Morning Musume's 50th Single "One•Two•Three/The Matenrou Show"

[momoirosaya]

They also have to put out another PV as well, so some of the budget had to go to there.

[Anderei]

They should be ashamed of themselves. I at least thought there might be a different set. Also, let's go back to when they didn't always show a girl when she was singing her line.



You know it's bad when even the H!O people are disappointed.



[quote name='Saya' timestamp='1340266598' post='127929']





And when did Sayashi get such droopy eyes? Or something is going on with them at least. I noticed a more defined double eyelid in the close-ups. Maybe she was using eyelid tape? She kind of reminds me of Perfume's Kashiyuka here.

[/quote]



It's just a combination of her having small eyes to begin with and them putting heavier eye makeup on her. Dark colors make eyes look even smaller. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... lesson.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lesson:' />

[roddyreta]

This PV is just awful. It came below even my low expectations.



The dance shot had beautiful, sharp photography. This PV ruins it with a lot of unnecessary sparkly effects. It's like Kono Chikyuu on steroids.



Girls looks great, but you have to squint through the cheap-looking effects to see them.



Dance is great, but you wouldn't know it because of all the choppy editing.



Given this is the 50th, the low budget for this PV is pretty shameful as well.



Too bad, because everything else about this single is first-rate. Hopefully Matenrou will have something better.

[Banana]

It was okay. I thought all the girls looked nice, although Ayumi was super awkward and creepy when she was smiling. She looked great when she wasn't, though. Masaki made some weird expressions, but I thought it was cute.

[rallyleo]

That incredibly awkward moment when your already extremely low expectations were still way too high.



Through the entire duration of the PV when I watched it both times, the only thought I could think was "Really? REALLY?!???". Every member looks amazing, the dance is great, the close-ups were nice. This PV pretty much had everything going for it. The fucking sparkles and "effects" (along with choppy and questionable editing) completely destroyed what could have been a decent video.



Ideas that fall into the "should, woulda, coulda" category:

When multiple girls were singing, namely the "otome wa itsudemo" line, would it have been such a bad idea to maybe have a 2 second close-up of the girls singing those syllables together? Hell, I would have been happy with a few split-screens here and there. Would have been much easier on the eyes and less chaotic.

On the same line, that dance move seriously begged for a diagonal pan to follow each girl sing then crouch to the ground. I thought something like that would have been a no-brainer.



I still can't get over how disgustingly bad this is, and through no fault of the group! They all did a splendid job <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Goddamnit. I just realized how much I was looking forward to this gigantic heap of disappointment <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ryalot.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':cryalot:' />

[al kusanagi]

By what standard are you judging MM PVs now? Other than the overuse of effects, this was a perfectly fine PV. Hell, when they do something drastically different like Pyoko, people bitch. This was just fine and had more edits in it than any 5 MM PVs put together.

[Shoujo Q]

[quote name='Al Kusanagi' timestamp='1340296245' post='127964']

By what standard are you judging MM PVs now? Other than the overuse of effects, this was a perfectly fine PV. Hell, when they do something drastically different like Pyoko, people bitch. This was just fine and had more edits in it than any 5 MM PVs put together.

[/quote]



So true. I don't know what you people were expecting out of a UFA 1 of 2 MV Single. Maybe if they focused all their budget onto one MV instead of splitting it into a 2 MV single it would have turned out better but don't bitch guys you're all getting more then what you asked for with this single.

[Mukuro]

I really liked it! The sparkles were a bit overloaded but oh well. Everyone looks nice, but with so many camera swaps its hard to keep focus on someone. haha

[andrewmarlin]

I liked it for what it was, I have to go back and find colors for peoples. I will be watching this over and over gain until I can recognize all the 9th and 10th.

[Haru]

I just tried to watch this again all the way through and I pretty much just busted out laughing. Seriously, this video is a fucking joke and a disgrace to how wonderful this song was.



And to be quite honest, despite how awful the gimmick was, Pyoco was better atleast in the sense that there was more than like, two versions.

[roddyreta]

[quote name='Al Kusanagi' timestamp='1340296245' post='127964']

By what standard are you judging MM PVs now? [/quote]



I was expecting something second-rate and I got something fourth rate instead. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hatthe.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whatthe:' />



Actually, I liked all of Momusu's PVs from last year, and Renai Hunter also, but this one is just bad visually.



Oh, well. Better a bad MV than a bad song. The songs are still awesome, in my book.



EDIT:



One interesting theory on H!O that I was actually thinking about myself: will there be a 3-D version of this PV?



That would explain all the sparkly effects in the front -- they would probably look far better in 3-D.

