Poor pre-production - half the battle lost.. Pardon me for being frank.. But I really wonder what went through your head during the cognitive, scripting and storyboarding process (if they exist at all) The plot is so damn conventional and unconvincing.. The worst bit... is that it's darn boring.. I had to fast forward through the video not to doze off
Poor filming - you guys gotta work out the angles and put in more close ups to make the video more interesting. With all due respect, but I think little of the cameraman... he sure lacks a steady arm... Unless of course you try to argue you're exploring unconventional filming techniques like those demostrated in Blair Witch Project... But I submit to you that you guys failed anyway..
Poor editing - I shall spare technical talk 'bout color correction, choice of transitions and all... but the very basics like the cutting of scenes were poor too.. The rule of thumb is that too long of something bores the crap out of the viewers... (I choked on my drink when I saw the blue screen with text in the beginning, that is one area you guys should avoid - it just make the whole video look amateurish.. but then again, you guys probably used windows movie maker for editing... oh well.. can't expect much from it)
You guys should spend more time exploring the works of other multimedia people... Watch more TV even, and observe how they actually filmed to make it more interesting for the viewers... I'd advise for amateurs to use tripod instead of trying to film with free hand... And to play with different angles (directions, wide shot, close up shot, half body shot) that kinda thing...
Scripting/Storyboarding wise, I've got hardly anything to say but do spend some time on the research and all. Benefit from the ideas and creativity of others but be original as much as possible. 2 mins of a shaky camera aiming around, zooming in and out without much meaning just don't make the cut. I'd advise you guys to actually plan everything out in the pre-production stage... from the sound effects, to the camera angles, storyline, timelength...
Editing, use a software like Premier or Final Cut Pro if you can get your hands on it. Rule of thumb is not to use that many transitions for it just make the video looks amateurish like I[ve mentioned (if you observe, those TV commercials with huge budgets hardly use transitions) Pay attention to the color treatment and all, in some of the shots - the colors are all wrong.
As someone who dwell in this circle, I'm sad to say that the video got no commercial value
Oh well, I've said my piece and perhaps said too much. I beg your pardon for being too harsh; also for punctuations that I'm ashamed of. I assure you I don't type like this usually but I desperately wanted to expound whatever thoughts my head could think of at this ungodly hour. If you have any questions, be it regarding filming, editing or even technical stuff like handling a HD camcorder or whatever - do PM me. I am most of the time, someone nice
