Research: Past Student's Work - 'Rough Cut' by Amber Rubarth

To gain further inspiration regarding our music, as well as looking at the standard of music video we will try to achieve, we have decided to look at a past student's work. Last year, a group of students from our school used the song 'Rough Cut' by Amber Rubarth - our back up song. Therefore, we feel it is beneficial for us to analyse this music video.

Strengths

• The narrative of the music video was strong, and supported the meaning of the lyrics whilst also being unique.
• The fades to black and dissolves were effective and added extra impact to the previous shots.
• The use of the reversal feature from Final Cut Express is used effectively.

Weaknesses

• The opening shot was not as powerful as I had expected. Having heard the song before, I know that the lyrics have emotional meaning, thus leading me to anticipate a strong, haunting opening.
• The horizon during some of the lip syncing was not straight, and was therefore off-putting.
• I thought there should be more lip syncing using an extreme close-up, so emphasise both the editing of the lip syncing and the emotion portrayed by the actress.

Overall

As a whole, the piece was enjoyable and to a relatively high standard. Moreover, I thought the editing was effective, and helped make the music video as strong as it was. However, some of the acting was not to the same standard as the rest of the piece, and a few of the shots used were not appealing to the viewer, as they were shaky and off-putting.

From looking at this music video, it is evident that having a strong and interesting narrative will help us create a good product. Moreover, we must pay particular attention to the types of shot we use (whether they corroborate with the timing and lyrics) and the quality of shot, as we want our music video to look as professional as possible.