Analysis of existing products - Barbering instructional videos

 Analysing other products that are the same or similar to my ideas and topics are useful as i can find the codes and conventions of the product and apply them to my own project. Understanding the codes and conventions of an instructional video will help me with structuring my own video and techniques that i can use in the video. 

This video is an example of a cutting hair tutorial video. The video starts with a preview of what the video contains in a montage of short clips, this is used as an overview to the videos end result. The video uses music as well as a voice over rather than keeping any raw audio that was recorded when filming the video, using music rather than leaving the unedited audio makes the video seem more professional. A voice over is used in the video to help guide the viewer through each step, because the video used a voice over the video doesn't include any text to explain steps. The transitions of the video are simple jump cuts and are consistent throughout, the transitions of the video are always the same to keep consistency and to keep the viewer focused on the videos instructions rather than the editing. 

The video uses a variety of camera angles and shots, it often uses close up shots to draw the viewers attention towards their hands and to show how the instructions are carried out using a clear close up image. close ups are also used to show how the hair is meant to look when the style is complete. 

The video never shows an equipment list but instead introduces each piece of equipment when its needed to keep the pace of the video consistent. The video is only 4 minutes long, the video is short because the length of the video can effect the watch time of a video, for example if the video was 20 minutes long it can bore the viewer or make them lose focus. having a short instructional video is important to keeping the viewers attention throughout. 

The quality of this video is high, it uses a variety of camera angles, lighting, music and voice over. 

This video starts with an introduction explaining what the video is and the equipment you'll need, they use a medium close up of the narrator when she introduces the video but cuts to a close up of the equipment used throughout the video. They use simple transitions and cut away as they don't distract the viewer and are appropriate with the video topic. Close ups are often used when they are cutting hair to show the viewer a close visual demonstration of what is happening, visual demonstrations are important as they can help with explaining the instructions by showing how they are carried out, they can be more informative than just explaining with words. 

The video has been recorded by hand meaning that some of the footage is shaky and uneven, When they cut hair in the video they have recorded it as one long clip rather than recording it in chunks or splitting the video, this has resulted in the footage being long and unedited whilst also being shaky from not using a tripod or any stabilizing equipment. When recording my project I need to use a tripod for balance, having an shaky or uneven footage will make my project seem unprofessional which isn't what the client wants as the video need to look professional to be used by the college and for educational purposes. 

The video doesn't have many effects other than simple cut transitions and speeding up some footage, They have sped up the footage when needed to so that the unimportant parts of the video can be skipped over whilst also keeping in the visual demonstration for those who may find it harder to follow through words. The video doesn't include any on screen text to separate or explain the instructions but uses a voiceover instead. The video uses music as well as a voice over, however the music in the video is louder than the narration which can be confusing to the viewer as the narration is hard to hear, to fix this they could have not included music or made the voice over louder in the editing stage. When I use music in my video I need to make sure the voiceover can also be heard.