Kalafina 3rd Album「After Eden」

[wintersviolet]

^THIS. Having a low budget is no excuse for a crappy PV. I've seen Youtubers, who definitely have even lower budgets, making the most of what they have and doing a better job.

I actually like sprinter's PV. It definitely sucks that Kalafina is stationary despite sprinter being a busy song with solid beat. But the editing is decent with acceptable transitions, and they actively try to match the PV with the song's nuances. Each girl doesn't move around needlessly when it's not her turn to sing, which is great because I think that would be pretty distracting.

This one? You have Keiko singing her solo, with Wakana and Hikaru inexplicably in the shot as well, trying to look like they have something to do. (At one point it looks like Wakana's arm is almost in Keiko's face, I guess the artistic director let that one go.)
Kajiura described Wakana's voice as the type to "break through and sing to the heavens", and there is a very obvious change to the percussion and vocal build-up in addition to her "soaring melody" part. A perfect opportunity to switch up the atmosphere and filming tactics. But the camera just pans to Wakana like it did for Hikaru, with no respect to the song's alteration. Also, the heavy, deep percussion and the rising vocals give symphonia a majestic feel. Couldn't they have picked a location that was a bit grander than flowery fields?

I love the song, I'm so disappointed. Whatever, I should stop having such high hopes for Kalafina PVs.

 

[ninetales]

^ Very good points! Being an aspiring director, I should've recognized half of that, but I was too busy listening to the guitar

Instead of rambling about what I'd do, I'll just say this: As far as I can tell from the clip, there's no grand scale to this PV like there is in the song. Instead of a solo shot from above of Wakana during her solo, there's a quick closeup of her and then a shot of the three of them; there are no rising shots, no crane shots, no sky shots, no feel of EPIC. When I really think about it, it's as though the director never listened to the song.

Plus, why does the video have to load again after you've already watched it?

 

[Pontianak]

Thirding the opinion of Winter and KP-X on the subject of the PVs being awfully stationary and uninspiring. They said it better than I could!

Though, as I said, I kinda like that... if only for the reason that it allows me to think up stupid stories for them. And even I wish they were more interesting on their own, since it feels kind of awkward to watch the three of them try and find something to do while just standing there.

 

[nimsaj]

well, after a long thought out decision, i've decided to go ahead and get the LE mook from cdjapan. the total for the le album + le mook came out to almost $190



..that mook better be amazing (i.e, made out of gold or something.)

 

[elcazador]

http://blog.oricon.co.jp/kalafina/archive/430/0
Sony updated the info of postcard type D,but it will be available only in local CD stores in Japan.

 

[Special_K]

Yep. Very valid points, winter and KP-X.

It's a real shame that as fans, we would have very little say on the quality of the direction of their work, though. It surely has to be the big bosses' decisions to hire incompetent (possibly newbies) to gain experience using Kalafina first. Which, IMO, is highly probable given how East Asian markets love to work using very tall hierarchical structures.

Perhaps if the bulk of us write in with strongly worded letters, it might help things a bit. But I really don't know.

And yes, a hell lot of Youtube freelancers can do a much better job than what we get. But like I've said, I've long given up on complaining about their sub-par works and just enjoy the music.

 

[ZoaKaizer]

Re: Re:

The way I see it, anisong still doesn't command a large enough market to be taken seriously in Japan (unlike mainstream Jpop). As such, the the really good choreographers and directors are probably all snapped up by the bigger labels are artistes, while anisong artistes are left with the really crap/newbie ones that can only shoot stuff that are as good or worse than Youtube amateur musicians.

it's a real shame that as fans, we would have very little say on the quality of the direction of their work, though. It surely has to be the big bosses' decisions to hire incompetent (possibly newbies) to gain experience using Kalafina first. Which, IMO, is highly probable given how East Asian markets love to work using very tall hierarchical structures.
.

