Assessment 29/06/11 SJA

WWW

• Your blog is looking really good so far Daryl.
• Great effort on your own lip synch task - good performance from you (and your sister!) and some variation in shot types / angles, etc...
• Really good work on the 'What Makes a Good Music Video' post. Your thoughtful comments show a very good sense of what elements are needed and what to avoid. I like your efforts to make this really visual to demonstrate your points.
• All WWW/ EBI comments are thoughtful, honest, and show a good understanding of the conventions and features of successful music videos.

EBI

• Make sure you come back and embed your lip synnch to 'In The Sun'.
• Always try to include a wide variety of shot distances and angles when making your own videos - think really carefully about maintaining viewer interest through shot rotation and creative framing.
• Great to see a visual looking blog - try not to include too many YouTube clips - I doubt than an examiner would look through the whole song. Think about using just screen grabs or tiny 2-3 second clips from music videos to demonstrate exactly your point.

Effort - VG (make sure you embed lip synch to In the Sun)

'In The Sun' Lip Sync Task

WWW-
We found it easy to set up the camera and record the shots that we needed, we was also good at lip syncing as we had the words up behind the camera so that it looked as if we was looking at the camera but actuallu looking at the words. I would say we had an average amount of shots, but, the ones we did have were of a high standard and quality.

EBI-
It could have been even better if we had used more variety in shots, angles and even transitions as I feel we kept it very basic.I think it would have been even better if we had sat down and thought about what we wanted to achieve for each shot and then making a final decision instead of just brainstorming on the spot and acting on impulse rather than a calm discussed decision.

Individual Lip Sync Task

WWW-
I feel that for something that was filmed with a mobile device this video is good. I found it easy to find different places to film even though I was restricted to where I could film at that time. Also, I think that majority of the lip syncing and editing were of a good enough standard considering the circumstances. Finding and understanding the editing software went well because I have had previous experience from last year using similar program such as final cut express.
EBI-
I think I could of done better if I had some kind of plan/storyboard to follow because I was basically thinking of shots as I went along. Also, I think I could have been more clear with some parts of the lip syncing as you can clearly see it doesnt go with the words to the song or you just cant actually see the talking in the video. I think I could of done better with more variety of patterens in shot cuts and using angles and different camera movement.

What Makes a Good Music Video?

Personally I think a good music video is one that keeps the viewer entertained and makes the song more understandable through visual representation. Take the song 'Beautiful People' By Chris Brown, this is a feel good track through lyrics and the video as we see a range of simple but effective shots and actions throughout:

Whereas in contrast the song 'Cry Me a River' By Justin Timberlake is a somewhat very negative song about heartache and although the difference in lyric content it has the same variety of shots but uses considerably more shot effects and acting in order to portray the negative mood:

A good music video is also one that follows all the essential basics to make it successful including, perfect lip syncing, good shot varieties, and, a good and thorough storyboard. My friend is an amateur music video director and cameraman and has made this for his first video:
This is a prime example of a music video which you can see hasnt been thought out in enough depth and the end result is just someone talking into the camera, as the video all in all is quite boring for its lack of variety and storyline.

Also, I think the characters within the music video have to give off the right energy for the video to be successful because if this isnt the case it will look very obvious on screen and wont be effective in grabbing the audience.