Frequently Asked Questions

Below you can find answers to many commonly asked questions. Please check this FAQ before emailing us as we may already have answered your questions. You might also want to check our Policies page for details on the permitted uses of the DVD and our privacy policy.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Product Contents

Which products include the "Invisible Gorilla" video?

The gorilla/basketball video (sometimes called the "Invisible Gorilla Video" or the "Selective attention Test") is part of Surprising Studies Volume 1 as well as The Inattentional Blindness Collection. Both the DVD and the collection include several variants from the original 1999 study. The Inattentional Blindness Collection also includes some never-published versions.

Which products include the "Monkey Business Illusion" video?

The Monkey Business Illusion, created by Daniel Simons in 2010, is available only as part of the Inattentional Blindness Collection.

Which products include the "door" video?

The "Door" video (created by Daniel Simons and Daniel Levin in 1998) in which an unsuspecting pedestrian fails to notice that their conversation partner was replaced by a different person during a brief interruption (people carrying a wooden door past them), is included on Surprising Studies Volume 2.

Are the videos and demos professionally produced?

The videos included in our products are the original videos and materials used by leading scientists in their research. Given that these videos originally were created for research purposes rather than for distribution, they do not have Hollywood-level production quality. A couple of videos on Surprising Studies Volume 1 (in the Movie Task category) have fairly poor sound quality as well, although they are still effective demonstrations of failures of visual awareness. Most of the videos are standard definition and are in a 4:3 aspect ratio (not widescreen). The videos in The INattentional Blindness Collection are high enough quality to induce failures of awareness in an audience. Most are in QuickTime or MP4 formats.

Do the products come with instructions for presenters?

With each download, we include a pdf that provides instructions and an explanation for each demonstration or type of demonstration. It also provides the credits and citations for each. The DVDs themselves also have menu-accessible instructions and scientific explanations. The Inattentional Blindness Collection includes the instructions file but the remaining contents are standalone videos. Some of the videos do have voiceover instructions (in English only).

What are the run-times of your products?

The DVDs are designed as presentation tools, with menu-driven access to each clip. They are not designed to be used by pressing play and letting it run. Surprising Studies Volume 1 includes a total of 20 short videos. Surprising Studies Volume 2 has 15 videos. Surprising Studies 1+2 combines all 35 videos from the other collections on a single DVD. The Inattentional Blindness Collection includes 32 videos, with most lasting less than one minute. You can see a description of the contents on our Products page.

How many videos are on your products?

Surprising Studies Volume 1 includes 20 short videos. Surprising Studies Volume 2 has 15 videos. Surprising Studies 1+2 combines all 35 videos from the other collections on a single DVD. The Inattentional Blindness Collection includes 32 videos. You can see a description of the contents on our Products page.

Do I qualify for discounted pricing?

Who can receive discounted pricing?

Customers who previously purchased one of our DVD disks can purchase the downloadable version of the same DVD at a discount. Please see our Discounts page for details and instructions. Customers who purchased the earlier version of our downloadable DVDs that relied on FlickRocket's FluxPlayer application can get the newer formatted download for free. Again, please see our Discounts page for details and instructions. We do not currently offer any other discounted pricing.

Can I receive discounted pricing if I will be using the DVD for educational purposes?

Although we used to offer discounted licensing options for our physical DVDs, now that we stopped shipping physical DVDs, we no longer have special pricing for different uses. Instead, we have reduced our pricing for everyone.

Permitted Uses

Can I extract a video from a product to use as part of another project?

No. See our Policies page for details. No part of any of our products can be extracted or incorporated into other projects without violating our copyrights and use restrictions. The DVDs can only be played like a regular DVD. Unlike the DVDS, the videos in The Inattentional Blindness Collection can be used individually and they can be played from within PowerPoint or other presentation software. They may not be sold or distributed in any form, however.

Can I embed a video from a product into a Powerpoint presentation?

For The Inattentional Blindness Collection: Yes. For the downloadable DVDs: No. For the DVDs, the videos must be presented directly from the DVD itself and cannot be incorporated into powerpoint or other products. All of our DVDs are designed as presentation tools, with menu-driven access to each clip. If you queue up the DVD to the Presenter Menu, you can rapidly access any video. You can easily switch between the DVD application and powerpoint. It is also possible to create an action link in Powerpoint that switches from Powerpoint to your DVD playing application without leaving your presentation. We understand that this might be a little more inconvenient than being able to incorporate clips directly into Powerpoint, but these restrictions are the only way to ensure that our DVDs are the only source for the videos. The Inattentional Blindness Collection does allow for embedding and it includes some (but not all) of the videos available on the DVDs. It also includes videos that are not part of the DVDs.

Can I use a video in my own research?

Yes, you may use our products in your scholarly research. In any publication, you should cite the journal article(s) describing the original research. Each download includes a file with the citations and credits for each demonstration. You may not, however, include videos from our products as part of any publication or product. If you would like to reprint a still image from one of the videos as part of a publication, please email dvd@viscog.com and we will direct you to the appropriate copyright holder.

Can I reprint still figures from one of the videos in my own publications or reports?

You may not extract still images from our products. However, we may be able to provide a still figure from one of the videos for use in your report, or we can direct you to the appropriate copyright holder. Email dvd@viscog.com for more information.

Can I distribute a recording of a presentation in which I use a Viscog Productions product?

No. Our products and their contents may not be recorded or incorporated into any other program. If your presentation will be recorded, please inform those doing the recording that they may not include our videos in the recording. Please make sure that the camera is not focused on the videos when they are being shown. None of our videos may be incorporated into other products or programs and they may not be resold.