Its not all about getting expensive director/budget ...


its all depends on the creativity of of the one who make the PV

Expensive directors doesnt always mean that he/she will have creativity that fit our taste of good PV

 

[KP-X]

I actually like sprinter's PV. It definitely sucks that Kalafina is stationary despite sprinter being a busy song with solid beat. But the editing is decent with acceptable transitions, and they actively try to match the PV with the song's nuances. Each girl doesn't move around needlessly when it's not her turn to sing, which is great because I think that would be pretty distracting.

Hum, I never though about it that way. In that sense, I agree with you; they don't show someone who isn't singing anything at the time needlessly. I think what bugs me the most in sprinter's pv is not only because it is a busy song, but it is a very desperate one. It is not a dark song like Magia so the bright scenery is somehow fitting and yet not a happy one like, idk, Hikari no Senritsu so their serious faces are also fitting. But it is a very desperate song, not only because of the lyrics but also because of the arrangement as well. Whenever I think of sprinter, what comes to my mind is a struggle, and the pv is the complete opposite.

But oh well, we just have a small preview of Symphonia's pv and there's even another person other than the girls in it, so maybe it will try to convey something after all. That may be a start to more interesting and well crafted pvs.

 

[Nick Hunter]

Hum, I never though about it that way. In that sense, I agree with you; they don't show someone who isn't singing anything at the time needlessly. I think what bugs me the most in sprinter's pv is not only because it is a busy song, but it is a very desperate one. It is not a dark song like Magia so the bright scenery is somehow fitting and yet not a happy one like, idk, Hikari no Senritsu so their serious faces are also fitting. But it is a very desperate song, not only because of the lyrics but also because of the arrangement as well. Whenever I think of sprinter, what comes to my mind is a struggle, and the pv is the complete opposite.

TBH, before Sprinter PV came out, I had expected it to be somewhat like this.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2fIiO5yfDs[/youtube]

 

[KP-X]

Maaya running
I also think about it when I listen to sprinter

 

[icedphoenix]

Am I like the only person who actually likes the Kalafina/FJ videos?

I mean, yeah, I guess them standing around can be kinda dull but I always justified it by thinking that these girls get paid to sing, not prance around like these American so-called pop sensations. I figured that good music + shiny outfits is dignified enough to keep my attention for however long the song is.

 

[KP-X]

Uh, sorry but I can't follow your way of thinking. First of all, a good pv isn't just about prancing around. Second, a video is a combination of visual and listening (which isn't really the case here). A shiny outfit is worth looking once or twice, but it is not a good artifice for a 5 min long video.

It's the same case for a show. Let's say they sing a song like sprinter in the same manner they sing in the pv. They may sing splendidly, but since it is a show, it will sound artificial (or make too professional, in a sense).

I think I'm repeating myself too much, but I'll rep up: a pv does not need to have incredible high budget to be good. It needs just a bit of creativity to catch people's atention. And it is a time in which you divulgate the song with a visual help, in which you can convey something through the video or whatever. It is not a time to divulgate their outfits.

 

[Wolfychi]

They should get someone like the person who makes PVs for Nana Mizuki.
The PVs from Nana Mizuki mostly are interesting and have a story inside. xD

 

[Nick Hunter]

Uh, sorry but I can't follow your way of thinking.

That's why I said "somewhat". I always thought that Sprinter PV should feature someone running... outrunning obstacles, griefs, time, space itself... whatever just to get to the destination one longs to. Mameshiba is not quite the example, but it's the only Japanese PV with a running person that I know.

Dunno, maybe this would be a better example? Sans the "get-to-the concert-in-time" idea, of course.

EDIT: ah wait, I misinterpreted your post completely (I thought it was answering mine before I checked the previous page).

They should get someone like the person who makes PVs for Nana Mizuki.
The PVs from Nana Mizuki mostly are interesting and have a story inside. xD

Yeah, I've seen Eternal Blaze and Innocent Starter, both are nice.But they feature other people... don't tell me Kalafina's videos have featured none until now because it's too expensive to hire actors...

 

[icedphoenix]

Re:

Uh, sorry but I can't follow your way of thinking. First of all, a good pv isn't just about prancing around. Second, a video is a combination of visual and listening (which isn't really the case here). A shiny outfit is worth looking once or twice, but it is not a good artifice for a 5 min long video.

