobbying for a low bandwidth-friendly design. Once every couple of months I have to dial in. I appreciate it when I can still find stuff even at 56k.

Finally, I'm no fan of sites that automatically play music when I load them. Personal preference. I wasn't able to find a "stop playing music" button.

Good luck with your new site.

Michael

its the square in the music player to stop the music.

Randy, cable is about $35-$40cdn here in Vancouver, which is $25-$30us. So just move to Vancouver! Plus less smog! :)

I ate a lot of Kraft dinner to get my first computer after going to school. Not the name brand Kraft dinner, but the cheap no-name stuff. Then I ate even more to switch from dial-up to highspeed. If it meant going back to dial-up, I'd stop eating sushi and go back to the KD first.

"it's the square in the music player to stop the music."

Found it.

You may want to label it explicitly (i.e. the actual words "stop playing music"). That seems to be a common practice on sites that have background tunes. You may also want to add a button to start the music again, which I was not able to find.

I don't know why this is, but leaving the site up in my web browser (mozilla) sucks a lot of CPU. More so than some other flash-powered sites.

Michael

Wow, I thought it was the 4th of July. Flash really can do a lot of things.

In the case of a lot of Flash, it's cool the first time but after a while watching it on the web site it becomes annoying. We have it on a web site where I used to work and I really got tired of having to wait for it to finish. There wasn't any motivation to put all of our flash stuff in and I expect that's the case with most real "Flashy" web sites.

If (maybe better said as when) I use flash on my web site I think I will put two buttons. One will say "Click to see our introduction" and the other "Go straight to the main menu". That way there is a good choice. Some web sites just have one button which sais "Click to bypass the introduction". If you don't click on it the flashy intro begins.

Real flashy Flash reminds me of when I played in a musical group and our lead guitar player would take off and play something real fast and wild. I didn't like it because I wanted something "musical" that was well thought out and practised. Kind of like my boy's band. Their music (?) was so annoying I called it "white noise".

Anyway, the flash was cool but needs to be a bit more "musical" for my tasts.

I watched "She" and couldn't figure it out. What were you trying to say?

Terry

British telecom charge $46.32 per month. You get the Black keys for free . . . ! [ quote from Blues Brothers meeting Ray Charles ]

Here in the UK, ADSL [BroadBand]is not cheap for non-business users. Personally I can write my connection costs off against the business. However consider having 2 options ADSL and 56k access shows customer help beyond advertising .. . don't forget you've now got a Global market - but I guess you realised this already - yes?

Grazie