Task 1

Task 2

One of my favourite adverts, it was made for John Lewis in Autumn 2012. It is a split screen set up with the left side being a woman on a date in the 1920s and they man on the right on a date in the present day. They never physically meet, though they are in the same street, cinema, nightclub etc, the idea being  ‘while many aspects of our lives today are different to how they were almost 100 years ago, the really important things haven’t changed at all’ I like the romance, nostalgia and wistfulness of it. I also like the colour grading, the situations and the props etc they use to convey two time periods almost 100 years apart. The camera is mainly centred due to the split screen although does sometimes come in from the sides when the characters are on their own ie it pans in to their jobs from the sides. Everything is mirrored so it pans symmetrically. There is a mixture of wide shots, mid shots, close-ups etc. The soundtrack is Never Tear Us Apart by Paloma Faith (originally by INXS) which is dubbed over the entire advert. It’s typically John Lewis, big budget (£7 million) captures your attention and leaves you with a nice feeling. Good marketing from them as usual.

This is a wedding video by a friend’s brother. He has won quite a few awards and I really like his stuff. He was self taught, following videos on Youtube etc. This is a gorgeous video, the colours are beautiful, it is dreamy, possibly a bit instagram filter-y but I think that’s a wedding thing. The soundtrack really sets this off for me, starting with the radio on with the date in the morning, followed by the speeches and finishing with a gentle song, it is engaging but doesn’t dominate the video. There is a lot of attention to detail here, and a mixture of techniques and shot lengths.

This is a fun one to watch, a race through Edinburgh, Bikers vs Parkour, from Norrie the Piper at Castlehill they make their way through the city, ending up at Arthurs Seat. The colour is good, it is bright, clean, just making Edinburgh look less grey and more inviting, with better weather! The camera is moving all the time following the guys. It’s mostly wide shots and extra wide although there are mid shots throughout also. I think the music was original and piped with a synthesizer used. A good advert for Edinburgh.

Task 3

Markets for Photographers using DSLR Video

• Weddings are a huge market and if clients can book one company to do the photos and video instead of two they will, and if you are able to provide both you have a better chance of being hired.
• Video is a great medium for advertising, not only the adverts you see on tv but also for use on websites, Youtube etc. A good way to promote your business, being that Youtube is one of the largest platforms in the world. Video content is a great way to catch attention, specifically with the Millennial markets who will click on a video and you have time to capture their attention and get across what you want to say.
• In the music and entertainment business, documentary style videography is popular, giving an insight into the behind the scenes action of your favourite singer or band.
• Estate agencies increasingly use videos, alongside photos to market properties for sale. There are many properties go on the market each day so it’s a good opportunity for a photographer who can do both.

These are a few of the markets where Photographers would benefit from being able to do video as well. If you can’t use the video functions on your camera and shoot and produce a half decent moving image you may well be at a disadvantage in the very competitive Photography industry.