Video Editing Techniques Used in Video Prototype 1

Reverse:

The Second editing technique that I have used to modify my shoot was the reverse function. The reversed sequence is used during the chorus of the song. I recorded a candle being blown out then reversed the footage to create an aesthetically appealing visual that links with the lyrics of the song and how the artists wishes that he could turn back time. The candle acts as a metaphor for the artist as he is currently exhausted and stressed out from overwork, and is therefore “extinguished”. He wishes to turn back to a time where he still had hopes and dreams, when his passion were “ignited.” By revising the clip of the candle these connotations are created and add a deeper layer of meaning to my music video thereby, strengthening the narrative.

Cross-dissolve:

At the end of the dark room sequence in my video, I used a cross dissolves to join two different clips of my video together. The reason for using these cross dissolves is to improve the video in order to make it flow smoothly as it transitions between the different clips. As I only want certain parts of my video to cross dissolve and fade, I had to highlight and select small sections that I wanted so that when it does dissolve into the next clip, it transitions smoothly, giving the thought provoking effect that I want my audience to see. It highlights the artist’s insecurity as he wants to have the singing ability of a popular mainstream artist. By overlaying the two clips I created a scene connoting the envy of the artist as it shows the artist wanting to be like the mainstream artist.

I used the precision editor to adjust the length of the cross-dissolve by dragging the length of the dissolve across the two clips. This in turn allowed me to sync the clip with the lyrics "I wish I had a voice to sing some better words."


The precision editor was vital in order to get the precise timing with the lyrics of the song. 

Cut away scenes:

I have multiple cut away shots included in my video so that some of my scenes would not drag out as much. I had to go back to my locations and take some relevant cut away scenes that I could add in my video to fit with the settings and narrative. I took small cut away scenes of rivers and playgrounds as they are heavily associated with childhood memories, so the link between the narrative and the song is strengthened. The cut away scenes of the river’s water is used to emphasise self-reflection which is predominantly what it is used for in movies and music videos. The water also slows down the pace of the music video in order to follow the slower parts of the song when the music gets softer and quieter. By adding these scenes, my video becomes more broken down visually and is therefore easier to watch and follow as there are predominantly short clips for most of the video.

Moreover, I also used pull focus shots of the drum kit to fill in time gaps where there were no notes to be played whilst maintaining a fast pace.