Low budget idea's

Successful low budget music video

I think that this was one of the more successful low budget music video's produced. I have nothing but praise for this video, and it has gave me the confidence that I can produce something to this standard without having the high quality of camera's or amazing, beautiful locations. I also made sure that I made notes on any practical tips that I could have taken from this video.
Even though the majority of the clips are extremely fast paced and manic, I think that it is still pretty obvious that all of the shots are very well framed and that they are able to hold a shot steady when appropriate. Their first shot is of a long shot, which happens to be my favourite shot from their music video. Within the first few seconds of their music video beginning, they've already set a disturbing atmosphere which progresses as the song does. The use of the black and white effect emphasises the lack of life and positivity within this frame, which made it more wonderfully crafted.
One of the things that they were best at were framing the shots that included the typical elements of an intense, disturbing music video. The last shot shows a torso with blood trickling down it. I think that the colours and lighting that were used for this shot made it even more creepy and alluring. The high key lighting used upon the torso allows it to become a very strange blue colour, connoting the coldness and death of the blood. The red blood contrasts with the body, and the richness of the red underlines deaths authority and power.
They used a variety of shots to avoid any viewer fatigue, and I thought their long shots were their strengths throughout their music video. Their second image is probably one of their most creepiest, as it's just a ballerina toy going round and round. They took the same shot from many different angles and when they edited their video they also done each shot at different speeds. This was a very clever idea as it made the video more fast paced and intrigued the audience. in to continue watching. Once again, this was filmed in black and white which only intensified the creep setting that was already prominent.
Another thing that I really liked about their video was that they were clearly very selective about their props and how they were going to use them to fit in with what they were trying to achieve in their video. There is shot where we presume a girls hands are tied behind her back with rope. However, which made this shot a lot more exciting was the fact that this was edited so that we were shown the ending of the shot from the beginning rather than vise versa. The fact that we're shown the end at the start in an extremely fast pace delivers the purpose of their video perfectly. We're intrigued as to why she is tied up, and what all this build up of the fast shots is actually leading to.
On that note, the only point of improvement that I will comment on about this video is that there isn't actually a story to the video and I think that that is important in any video as the target audience must be able to relate to the artist. For example, there is a shot in the contact sheet where there is a mid shot of a girl taking a picture. This is one of the few pictures that are in colour. Therefore, it is been made evident that this shot is vital in their music video, however we as an audience are given a clue as to why as it doesn't really relate to anything.


The Vixens - Voodoo Child

This video is not as high a quality as some of the other low budget videos, however it does match some of the conventions of a girl band pop video. For instance, the four girls all have their own individual screen time, which is something you find in most pop videos, as well as their costume changes. Furthermore, there is a range of coloured lighting throughout the video, however all of it is high-key, showing the light-hearted and cheery mood of the video. The costumes all represent the different personalities of the band mates, and some have a slight cutting-edge look about them, matching the usual sex-appeal to a girl band video. Finally, similarly to most pop videos there is a narrative to the video to match the song.