Amateur vs Professional

To help understand what needed to be done to make our video look as professional as possible with the use of the equipment we had, we felt it would be a good idea to compare an amateur video against a professional video of the same song and video. By doing this, I was able to look at camera shots, editing, mise-en-scene and sound and make a good comparison thus making it easier for my group to establish what needed to be done to ensure our music video reached the highest possible quality.




The video i've chosen to analyse is Britney Spear's 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'. I felt it was appropriate as nearly everyone knows of Britney Spears, especially this video that made number one in the charts. The amateur version is from another media school in Britain which i think makes a better reason for me to study and compare it. The professional video was directed by Nigel Dick and was released in 1998.

Camera Shots

Obviously there are going to be some differences when comparing a professional and amateur video. The beginning of both videos are very similar in that they show a tracking shot that moves towards the shoe of 'Britney' and then quick edit to a close-up of her. They both show a very accurate extreme close-up shot of the clock on the wall at a slightly tilted angle.

In the amateur video there appears to be more than one 'Britney' which can be quite confusing as we are not sure who the main character is. Either way, the shots have obviously been studied closely as we then see the mid-shot of the teacher in both videos and then the two quick edit close-ups of the clock and the bell.

Overall, I think the amateur video is fantastic for the equipment used! They have copied near enough every shot to brilliance and considering the pupils who made it probably only had the same equipment as us, they did a really good job!

Mise En Scene

The professional music video starts in a school and is the part of the video that the school pupils re-enact. The mise en scene consists heavily of school uniform, classrooms and school hallways. The amateur video does a very good job of copying the professional. Britney Spears is seen to be wearing a school uniform made up of a white shirt, a grey cardigan, a black mini skirt and long black socks. The amateur video copies this well, although because there are lots of 'Britneys' in the amateur video, the outfits are slightly different; some only wear the shirt without the cardigan.

The setting has been thought about to much detail in the amateur video. They have used a long hallway with lockers which fits well with the professional video. Also, they have made sure to have enough extras that fit in the background with the dance routine. Although the classrooms are not exactly the same, much has been done to ensure it looks similar e.g. the 'exam' style tables, whiteboard and clock.

Editing

The editing in the amateur video has been used effectively. There are lots of quick edit shots in the professional video which take place very quickly. The amateur video has got their editing precisely in time with the professional video which would take a considerable amount of effort. In the professional video there are some fades which take place as well as the use of special lighting.

Also, some background footage has been purposely faded which has not been done in the amateur. It would appear that the pupils who made the amateur video did not have the right kind of software to be able to produce that high quality kind of material. This is completely acceptable as the professional video would have had much more money and a higher budget meaning that the expensive software needed would have been available.

The amateur video did a brilliant job with the editing they could do.

Sound

There is not much to comment on when it comes to the sound. All I can really think of is in the amateur video, the music does not start until after the bell has rang. This differs to the professional video where the music starts whilst the bell rings. Also, there is much more bass and the music is much louder in the professional video. The quality is at a higher standard which is to be expected.