Critique of my video

Ellie Cook

The first shot is one of my only examples of moving camera. As a music video, my project should probably contain a few more of these shots; but although moving camera is a convention of the genre, it’s really depends on the director, and whether it fits with the feel of the video.

Theses shots were all done on the same day- as we were in public, we did have a few problems with people walking into the shots- mainly accidentally, but a few did it on purpose.

These shots at the beach were taken on a bright day, and I forgot to turn down the camera’s ISO- I wanted it to be bright, but not that bright!

This backwards-tracking shot of Ollie was particularly difficult, and took around fifteen attempts. I had to wheel the camera backwards, at the right time and at the right speed, whilst keeping the framing so none of the lights could be seen, and manually adjusting the focus of the camera lens with my other hand. With all this going on, you can see why it’s a little shaky.

I don’t like this shot. I put the camera too close, indicated by Ollie’s unusually large nose and small shoulders. These aspects of the shot show bad use of perspective and zoom.

I did a focus-pull from the television to the actors, but I don’t think it’s that noticeable. Also, the reverse shot has some random items in the corner- making it looks either messy or homely; this could be a good or bad point. It wasn’t deliberate, though.

I used a focus pull again in the piano scene, to draw the viewer’s eye to each character in turn- this technique also adds production value. The shot of Beth sitting down next to Ollie is not very well framed, but the reverse shot is a good example of match-on-action. However, I don’t like the fact that you can see some of my equipment and props in the background; they’re not very noticeable, but it’s sloppy.

I put photos and other debris from the fight in the plant thing that appears in the background of some of the singing shots, but it’s hardly noticeable, so was a bit of a wasted effort.

I love this shot. I think the framing’s great, the acting really expresses what the character is feeling, the slow-mo effect adds atmosphere but isn’t too noticeable, and my use of colour desaturation emphasises the feeling of emotional desolation.

This is the only effects-shot in my video- It’s subtle enough to fit with the style of the video, but still shows editing skill. I like it, but the fact that they’re both wearing socks in bed bothers me. Also, in the final part of the shot, part of the frame on the left becomes cropped out, leaving some black space. I have no idea why it happens, I’ve checked all the settings and effects, and it’s still there.

This is a very long clip of my actors singing- lasting just under eleven seconds, it completely defies the convention of short shots in music videos. It could be considered overlong, but I thought it was necessary to have longer clips than usual, due to the pace of the song, and the need to give the characters time to express themselves to the audience.

Again, horrific perspective, I’ve made his nose look huge by having the camera too close to his face- very amateurish. However, I am pleased with my use of makeup on him- this shot was taken on the same day as all the other scenes in the house I used, and about ¾ of the way through the day. He looks dreadful, which is exactly the look I was going for!

There’s a jump cut here, but the two shots are so similar, it just looks like a jump in the video. I can’t even effectively print-screen it, the change is so small.

This shot is meant to look like she’s storming out of the car after an argument, but it just looks like she’s getting dropped off somewhere. She doesn’t look very angry, and the lighting’s not good enough to be able to see his exasperated expression- turning the ISO down would have helped. Also, you can see me (briefly) reflected in the glass.

The End.