Can I use one of the videos on a television program?

No. None of our videos or demonstrations can be used in any broadcast in the popular media (television, internet, or otherwise). Some of the copyright holders may be willing to permit you to use their videos on television. If you email dvd@viscog.com, we can direct you to the appropriate copyright holder. Without that permission, though, the videos may not be broadcast in any way. They are copyrighted.

Can I make extra copies of a DVD or video for other people in my organization?

No. Our products and their contents may not be duplicated, extracted, or copied in any way. Our products are licensed to an individual user. If multiple people in your organization would need to use our videos or products in their presentations, you would need to purchase multiple copies. If you are interested in such a multi-user purchase or a site license, email dvd@viscog.com for more information.

Can other people in my organization use the product or videos?

Our products are licensed to an individual user. If multiple people in your organization would need to use our products or videos in their presentations simultaneously, you would need a multi-user or site license. If you are interested in such a license, email dvd@viscog.com for more information.

Can I show my presentation over a corporate intranet?

No. Our videos and products may not be posted on any website or distributed in any way, even if the website is password protected.

Can I show videos over the internet for my distance learning classes?

No. See our Policies page for details. Our products may not be posted on any website or used over the internet, even if the website is password protected. They may be used only for in-person presentations and may not be broadcast in any way.

How should I cite the products in presentations and publications?

You can refer to our website (www.viscog.com). If you wish to cite one of our products in a print source, please include a citation such as the following: Viscog Productions, Inc. (2003). Surprising studies of visual awareness, volume 1 (DVD). Champaign, IL: Viscog Productions. http://www.viscog.com.

Ordering

Do you sell any of the videos individually?

No. We sell the videos eiether as part of downloadable DVDs or as part of The Inattentional Blindness Collection. The videos on the DVDs can only be played directly from the DVDS. The videos in The Inattentional Blindness Collection can be played individually. We do not sell or distribute individual videos, though.

When I tried to place an order online, my purchase was declined. Can you help?

In most cases, when an order is declined and you receive an error, the purchase was actually declined by the bank that issued your card rather than by our processing system. That could happen for a number of reasons, but the most common reason is that some cards (especially corporate cards) have restrictions that, by default, do not permit purchasing of video content online. If you contact your purchasing department, they might be able to authorize the charge and permit the purchase. Or, if you call the number on the back of your card, your card company should be able to allow the purchase.

My organization needs a W-9 to place an order. How can I get one?

Email dvd@viscog.com and request one.

Will I receive a receipt with my order?

Yes. When your order is processed, you will see a printable receipt on the website and you will also receive a copy at the email address you provided when ordering.

I bought a DVD already -- can you send me a QuickTime or Windows Media format version of a video?

No. The DVDs are designed as presentation tools, and the videos on them can only be played directly from the DVD. The Inattentional Blindness Collection does have stand-alone video files in QuickTime or MP4 format. They are distributed only as part of the collection and are not sold or distributed separately.

I lost the physical DVD I bought. Can you send me a replacement?

As with any DVD store, we do not replace lost or stolen DVDs. In some cases your credit card company might automatically pay for the replacement of lost or stolen items.

Payment

What forms of payment can I use?

We accept Mastercard, Visa, and American Express. We require payment using our online ordering system, and we cannot accept checks, wire transfers, or purchase orders. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Can I pay with a purchase order?

No. We do not accept purchase orders. We require payment by credit card using our online ordering system.

Can I pay by check?

No. We cannot accept checks as payment. We require payment by credit card using our online ordering system.

Can I pay by electronic funds transfer?

No. We do not accept payment by electronic funds transfer. We require payment by credit card using our online ordering system.

Can you send me a product and bill me later?

No. We require payment by credit card using our online ordering system.

DVD Playback

Why won't the DVD play on my computer?

The most common playback problem we have encountered can be attributed to Windows Media Player. Our DVDs are formatted no differently than other DVDs, but Windows Media Player sometimes is unable to play DVDs correctly. If that is the case, we highly recommend using the free, open-source program VLC Media Player. It works on all platforms and is available from videolan.org. We have no affiliation with VLC Media Player, but we have found it to be the most robust DVD player application available. It has resolved all playback problems we have encountered with physical DVDs. To play the DVD, open your playback software (e.g., VLC Media Player), go to the File menu, and select the DVD folder (e.g., Surprising_Studies_Vol1) in your download.

Why can't I install the DVD disk?

DVDs do not need to be "installed." All of our DVD disks are playable DVDs rather than data DVDs. That means they should work like any movie DVD you might rent from a video rental store and insert into your computer. There is nothing to install. Your computer likely came with a DVD playing application pre-installed. If it didn't (and even if it did), we recommend using the VLC Media Player application. It works on all platforms and is available for free from videolan.org.

Where are the videos on the DVD?

If you try to open the DVD icon that appears on your desktop, you should see only two folders or files: Video_TS and Audio_TS. Those are the files that allow your DVD player application to play the DVD. Your computer should have a DVD playing application that will recognize those files. The DVD is designed as a presentation tool, with menu-driven access to the videos. You cannot copy individual videos from the DVD to your computer, and the videos are not available individually in any other format.

My DVD doesn't seem to have sound. Is it defective?

Your DVD is not defective. Most of the videos on our DVDs are entirely silent (as are all the menus). On Surprising Studies Volume 1, only the first four videos in the Movie Task category have sound. On Surprising Studies Volume 2, only videos 2, 3, 4, and 7 have sound. The same videos have sound on the Volume 1+2 combination DVD. Even for the videos with sound, the effects work well if you turn the sound off (they are designed to demonstrate failures of visual awareness).