Analysing student videos

To create our own music video we thought it would be a good idea to research into some A2 media students own music videos, particularly pop ones since we're using a pop song within our video. We searched on YouTube to try and find songs similar to the one we're doing and how the students had gone about creating their video, looking at what camera shots they used, setting, costume, lighting and narrative if they included one.

This video uses a black and white filter throughout the majority of the whole thing, however it begins in just regular colour. The transitions into each shot are executed really well, with some shots over taking others at various points which is very effective for this type of song as it suits the dramatic beat of it. They also use a smoke machine which goes well with the black and white filter, also the smoke cascades around the 'singer' and the male actor which could suggest this part of the video is trying to portray the stormy relationship they have. This video uses a variety of camera shots ranging from close ups of the actors feet walking to over the shoulder shots of the 'singer' walking down the street, and the use of different locations makes this more effective as it shows where they're walking to and whether the location represents the song in anyway. As the song reaches a climax there are a lot of quick cuts used to represent the emotion that the 'singer' is going through, and this also highlights the various locations that are used through out the video. This is reinforced with dramatic, powerful arm movements/body language that is expressed when the singer is lip syncing, which makes it look like the 'singer' is actually singing the song rather than just miming it for the video. As well as a smoke machine they also use a rain machine to add to the dramatic effect, which comes into place when the song climaxes.