[Anderei]

[quote name='Al Kusanagi' timestamp='1340296245' post='127964']

By what standard are you judging MM PVs now? Other than the overuse of effects, this was a perfectly fine PV. Hell, when they do something drastically different like Pyoko, people bitch. This was just fine and had more edits in it than any 5 MM PVs put together.

[/quote]



I actually kind of liked Pyoko. It was cute. Except those outfits. They should have used the jacket/pants combo with the hats they did in some of the concert lives.

[JPope]

It's a cheap video, I'll grant you that, but I don't get the overwhelming hate for it. Maybe it's just me, but if the song is good, I couldn't give less of a fuck what the video looks like, and this song is very good. They could have put the The Replacements "Bastards Of Young" video over this and I wouldn't give a shit.

[Farrah]

What bothers me about this PV is how shamefully, obviously cheap it is. It would have looked 1000 times less cheap and thrown together without the fucking sparkles, which scream of "Hey, we only have one set piece for this video, but you won't notice because LOOK, SHINY THINGS!"

Someone over at UFA needs to learn the art of doing a lot with a little - because recent PVs just scream of doing very little with basically nothing.

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='Anderei' timestamp='1340290841' post='127957']

You know it's bad when even the H!O people are disappointed.

[/quote]

LMAO, this says it all.



The song has actually gotten even less tolerable since I first heard it. I've even come around to accept Renai Hunter as "listenable," but this song is still far from even that and gets worse with more listens. I'll never understand this universal pants-pissing over the song.

[Ap2000]

[quote name='Saya' timestamp='1340265254' post='127925']

And here's the link to the PM itself, only it's still on private so we have to wait a few minutes.



EDIT: IT'S UP NOW!

[/quote]



HOLY SPASTIC SEIZURE ADOBE AFTER-EFFECTS JJ ABRAMS BATMAN !

[Anderei]

Buy the single at Tower Records and you'll get this poster.

[aine]

I took the time to skim through the recent PVs. Verdict - One Two Three is the best MM PV in the last 2 years.



Yes, the flashy effects may be annoying. Yes, it is a bit of a sensory overload.



But:



- it blends well with the footage

- it has a consistent colour palette

- it is well edited

- it goes well with the song

- finally, it does not look sterile like so many MM PVs!



A PV is a sum of its parts. Song is one part, the raw footage (dance shot etc.) is another, post-production is next, etc. For the longest time MM PVs were lacking any production whatsoever. I'm not about to call it the greatest PV ever, but it does not deserve a fraction of the hate.



Let's see some examples:



Pyoco Pyoco - it had some concept behind it, I'll give it that, but dear gods, the execution. It's rare that a PV gives me a second-hand embarrassment when watching it, but this one tops even the ancient Minimoni ones. And just looks like it was edited by someone who saw the editing software for the first time just 5 minutes earlier.



Kono chikyuu - a great example of CG that tries to look sophisticated, but manages only to look sterile and not blend with the footage at all. Bad PV for a bad song, ironically one matching another by being so all over the place.



Maji de suka suka - they were obviously going for a fun cheerful look and they got that, but it's missing production again. It's all just sterile studio shots with flat lighting. In real world this would be at best a beta version shot and edited in 1 hour and used as an more sophisticated storyboard when re-shooting and re-editing it properly.



Onna to otoko no lullaby game - CAN YOU GET MORE STERILE THAN THAT?! Was this shot in a CPU manufacturing plant Class 1 cleanroom? I have no words...



Seishun collection - they ventured outside and they managed to make it as boring and static as all their indoors PVs. A royal achievement on UFA's part. Really, with this and majority of other danceshot-closeup-danceshot PVs I feel like I'm watching a static slideshow rather than a moving picture.



Nanchatte renai - finally something a bit more interesting. They dared to play with lights and shadows, and trust me, it's the lighting that often makes or breaks a photograph or a film scene. They also seem to have hired a more competent than usual colorist for this one. The set is also quite interesting in itself. It's actually relatively good, and what it lacks is just breaking out of the danceshot-closeup-danceshot pattern and tilting the camera sometimes instead of always being dead-on in their faces at perfect 90 degrees angle.



This is as far as I got in the playlist. There it one honourable mention and it goes to:



Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai! - see, you can get creative and innovative and do things differently. I didn't include it in the ranking above since it's a B-side, but if you do count it in, then yes, it walks all over One Two Three. Simple, cute, and effective.



