1st Place :: Division A

"Not That Different"

Oak Park River Forest

Music Video

Entry Description

A music video for an original song - "Not that Different"

Judge 1

Positives: Outstanding. There are so many wonderful things about this video. Incredible song. (I'd buy it!) The images are powerful. Not only are they composed and lit well to capture mood and setting, but the acting is strong and the characters carry the story. Great subtleness to shots like the burred vision of the old man. The story line is layered and realistic. The more blatant racism of the old man and med student story verses the subtle stereotyping by the mom is excellent. (These are things that are unfortunately in our world.) I can't commend you enough for the powerful and strong visuals. Praise the actors-young and old. The facial expressions (and acting) are so moving and real. It takes great talent to tell a story this effectively without dialogue (of course, the song helps!) The editing is clean and simple which adds more depth and is far more powerful than effects-laden videos. Beautiful song. Beautiful message. Beautiful visuals.

Improvements: I really can't find too much that could be improved. This is better than most videos that I've seen made by beginning videographers. YOU HAVE TALENT and WILL go far. This video is layered: 1) singer 2) med student/old man 3) mom/children. All layers truly work. If I were to suggest anything, I think toying with the singer layer may enhance the video. A fourth element of her story intercut with the other three would've been really powerful. (i.e. her boy/girl friend is of another culture (or something like that) and a glimpse of some of the situations they face). Just a thought.

Judge 2

Positives: Very impressive! Hard to believe this video was produced by high school students. Extremely professional. Liked the layers in each story. Enjoyed the creative camera angles throughout. Nice variety of footage. Good pacing. Actors did a great job.

Improvements: When recording footage of singer on guitar, be sure to include headroom - space between the top of her head and edge of the frame. Additionally, adding a key with song details to the beginning and end is preferred on music videos. Overall, well done!

Judge 3

Positives: Great visuals and original song! They really told the story well. Camera angles were creative. The pacing was excellent and kept the piece moving.

Improvements: Needed and opening graphic (simple title/arist). I'd suggest the singer to have a different outfit on when playing a different instrument to show a change in time. It would have been neat to cut between the three different stories at the end to sum them up together.