Music Video Went Viral - 1st FCPX Project - Feedback Please)

I finished my first Final Cut Pro X project last weekend, I am not completely pleased with it, but I was at my limits regarding ideas etc.

The entire video was shot at my apartment; kitchen, living room, bedroom, green screen... with some the cheapest lighting i could find.

I noticed some mistakes I made when shooting, but I would really appreciate all of your so much more experienced feedback, so I can keep all that in mind when doing my next project.





Your Feedback is very welcomed and will be appreciated!

Thanks for sharing, Louchihn. Yours is a very interesting confluence of events leading to your viral “success.” We’ll address this momentarily, first let’s look at the video technically.

It appears shot on a basic camcorder with no DOF (Depth Of Field), or expensive lenses, etc. Which goes to show that content & creative use of editing & post work can make up for budget limitations. There is nothing truly remarkable about the video, but it does check off many of the boxes (pretty girls, culturally relevant fashion / trendy apparel, reasonable audio track, youth appeal, etc). Your use of closeups, movement, juxtaposing images, strobing images, pacing, structure & storyline progression, show you have a great handle on the medium. Not sure if this is your first video ever, I doubt that, but it appears you have considerable talent for directing & producing this type of art.

You mention the “limits of ideas,” & this is often the case when reviewing the footage, just how much can I do with what I’ve got? Considering you’ve conveyed your message effectively, without the use of any special FX beyond that of the green screen, not a single light leak, lens flare or digital manipulation, is testament to the fact that your ideas were sufficient. When people throw as many effects as they can at a piece (usually to make up for lack of content), it comes off as weak & desperate.

There is one scene that goes on a bit long for me & doesn’t seem to make much sense, that’s of the black girl looking for something to wear. White boy’s scene 90% back to the camera isn’t that engaging either. But now we’re getting into the nature of your film, its back story & precisely why it went viral.

Another accolade to your filmmaking ability is that though I don’t understand German, I was able to understand the gist of the film, even empathize to some degree. A later websearch for “Jonny K Germany,” filled in the missing details as I’d suspected.

For those who don’t know (& please correct if I leave any errors in his story). Jonny K was a 20 year old young man living in Berlin with his family, of Thai descent, he was in a bartender apprenticeship. One night he went to a nightclub where he was savagely beaten to death. The brutality of the violence sickened the nation, Jonny’s father described the thugs as stomping his son’s head as one would a discarded cigarette. Some of the newspaper coverage appears in this video, but there are some deeper issues bubbling beneath the surface. Germany, with its tainted past on racial violence is increasingly troubled at its core by the reemergence of this particular form of evil. There is a whole Muslim Arab connection with the suspects, one has fled to Turkey where extradition seems impossible.

I opened this article describing an “interesting confluence of events” leading to the video becoming viral. Please don’t think me disrespectful to those grieving, as I’m analyzing your video’s viral nature from a purely statistical perspective. Several ancillary factors have all converged here to contribute to the perfect storm of viral acceleration.

Please don’t regard my comments as callous or uncaring. Again we’re attempting to understand this from a scientific mind-frame.

A tragedy of this magnitude garners tremendous media coverage. In marketing terms I often use an analogy in meetings, the most valuable piece of real estate is that between your ears. To successfully implant a brand in that coveted space takes a lot of repetition in the form of systematic exposure requiring a ton of money. Riding in on the coattails of an major event, or hitching your wagon to this locomotive borrows its momentum. You’re associating your brand with something that already takes up valuable real estate in people’s heads. If that association is deeply emotional, the connection is more of a marriage, melding with core values.

Tapping into the ethos of a generation, having a finger on the pulse of public sentiment, especially at the time of a nationally & culturally galvanizing event, is a lightning rod. Whether initial motives were moral or otherwise, we must admit that high profile support to victims of tragedies raises one’s public value. From corporations aiding tsunami refugees to scientologists flying planes to earthquake zones, it’s all good PR.

There are a couple of other components in your story. A very culturally unique one is that of the Buddhist funeral, which I just learned is basically silent. To the German youth most effected by the tragedy of Jonny’s murder, silence is emotionally unfulfilling. These young people are sad, frightened, angry & full of passion on this subject, they need to express & they demand to be heard. Your video provides the perfect platform. Secondly, the media coverage tints the story to fit a politically correct almost state sanctioned or sanitized package, a rigid structure the passionate youth need to break free from, again you deliver.

