Video reviews: Late I know!

Found out that this was posted on a separate blog! Well here it is on the right one now.  These are the video reviews that were done awhile back.

“Color and B/W”

Watching this video was like watching a love story with the two lovers hating each other.  The video has a simple feel to it, which makes it vague, and in decisive toward the way they feel.  I found that the black and white switch was more of a distraction than it was affective.  Thought that the video should come with a warning to people having seizures.  The use of the ocean was interesting and the sound track was ok, but the problem was it was all white noise to me.  It seemed to me that the sound track was a good cover to the white noise of the ocean.  Particularly, I wouldn’t watch a video like this and think that it was worth while in explaining who they are, only that they have to put more time into a concept and create something that has depth to it, like the ocean, and not shallow, like a puddle. 

Looking as the black and white, over contrasted, and inverted images, you can’t tell what you are supposed to look at.  I felt like I was view a tribal ritual gone wrong.  Was it suppose to rain or were suppose to be a god or goddess coming from the ocean to take it’s wrath for putting it in a underwater dungeon for thousands of years?  Either way, I felt this wasn’t a very affective video and had no outstand value to it what so ever.  Most of the time I would be kinder, but it was just that bad, in my own opinion.

“Type Overkill”

For this video, where should I begin?  The music started off good, though I felt the first 10 seconds was a waste of time, so I think he didn’t have enough footage or layout for a four-minute video.  To add to that thought at the one-minute mark, if you watch closely, he repeats his actions two or three times with him walking.  It wouldn’t be noticeable, but the same pull movies across the video and the exact same place for it. It make it look like the video is glitching, which if he is talking about everything being “broken” might work cause I feel the video does a good job of acting that way. Repetitive use of phrases and mirroring them to images of what looks like rocks on a beach seems to be a bit of bummer.  His idea seems to be that there is nothing there, but there is stuff there.  His message is lost to me. Was this an abstract piece of work? I think so.  I honestly have gotten bored of the video after only two-minutes in.  The music is slow and his shots are quick. The type flashes too quickly for the screen for people to be able to read it.  I’m still now sure why he is choosing to use blurry shots entirely. Watching this video was like watching paint dry.  I could have hoped to be interested in it, but honestly find no point to it worth taking from it.  By the end of the video the only thing I wanted to do was call the suicide hotline to see if they can track this kid down and help them out. Mean? Maybe, but that’s the gods honest truth.

“Weird and Awesome Self Portrait”

How can I put this? This was abstract and I loved it.  I don’t know if it was the Steven Hawking’s voice going on in the background or the actual shot choice.  The person has an impeccable eye for making sound cuts, which hold depth to them. I love how he uses everyday objects, which people never would think of using through the video.  The constant changing of subject matter and the repetitive reoccurrence of main subjects makes me sit through this video and enjoy it. The close shots with high depth-of-field on ever day objects make great for showing the things in his life.  By focusing on one object he is blurring out everything else around him and focusing on that one thing.  Between these shots, he places b-roll of random segments of filmstrips and noise, helping to separate the difference in each of his person subjects.  I was entranced by the voice, though it seems the words didn’t entirely seem cohesive (though I feel they still have a good meaning to the video).  If I had to pick my favorite video then this one will have been it.

Here I am, watching this video, and all I can think is that he make society seem to be an empty circle of robots.  He makes everything in life seem like a set routine that people follow, because that is what is necessary for them to survive.  He shows how he is caught in the rut and how he fits in with the crowd because of it. The was a well organized piece of work and I found it to be absolutely well done.