Seems strange to review only one Caveman video by itself, so I’m doing the rest all together. There have been a lot of videos coming out recently that I’d like to talk about, so I’d like to get this out of the way while still trying to do each analysis/review of each video some sort of justice. Let’s get to it.
Cavemen 2 (Release Date: Nov. 2016)
Cavenmen 2 was the start of the Cave’s short lived “black and white” era. I call it an era because Cavemen 3 is also mostly in black and white. The video was released on November 14, 2016. A little over two years after the first one came out. In the beginning you’re met with a very abrupt intro with the song from the first video, and the brothers making out a logo for the intro. It’s pretty quick and probably didn’t need to be there. Seeing as the next bits are heavy hip hop beats with their usual run fast jump far aesthetic. The main difference being it’s all in black and white. Forget the cool up and close shots we got last time. Most of the shots are from above or super wide. I don’t hate either kind of shots usually. However it’s clear not as much care was put into the filming aspect or even the editing. Even the description of the video reads “letting the movement edit itself.” Which is made very clear from how uninspiring and mid this video is to me.
the description of the [Caveman 2] reads “letting the movement edit itself.”
Yeah cool challenges are cool challenges, but if your goal is to make a good looking video you have to consider a lot more than just what is going to happen in front of the camera. Not to mention if you’re going to make a video black and white, the first rule is to make sure it looks good in color first. Some shots are so white washed it’s almost hard for me to watch. All they really had to do if they were gonna be that lazy is use the brightness and contrast effect, and just bump up the contrast to bring the darker tones out more.
I really didn’t like this video all too much. It’s mid at best to me. I’m gonna give it a 5/10.
Cavemen 3 (Release Date: Dec 2017)
On the other hand we also have Cavemen 3 which is also in black and white, but looks a million times better. While I could argue that the movement is what really makes this shine over the second one, it’s also very much the editing. Both took the same amount of time to film and edit, this one just goes so much harder. Legitimately more fun to watch as well. Small things like Joe popping off after Max doing a sick slide, also makes me more hype. It’s pretty basic psychology that adds to videos making them more fun to watch.
It’d also be a crime to not mention the line composition in [Caveman 3]. Each line in this video feels innovative. Everything they do has so much scale and is done with so much grace.
The beat switches and shot composition are also fantastic. You can tell how much more care went into the thought of how the movement was going to look rather than it looking like you just slapped some phone clips together and called it a day (like in the second one). It’d also be a crime to not mention the line composition in this video. Each line in this video feels innovative. Everything they do has so much scale and is done with so much grace.
At the end of the day I know this is a video I can go back to in order to sort reinspire myself in simple parkour transitions. And considering the vast improvement in quality in just 1 year. I give it a solid 7/10. It’s closer to an 8 than a 6.
Cavemen 4 (Release Date: Nov 2019)
Cavemen 4 came out on November 4, 2019. This video is a lot of people’s favorite. Most of the challenges are bananas, and it’s shot very well. It’s hard to say something that I haven’t said already. That being said, I can say everything that’s usually good about a Cavemen video is way better in this video. The decision to use half color for the video and half black and white was nice. You can really tell their line and shot composition has improved a ton over the years of making these video.
…everything that’s usually good about a Cavemen video is way better in [Caveman 4]…. It’s pretty fantastic.
I don’t really have much else to say. It’s a pretty fantastic video. Is it my favorite though? No. That probably still goes to the third one. I give this video a 7/10 as well!
Cavemen 5 (Release Date: Jan 2023)
Last but not least, Cavemen 5. This video is super mid. It has a lot of the same problems as the first and second one. It has the same problems as the first one in the sense that it’s obvious when footage isn’t color corrected or anything. I would be surprised if it was at least. You’ll also notice the much longer time length. Does that mean more action? Kind, yes. It also means more pandering. Most of what we’re seeing is fun and different, on the other side of that same coin most of it was pretty forgettable. I don’t hear people talk about the challenges in this the same way they do the capstone videos.
Most of what we’re seeing [in Caveman 5] is fun and different…
It had potential to be a very good video. Time wasn’t used well, no color correction, some challenges were pandering, and it was ultimately forgettable like I mentioned earlier.
Conclusion
If we can learn anything from the Cavemen videos, it’s how much of a product of their time they are. We also have some pretty concrete examples of what a video will look like depending on the effort you put into it. What I learned from these videos and practicing now in my filming adventures is scale. How to make what someone is doing look big. It’s difficult, but fun to think about when filming with friends.
There’s cool editing ideas as well that you can take from these videos. The use of written word graphics were popular for a good while and were used a good amount in the third and fourth video. I’ll actually link a tutorial to how to do that below by Jason Paul.
My top 3 for the Cavemen videos would be:
- Cavemen 3
- Cavemen 1
- Cavemen 4
I’d be curious to know what your favorite Cavemen video is!
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