Jasin Phares from Meditation 4 Madmen on Vimeo.
This video strikes me as a very powerful profile piece. I think the use of black and white was very intentional in keeping the feeling of the video “vintage” to match the content of the video, making a vintage drag racing bike. Overall, the use of detail in this short video is also done really well. I wouldnt typically think to shoot detail shots of a man’s beard but they work really well here (1:44) and they help to add a humanizing anchor to all of the detail shots of the bike.
Something that I think is really powerful in videos, and that Meditation 4 Madmen does really well, is to bring the viewer into the experience. At 1:02, the video runs really quickly through almost indecipherable images and stops on the shot of the man riding the bike. The jumpy music also helps to add the effect here. What I thought worked about it is the choice of quote, sound effects and editing techniques to let the viewer feel like he is experiencing the ride with the biker, and not from a computer screen. What do you think? Does it work for you?
It does work for me. I know nothing about motorcycles, but I can sense this man’s passion and drive and relentless quest to get better and better. So even if one doesn’t know bikes, one knows drive and pursuit, which resonates.
The only thing I might have changed is the ending; I thought the interspersing of that last shot with the credits got a little repetitive.