Past Music Videos

(from 2011-12) 

The first music video is 13B-(Rewind.) 

This music video displays some good qualities, such as the concept behind the narrative, however, I feel that the idea was not very original and fell a little flat in places. I also think there were areas where they could have made it a lot better, the two girls at the end showed a spark of creativity that was not developed, they could have made the video more interesting if they had included the ideas of other people in the song consistently, rather than randomly which made the video confusing. I think that the person they used for the song fit though and the different locations worked and there were a lot of them, which kept it somewhat interesting.  The lighting was also good in all the shots; however, I felt that the students could have used colourisation on some of the shots, to give it a more moody feel. The music video also showed no interesting editing technique. What really let it down for me was the fact that not all the lyrics were synced to the music, and that occasionally the singer would look at the camera awkwardly, when he wasn’t meant to, this meant the performance looked a bit amateur.

13B3.

This music video, has occasional lapses where you can see a good idea, but the video is discordant in this. While the group used many different shots and locations, the music video wasn’t terribly exciting, again they went for a boy loses the girl style music video, which felt too overused. The camera work in places showed potential however the camera looked shaky in some shots. I like the ideas behind the music video, for example the rain part, but I think it could have been much better. 

13B4- ( Lost again)

This shows moments of creativity and originality however, the music video fell a little flat.  I liked some of the aspects of the video, the fact they filmed in Brighton, but again the narrative was far too boring. Individual elements worked and the camera was good, for example I liked the shot where we see the birds and the shot from the bath tub. However, the other elements like editing and lighting don’t work as well, the lighting wasn’t especially good, they had the sun behind her in the beginning shots, which means we can’t see her face well. They could have colourized the video in editing to make the colours more interesting: however what they have now fits the mood of the song. The girl they picked works well with the song though, however, her performance is lacking.

13B6- (Ike and Tina) 

This is by far the best that I have watched so far. They cover lighting, camerawork, performance, editing and mis en scene well, something that a few of the others were not so consistent on. However, and most importantly there video was enjoyable to watch, the narrative had enigma with use of different settings keeping you interested. Use of the children as police was also something that made me smile, and really demonstrated a good music video; it contrasted nicely with the adult themes and kept the video light. The performance was also particularly good, it didn’t feel at all staged and the actors matched the song. The only fault in my opinion shots of the protagonist from a low angle these to me felt slightly awkward.  

13E7 (12 Rounds)  

This video showed a good performance from the actor, who fits the role and had presence however, the others in the video didn’t add anything. There was also no narrative, and the video didn’t really add any new meaning to the song, there was only three different locations and I found myself wanting to turn it off after a minute. The lip syncing, camera and lighting was good, but the video generally had no spark. 

13E9 (Today I cried)

I liked the locations in this video and feel they matched the song, as did the actors. However, again the editing and lack of storyline made the video pretty dull to watch. The lighting wasn’t also particularly good, most likely due to shooting outside on a cloudy day but it gave the footage a grey feel. The editing wasn’t particularly good, I feel when there is no narrative effects are a must.  I liked some of the shots, in particularly the static shot where both actors are in shot.

(from 2012-13)

 13A1 (Sparks Fly),

This video again wasn’t the strongest it could have been, while I liked setting of the snow turning into spring, I didn’t feel that the actual setting was that different, and that the fact they had snow was pure luck as they couldn’t have planned that, I presumed the video must have been last minute.  Nothing is really added to the song, the narrative is predictable and cliché, and doesn’t really fit the song in my opinion. The lighting in some of the shots isn’t great, and the performance becomes a bit boring after a while. Some of the shots aren’t syncing perfectly with the lyrics and the effects such as the page turns look a little amateur. However, the colourization on some of the flashbacks is effective.

13A2- (Life Happens)

This video was one of the better ones. The music really suits the singer and you believe that it is really her singing. Her performance is very convincing. They use lots of locations which was really good because it fits the conventions of real music videos and shows they were organized in planning. The mise on scene fit the song as well. The camera work is good , and keeps you interested as the use a variety of shots. There is slight over exposure when they are filming outside in the park, they could have avoided that. However, on the whole the piece is well constructed.

(Nine2Five), 13E4

This another good one. The locations in this piece are well chosen, and the idea behind the video is really cleaver. I like the actors used and felt they match well. The video really adds something to the song. The piece can’t really be faulted. I like the locations, and the costumes fit well. The camera is good. The opening is perhaps a little cheesy but fits the piece. There are areas when the lyrics aren’t perfectly synced, which is a little frustrating.