The song is by the band Counting Crows and I feel it's relevant to our group as they are a rock band and the student video like ours will be a rock song.
What I like:
I like the use of photographs and still images, for example when one photo is burned and another is projected on the bedroom wall of one of the characters.;
One of the reasons I like the use of stills is that we are also using them in our music video "Summer of 69".
I feel that using them adds an extra depth to the video and they are also a clear, creative way of showing flashbacks. Also both "American girls" and "Summer of 69" both have themes of nostalgia and regret. Also the use of still images gives the actors something to work and react to, thus improving the mise-en-scene of the video, as it helps the acting and shows creative thinking in terms of props.
I also like the use of locations, notably the performance scenes on a rooftop, which is a convention of the rock genre and the use of reflections in the dance studio.
I think that the rooftop was a good idea as it shows a decent amount of background research into the genre to know that rooftop performances are a convention. Also in using an outdoor location you also have natural lighting, which I think works in the performance scenes as filming in the sun has connotations of being upbeat which the performance scenes are. This is again similar to our project as we plan to film performance scenes outdoors. In regards to the use of the dance studio because the wall is lined with mirrors meaning that the people involved can work with the idea of reflection. Something they use to great effect I feel because it gives a clear view of the actor's facial expressions and the emotions they are portraying. It also means the actors have to work hard as they are less likely to get away with a slip up when being seen from two angles simultaneously, this improves the acting by extension, the mise-en-scene and ultimately the video overall.
Finally I like the use of a fade transition to show the passage of time.
Here its used to speed up the woman's journey across the street. We are using a similar idea in our "Summer of 69" video, but were fading out people to not only show the passage of time but also how distant the characters became as their lives went on.
What I don't like
I feel there's a lapse in continuity in one of the final sequences as in the video the two lead males are the singer:
and a heart broken man:
The lapse occurs because the final sequence is the heart broken man singing to his reflection from various angles, however he has the same voice as the singer. This may have been intentional but for me it doesn't work and may have lost marks and affected the project's overall grade.
I also feel at one point during one of the performance scenes the drummer is put in slow motion for one movement before moving back into real time and the video carries on as normal. This affect feels like it's their for the sake of having it and doesn't really add anything to the video.
Overall I really like this video and would grade it as a high level 3 (B)
Pretty good Henry. Maybe talk about some of the technical choices made here too. Refer to the mark criteria if that helps (editing/range of camera shot/angles/movements, etc.)
ReplyDeleteWhat would you have done differently and are there any ideas from here you might use