Ashes to Ashes
Blue24601
First off, we loved the fact that your video connects to your previous entries. As a whole, this entry is beautiful, but at this point in the game, we have to be very nit-picky because in all honesty, you three finalists are the best of the best, and it's hard to make these sorts of decisions without looking at everything critically. That said, your work is beautiful. The story is emotional and your video definitely picks up a lot of tension at the precise moment when Noel starts running after his sister to stop her. The flow and music and visuals you chose really just amp up that tensions and it's wonderful!
But as a whole, one of the things the judges had trouble with is that your video, in our opinion, was difficult to follow without the use of the description. That may have been because the moment we saw so many iconic Yuna shots, we immediately thought this was a "Noel is Yuna's guardian" story instead of the more unique story that it was. As a whole, it felt more like a montage to a story that people have already watched rather than the actual story the first time around. This isn't a bad editing technique, but it does (sometimes) make it difficult to follow when you're telling a unique story. Your use of text in the beginning helped mitigate this problem, but more text or narration may have helped more. It's a video that while we were watching, we had trouble following, but after reading the description, we understood. Don't get us wrong, your video is beautiful. But an important aspect in this contest that we judges take very seriously when watching entries is a contestant's ability to tell a clear, easy to follow story without needing a description.
That aside, however, we want to move onto more of the positives - because your video was lovely! The coloring most of all is something that the judges really enjoyed and admired about your piece. We also noticed and appreciated your talent for finding stunning visuals and expressions to tell your story with. All in all, you had a lovely piece. However, as we stated above, we have to be incredibly nit-picky at this stage of the tournament. With that said, we regret to inform you that your entry has not been chosen as the winner of the final round. We would, however, like to commend you for making it to the final round of the contest. Your work throughout the tournament has been absolutely lovely and you have been one of our favorite contenders to date. We look forward to watching your work in the future and know that you will continue to churn out beautiful, deep videos like the ones you have created for ICT. Thank you for participating. It has been a joy to watch your progression through the contest.
But as a whole, one of the things the judges had trouble with is that your video, in our opinion, was difficult to follow without the use of the description. That may have been because the moment we saw so many iconic Yuna shots, we immediately thought this was a "Noel is Yuna's guardian" story instead of the more unique story that it was. As a whole, it felt more like a montage to a story that people have already watched rather than the actual story the first time around. This isn't a bad editing technique, but it does (sometimes) make it difficult to follow when you're telling a unique story. Your use of text in the beginning helped mitigate this problem, but more text or narration may have helped more. It's a video that while we were watching, we had trouble following, but after reading the description, we understood. Don't get us wrong, your video is beautiful. But an important aspect in this contest that we judges take very seriously when watching entries is a contestant's ability to tell a clear, easy to follow story without needing a description.
That aside, however, we want to move onto more of the positives - because your video was lovely! The coloring most of all is something that the judges really enjoyed and admired about your piece. We also noticed and appreciated your talent for finding stunning visuals and expressions to tell your story with. All in all, you had a lovely piece. However, as we stated above, we have to be incredibly nit-picky at this stage of the tournament. With that said, we regret to inform you that your entry has not been chosen as the winner of the final round. We would, however, like to commend you for making it to the final round of the contest. Your work throughout the tournament has been absolutely lovely and you have been one of our favorite contenders to date. We look forward to watching your work in the future and know that you will continue to churn out beautiful, deep videos like the ones you have created for ICT. Thank you for participating. It has been a joy to watch your progression through the contest.