COPYCAT - ID# 369
John Hersey High School
Division: A
Music Video
Entry Description
A fictional dramatic story about a girlfriend who finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her and gets her revenge. Worked a total of 30 hours planning, filming, and editing to bring the best product we could. Enjoy!
Recent Teacher Comments
- 3/12 10:22 pm - I know you will get knocked for using the knife, but honestly this was very well done. There isn't a shot in here that I thought looked bad. Impressive from start to finish. The feel of the narrative matched the feel of the song. You used a few cool techniques but didn't hit us over the head with them. I love the blueish light on the singer, feels creepy and she acts the part with the devilish smile.
- 3/11 10:36 pm - Engaging from the start! Impressive shots and perfect tone matching through narrative and main actress. (The only consideration for improvement I had may be what someone else has already commented here on...shown use of knife?)
- 3/1 10:12 am - Very well done but very realistic use of a realistic looking weapon.
Judge 1
Positives: 1. I like how you had a bleak, unsaturated color palette. The blue cutaway shot of her singing the lyrics was nice too. It made the piece feel dark and gloomy. 2. The pacing of the edit with the development of the story line was nice. Since you told a story that kept evolving, it made the video go by quickly.
Improvements: 1. Your shots and framing are pretty nice, but I would recommend using a stabilizer or adding some weight to the camera if you are going handheld. When you go handheld with very light cameras, like DSLRs, they pick up lots of vibration, and the shaky effect is unpleasing and looks unnatural. Next time, add some weight to your camera to help smooth our the shakiness - or use a simple gimbal. 2. I like how you kept the lighting minimal and used natural lighting sources - it helps create a realism. However, in the scene where she is putting him into the chair and tying him up - it becomes difficult to separate the talent form the background. In the future, think of ways that you can help separate the talent from the background. But always try to think of realistic light sources that may be in that space. There are many ways to light, and lighting evokes mood. A silhouette can be just as effective as light hitting the subject. Just try to incorporate lighting that can let the subject come off the background - which creates dimensionality to the images.
Judge 2
Positives: Cool song. Good use of color grading to distinguish narrative threads from performance elements. Good camera work and use of varying focal lengths. Good use of lighting and shadow.
Improvements: When the protagonist is getting out of the car when she sees her boyfriend cheating I caught the camera operator in the window of the car. Be very careful with reflections. A quick rehearsal with camera or playback on set can help to identify and eliminate these issues during filming so you don't end up with blown takes that you have to use in post.
Judge 3
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Judge 4
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