So, with these undercurrents running so deeply, looking at your video content, directorial decisions, & post production choices, we are afforded a different lens or angle of incidence.

We start with the darkly clothed mourners, but our feel is more along the celebration of life theme. This allows license to partake in the normally funeral inappropriate exploration of sensual lips & bare midriffs. The use of the stark B&W background with the brief & haunting epitaph “Jonny K was here,” is powerful & effective. The young guys playing video games in numbed emotionless silence, until one just can’t contain himself any longer, works well. As do the Asian religious aspects with Jonny’s sister grieving. You’ve shown a sensitivity here by dealing with the subject matter delicately & respectfully without crossing over into gratuitous or exploitive.

There’s a shot that I wouldn’t mind to have seen, perhaps instead of the prolonged clothing selection scene. The lovely little Asian baby is an iconic symbol. Perhaps if we could have seen a medium profile shot of the sister, even in her grief, raising the child above her head, then bringing the baby in for a kiss & cuddle. Despite the horror of what we’ve been thru, life goes on, there is still hope.

There is a foreign proverb someone once loosely translated for me on my travels, that a baby is God’s way of saying He wants the world to go on. Of course to include a scene like this in your film requires even greater sensitivity & subtlety for risk of being trite or maudlin. You might have to experiment to see what works, as it’s a fine line between connecting emotionally & going over the top. If possible, I would like to experiment with sister in front of the white wall & Jonny’s picture, raising baby as she faces to screen right, camera is gently moving in as baby reaches apex, slight light leak, we keep approaching as baby lowers to kiss, slow it down to neck nuzzle hug, fade.

Ok, let’s look at your numbers. You got a million hits in 6 days, it’ll be interesting to monitor & see how high this goes. Also a curious fact is your only having 90 comments so far. Compared to your hit tally, I think this reflects what I mentioned earlier, your film is providing the vocal outlet for young people effected by this story. Though I can’t understand the lyrics, I’m certain they’re full of all the sentiments outlined above.

Here comes my big question, challenge really… What do you want to do with this?

You’re riding a wave right now, one that many strive to achieve but never reach. You have an opportunity, no a moral obligation & duty to your fallen friend to make sure his death wasn’t in vain.

Here’s my recommendation. Call all your friends who helped on this, recruit them into service again. Prepare a Press Release, outlining the noble intent of honoring your friend & his family, the purpose of the video. Detail its meteoric rise, how it is the voice of a generation. Send it to every single media outlet in Germany & all of Europe, hey, target North America too. Get people working the web, tweeting, facebooking, etc, build this thing while you can, fan the flame NOW. There is only a brief window of opportunity. This might just be the beginning of your viral stage, it very well could go all Susan Boyle on you.

Next, the follow-up. You need to continue, develop another video concept. I like the idea of recruiting more people with higher profiles thru the media exposure you’re going to generate. Get some German celebrities & musicians on board. The message is to end racism, violence, etc, trust me, Germany can really go for this message.

I really like the idea of the next video beginning where this one leaves off, show the computer screen & the hits rising, show clips of the media stories you’re going to generate, next we leave the apartment out onto the street, where others are going to join in, the numbers swell, create flash mobs, bring signs, pictures of Jonny, create a movement. Show celebrities of different ethnicities greeting, embracing. You’ve got to work with musical people now as this thing gathers steam, construct an anthem this time. You need a catchy hook chorus that will embed in the minds of those that hear it.

Build something great for Jonny.










J. Matthew
Global•Watch•Media•Consulting
www.GWM2.com

Twitter - @GlobalWatchM3

Dear TrixTrax9000,
thank you so much for the amazing and in depth feedback, it was very uplifting and helpful. I can hardly believe how positively you critiqued my video, I was expecting a lot of downtalk here.

The Video:
-The scene with the Black Girl changing clothes, she is Jonny's first Girlfriend (he was a late bloomer)... and I actually wanted to shoot the Bed scene (in the intro with her) but she never had time to come around, then she came around the day after I was done shooting the Video, and said she is ready to shoot now, so Tina's Sister came up with that scene spontaneously, because they said that Jonny had such a major effect on her whole style and she always asked him what she should wear, so i squeezed that footage into the rap part, but yeah i guess because it wasn't an idea i came up with for the video it kind of shows. i completely agree with you though it didn't really fit.
-White Guy in black in front of the black background, I thought that gave the downtime of the song a decent touch, I actually shot that scene about 10 times, it was really difficult to get him to focus for the entire take, but I was going to use the later takes that he turned around towards the end, but he always looked too down and unfocused, mumbling words... it was really hard especially after i tried explaining to him how i needed him to act out the words better or just say them louder so his lips look more natural in the video, he kind of just tensed up and always stopped saying the lyrics at all at some points.

