Grading music videos

In lesson today we first got given the mark scheme on how music videos are marked, we then went 

through and annotated and highlighted on the mark scheme exactly what the examiners are looking for

and what the terminology meant. After we then looked at some past videos from other school students.

The first video which we looked at is the one below, which claims to have full marks, but however 

we marked it and thought otherwise.

I gave my thought of the grade which this music video would have got, by looking at the mark scheme, 

I believe the grade which it would have got is a level 4 and would have been around 34/40.

• The video throughout was filmed and edited to be dark, which made the mood and the theme of the video dark and depressing. This was effective as it fits the mood of the song which is very emotional, heart felt song. Although this is good for most of the song it does not fit the other side to the song which is upbeat and builds up but even at this point where the song has built up the colours are still very dark and haven’t brightened making the mood still fill sad. At this point the should have either filmed in a lighter place or brightened the colours by making them warmer.
• Some of the chasing sequences don't match up with the genre, this is because it is meant to be quite a indie song but instead it has been made to seem more urban, by the urban settings and the fast pace movements.
• The narrative was a clever idea, but I think it was confusing because too much happened and there was too many different people involved which therefore made it difficult to follow. 
• The shots were good, this is because there is a large amount of different kind of shots by the way they have positioned the camera, as well as this there has been different positions in the frame, this therefore makes the music video look very professional and similar to those which are already out.

The second video which we looked at is the one above. I do not think that this video is anywhere near as good as the first video, but still does have some good points about it. I think I would score this video a grade 3 but probably a high level, around 26 or 27.

• The video looks more like a film opening instead of a music video in some of the parts, this needs to be worked on to make it more clear.
• I think that the time-lapse which is used is over used, as many of the music videos which I have looked at have used the same technique of doing a time-lapse, I think that this effect is definitely over used and actually makes it look cliché.
• The tap scene in the beginning of the video is interesting and makes the viewer interested as to what is going to come up, as it is fast paced and goes with the music, but however after this clip has been shown the video quickly changes and becomes more slow, which doesn't really fit with the pace of the music. 
• When the male is singing and he is standing still, he is placed in front of a black background, this looks really effective as they have made sure that he is well lit up. I like the way that this looks and think it adds emotion to his singing.
• The narrative is good, but can be a bit slow, it is a good idea to do a story but it can result in the video looking film opening like, just as this one may have.

I also had a look at this video above. I thought it was a really interesting concept and different to others which I have looked at. This is because they have really tried to play around with different materials and effects. I think this video would probably be a level 3, in the middle of level 3, probably about 24-25/40. This is mainly because it can get quite boring when the location stays the same throughout the video.

• Some of the times the boy performer doesn't have a straight face when the glitter or feathers is being thrown over them, this makes it look as though it is a joke, whereas the song makes it seem like it is a serious matter, they should fit together more.
• I really love the effects, especially when the glitter is thrown over the couple and it rewinds.
• Although the shots are interesting and they have done different things, a lot of them are quite dull and the fact that every shot has been filmed in the same location makes it seem more boring, and they could have added some different places.
• I think some of the shots look quite armature for example when they just zoom in on certain parts, like the girls shoulder, I do not think there was much need for that and looks like it is just gap filling.
• The speed of the transitions from the different shots look very effective as it is all changing very quickly, this fits in really well with the speed of the song and the feeling made from listening to it.

• I really love how the singer is a different person to the people who are performing.
• I think that the performers play a really good part and I think the narrative is a good amount so that it seems like a music video instead of a film opening, which is good. 
• The camera work is really good in this video and the quality is really amazing.