Reviewing a Professional Music Video for What's to Come

Hello there. Let's face it, the title is too strong a hint to really, well, hint at what's coming next, so I'll just tell you straight up: we're making music videos. And before I show you my own team's finished project, I have to analyze a professional music video. So I chose to review the music video for Television Romance by Pale Waves.

First of all, it isn't really a story-based video, so trying to review plot elements just doesn't work. It's just the band playing in an apartment room, and shots of what the viewer can assume is the apartment complex they're in. It's aesthetic based, so art direction-wise, the pictures, nick-nacks, and other little things in the room give it a nice and minimalist vintage feel, sort of like your Grandma's house.

I really like the lighting in this. Filming directly in front of a window can be tricky since it can completely blow out your shot, but the indoor scenes were filmed on a fairly cloudy day. The sunlight is still strong as a light source, but not totally obscuring the band in front. There were a few flaws I noticed, e.g. lighting for the exterior slightly getting sunnier, while the interior stays the same. But to hold the filmmakers against something as little as that would be asking them to pause the sun and clouds for a few hours.

The editing, for the most part, is nice. The shots are extremely smooth and very nice to the eyes: either fixed and steady stills or smooth movements using a dolly. Although, in some parts, the shots were longer than they needed to be, which felt very slow. The first four long shots before the title card slowed the video right off the bat. They only felt repetitive of each other and a little unnecessary. Of course, the pacing picked up with the music and interior shots, but the first 20 or so seconds felt like it could've been just 5. And at the end, I'm not too sure a lot of people stayed for the entirety of the last shot. Of course it moved pretty fast compared to the other moving shots, but in essence, it's just zooming out for 30 seconds. There isn't anything wrong with longer shots; it's relaxing to the eye and works really well for this type of music. However, too many long shots (which there wasn't) or not spreading them out can bore the audience.

Anyway, don't let my rant about shot length let you think I hate this video. I really like it. It set out to be relaxed, a little minimalistic, and a bit nostalgic, and it hit the mark. Overall, 4/5 stars. Okay, am I done reviewing this professionally? I just want to add a little side note that Heather is really pretty and I love her makeup. Also, Pale Waves is cool. I'm not a massive fan, but a casual listener, and I like what I hear. That's all I have to say, and I shall write again later!