Comparison: Ours vs The Temper Trap's

Just before we started our project The Temper Trap released this video, and it snuck under our radar. We continued on with the project regardless, but avoided watching the official video until now.

The first thing to be picked up on is the added intro, which I personally find to be annoying. It seems to have little to do with the song and I feel it undermines the calm effectiveness of the actual opening. Similarly some background noises are added, which detracts from the song for me. The video then progresses, with narrative and performance elements (like ours) and you could argue that it is conceptual too. The performance is unconventional, as was ours - though where our used a banana as a microphone, theirs uses singing children.

Here though is pretty much where the comparisons end. The official video uses much longer shots, giving it a lethargic pace, whereas ours speeds up in the more exciting choruses and I feel this misrepresents the song, which can be very lively at times. My other serious problem with this video is that I can't for the life of me work out what it has to do with the song. We based our idea around the lyrics, but here there is no apparent reference to love or loss (except perhaps the loss of breath).

I'm pleased by the similarities between the two videos - the performance/narrative combination, their shared difference and unexpectedness - but I have to admit I think our video is more suited to The Temper Trap and the song. Naturally the official might look a bit better on the basic level because it's filmed/edited with better equipment. But, and I apologise if perhaps this sounds arrogant, in terms of the ideas and themes I prefer our video.

Evaluation

Music Video Conventions

To some extent, our video followed conventions, like in the combination of performance and narrative.

 However, we also challenged them with our emphasis on the informality, familiarity and "homely" feel. Our CD Cover and Website are perhaps more vibrant than might be expected because of this, and to target both sexes, like The Temper Trap do themselves.

Synergy of Products

All our products (CD Cover, Website and Music Video) are interconnected through that informal feel as well as the recurring themes of the home, photographs and repeated colours and fonts.

These create a clear and consistent image for the band that can be immediately identified by the audience.

Audience Feedback

Audience feedback was very helpful to us, particularly in the planning stage and it helped us meet audience needs as well as improve the visual quality of the video. Technical feedback was useful as well, helping us spot continuity and lighting errors.

Media Technologies

Hardware and software were mainly used to assemble the products, rather than in the creative design stage. However, experiements with editing functions on Photoshop did help us with CD Cover ideas.

The internet was an important source for our research (alongside physical CDs) and we used video-hosting and social networking sites like YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook for distribution and promotion.