Performance Analysis
Alicia Keys - Fallin': To help us in our performance footage, we looked at 3 different videos from female artists who predominantly use piano and singing performance. Firstly we looked at Alicia Keys early video ‘Fallin’. From this we found that the performance was in some sort house/living area which is sparsely decorated. This draws all attention to the singer and the piano. We particularly like the effect of the grand piano in the centre of the room. What we also noticed was the range of different shots on the piano. Close ups of the hands playing and shots of interesting parts of the piano are used to make it more interesting and draw attention to the professionalism to the performance. The shot begins as a master, showcasing Keys and the piano in the centre of the room. It then goes on to zoom in on her singing, switching to a close up as she begins the song. On the pause where she isn’t singing, a 2 second shot of her playing the piano is introduced, showing the audience what is expected in editing. When singing she looks down, then looks up into the camera at key lines, ‘you’ and ‘blue’, as if she is singing to her boyfriend rather than the audience. Extreme close ups are used, typically to show emotion, something useful for us as we are creating a video on an emotional topic. These are particularly used when she is singing high notes, giving a more intense emotion across to the audience.
Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles: We decided it would be useful to look at a completely
different kind of song with a female performer on piano to give us more variety
in ideas, in this case 'A Thousand Miles' by Vanessa Carlton. This particular video interestingly shows the performer throughout
the video; however she is also within the narrative, journeying through a
variety of scenes with the piano. This video shows the performer playing in a
more passionate way with more movement in performance; this adds a sense of
passion to the song. We like this idea as it really shows the emotion from the
singer, something we need to achieve. Another aspect we liked was the complete
range of camera angles and shots used. This keeps the video interesting,
instead of one continuous shot. Many of the angles we had already incorporated
into our animatic, however it was still useful to see them used in a
professional video. For example, we particularly like a bird eye view shot of
her and the piano, as well a close ups of her playing the keys. These close ups
added a clarity to the video, as on the softer notes with no vocals, the
audience a concentrate on the music alone. Extreme close ups on the face are
also used, like Alicia Keys video. I think these would be a good shot for us to
really expose the emotion within the song. We didn't think the locations of
this video would be completely appropriate for our video, not to mention
unpractical. Despite this, it is cleverly made, finishing in the garage that it
began in, giving a definite conclusion to the narrative/performance.
Birdy - 1901: The next video we looked at was Birdy’s, '1901'. After
previously analyzing the entirety of the video, we then focused on the
performance. The video is done on a handheld camera, which is too shaky for the
scenes we want to create, however they have a good performance side. Filmed in
some sort of music shot, the room has a vintage feel to it, crammed with
assorted instruments and old-fashioned furniture. This adds a sense of
old-worldly grandness to the shot. This inspired us to change our location for
performance. We previously wanted to film in the school hall with a grand
piano. However, we decided after this video, we could create a similar effect
at a friend’s house. The location has large windows and vintage furniture, as
well as the key element of a piano. Birdy’s video has many over the shoulder
shots which play with the focus in the shot. The camera does focus on her, but
blurs some sort of decoration between the performer and the camera, as if the
audience is actually there. We see from close ups of her hands playing that she
is fluent with the song, giving the video a professional reliability.
Alicia Keys - Fallin': To help us in our performance footage, we looked at 3 different videos from female artists who predominantly use piano and singing performance. Firstly we looked at Alicia Keys early video ‘Fallin’. From this we found that the performance was in some sort house/living area which is sparsely decorated. This draws all attention to the singer and the piano. We particularly like the effect of the grand piano in the centre of the room. What we also noticed was the range of different shots on the piano. Close ups of the hands playing and shots of interesting parts of the piano are used to make it more interesting and draw attention to the professionalism to the performance. The shot begins as a master, showcasing Keys and the piano in the centre of the room. It then goes on to zoom in on her singing, switching to a close up as she begins the song. On the pause where she isn’t singing, a 2 second shot of her playing the piano is introduced, showing the audience what is expected in editing. When singing she looks down, then looks up into the camera at key lines, ‘you’ and ‘blue’, as if she is singing to her boyfriend rather than the audience. Extreme close ups are used, typically to show emotion, something useful for us as we are creating a video on an emotional topic. These are particularly used when she is singing high notes, giving a more intense emotion across to the audience. 
Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles: We decided it would be useful to look at a completely
different kind of song with a female performer on piano to give us more variety
in ideas, in this case 'A Thousand Miles' by Vanessa Carlton. This particular video interestingly shows the performer throughout
the video; however she is also within the narrative, journeying through a
variety of scenes with the piano. This video shows the performer playing in a
more passionate way with more movement in performance; this adds a sense of
passion to the song. We like this idea as it really shows the emotion from the
singer, something we need to achieve. Another aspect we liked was the complete
range of camera angles and shots used. This keeps the video interesting,
instead of one continuous shot. Many of the angles we had already incorporated
into our animatic, however it was still useful to see them used in a
professional video. For example, we particularly like a bird eye view shot of
her and the piano, as well a close ups of her playing the keys. These close ups
added a clarity to the video, as on the softer notes with no vocals, the
audience a concentrate on the music alone. Extreme close ups on the face are
also used, like Alicia Keys video. I think these would be a good shot for us to
really expose the emotion within the song. We didn't think the locations of
this video would be completely appropriate for our video, not to mention
unpractical. Despite this, it is cleverly made, finishing in the garage that it
began in, giving a definite conclusion to the narrative/performance. 
Birdy - 1901: The next video we looked at was Birdy’s, '1901'. After
previously analyzing the entirety of the video, we then focused on the
performance. The video is done on a handheld camera, which is too shaky for the
scenes we want to create, however they have a good performance side. Filmed in
some sort of music shot, the room has a vintage feel to it, crammed with
assorted instruments and old-fashioned furniture. This adds a sense of
old-worldly grandness to the shot. This inspired us to change our location for
performance. We previously wanted to film in the school hall with a grand
piano. However, we decided after this video, we could create a similar effect
at a friend’s house. The location has large windows and vintage furniture, as
well as the key element of a piano. Birdy’s video has many over the shoulder
shots which play with the focus in the shot. The camera does focus on her, but
blurs some sort of decoration between the performer and the camera, as if the
audience is actually there. We see from close ups of her hands playing that she
is fluent with the song, giving the video a professional reliability.
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