In order to know what specific/measurable features make a good music video and know the developing and subverting conventions of the media form I analysed a previous students work of a music video which I thought matched the theme and subjects of ours. I decided to use ‘bury a friend’ as the subject matters in our music video of horror, eeriness and mystery are present throughout this music video.
Evaluation of Music Video:
The video has a 70/30 performance narrative ratio. The performance of the lip syncing is done well and the acting shows the persona of the artist. The narrative is subtle without a clear story through of what is happening which leads the audience to have their own perception of what is happening. This student has used good technical production skills. A tripod has been used to get clear, still shots for the video however when the camera is not in a still position and is moving/tracking the artist it is done deliberately to add meaning. Another technical production skill the student has executed well is a variety of shots; the student has used close ups and long shots through out the performance and narrative which helps keep the music video consistent and not get boring with a small amount of shots. This student has also used media conventions through out their video. The mise-en-scene represents the genre and artist well and sets an idea in the viewers head of what the artist is like and adds meaning to the narrative. Another media convention the student has used well is the editing makes sense of the narrative. The fast pace editing and editing to the beat helps the video flow through from start to end well and doesn’t bore the viewer.
3 Things That Makes the Music Video Effective:
- The editing to the beat throughout the video is extremely well executed. You can tell when filming they have used the rule of thirds for the framing, allowing the video to look professional and easy to look at.
- The star representation is extremely good. The make-up used to make her look tired and haunting helps portray the star as mysterious and eerie, creating a sense of audience perception of what the stars story is and who she really is.
- The use of the fast-pace cuts as the music builds up helps create a chaotic feel and impression to the audience and keeps them hooked into what is going on.
Targets to Improve our Music Video:
- Use a wider variety of shots; we lacked close ups and tracking shots due to us filming in a mid shot angle for most of the scenes.
- Our editing needs improving; some transitions could be cleaner and we also need to edit to the beat as some parts look off-sync.
- More costumes; our video got a little boring to watch due to only using a limited amount of costumes, our shoot three we completed used different make-up and costumes so we will be able to improve this for our draft 3.