Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #24

India 1997:  Goa & Mangalore

This six minute clip begins with a nice title that includes an interesting still photo compositied onto a moving background.  I'm obviously having some fun with the effects made possible with Video Director Studio 200.   Audio is pretty much unintelligible, but there is some potentially usable video from the tomb of St. Francis Xavier and also from a "Stealth Cam" walk through the marketplace
A pyramid of acrobatic drummers greets the ship in Mangalore, but the original tape is heavily damaged at the cashew and roofing tile factory tours.  Some music replaces the sound and a few still photos supplement the jumpy video.
There were some remarkable scenes here, I can remember the heat of the ovens and men carrying heavy loads on their heads at the roofing tile factory.  The women in the cashew factory were smiling and wearing beautiful saris, but they risked losing a finger each time they opened a cashew shell with their machines.  
Unfortunately this story was not told in the video.  Each time I showed it (fifteen years ago), I had to narrate the video, pause and explain.  Seems like that would be the key to making this video interesting ... tell the audience what they are seeing ... allow them to share the experience!  I hope that the original videotape allows me to grab some scenes and sounds to enable a re-edit. 

Lesson Learned:
Edit the video in a way that tells a story.

Suggestion:
Maybe frame the damaged video into the still image of a television picture tube?  Desaturate the flickering image to make it appear like an old television program.  Supplement with color still images, titles, narration, and music.



Music Copyright Considerations:
This is a short excerpt from one of my older edited videos.  It contains some identifiable music that is regrettably used without permission.  But remember the time this video was created; in 1997 the audience for this production was usually sitting in my living room.  "Fair Use" allowed me to use the music without consideration of copyright.
Today, with digital distribution, artists' rights deserve more attention.  Since this video is intended for non-profit illustration and educational purposes only, I believe that valid arguments can be made for its "Fair Use" in this situation.  Please understand that I do not encourage improper use of copyrighted material.