Sunrise PV thoughts

[[taskin.ayu]]

Mediocre as usual. XD

[octocoffee]

The PV was really well done, thanks to Wataru. The lighting was a bit glaring, but it fit the summer feel and everyone looked really great, so that didn't matter much. I loved the white stage and how the towels sort of popped with the yellow and blue.

I'm not sure what people expect out of promotional videos in general. I know that Ayu has had fantastic PVs full of substance and artistry, but most of her PVs aren't that way. Actually, most PVs in general aren't that way. It's all about eyecandy for the fans, and Sunrise happens to have tons of it.

As for the thing about the TeamAyu members, I definitely agree with those who say it's all about the experience, not about how many times you appear in the film. Last night I went to a concert that will soon be put on DVD, and I do plan on buying it, just so I can brag that I was there, even if there's absolutely no footage of me. I bet the same will apply to the TA members who were in the Sunrise video.

[Aisha_Angel]

This is by far, ONE of the WORST Ayumi PVs ever.

The ONLY Pro to this video is the fact that Ayu fans were selected to be at the filming, but you know what even that ends up being a con.

Here are the CONS for me:
The song is just WHACK as hell.

There was no choreography. All Ayu did was stand, spin around and repeat. All the BG-dancers did was wave their towels in the air like a bunch of retards. If that's the BEST that Zin or whoever the hell ****ed up the choreography for this song could come up with, Ayumi would have done better to pick a RANDOM alcoholic off the street to make up something better.

The lighting effect is so BAD, it makes Ayu look damn near 40.

Her hair...Oh God, it looks like a plant died on top of head. It probably didn't look as bad during the shoot, but with the wind (which I will get to in a minute) and that God-awful white light effect---it just looked a humid, muggy mess.

Her outfit...>.< Why the HELL would you wear white with a video that already whitens the hell out of you with the effects? Why couldn't she wear something more colorful...such as the colors of the a-nation towel? Or something that actually compliments her natural skin tone? And the boots...they didn't even match. The entire outfit looked like a blind/dumb idiot pieced it all together at literally the LAST minute.

The wind...I don't even know if the wind was actually blowing or if it was just one of those Mariah Carey-diva props where a gigantic fan just operated as yet another unnecessary prop for this video. If it really was windy that day, I guess I can't complain too much about it...But if it wasn't windy the fans were just unnecessary. They blew her hair to pieces and apparently a draft caught up her shorts and revealed that Ayu happened to be commando or wearing a thong that day. And since Ayu no longer has an ass anymore (Ayu's booty, RIP since the end of AT08), it just didn't do anything for her.

*sigh* Now comes the fans...I feel really bad for these fans because you couldn't see ANY OF THEM! I would have killed to see at least THREE of them get a frame in this garbage. Just to see them going crazy for Ayu would have enhanced the "impromptu live" feeling the director appeared to be aiming at. Instead we get Ayu doing the same old tired ass twirl and Shuya + two other dancers that I DON'T CARE ABOUT AT ALL swinging towels like they were in some Japanese remake of Petey Pablo's "North Carolina" music video.

This video is just...it is just AWFUL. It's so bad I REFUSE to recognize this as an Ayumi Hamasaki PV. The sound, the quality, the weak choreography, the HORRIBLE outfit Ayu wore, the dead flowers in her hair---all combine into a HOT MESS for me.

After this MESS, Ayu needs to fire every single person involved with this single along with those involved in the NEXT LEVEL era. In fact, if she really wanted to make a statement. she'd fire/refuse to work with anyone involved with anything past the Secret era because for me, ever since that album came out all of her music and music videos have gone from bad to worse. If she doesn't get a stronghold on her career and starts seeking out new producers, her title as the Queen of J-pop will be taken from her by the end of the year. She is being left behind by Namie and dare I say it...Koda Kumi. Even TOHOSHINKI is selling more single-units than she is, and their last single was equivalent to crap to me. She needs to take a break from music altogether and create a better team of staff complete with new choreographers, new composers, new arrangers, and new PV-directors.

