Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #48

Tabloid News  (edited 2002)

This is the last of the three examples I will post from the Adobe Premiere video editing class that I took at our local community college in 2002.

The instructor brought in a few clips from news coverage of the Washington Sniper (remember that crazy rifle guy in Washington DC?).  Our assignment was to make a teaser in the style that a television news show would use early in the day to attract an audience that night.

Once again I blended my old-guy sense of humor into the video in a way that the teenagers in the class didn't appreciate.   My thirty-second production became a satire about outrageous political claims made by news broadcasters.  Some YouTube viewers accused me of being an anti-Bush nitwit; others despised the humor at Hillary Clinton's expense. 

Animation was improved versus previous examples, a four-way split screen is interesting, and I successfully used some of Premiere's sound filters to enhance my voice.  Unfortunately the project was made in 320x240 so there is no higher resolution available.

Lessons Learned:

Not everyone will understand your humor, satire is especially difficult and will be misunderstood by political partisans.  Don't worry about it.  Have Fun!

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 2002 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.