First, using your extensive knowledge of media (movies, TV, commercials, video games, etc.), make a guess. How long would you say the average shot is held before changing to a different shot?
Second, learn a little about
Average Shot Length.
Then look at the
Cinemetrics database.
Find at least 3 movies that you've seen and record their ASL and MSL.
Does this surprise you in any way? Compare the types of movies to the ASL.
Finally, do some analysis of your own. Go to Youtube.com and find an APPROPRIATE music video. I would choose one no more than 3-3:30 minutes for this assignment so it won't take you so long to calculate. Use the
Online Split Timer (Click on Stop Watch and the use the SPLIT button) to track the shot length of the music video. You should hit the split button ANY TIME THE CAMERA CHANGES ANGLES OR MOVES. Record the times on a spreadsheet by copying from the online timer and pasting into Numbers (go to Applications --> iWork 09 --> Numbers). Calculate the time between splits and then average them. What is the ASL of your music video?
What do you think the the tempo, subject matter, etc. have to do with the ASL?
We will be talking about music videos next class. If you get finished with the assignment above, come up with a list of at least THREE songs that we could discuss making a music video of in class. The song lyrics/content must be SCHOOL APPROPRIATE and I don't mean just using the "clean" version. Think outside the box!
