Rough cut feedback 2

Improvements:

I held a viewing of my music video with members of my target audience and got them to write down what they liked about the video and what they thought needed improving. Everyone had a mixture of positive and negative comments, which is helpful as I can improve my video to suit what the target audience wants to see. I then collected up all of their notes and sorted through them. The main improvement which 90% of the audience commented on was that some shots were shaky and needed editing to cut out the shaky footage. I completely agree with this point as I actually filmed some shots (most of the bird shots) with a hand held still image camera, so the shots were not as high quality as the other shots which I filmed using a Panasonic film camera on a tripod. To improve this I will cut one bird shot which is completely out of focus and tidy up the editing of other shaky shots so that the majority of the shots are smooth with minimal wobble.

Another comment was that I needed smoother editing and shorter shot times to quicken the pace of the video. I agree with these points too as I thought watching my music video on a large screen seemed to magnify errors, such as shaky camera work and also increased the time of the shots so I noticed they did drag on for longer than necessary. Therefore I will quicken the pace of shots which will make the video much sleeker and more attention grabbing. I will also make transitions smoother so there is a greater sense of continuity within the video and make the shots flow more successfully.

I received a lot of positive feedback about the dramatic speedboat shot however many people said that I should remove the first shot of the speedboat and just have the long speedboat shot at the end of the video as it is noticeable that I've repeated the shot. I agree with this and will therefore remove the first wide shot of the speedboat and keep the second shot at the end. I will also cut the end of the second speedboat shot, as some people said that the second shot of the speedboat needed to be trimmed slightly as the camera loses track of the boat at the end of the shot, which is understandable as it doesn't flow very well.

A few people said that my second animation with the letters spelling out the lyrics is quite abrupt and needs to be integrated better within the video, either through smoother transitions or by adding in more letter animation at different intervals within the video. I can understand this point, so I will experiment with more letter animation within the video, or maybe just make the transitions into and out of the animation smoother. One person said they thought I could include more close up shots of details within the video, such as close ups of leaves, or blades of grass within the wood. I didn't think about this during the editing process, however I like this idea as it would increase the variety of my shot types as I don't have many close ups within my rough cut. Therefore I will search through my footage and see if I have any close ups of detail which would reinforce the rural location of the video.

The whole audience said that the last few shots of my music video was the best and most effective section, one member of my target audience wrote, 'The last 30 seconds are perfect'. This is encouraging as it leaves the viewer with something memorable - especially as the last shot features the name of the artist, thus adding a personal touch and making sure she becomes recognisable among her target audience. One pertinent comment was that the last shot needed to last longer as the fade to black was too fast, so I will increase the length of this shot and add a slower fade.

Positive feedback:

The common feedback featured statements such as, 'nice shot selection', 'last 30 seconds are perfect', 'good variety of shots', 'effective end shot/great ending'. Many people commented on how much they enjoyed the surfer shots, animation, and end shot. In summary I think I have managed to successfully capture a variety of shots in different locations which reinforce the Indie genre of the music video and I think the composition of my shots work well - particularly the beach shots. I also think my music video conveys a creative touch, especially within the animations, which emphasises the category of people I want to attract. Generally the majority of the class all had positive comments to make so I have hopefully made a music video which will appeal to the target audience and engage the viewer. Therefore when I make the necessary improvements my music video should strongly attract the target audience to become dedicated fans of the artist!