It's the same case for a show. Let's say they sing a song like sprinter in the same manner they sing in the pv. They may sing splendidly, but since it is a show, it will sound artificial (or make too professional, in a sense).

I think I'm repeating myself too much, but I'll rep up: a pv does not need to have incredible high budget to be good. It needs just a bit of creativity to catch people's atention. And it is a time in which you divulgate the song with a visual help, in which you can convey something through the video or whatever. It is not a time to divulgate their outfits.

Oh, I agree that a live concert is a different environment. In fact, one of the things that I admire so much about Yuki Kajiura live shows is that she seems to have an innate understanding that songs need to be adapted to work in a live environment; very few bands actually understand this, which is why I wholeheartedly support YK in her live endeavors.

But music videos... I think Dave Grohl once called them "4 minute candy commercials" and so he never took the process very seriously and I tend to think the same way. I always thought that music videos were a bit pretentious anyway - I was always more interested in seeing the performer(s) in a concert-type environment, which is why my favorite music videos tend to concentrate solely on the performance aspect (e.g. "Resistance" by Muse, which is straight out from one of their concerts, "Rope" by Foo Fighters, etc)...

... so really, if they could simulate a concert environment for one of their videos, that'd be exciting for me... but I guess I'm easily satisfied in the video department b/c I don't mind their current videos either.

 

[george1234]

Re: Re:

... so really, if they could simulate a concert environment for one of their videos, that'd be exciting for me... but I guess I'm easily satisfied in the video department b/c I don't mind their current videos either.

Isnt toki no muokou PV similar to a live performance ?

 

[wintersviolet]

If Kalafina PVs were based on their concert footage, then Kalafina live DVDs wouldn't be as highly demanded.

Their current PVs show a clear lack of effort in putting together a decent end product, which is even more frustrating due to their songs' potential. If all we wanted was for Kalafina to stand around and mouth words while looking pretty, then Sony might as well take some nice pictures instead and forget the PV.

 

[Kerahna]

Just a note to people who preordered: there are only a few stores (including CDJapan, Sony, and HMV) that give the mousepad! YesAsia and Play-Asia are not on the list so if you want the mousepad and ordered from those stores you likely won't get one.

 

[Pontianak]

Just a note to people who preordered: there are only a few stores (including CDJapan, Sony, and HMV) that give the mousepad! YesAsia and Play-Asia are not on the list so if you want the mousepad and ordered from those stores you likely won't get one.

Oh.



Well, it's enough for me that I can own the CD itself. It doesn't affect the price at all, so... Ah well.


But I think we can all agree that the current PVs for Kalafina aren't very creative or inspired. The clothes are nice and the equipment must be good, but they're not being utilized, which is a shame. It's just means people have differing opinions on how unacceptable it actually is.

Or maybe not. I dunno;; Personally, I'd like to see more inventive PVs, but at the same time, I don't really mind if they carry on at their current standards, considering I like to make up silly stories. It's just a disappointment that they're currently seeming to be getting blander.

Sorry if that was a little incoherant.

 

[ninetales]

Re: Re:

... so really, if they could simulate a concert environment for one of their videos, that'd be exciting for me...

With musicians

That's why I said "somewhat". I always thought that Sprinter PV should feature someone running... outrunning obstacles, griefs, time, space itself... whatever just to get to the destination one longs to.

On that note, why not just imitate the lyrics themselves? They tell a story all their own:

"By meeting you, I saw a dream that won’t come true, that’s eternity passed by only a second" = girl and boy pass by, edited so that he vanishes instantly afterward

"I embraced you with the fingers I extended still shaking" = girl reaches out to boy, who vanishes again

"By facing the wind and waving a torn flag, on this path without you, for the sake of myself I move on…" = girl waves torn flag on an empty road and starts to run

Even if it's not Kala doing the actions themselves, the story can be shown through cuts back and forth to the singers. It was done in that new song of Chiaki's (Switch ga haittara, I think?) so why couldn't they have done something like that for Sprinter?