[SunshineSlayer]

Don't know if this was mentioned yet, but I just noticed that the closeups of her face are shot differently than the rest of her video - there is a filter and also more whiteness - its only like that for the closeups though.

Originally Posted by tasking

And the structure? Awesome. It was nice of them to include TA members, when they could've easy picked random people off the streets or something.

Well, there are several good reasons to let your fans on your videos.

1. No need to pay extras.
2. It ensures that they will be into it.
3. Something nice for the fans.(though it would be nicer if they got paid for their time just like any other extra would.) I think a lot of people don't realize that being an extra is actually work.(I used to do extra work in Hollywood) You get treated like cattle and to get 5 minutes of film usually takes at least 8 hours.

[zyoeru]

I definitely saw choreography and TA members. But from people maybe I was hallucinating...

[emi♡]

Yeah...I don't get the people wanting close-ups of the actual fans themselves...

but I think the entire platforms that had the fans on them deserved some more camera time.


uh I don't think it was her worst PV ever. I'd rather see her "singing" than her having a dumb*** PV that's trying too hard to be meaningful with Ayu overacting all over the place and embarassing herself.

At least it was a little fun, and considering how her recent PVs have been more focused on just her singing anyway with not much happening...I don't think it was all THAT bad.

I wouldn't have minded another BLUE BIRD though. She looked so good in that PV.

[jiarongisme]

I really like it! It's all fun and summery.

[JinHamasaki]

PV:
The pv is a lot of fun and the interactions between the dancers and Ayu was great. Ayu was really natural! I don't see why everyone is complaining about the colors, did you all forget how the CM looked? The CM is not overexposed, so we should wait for another rip of the PV. Her outfits are awesome, and the TA interaction was fun and lively. The ending was a great wrap!

Song:
First time hearing the song (I know!! I resisted!). The song is like a mixture of independent and flower garden. It really seems like the sequel to "H". It's something I want to pull down the sunroof and drive 95 mph by the beach!

And to everyone fussing over the "lack" of TA. Well, it's hard to direct 300 inexperienced random people. I don't give a hoot of I see "Person A" up close, well because that person is not Ayu. It's just like being an extra to a movie, you're just there int he background!

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by JinHamasaki

And to everyone fussing over the "lack" of TA. Well, it's hard to direct 300 inexperienced random people. I don't give a hoot of I see "Person A" up close, well because that person is not Ayu. It's just like being an extra to a movie, you're just there int he background!

I agree that I don't really care if I see TA members faces, but the difference is that in a movie or music video or whatever, the extras are paid. Anytime an artist brings in their fanclub for a video they are not paid and then on top of that, not really featured in this video at all - to me then it seems more like just a cheap way to save some money. Judging by the finished product, there was no reason why the background had to specifically be TA members.

[minna]

I think the PV is really fun and summerish.
However, I think that we should have seen a little bit more the fans (the platforms where they were, not close-ups of them).

And, the stage/platform was really cool!

Yes, I really like the PV ^^

[truehappiness]

I dunno, perhaps she just felt it was a song where they wanted to have super!fans be used like Humming 7/4? I recall Beautiful Fighters had a very similar treatment to this, but hired just about anyone who applied [or did they have to be actors?] after they put out a casting call for people.. but I don't remember, haha.

But I think it's rather funny how people who didn't like the song to begin with seem to dislike it ~even more~ after watching the PV. Did they think it was going to change their minds..?

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

I dunno, perhaps she just felt it was a song where they wanted to have super!fans be used like Humming 7/4? I recall Beautiful Fighters had a very similar treatment to this, but hired just about anyone who applied [or did they have to be actors?] after they put out a casting call for people.. but I don't remember, haha.

But I think it's rather funny how people who didn't like the song to begin with seem to dislike it ~even more~ after watching the PV. Did they think it was going to change their minds..?

I've had PVs enhance my feelings for a song to where I ~kinda~ like it.

