Please Critique a Self-Taught Videographer's First Music Video!

M

M1CEtro

Active member
Hey guys,

I spent about 4-6 months researching via the internet (especially this forum) to educate myself on just about everything that goes into producing quality HD video (lighting, recording equipment, shooting/editing techniques). All of that has lead up to my first music video. I'm obviously still a beginner and have a lot to learn and wanted to reach out to more experienced users who can provide quality critiques that might have made this video better so I can know for my next shoot. Positive and negative critiques are both encouraged! Regardless of whether or not you like the song, please focus more on the video qualities.

Thanks in advance!

be sure to watch in HD ;)

http://vimeo.com/33867546
 
Good direction, nice thought, but bad pacing.

To many opening revealing shots, that do not reveal anything. :50 seconds into the video and all I see are legs and chopped heads. :52 seconds is when I finally see the artists face for the first time, then he is on a house phone ( they still have those)? Many of your shots were held to long and did not match the tempo of the song. Also when he says to hit the bottle, he's drinking some cheap champagne that looks totally staged and not realistic..... To many tripod shots, slider etc. Don't be afraid to get some hand held movement in there. Color balance was everywhere, it didn't seem like it was done as an effect and more so the white balance was not flowing right from scene to scene.

High iso, I noticed a lot of grain in your shots, try to keep it down.


Overall, good project for a first BUT I feel you tried to do to much. Keep it simple next time, cut faster, match the flow of the music, even if it is slow tempo introduce more shots.
Keep at it, it takes time for it to finally click...
 
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Hello Vizion_filmz

I appreciate your critiques. Yeah now that I look back on it I really do need to work on continuity. Would you recommend sticking with one color correction all the way through, even though he is in different environments such as different outside and inside shots?

I did the legs and chopped heads thing on purpose to try and prolong the audience from getting a clear look at the artists's face until the beat finally drops. (House phone was simply to do the unplugged phone scene at the end)

Is it recommended to mix both tripod and handheld shots together? I was under the impression that the more tripod shots the better
 
not bad

the thing that bothered me most, apart from the "too many slow establishing shots" already mentioned, was the variety of color grades: I think you can get by with a couple of radically different looks, but this one had too many and it got a bit distracting (now the world is orange, now it's natural, now it's green, now orange again...)
 
M1CEtro,

I saw what you were trying to do, waiting to reveal the artist until the beat finally dropped. I think the problem would have been solved more-easily if you just picked a different song. I shoot live, one-take music videos all the time (www.lovedrunkstudio.com). When bands email me about shooting them performing a song, they already know which song they want to do. The problem is, that band is too close to their own music to be able to accurately determine which of their songs are easiest for new listeners to enjoy the first time they hear it.

I go back and forth with bands about which song to do, quite a bit sometimes. We usually end up doing the song I want them to do, and they almost always say "now that I see the video, I wonder why the song you wanted us to do wasn't the obvious choice to us."

Don't get me wrong...it's not like an artist is incapable of figuring out what people want to hear them play. But the song you want to choose is the song that someone who otherwise had never heard of the band is most-likely to like...and they need to start liking it within the first 5-10 seconds of the video!

That said, dude...not bad. Keep it up. It's a good thing to be passionate about something, and it looks like you're on your way with DSLR video. Welcome to the club!
 
lovedrunk,

Thanks for that info man. Yeah I am starting to see that as I spoke with this same artist about which video to shoot next. I really like your "like the artist in first 5-10 seconds" comment. I never really thought about that and it's very true. So I guess I can't build up for too long or I will lose the viewers attention.
 
Nice job for a first effort. I agree with some of these comments, about getting the intro more quickly and intensely into the story. Color balance didn't bother me quite as much as others, as the video had a 'memories' feel to it and my first thought was it was a way to move the viewer back and forth in time. Anyway, keep going. Your storytelling was fine.
 
