ATEEZ - Inception

Here's the video I reviewed:

Differently from my last review, this time I will just be pointing out the things I liked as opposed to the whole video. In this review, I point out editing techniques I catch in the video, special effects, and how the set design links to the story. I categorised this video as subjective because in my opinion, there are things in the music video that I love but also not so keen on, which I’ll explain at some point in the review.

0:10 To start, I enjoyed the first shot as it is framed nicely. Just thought we’d get that out the way as I quite like when a shot is framed well. To me, it shows that even the simplest of shots were thought out. Ok, on to the next point.

0:24 The camera movements are a nice edition as they make the video feel lively and as if you’re actually there.

0:24 The sets fit well with each member’s dream and create the story for the video. For instance, one member’s set is covered in to do lists, so it shows that he’s struggling with his workload.

0:53 The flutter cuts match well with the story as they take you into their dreams and out of their dreams. As explained by video editor, Jordan Orme, flutter cuts aren’t always good. In theory, they are a lazy way of making fast cuts. They are created by taking shots, cutting them up, and intercutting them together. This makes these types of cuts almost blend together as they are so fast. This is the reason I don’t like flutter cuts. They appear overwhelming and flashy most of the time and because they are intercut at a pace of one frame per shot, I feel like I can’t even see what’s going on. However, in this video I like them since as mentioned before, they are used to support the story. The members are entering their dreams and leaving their dreams which is well represented by the flutter cuts, so I can’t really fault them.

Here's Jordan Orme's video where he gives a reaction to Inception from a video editor persective:

This video has a consistent pattern of showing each member’s dream when it is their part in the song. This makes sure that we are not thrown off at any point in the video as a theme is kept the entire time. The video has cohesion.

1:28 The reason the dance scene looks so cool and has so much energy is because of all the film making aspects that have gone into it. There’s cinematography, lights flashing, production design. We all know how cool water looks with sharp dancing. The flashing LED screen adds energy. The speed ramps are particularly mesmerizing as they make the dancing hit harder and add interest to the video. I don’t know about you, but for me, these speed ramps are what’s making me want to watch this section again and again. The fast and slow pace added to the dancing just looks really cool.

1:40 This match cut is really good because of the matching motion, hence the term match cut. As he lifts his head the same motion continues in the following shot, not to mention the camera angle is kept the same too. This makes for a seamless transition even though all that is happening is a simple cut.

2:15 One thing that I noticed in this video which I love is the amazing effect with the bed. It looks as though they are lying down but as the camera changes angle you can see they are actually standing up. The reason this looks so believable and brain numbing is because the set is specifically designed for this trick. The doors are on their side and the bed is lying against the wall. This has to be my favourite shot in the video. I love how the effect was demonstrated and how smoothly it transitions into the chorus scene by pulling out, travelling down the hall and match cutting!

The reason this video can be subjective to people is because there is so much going on. Don’t get me wrong, everything done in this video is amazing, but I can’t watch it without getting completely overwhelmed. This video gives you little to no time to breath as there are always effects happening, different sets being shown, flashing lights, water, intense dancing, LED screens, storytelling, camera movement. When I watched this for the first time I remember having to watch it three times before I was able to properly take it all in. This video is incredible, but I wish the amount that is happening in this music video was toned down.

To conclude, this video showed the story immensely well, it’s almost like a book as a video which I love. The dance scene was chaotic but an enjoyable chaotic because of all the film making aspects that went into it. Everything tied together and each member was showcased brilliantly. The editing choices were really good as they all went with the theme. The editing kept up the same fast pace the entire time, which was good, but I felt like we could have done with a few points in the video that were calmer. Overall, I think this video is really well done and I enjoyed it a lot aside from the lack of changing editing pace.