Like DAYS. I hate that song. But the PV is so nice, and it goes so well with it, I mean, it's hard to hate it in conjunction with the PV lol

I sort of feel that way about this song too.

[Aisha_Angel]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

But I think it's rather funny how people who didn't like the song to begin with seem to dislike it ~even more~ after watching the PV. Did they think it was going to change their minds..?

When [JEWEL] first came out...I found the song to be quite frankly the most boring song Ayu ever made. (Curtain Call has that title now ^_^ The lyrics for JEWEL were very pretty and heartfelt but the music was too simple for my taste. But after watching the music video, I just fell in love with the song. I appreciated it SO much more. Even without Ayu doing much of anything in it except looking beautiful, the PV joined with the song is one of my ultra favorite ballads from her. I think that a lot of Ayu fans have gone through this with a song, especially when the melody is different from what we're used to hearing from her.

When Sunrise first leaked, I knew I didn't like it. I expressed my opinion on how bad I felt about it. I won't get into the specifics about that argument but the song's arrangement was too much of a mess for me along with many other members of AHS. Some got used to it while others were convinced by Sunrise supporters that "it would sound better when the final mix was set to the PV"...

Two weeks later we finally get to see the PV and well, it sounds exactly the same. The music video did nothing to make me even want to reconsider my initial opinions of the song. In fact, it made me develop an even lower amount of respect for the song.

I hope that you don't take offense to what I've said, but I just wanted to get it out there because for me part of the Ayu-listening experience is watching her music videos and seeing her live performances. Sadly enough, this video which I believe was designed to be the latter two combined did nothing but make the song even worse.

[SunshineSlayer]

^If there was a casting call, then they got paid. Most extras are gotten through agencies just like actors are (there are agencies here and in Japan that are just for extras) and they are paid an hourly rate. By having fanclub members you circumvent having to pay that money. Smart from a company standpoint.

As I said though, I think it would be impractical to focus on specific members of the audience, but I would say at least to be nice since you aren't paying them, maybe focus at least a little more on the audience in general. Especially since there wasn't much going on in the pv anyways. I think a lot of fanclub members (not just hers but other artists too) sign up for these kind of things not even realizing that they are actually doing a job for free that they probably should be getting paid for. ^_^

[truehappiness]

I feel as though the fans might've been reimbursed with goods, haha. Free towels and fans, guize! Haha.

[ownsarai]

I don't think that the TA members care about 'being paid' or 'having close-ups' in the PV. They are just happy to have seen Ayu in a very up-close and personal setting. I would have been extremely honored to be part of Ayu's PV, even for one second. I really think the video is awesome. She looks really cute and genuinely happy~

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by emiko

Because I sincerely hope that they got reimbursed either with special goods and/or getting to finally actually meet Ayu.

Ok, I haven't worked as an extra in Japan (yet), but these are the general standards for it. You can not talk to the artist at all unless they speak to you first. Absolutely no pictures or autographs. Being on a set is treated as a work environment, not a fan gathering. Extras are usually kept in a separate holding room (often times for hours) while the shoot is set up and they go through things like closeups and what not. Then the extras are brought in - you are placed and not allowed to leave your specific place. They give instructions for how they want you to act and then shoot the film. Then reset(which can take forever) wait wait wait and do it all over again a hundred times. Like I said, usually its at least 8 hours of waiting around and doing nothing. Honestly, most of the people probably have seen and interacted more with Ayu at concerts than at the shoot. I'm sure most fans do it just to be able to say that they were in an Ayumi PV, but I often find that most people don't even realize that what they are doing is an actual paid job. I remember I was an extra for the NBC show American Dreams several times and one day this girl who had won a contest to be an extra on the show was on set. She was so excited, but didn't seem to realize at all that what she had won a contest to do, we were all getting paid to do the exact same thing. Poor girl, it was like just go join Central Casting and you can be onset all the time and get paid for it, haha.

