Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #56

France 2004: Loire Valley

We hit the road again, a few days in the Loire Valley on the way to meeting the rest of our group further south.  This 7th vignette starts with some nice music but is unmotivated until we enter Chateau Royal D'Amboise.  Some nice camera work of Gargoyles, gardens, and structures.  This is where Leonardo DaVinci died; humorous scene when Gloria thinks she's discovered his "secret".  

A quick look inside Chateau de Clemonceau spins a portrait of Louis on his head, then we tell a few jokes as we drive off in the rain.

This chapter does not tell a coherent story.  Why did we visit these locations?  What did we hope to see?

Similar to the Mont Ste Michel chapter, this video content seems to have been driven by the length of the song.  It could have easily been presented in less than half the time.  

The next chapter needs to be very entertaining, because at this point I can feel that we are losing the attention of the audience.

Lessons Learned:

Be prepared to cut ruthlessly.  If you don't have enough video material tho fit the song, then edit the music or choose a different song.

Don;t forget to tell a story.

Suggestion:

This project is not narrated, so we need to find another way to communicate the story to our audience.  Perhaps titles.  Maybe there are some bits of conversation in the source video.  Or maybe a travel brochure that says something like, "Explore the history of the Loire Valley chateaus!"

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 2004 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.