Thursday, October 29, 2015

Editing Tricks for Amateur Vacation Video #162 - Scandinavia Cruise (#7 of 10)

Scandinavia Cruise 2005:  Rostock, Germany (#7 of 10)

Chapter 6 (St. Petersburg) was very entertaining.  Now we are challenged to maintain viewers' interest during the four remaining segments, beginning with Rostock, Germany.

There's a bit of real educational history in the narration, accompanied by some worthy video and stills.  We watch our friends Steve, Maureen, Dave, and Becky take the ships tour to Berlin, then Gloria, Matt, and I enjoy the main street of Rostock take the public trolley to a nearby beach community.
Peter Sellers and President Reagan make a reappearance, and Matt is subjected to more on-camera questions.  Some German-language signs create opportunities for puns, and the final spoken words from Dr. Strangelove close the video.

Comments:  
  • Scenes "borrowed" from external sources provide some continuity to the style of the previous chapter.
  • This was a rare opportunity to see the interior of an automated German public restroom.
  • There are some decently composed video and still photo clips to accompany the inane dialogue
  • This edit provides a reasonable transition from Chapter 6's frenetic pace, while maintaining watchability.  However there is some room to tighten it up.

Lessons Learned:
  • We had fun mis-pronouncing and mis-translating the German-language signage.  When the trip video was posted several years ago I was surprised to see comments from German-speakers who didn't understand the humor and helpfully corrected the translation.
    So I guess the lesson learned is that not everyone understands my sense of humor.  So my choice is to restrain myself or ignore the criticism.
    (After being married for 35 years, I can truthfully say "ignorance is bliss"!)

Suggestion:
  • Pay attention to the emotional flow of your video project.  For instance, these ten chapters are presented in their natural chronological order.  I could easily have swapped the position of St. Petersburg (Chapter 6) with Rostock (Chapter 7).


FYI:
All of the Scandinavia trip chapters have already been loaded onto YouTube.  Individual chapters may be viewed on one of my YouTube channels: HENBCtravel
The combined 30-minute video is also available here.

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 and commercial video 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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