Most of the work I viewed from the prior year hit in my opinion a satisfactory level of basic technical specification. They on the whole did all use a string of the conventional techniques, but failed to continually uphold a wide range. However the major flaw in a predominant percentage of the work was the absence of any real creative drive, though many followed basic story lines stringing together understandable (to a degree) pieces, they did lack a charismatic feel to them, and the story lines were extremely monotone and medico, they all had moments when you could see this passionate flare for their work and for creating innovative and fresh pieces that would capture not only technical correctness but also the audiences undying attention. However the one group who did manage to hold my gaze throughout was B6 who sustainably presented me with a quirky, imaginative video that could have easily been played on 4music or MTV and I would have been none the wiser that it came from an A level student and not somebody who was fluently involved in the music industry. They certainly demonstrated a high level of technique, syncing the action and lyrics precisely so that we weren't left with a disappointingly incongruous feel. For instance E11 displayed this mismatch throughout, making the video extremely hard to follow or believe from the start which created an unfortunate barrier between myself (the audience) and characters, leaving me bored and quite uninterested in their work. Returning to B6, beside the varied range of shots, angles and locations, another element which allowed this piece to really work was the connection between the actors and the lyrics, the characters were extremely believable, and portrayed well. They also included the concept to make the stereotypical police men, young children, utilising their sources and developing a really interesting comic twist into the video to contrast to some of their more adult themes. They really involved themselves in the song and used direct address throughout in order to in many ways 'sell' their product to us. In comparison to say B5 who did demonstrate affective mis en scene and a good range of close up shots, but lacked continual eye contact with the audience and lacked confidence at time in the actors ability to demonstrate the songs message and upbeat lyrics. Though at times the lighting was successful in creating a bright ambience and making the playful and parallel (to the lyrics) props stand out, it did on other occasions faultier where the aimed from 'white screen' backdrop effect unfortunately had tinged edges and didn't follow through as aimed. Another example of lighting holding back a group would be in the case of E8 were the piece was stylised and creative at times, but was set in far to dark a room, pushing the 'dingy' atmospheric feel away and loosing the aimed for effect. Technically it did succeed well in getting the videos style and the song lyrics to run parallel, however the lack of locations made it hard to really involved myself in there work, or the character (due to the lack of eye contact and presence to the audience).
However when i viewed the work from some of the previous years it made me realise the standard that some students work reaches. All 7 of these prior years work were outstanding both in technical specification and in the flurry of imagination that must have been channelled into these grade A pieces. The first film 'female of the species' had a comic edge that balanced realistic band shots which helped to enhance the instrumentals, and narrative shots of a couple. The cuts between the multiple locations made it much more engaging, and the close ups of the instruments and tilted angle shots, gave it more of an edgy feel. Though cuts between interior and exterior locations aren't necessarily needed to create an effective music video, like for example in the case of 'Is it really coming home' where the entire piece was shot purely in one house, but still managed not to carry an claustrophobic feel. It was held together with well achieved bright white light background shots of a solo singer, who along with enhanced editing, choreography and genius costume choice, really made the video easy to follow on a performance basis. it had a very swinging 60's vibe, with charismatic close ups of trumpets and a brilliant shot of the "singer" knocking over some dominos, which for me really reenforced the comedy of the video. The next video i viewed, constructed to the song 'Just Because', cleverly used the concept of a harsh light contrast, placing the key singer in a darkly lit room and then using panning shots of a band in the sunlight to create the emotion behind the piece, the lighting changed continually throughout, using some great natural shots with a sunsets, reflecting on the extreme close ups of the singers and instruments, at a variety of enervative angles.
From looking at the previous years work i have learnt that these elements are vital in a music video:
* Sustainable eye contact with your audience - This is key as your initially selling yourself and the track, as a product package, so therefore need to be able to properly connect with your target market.
*An array of different shots (ECU,CU, MCU, LS etc) ,angles (titled, high, low, eye level etc) and camera movement (pans, tracking,hand held,tilts etc) to develop an interesting sequence.
*Well thought out costume, hair and makeup - In the best video's that I viewed these all helped to really enhance the actors performance and the editing techniques up to a much higher standard. It gave the videos a a more real, excitable and fun feel and made them seem much less like they were made by some 17 year olds just messing about with cameras, and much more like professionals pieces, that took every detail into account when creating something that was very believable and engaging.
*Confident performances - The pieces that used actors/actresses who didn't really get into the song or understand the lyrics really faltered.
*Precise syncing
*Multiple Locations
*Interesting concepts / story line / unique ideas / comedy / charisma
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