The Video, Facts you might find interesting:
The song is actually sung by a friend of mine, who isn't in the video, but she lives in a different city and didn't have time to come in for the shooting. The girl who plays Jonny (baseball cap and red bape jacket), is Jonny's 16 year old sister, who is kind of like my little sister now... Jonny was like my best friend, I've been together with his older sister for 6 Years now, him and I grew pretty close in the last 2 years. I wrote the entire song. The girl praying at the end is Jonny's last girlfriend. The people on the couch were his closest friends. The girl with the baby is the wife whose wedding we were all at 3 months prior to his death, the night Jonny was murdered we were celebrating the birthday of her husband and the 1 month anniversary of their baby... the vietnamese don't celebrate the birth of the baby, because they believe when a baby comes into this world it should spend the 1st month at home only with their family to strengthen their bond and to stay away diseases during the 1st month in which baby's a very sensitive, so they celebrate the 1st month, when the baby has become presentable.


The Story:
To add to the Story, a friend of ours had too much to drink at the party, so I was going to carry him to the open road which was almost a kilometer away and then return to the party. Jonny asked me where I was going, once I told him he said he'll come too because it's not cool if I go by myself. Another friend came with us, he ran off to the open road to stop a cab though which was a couple of corners away. And I couldn't carry our friend anymore, so I asked Jonny to grab a chair that was just standing there unchained to the rest of the chairs infront of an already closed cafe. I heard the load group behind us, Jonny placed the chair behind us, while i was trying to put our friend down, one of the 6 Turkish guys pulled the chair away, and we both fell to the floor, Jonny just asked him "what are you doing, can't you see he's drunk", and the Turkish guy immediately punched him in the face, Jonny jumped back and they basically jumped him. I ran in pushed one away, and pulled off the guy that started it all, and once i started hitting on him they all jumped me, but it was already too late... within seconds I lost my best friend and little brother... after something like that... you just spend days and days thinking... if you could have only been a little faster, a little stronger... or if i could have just toughened up and carried our friend the extra distance... we would have never even met them.

We later found out, the 6 guys had a dispute with another group at another nearby club, but the other group was larger apparently around 10 people or so, so they walked off but apparently still had that rage and anger in them that they just absolutely needed to get out... and we were the first people they saw... which is crazy because Jonny was such a strong believer in karma, and then something like this happens... and you just think... wow... he had never been in a fight before in his life, he couldn't even scream at people or get mad at any body, every time his older sister or his parents would scream at him he would just frown and put on his headphones... he was the sweetest kid... ever...

Anyways... completely off track, sorry... fuckin tears...


Reactions:
The support has been truly amazing... a German music channel posted a link to the youtube video www.viva.tv/news/25291-youtube-hit-kases...oten-freund-johnny-k
This German TV Show was doing a report on Jonny's older sister, and she showed the video in that show which was just going viral so they showed that on tv too.
www.sat1.de/tv/fruehstuecksfernsehen/vid...inz-buschkowsky-clip
Over 300,000 of the views are from Facebook alone (mostly embedded though), which is where it went viral i guess.
I send the video over whatsapp to every one of my contacts, asking them to share it with everyone of their whatsapp contacts, and I still have a lot of new york contacts but somebody from India wrote me over youtube saying he got a whatsapp message from a friend in san fran, sending out his condolences and saying he already send it to everyone he knows. I still can't believe how things like this work... it's so just so insane.
But it hasn't all been good, Jonny's older sister wrote e-mails to all 7 major Hip Hop Sites in Germany on Wednesday and not a single one of them even bothered replying. A friend of Jonny's even posted the video on their forums:
www.rappers.in/kases_sky_-_du_bist_nicht...c_video.t637364.html
but they just deleted the threads or took out the link and replied with:
"It isn't nationally relevant" or "please don't post your private videos here, this a serious music forum"


Going From Here:
I absolutely agree, and I have made it my mission to make his death stand for something... his sister once said in an interview "i wasn't able to do anything for him in the hospital, so I at least want to do something for everyone else", which is why we have started our own foundation
www.iamjonny.de we visit schools, talk to the youth, and so much more. We're trying to bring change.
On that note, thanks a lot for the detailed plan, I will follow it as good as I can... but you would not believe how time consuming this whole thing is, his sister isn't able to work since it happened, she focuses completely on the I Am Jonny project, so I'm stuck working extra hours to get some money in so we can survive, while supporting her with our cause, which makes your plan so much harder. But I will try to find the time during the All star Game this weekend to produce a press kit (which isn't in my field of expertise at all) and send that out to everyone.

