Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #59

France 2004: Castle Beynac

Can you believe this guy?  The guide at Castle Beynac is a dead ringer for Inspector Clouseau.  Maybe the ghost of Peter Sellers resides near the Dordogne River.

I love this video that resulted from cutting scenes from Blake Edwards' classic Pink Panther comedies into my own vacation  clips. 

The key here was to cut on the dialog.  I tried to match unscripted dialog from our tour with Sellers' inane dialog from the movies.  A continuous track of the Pink Panther music underlies the hodgepodge of video, providing continuity and closure.

Lessons Learned:

Inspiration takes many forms, but sometimes it jumps right out at you!

Suggestion:

Was the guide speaking naturally or was he putting on a act?  Regardless, we all remarked about his resemblance to the bumbling Inspector, so it was natural to try to illustrate the match-up.  My instincts told me this would be fun; my suggestion is to run with your instincts!

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.