Why Photos? Please Show Me Some Videos!

This is a video clip I found on Youtube when I was hunting for archaeology commercials that introduces ancient sites in Europe. It caught my attention when I started to watch it.

This video is made by a website called Sites & Photos, which was established in 2005 by Samuel Magal, a certified archaeologist and photographer. It was created in order to fill the void in professional, high-quality documentation of archaeological sites and ancient art. Over the years the collection has been expanded to include most religious sites from all historical periods.

I am impressed by this video because:

• These moving images make me feel that these sites are presented more vividly and enable us to view the sites from several angles at one time. Most of the time when I see images of a historical site, I would like to imagine them in my brain. Watching videos have kind of done that for me; I could pay more attention to appreciate the beauty of the sites.
• Also having animals and kids playing inside the video makes the audience feel more related to the sites, unlike in photos where everything is stopped.
• Bright and gentle music is used in the first part of the video, making me feel happy when I was watching it. I feel like they are trying to create a relaxing and quiet atmosphere and let the audience focus on the photo.
• The filmmaker also did a good job in taking these photos, like how he set the angle of the camera. Sometimes we have camera hanging high to get the overview of the site. There are some very special moments:

           - 2:34 we are on a trip going across a rock cave
           - 4:52 Jerusalem: we can see crowds moving here, showing that lots of people come here because of their belief.

I feel like this video would be good as a guide to viewing historical sites, but there is no information provided to illustrate these sites, making this video more "art" than anything else.
Questions to think about:

• Do you think these pictures and the background do a good job in engaging the audience?
• Do you think this show presents its information clearly and efficiently to the audience?
• What do you think they can do to improve this show?

General Comments:     

What's right:Pictures and background music fit each really well, it is real art here.

What's wrong: Not enough illustartion for images, not easy to follow.

Grade:B+