Honestly, I believe the color balance is about the only thing that makes it look "home-made" - no matter if the colors are supposed to evoke a flashback or memory, at least other effects (blur, frame edge, slow motion, staccoto effect, ect ect) should be added so that it merely doesn't seem like an insanely off-the-mark white balance that doesn't add up. One second the scene is orange and the next it's a silver-white. To me it's one of the main flaws.

Also, in the kitchen, it looks like a harsher light is reflecting against the cabinets and wall tiles, and an on-lens filter may take care of this - those strong reflections, even if minor, can make a production look home-made. Also, the general shots, like it being in a house, driving in a normal care, or walking down a normal street, all tend to evoke a homemade feel - there's simply no mainstream music video that'd ever be filmed in those conditions. What "famous rapper" is going to live in a small apartment or "Mom and Pop house."? What "famous rapper" is going to drive a pickup? What "famous rapper" is going to be walking down the most Caucasian street in town? Now, I get that the singer in this video is trying to evoke a "Home Alone And Depressed" feel, but he is a rapper, and that genre calls for a bit of style.

Cinematography wise, most of the shots really are pretty good, and the shot where he's sitting on the couch is as professional as you can get (great lighting, great angle, great color, ect ect). However, many of them also do fall a bit short of a really professional look, and the opening one with him on the porch is simply way too dark. In a professional video, they truly would have at least some type of lighting on him, illuminating him just enough to know he's there and to give the house some detail. Either that, or the darkness filter you applied is way too dark. Also, I'd suggest a lot less coloration changes and effects, they can make a video look very "Windows Movie Maker."

Anyway though, this video is a heck of a lot better than most first-time attempts, and I say that you'll really be successful in no time. You seem to have researched very well.
 
RPLace said:
Honestly, I believe the color balance is about the only thing that makes it look "home-made" - no matter if the colors are supposed to evoke a flashback or memory, at least other effects (blur, frame edge, slow motion, staccoto effect, ect ect) should be added so that it merely doesn't seem like an insanely off-the-mark white balance that doesn't add up. One second the scene is orange and the next it's a silver-white. To me it's one of the main flaws.

Also, in the kitchen, it looks like a harsher light is reflecting against the cabinets and wall tiles, and an on-lens filter may take care of this - those strong reflections, even if minor, can make a production look home-made. Also, the general shots, like it being in a house, driving in a normal care, or walking down a normal street, all tend to evoke a homemade feel - there's simply no mainstream music video that'd ever be filmed in those conditions. What "famous rapper" is going to live in a small apartment or "Mom and Pop house."? What "famous rapper" is going to drive a pickup? What "famous rapper" is going to be walking down the most Caucasian street in town? Now, I get that the singer in this video is trying to evoke a "Home Alone And Depressed" feel, but he is a rapper, and that genre calls for a bit of style.

Cinematography wise, most of the shots really are pretty good, and the shot where he's sitting on the couch is as professional as you can get (great lighting, great angle, great color, ect ect). However, many of them also do fall a bit short of a really professional look, and the opening one with him on the porch is simply way too dark. In a professional video, they truly would have at least some type of lighting on him, illuminating him just enough to know he's there and to give the house some detail. Either that, or the darkness filter you applied is way too dark. Also, I'd suggest a lot less coloration changes and effects, they can make a video look very "Windows Movie Maker."

Anyway though, this video is a heck of a lot better than most first-time attempts, and I say that you'll really be successful in no time. You seem to have researched very well.
Click to expand...


You're wrong about professional rappers doing "normal" things. Plenty of music videos shot in an artists house , driving normal cars, etc. Rap/Hip Hop isn't always about flashy, and a good story of someone coming from the very bottom connects with the fans and can make any situation seem very realistic. Now what I do agree on is lighting, professional lighting is very difficult to achieve and something that takes years. In the near future the main message to the director of this project would be to work on lighting and color correction/grading.

I feel the locations are fine and the concept was great, we can all push the envelop of creativity, never feel discourage as this art takes time to mature
peace
 
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