Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #78

Cambodia 2008:  Angkor Thom

Those who watched my collection Asia vignettes on DVD were now taken us to the magnificent Angkor Thom temple in Cambodia.  This movie works well both in the DVD context and independently on YouTube.  It's a fast-moving and fun peek at the giant faces carved into the stone walls and columns.

Once again I was inspired by music of The Who.  In particular, the solo Face The Face by Pete Townshend.  Still photos and video are mixed to the beat of the music.  Staccato zoom into still photos and some admittedly goofy sight gags.  No narration, the video speaks for itself.

The video is improved versus the previous Phnom Bakheng, but my camera skills are obviously not up to the challenge of Cambodia's strong mid-day   Nevertheless I think this well-paced video keeps my audience entertained.  (We're seven minutes into the DVD and hopefully no one has fallen asleep yet!)

Once again, repeating my excuse for using copyrighted music:  edited this video during the trip, I didn't have much hard drive space on my MacBook.  Just a few songs in iTunes, most notably my collection of The Who.    Once you place a familiar song with a home video they become linked, making it hard to do a re-edit.

Lessons Learned:

Pacing.  Cut to the music, and don;t feel obligated to use the entire music track.

Suggestion:

I regret having started with copyrighted music. 

Music Copyright Considerations:

This video contains some identifiable music that is regrettably used without permission.  

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.