2 Friday, November 17, 2017 brooklintowncrier.com Scorcese did not make this video Less than Half the Picture By Richard Bercuson Have you got four minutes and 40 seconds to kill? Of course you do. Then, for your viewing pleasure, have a look at Durham's promo video at durham.ca/durhamregion101. You know it's meant to be informative and educational (read, a yawner) because anything with 101 attached to it tells us this will be information we must have, just like in a first year college course. Hockey 101. Politics 101. Column writing 101. I never had a post-secondary course labeled 101. The closest was a Sociology 100 course whose highlight was the young female prof who wore short skirts every day. So it was during commercial breaks of a hockey game when I checked out this cinematic morsel. Whenever I come upon something that leaves me perplexed, I like to pretend I'm the fly on the wall when a decision is being rendered. Then I visualize the what ifs which could have led to the final product. Heavens, there might have been so many options to inform the public about what the Region does for us. A one-scene stage play "buskered" on street corners, with the tips going to the Region's wardrobe and make-up department; a pamphlet because everyone loves getting stuff in the mail; students hired to traipse around major intersections wearing sandwich boards with the pertinent info in large colourful fonts. Consider how it would improve the unemployment rate and boost the economy. No, they settled on this video starring a charming lady acting as a teacher in a "classroom" of cute kids who pose questions and will now plunk the performances on their resumes under the heading, "Starred in." There's a certain charm to the attempt, much like just about any CBC TV drama. You really want to like it and you feel guilty if any part of it is passably acceptable. The video's problems are threefold: First, the information seems redundant to what we regularly see in the Region's flyers. Second, if we must know about everything in the video, why couldn't a handful of standard slides have accomplished the same task? And third, as the fly in that room, I didn't hear anyone who did their homework about the attention span of people who view web sites or watch videos. Research is rather clear on this last point. One U.S. based marketing agency expert, Mary Pedersen, wrote on the site AdAge, "Marketers have just 10 seconds to capture and engage an audience before they continue to scroll down or click away; and engagement drops off significantly beyond that. If you have not fully engaged your audience after the first 30 seconds, you've likely lost 33% of viewers; and after one minute, 45% of viewers have stopped watching." Which is to say the 4:40 video is probably four minutes too long. However, yes, the children's performances were just fine. "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 and published 24 times per year. Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 editorofbtc@gmail.com The Brooklin Town Crier is locally owned and operated and is a publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: 905.655.7642 Email: yeswomanbrooklin@gmail.com Next Issue: Friday, December 1, 2017 Deadline: Friday, November 24, 2017 DRPS R.I.D.E. Campaign Begins The Durham Regional Police Service has launched its 2017-2018 Festive R.I.D.E Campaign next week in an effort to combat impaired driving this holiday season. Festive R.I.D.E members joined members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Durham Chapter, Region of Durham Paramedic Services, Whitby Fire Department, O.P.P. Whitby Detachment, GO Transit, Durham Region Transit, and other dignitaries for the event on Nov. 15 at the Oshawa Go Transit Garage . This DRPS traffic initiative is an annual commitment to keep our roads safe for citizens in our community. Over the past six years, the Festive R.I.D.E. Team has taken 750 impaired drivers off our roads during the holiday season. The Festive R.I.D.E launch is held in conjunction with Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) Durham Chapter's annual Red Ribbon Campaign Launch.