First music video!

Hello EVERYONE! So this will be my second post to the site. Let me start by saying as always that I respect each and everyone of your guys and gals who edit and produce video. This video is my first music video. I also produced the music and co wrote the song. I'd appreciate any thoughts you could provide to help me in future music videos. I shot this in tx on a weekend trip. Didnt have a ton of time but we did what we could.

I use a canon Vixia HF S200 looking to upgrade to a Rebel t4i so if any one has any insight on using a DSLR instead of a camcorder that would be a bonus. Thanks in advance!

It’s an ambitious song & video, Tawaan, & for the most part I’d say you pulled it off. Well done. There are a few tweaks that wouldn’t hurt, to up your value & professionalism, but considering the camera you shot with, it’s a great effort.

A few things detract for me. The black umbrella just sucks up the light, so her beneath it doesn’t work. We go back to that again later & even fade to black, further exacerbating the issue. Also, we can’t even see the rain in that shot so the umbrella looks staged. Later we see droplets on top of the umbrella in a closeup, so we know there was rain, but the umbrella doesn’t work. Perhaps a lighter color umbrella might work if it let light thru, but I’d much rather see it with heavy rain in front (you can add it in post). Though I do love the idea of the little droplets shot, glinting in the light, but on leaves would suit your theme better.

We have a few odd color shifts in the opening section as she’s waking. If you’re going to have one or two specific color grades you want to use, fine, (maybe one for dream one for awake, or one for destruction one for nature) but there is a third one that pops up with a kind of purplish hue, I’d lose that. Similarly there’s a very flat bare looking image when you show her hands under the water, the shot is a bit jarring in its lack of post production, thus looking very video & amateur. A bit more post can fix the shot.

Your opening montage which I assume is to depict the destruction of the environment is very dramatic with the nuke & other stock footage, but when we shift to your shot of fallen trees, you lose a lot of your momentum. The problem is the snow, which is pristine & white, kind of a symbol of purity, add to that the green & we’re very nearly in natural forest, but then we have to really strain to notice, oh, ok, you want us to see trees cut down here. It’s weak.

A better choice would be to find some very dramatic clear cutting photos, apply a dried scorched earth reddish tint & do a Ken Burns to fake your pan. This would fit to your other footage better.

I like the contrast of an almost metal sounding song with her operatic vocals, although she’s not the most glamorous, you need to show her in a better light. Use the softening filters, more light leaks & flares with her. She’s all about the light anyway, climb every mountain singing, meadow loving, tree-hugging, more light play fits her perfectly.

You’ve thrown a mixed back of tricks & glows at this, which is ok, but the door opening sequence is too long by about half. Some great use of other stock footage, mountain flybys etc, though a more consistent color grade theme would help the continuity.

Love the shot of her atop the rocky peak. With her look & what she’s wearing (costume changes add value), I think a kind of a psychedelic hippy light effects package might work well on our scenes with her. Just find the right balance so as not to over do it. Perhaps a bit more camera movement & quicker cuts with her shots too.

Some guys here will want to know where you get your stock footage.

Big improvement over the fun piece you did with your son, Tawaan, now we can see you were slyly concealing your talents.