Last weekend we rented Matador. I guess you could say that was the problem, but read on, this isn't about how bad the movie was, but how bad the DVD was. I seriously don't know what was going through the minds of the people who made (the rental version of) the DVD. Simply put: You couldn't skip the previews once you put the disc in. You couldn't even fast forward...

OK, while this might not sound as bad, it is another case of not putting the user first. And guess what? Our DVD decided to reboot about 10 minutes into the movie and we had to waste another 7 minutes with the trailers...

Once the movie started they showed the customary production company logos / animations and this movie, being as bad as it was, had at least five of them back to back. After this you obviously get the same company names once again as text over the opening sequence as well.

Now if just being force fed the trailers wasn't enough, I had to see the names of the guilty parties again and again. NOT a great way to introduce your product (the movie in this case).

People, get it into your heads: If you put your customer/end-user first you'll make more money. What percentage of movie watchers watch movies based on the studio's or production company's brand name? How many people would be happier with the product you are actually trying to push if you dropped ALL of them and just cut to the chase instead? The people who need to know about your brand are either professionals or hardcore fans who will seek it out even if you were to hide it.

TB's law on movies 1:
A movie's quality is inversely proportional to the amount of production company promos before the movie.

TB's law on movies 2:
A movie's artsiness is proportional to the amount of film festival awards mentioned in the trailer.