Originally Posted by ownsarai

I don't think that the TA members care about 'being paid' or 'having close-ups' in the PV. They are just happy to have seen Ayu in a very up-close and personal setting. I would have been extremely honored to be part of Ayu's PV, even for one second. I really think the video is awesome. She looks really cute and genuinely happy~

Well, at least I can say that I would never do a job for free that I know is supposed to be paid work.(no matter what the job is or if its with a celebrity I like) But that is probably because I know what extremely boring and tedious work being an extra is. Still though, this is really just a side point to the actual PV.

Originally Posted by waterballoon

I don't wanna sound biased but the only reason why Kazuyoshi's PVs appear to have more replay value is because he gets to shoot the grand PVs with interesting pots & songs. Mirrorcle World, GREEN & Sparkle are all dynamic songs, and the PVs themselves have cool plots... so it'd be natural to want to watch them again. Also an additional reason for me is to just LOL at Ayu's expressions~

Exactly. It really makes me wonder why Kazuyoshi and Ishii are getting the grand concept PVs, while lately the only PV work Wataru has done for her is performance videos. It would be much better the other way around.

Originally Posted by JinHamasaki

What is this white light stuff?!?!?

Isn't the CM>>> pv rip so far in color?!?!?!!?!?

Or maybe I should get my eyes checked.

And TA members got paid.....in free tour goods XD, well maybe.

Well, at least according to the TA member that went the Heyx3 shooting, they weren't allowed to keep the towels.

The CM is very bright too actually.

This white light thing, IS actually there. Really, her closeup shots are done differently than the rest of it - if you compare screenshots you can see the filter that was used on her closeups quite clearly.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

I like it ^^ But I'm not really excited about it, don't get me wrong though, I'm soo happy with it lol

something like Humming 7/4 but MUCH better, and the summer subject really fits. She's too cute! The dancers scared me a bit but at the end it was ok.

lol this single is made for a-nation.

[dreamland2.0]

I really really like it!! But then again I really like the song, so the PV doesn't seem boring to me. It just feels like a live performance! The platforms are soooo awesome!!

[waterballoon]

Getting TA members to appear in the PV is just good ol' PR.

Anyway, wow. I like this video, not love though. It's very fun and light... it fits summer well. The atmosphere was really like 'GENKI!!!' and it made me smile too!

The best part was that Ayu looked really natural and happy... for once, oh thank God, she's not grinding her teeth or whatever!

And I feel the whitening... was increased when it was her close up. Maybe she had a zit that day or something? lol.

And well, I really love the effects. The lens glare... it makes it more real, like it was really an outdoor PV with the sun shining brightly and all.

The TA members themselves... I'm actually satisfied with what the video has shown them. They're having fun and screaming their heads off, that's cool enough!

But well, her outfit is bad. I agree with Aisha lol... why wear white when the PV is so white already? I would really prefer to wear something more summery, like yellow, orange, red or pink...

And about the soft intro (the first two lines)... I thought it was perfect lol... it's more like an ethereal intro to start the song, if it were sung in the same volume as the rest of the song, it wouldn't be very special. It's like she's whispering,

"Hey come a little closer, believe a little more..." or whatever the translation is.

Other tidbits and irritants:
Shu-ya looked when he was singing at a later part
Subaru's hair omg I finally get to see its back
Maro looks delicious
Thank God the new dancers are on a different platform... I didn't really like them.
WTF @ Ayu's hair. Gotta go with Aisha - it looks like a dead plant lol and I hate how the wind like destroyed her hair or something. XD
The structure/stage/platform is just awesome... very grand!

EDIT:

I don't wanna sound biased but the only reason why Kazuyoshi's PVs appear to have more replay value is because he gets to shoot the grand PVs with interesting pots & songs. Mirrorcle World, GREEN & Sparkle are all dynamic songs, and the PVs themselves have cool plots... so it'd be natural to want to watch them again. Also an additional reason for me is to just LOL at Ayu's expressions~

Again, how much you can do with a summer happy PV? Barring fairyland, the rest of her happy summer PVs have been well... fun and fun. BLUE BIRD, Greatful days... I think they just send out the same message: Cherish your time and have fun in the summer!!!