Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #92

Asia Cruise 2008:  Hong Kong Kowloon

Kowloon is the mainland side (as opposed to Hong Kong Island).  It's small, everything is easily accessible from the cruise ship terminal.  This is fun, short look at a few scenes from our walk-around.  I love taking video in traditional markets when we travel, this is no exception.  The butcher shops seem sanitary, but look at how they keep the fish fresh!

I used Final Cut Pro 5 to accomplish the preliminary edit while still on-board the cruise ship.  There was some limited music available on the small hard drive of that white MacBook, hence the less-than-obvious choice of John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom for background music.  Copyright considerations aside, that song seems to work pretty well. 

Lessons Learned:

Be careful when choosing temporary "placeholder" music.  It's much harder to choose an alternative soundtrack once your mind links that sound to the video.  Plus you might be tempted to infringe upon an artist's copyright.

Suggestion:

If I want to change the background music I'll probably need to enlist a friend's help.  Play the video silently, then apply music.

Music Copyright Considerations:

This video contains 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.

HENBC.COM is here to help those of us who have already taken hours of long boring vacation video.  It's too late for advice on how to use your camera; you need help to transform your boring footage into something that friends will enjoy watching!  WWW.HENBC.COM