Now watch all of the above (except Kare to issho), then One Two Three, and if you still think One Two Three isn't the best looking and best produced one, then you must be mad. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hatthe.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whatthe:' />



And to clarify again, I'm not saying that One Two Three is a great PV. The standards have lowered by a lot even in H!P. I'm just saying that it shines compared to the other MM videos that came in the recent years. It's merely a step in the right direction. This is my real world benchmark for judging music videos in general, but I don't have very high hopes that anything from UFA will ever get within a light year of this artistic and technical level. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />

[Haru]

Aine I hate to correct you but "Kare to" was an A-side as well. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... smooch.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='=3=' />

[rallyleo]

...aine has a point. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... #>/dry.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='<_<' />



But then why do I still hate it so much? <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /noway.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':noway:' />

I understand that this may be one of their better PVs in comparison to most others, but I've never been this irked by a video of theirs. I didn't like Pyoko Pyoko but I still found it a lot cuter and fun than this drab piece of garbage.



I do agree that it's the music that matters above all, and the song is still amazing, but I think I secretly built this whole thing up in my head as the first time we'd see a truly fierce and out-of-the-box Morning Musume video. Maybe in the next life, I suppose.

[Haru]

Because this is really cheap and low rate looking. Sure when you look at the technicalities it's better; but when faced with an Edward Cullen vomit laced video, it's very hard to take this song seriously.

[rallyleo]

We forgot the "Only You" PV. That one was pretty good and used light CG and effects well. Camera work for the dance shots was well-done (especially for the "Another Dance Shot Ver.").



And Maji Desu Ka Ska! was fairly static, I agree, but the video quality was top-notch and everything was very clear and vivid.

[Kaworu]

I feel bad for Zuki. She's like 13, she's getting a major shaft, and it shows.



She was so full of energy when she joined and now she looks sad. We need to cheer her up! :) Any ideas? Send her a cool letter or something?!

[JPope]

I guess I can understand some of the anger; since this is such a great song, people naturally want a video of equally great quality. This is the first MM single in over four years that I've wanted to listen to over and over again, and for me, that's enough. But I get that most people are into videos more than I am.

[Haru]

Someone brought up that she may be uncomfortable being sexy. Compare Pyoco, Maji desu and Kare to, to Only you and Renai Hunter and etc.

[roddyreta]

Kitsuiko from H!O counted the number of times each member got a shot/close-up on the PV:



Riho 64,



Sayumi 47,



Ayumi 47,



Reina 45,



Fukumura 33,



Ikuta 29,



Iikubo 17,



Kudou 24,



Misaki 23,



Kanon 19





I like Ayumi, but I wanted to see a lot more of the Pon-Pon girls myself. Especially Fuku-chan, who looks incredible here.

[Haru]

[quote name='Riho World' timestamp='1340304018' post='127996']Iikubo 17,

[/quote]



How. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hatthe.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whatthe:' />

[Enmiz]

The girls themselves look amazing. I watched it on my phone, so I don't know enough to bitch about the rest, yet.



I'm actually worried about Zukki. Maybe she is just missing her Aika. She seems so down in the dumps, though. I could buy the excuse that she is uncomfortable being sexy. She is young, after all.



I agree! Let's do something special for Zukki.



I'm glad someone else noticed the Star Trek tribute.



I liked Maji Desu Ka Ska... I was so excited about the new members I didn't give a damn.



The Busu turntables were lame lame lame. I seemed to catch echoes of the Lullaby Game video... Or maybe it was C-ute's purple and gold shiny dancy song with the glass apple that I cannot remember for the life of me...?

[Ap2000]

[quote name='aine' timestamp='1340302287' post='127984']



[..]

[/quote]



I think your judgement on the MVs is inconsistent and I disagree.

Most of them are just like 1, 2, 3, but without the flashes and different surroundings.

[aine]

[quote name='Haru' timestamp='1340303253' post='127987']

Aine I hate to correct you but "Kare to" was an A-side as well. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... smooch.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='=3=' />

[/quote]

Yes, Berry told me already, I stand corrected. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' /> I never understood the double A-side thing tho. One song comes first, another comes second, and it's obvious the first one gets more exposure. Whether they call track 2 a B-side or a second A-side lost its meaning when vinyl singles got phased out.



[quote name='Rally' timestamp='1340303644' post='127990']

We forgot the "Only You" PV. That one was pretty good and used light CG and effects well. Camera work for the dance shots was well-done (especially for the "Another Dance Shot Ver.").

[/quote]

I focused on the extreme cases and skipped the just mediocre ones. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' /> "Only you" has two sets going for it, plus the obligatory slo-mo group and solo shots that got old and tired around "Shabondama". And personally, I found the floating glass crystal things rather jarring and distracting.