Analysis of Previous Work

For this task I researched and analysised work from previous students

Do My Thing

• I felt mise-en-scene was effectively used through the setting, clothing and colours etc. The bright colours of the background suited the up-beat style of the music as they both created energy and atmosphere and worked in synergy to achieve this. Both the background and the music are complemented through the costumes which add a lighthearted and fun atmosphere through the many different costume changes using a variety of different styles from a sequined dress to dungarees and a letterman jacket. The relaxed body language, facial expressions and high key lighting of the actors also added to the happy and vibrant mood and atmosphere.
• Another thing I felt worked well was the use of the varying angles and shots used throughout the whole music video. The first shots of the music video featured extreme close ups of mouths, eyes and fingers, this was effective at capturing the audiences interest as the close ups make them wonder what a wider shot contain. The close ups were broken up by two person shots showing both the artists at once.
• One thing I found that made this one stand out from all the other ones I watched was that the picture is very clear, the majority of the other music videos were slightly blurry. The clear image could have been because of the use of high key lighting but it gave the whole video a much higher quality. Another thing that made this one stand out was the quality of the lip-syncing, the two actors were over exaggerated the lip syncing which made it look more realistic and professional. 
• One criticism is that the video doesn't have a narrative and is quite repetitive which may make some of the audience bored and stop watching halfway through the video rather than watch the whole thing. However there is a bit of a difference when instead of having more shots of the the two females just being on camera they have one female dancing with two background dancers which adds a bit of interest. This also separated this video from others I have watched as I didn't see any dancing in any of the videos.
• Throughout the music video they used editing software to create a collage of different videos this added some edginess and made it more interesting for the audience to watch. 
• I liked this music video as I felt it had a very fun atmosphere and energy and had a continuous feel through the whole music video. I also felt it looked the most professional due to the higher quality of footage. 

Read All About It

• This music video is shot using a black and white effect which creates a sad and emotional atmosphere and could also be seen to link to the newspaper theme in the song. The black and white effect complements the serious nature of the song and bullying theme expressed in this video. However I feel having the whole video shot in black and white would ruin the power and atmosphere created by using it, which is why I like the use of the colour footage that shows protesters and the ending of the video.
• The effect used in the shots showing the protesters is very effective as it gives the footage a gritty raw mood which continues to fit in with the bullying theme of the music videos. 
• One shot I found that was very effective was the one that had the chorus lyrics, the shot showed the protagonist in the centre of the screen and behind her the wall was covered in newspapers and the protagonist slowly turns around with her back to us. I thought this shot was effective as it linked the images to the lyrics "they can read all about it" but in a more creative way than just having the female read a newspaper in front of her. However one criticism I have about this shot is the actor's lip syncing, personally I felt this shot could have been more dramatic if the actor had over-exaggerated or been more confident lip syncing the lyrics. The images and the black and white effect create a serious and emotional mood and they could have added to that if the actor had added more emotion and confidence to the lip-syncing. 
• I thought that there were some strong elements to the video such as the transitions. One of the first transitions that is shown is a high angle shot of a notebook that shows an image of the ground in the next shot and then the shot fades into that image of the floor. This creates a sense of fluidity. Another element I liked was when an actor fell in slow motion as I felt it was in keeping with the atmosphere but just added some diversity to the pace of the video. 
• I felt the animal print in the costume didn't fit the sombre and serious atmosphere of the music video. 
• One issue I found was that the lip-syncing wasn't very confident which I felt lowered how professional the video was, because when you look at a professional music video such as Emeli Sande's original 'Read All About It' the artist over-exaggerates the lyrics on film to convey the emotion and power of the lyrics that the audience feels when they are watching a live performance. 

Born To Die

• One strength of this music video is that it had a clear narrative of a relationship between the main actors, however the video was kept interesting by breaking up the narrative story with static shots of the female actress lip-syncing or sat at a piano.
• The mise en scene is strongly used in the music video:
• Lighting- the lighting was used in creative and unique ways for example some of the shots used only a spotlight on the main character with the surrounding background pitch black, this created a very dramatic and mysterious atmosphere. Other times soft warm ambient light was used to convey the comfortable and relaxed mood of the character, whilst high key lighting from natural sunlight was used to add diversity and interest to the whole video. 
• Costumes and Settings- throughout the whole video costume had been carefully thought about, both conveyed sophistication and elegance. Through the setting of a regal and stately looking home and open outdoor areas the locations gave a wealthy and posh representation. This representation was further shown through the costumes, the male actor wore a suit and the female actress wore several elegant dresses with pearl and diamond accessories.
• Props- one of the main props used was the vintage microphone and piano, both of these adhere to the wealthy representation. The microphone was used by the female actress at the top of the stairs, which gave a very dramatic effect which I really liked as it was unlike other videos where they had just zoomed in on the mouth of the music artist or had a close up of the face.
• I felt the actress played the character very well as she was appeared very elegant and as dramatic as the location and the costumes. She was also particularly good at the lip syncing and conveying how the singer sounds slightly bored, this was shown through accurate lip syncing and her body language and facial expressions.
• One criticism I found was that there weren't many camera angles, shots or transitions that stood out for being creative or interesting, in the other videos I looked at there seemed to be at least a few unique and creative camera or editing elements used in the music video. 
• Another weakness of this music video is that all the shots were the same length which although kept the pace constant, didn't make it very diverse and therefore may cause some of the audience to become bored of the video and not watch the whole video.
• Out of the three I looked at this was my favourite one as I enjoyed the fact that there was a balance between the lip-syncing performance and the narrative as I felt it kept me interested in the video. I also enjoyed this video most because I felt there was a strong sense of synergy and that everything had been carefully considered from the costumes to the locations.

I then analysed digipaks made by previous students.

LEARNING COMMENT:
From completing this research task I have a clearer idea about what things I need to be aware of when planning and creating my own digipak such as:

• is it too repetitive all the way through the music video and digipak or is it interesting and has creative 
• Whether the quality of the footage is good enough, one of the issues I found with some of the videos I watched was that they looked less professional because of the low quality of the camera. This is also what made the 1st video I analysed standout as it had  very clear image all the way through the video which made it looked more finished and thought out. 
• Does the lip syncing fit the lyrics, this was another element that I felt either made the video look polished or made it look untidy and rushed. This means that when it comes to