Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #117

China 2001:  Beijing - Forbidden City



The trip DVD's 17th chapter takes us to the Palace Museum (Forbidden City).  Fifty one cuts in 90-seconds create a rapid fire sequence that leave the audience both bewildered and entertained.  (Though I'm not too sure about the "evil wizard" thing at the end.)

Music was extracted from video I shot at the Xi'an Tang Dynasty Show.  I simply timed the edits to match the clashing cymbals.   A couple of "whoosh" sound effects are an attempt to enhance the wizards appearance and disappearance; is he the "irretrievable relic" that the sign warns about?

Leet me pat myself on the back ... this is a great video!  HAH!  Our travel companions have starring roles, plus there's no time to get bored!  (If you blink you missed something important.)  Hard to believe it was almost an hour long before editing.


Lessons Learned:
Use live music, that was recorded on your trip.
When you have a suitable soundtrack, cut to the music ... it's easy!  For another example take a look at my use of Pete Townshend's Face the Face in this video from Cambodia.

Suggestion:
This is obviously a light-hearted movie.  But the DVD's following chapter is quite serious, as you will see when you read Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #118.  As the editor, you need to consider the emotional flow of your DVD.  In this case I chose to create a huge contrast.

FYI:
All of the China trip vignettes are already loaded onto YouTube.  They may be viewed on one of my YouTube channels: HENBCtravel
I have three other channels that might be of interest:  HENBCvideo (miscellaneous videos that try to look professional, with particular respect for copyrights), RAGEAIR (advertises the licensing availability of my newsworthy videos), and this YouTube Channel of Shame (an odd collection of stuff, not respectful of others’ copyrights).



Music Copyright Considerations:
This original audience for this video was friends and family who would view the DVD in my living room.  It 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.

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