The problem with the song I made is really just, that it is over a my remake (that only because i couldn't find the original instrumental) to Kanye West's All Of The Lights, so i don't have any rights to the song anyway, therefore i doubt music channels or radio stations will be allowed to even put it into rotation.

We are actually planning a concert on the 7.4 which would have been Jonny's 21st birthday, and one of the best known artists in Germany have already agreed to participate in the concert, so that is going to be major, of course I will be performing my song there as well.

Again I hope you understand how much I appreciate your post. Thank you so much TrixTrax9000.

Interesting development that it's actually a Kanye West song. Hmm... that changes a lot of things. But really you can set your lyrics to any new track too. If managed properly & reworking the various angles to get in past those link deleting music boards, can catapult you into increased limelight. In fact, one well strategized response to a viral campaign can be parlayed into a career. It's not easy, or everyone would be doing it. You might also want to try & contact Kanye West's management, it's a bit of a gamble because they could be harsh & demand youtube remove it, or they could endorse it which bumps you up into airplay. Give it some thought, & consider how you word your correspondence to Kanye's team. Perhaps since we're all about the hope of new life & since Kanye just had a baby, combined with his history of speaking out about things that matter, we selected his song to showcase this vital issue. Some of these guys own their music, others are beholden to huge uncaring corporations, so step tentatively.

Have to disagree with the networks saying your topic isn't culturally relevant, it obviously is. That's probably a smokescreen for something else.

As for the backstory on the black girl's scene, it's meaningful to those that know it, but for the majority of viewers it won't make sense. Your troubles in getting performers to ... well, perform, resonates. Welcome to the world of show business.

Sad to learn more details of your friend's passing. It would be encouraging to see this heartfelt outpouring continue to grow, & something good to come of it all.

Blessings...

I actually tried getting in touch with Kanye's management, but that proved to be impossible. I called Universal, Def Jam, all associated labels I could dig up, but no luck, I got an e-mail address to his manager but i never got a reply to the e-mail i send there. I'll give it another shot though, I just wrote there asking whether it was possible to use the instrumental and remix the song in dedication to my friend... but it might be different now that the song is actually done, and the video is up.

I've been trying to whip up a press kit for the past couple of hours, it just doesn't seem striking. Do you have any examples of decent press kits laying around somewhere? That would be really helpful, as I have never seen one before.

Trying to get a million dollars in free advertising from media outlets is never easy. We craft each one specifically for its situation. Some have been an amazing success, others have fizzled out with little or no fanfare. A press release is something no one can guarantee. Granted, the more money you throw at any kind of publicity, the better your chances.

Like editing, a press release or media release of any kind (advisory, kit, etc.), treads the fine line of sensationalism, without being over the top. Media mavens all view themselves in the high esteem of "professional journalistic standards," though we all know it thrives on hype in one form or another. Media outlets are like the weather, they often change on a whim, can be fickle with past favorites, & vary from locations. If you have an astute eye & are familiar with their product you can detect a general tone. Certain words can be tweaked to mesh with their ethos. The greater groundswell of association you can accumulate before you make your press release, the more encouraging your chances of being picked up.

Your pre-release strategy has to be carefully thought out in regards to what you seek to accomplish. As mentioned in the earlier posts, amalgamating with a larger cause elevates your message. Get one of your female helpers calling every government agency & NGO devoted to ending gang violence, racial discrimination, effected youth, etc. Perfect your banter on the smaller fish first, then solicit endorsements from the larger more influential groups. In Germany you might also be able to get the Jewish lobby on board. For which I would write a specific communique. The more quotes of support, logos & official endorsements you can garner (a dedicated webpage would lend legitimacy), the more powerful your press release.

In the mean time, here are a few guidelines.


www.webwire.com/FormatGuidelines.asp

Help with terminology & distinctions of purpose

smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-betw...s-release-50929.html

and
www.ehow.com/list_7690039_differences-be...edia-press-kits.html

How to
www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Press-Release