Editing is used in every music video, as a way of taking the footage, and editing it, to improve and enhance the footage.
There is a real impact for editing music videos for three different matters:
It creates shape for the video
It reflects the music
It gives the video MEANING!
Editing can be used, to create
transitions
continuity and non continuity editing
cutting
shot reverse
paralell editing
slow motion
ellipsis
post productuons
visual effects
expansion of time
jump cut
The first song I looked at was the fray, how to save a life. I chose to look at this song as it is of the same genre as Alex Lloyd, contains both a narrative and performance view for the audience, which I really liked.
The video begins with a fade in, which works really well as an introduction to the song, and works really well with the piano, in the background. The faded visuals, arrive as the lyrics begin, introducing the music video really well. I really liked this idea, of starting a music video, and may use this as an introduction to my own. I am going to discuss this idea further with Emily to see what she thinks of this idea.
I also loved this text effect which is used throughout the video. At several points of the video, the different text is used at different parts of the song. This is really effective, as it gives the audience something else to focus on other than the visuals itself. It also gives the video a narrative storyline, whilst relating to the lyrics very well.
This effect is used further, as a fade transition. Here, the text is used in the fade, to another shot, by slowly fading into the text and then into the next shot.
At some points in the video, the text actually replaces the footage in the music video. For example here, this text replaces the footage of the people which was previously shown. I really like this effect also, and considering places this in my music video also, in order to replace a scene or part of the footage, as this has worked really effectively throughout this video.
As the lyrics "where did I go wrong? I lost a friend"are played, the camera focuses upon close ups of people crying and showing hurt and despair. High key artificial lighting is used here, to focus upon this shot, and the people and feeling in the shot.
However this lighting was also used to show happiness, and enjoyment. The plain white background makes the viewer focus on what is in the center rather than the what is in the background, and this is what made the viewer focus on the people and their emotions so much. This effect is used again, this time with just the text in the high key lighting, on a plain white background, forcing the viewer to focus on the text alone.
Low key lighting is also used in this video to create the mood, and sense of despair, and upset in the footage. As you can see from this screen shot, the girl is in low key lighting, making her look scared, lonely and vulnerable, to the viewer.
look at this video, because is a very interesting video, which i really enjoyed watching, with the video played in reverse throughout. At the lyrics are introduced, the slow pace of the music is shown through the footage of the main character laying on the floor, as a slow fade is introduced into the next scene. This works effectively with the pace of the music, and instruments in the background. These fades are use similarly, throughout the music video, with a fade from the scene to black. This also worked very well with
the slow pace of the music, as well as ending one
scene and moving to the next.
Throughout the whole video, the music video is played in reverse. This has been done as it links perfect with the lyrics "I'm going back to the start"
Throughout the video the storyline is played in reverse, from the laying on the bed, to fade to the driving at the end. The use of this editing is to a very sophisticated technique to the point, that the main character, had to mime the lyrics backwards, so that when the video was edited and played in reverse, the miming would still make sense. This is a possibility, for our music video, however to make someone mime the lyrics in reverse takes great skill, of which i am not sure I know of anyone who has. However the possibility of playing a scene in reverse, without any speaking or miming of the character is still a possibility.
Next I had a look at Alex Lloyds videos, "coming home"
The music video begins in the room of the main character. Instantly the editingof this video is made clear through thefade transitionsused of the character fading in order to show the passing of time whilst in this dark, low key lighting room.
A high angle shot is then used to show the main character laying on his bedroom floor. The passing of time is then shown again, this time through a slow zoom onto his face. The camera zooms into an extreme close up, where the main character has a moment of realization, and opens his eyes. The camera then straight cuts to him running in a medium shot in blue lighting.
The camera then straight cuts to a high angle shot of the busy traffic below once again the time is shown my editing the footage, to speed up the traffic, to make time seem a lot quicker and faster than it actually was.
Several fast straight cuts are then used again to show the speed of time, these shots are a close up of the man running, the traffic, crowds of people, and then the change of traffic lights, all of which have been edited to showfast pace editing. As the man continues his journey the camera continues to cut from all the different places he has been, to show his journey and the speed of his journey in such a short amount of time, this works very well. I loved the use of fade transition throughout this video, to show the pace of time. I may consider using this in my music video to show how things have changed and to show before and after.
I am now going to Annalise a similar music video by Alex Lloyd. I searched on you tube "Alex Lloyd" and came across a song called "beautiful"
As the song begins, the camera cuts to and from several different shots of couples, kissing, smiling and looking into each others eyes, and continuously cuts back to the main singer Alex Lloyd. The editing used here gives Alex priority, in this video, as he still plays a key part, even though the video is focusing on other couples.
The filming of these couples, are mostly medium shots of them sitting together, or close ups of them kissing. This introduction to the video makes it clear already to the viewer what the music video is going to be about. However, the camera still continues to refer back to the artist, Alex Lloyd throughout mostly in close ups and occasionally extreme close ups to show him privileged in this video. The couples are filmed in a very simplistic setting, with white walls and nothing else around them making them the center attraction of the filming.
As the lyrics All goodbyes disappeared,
when I first set my eyes on you,
I found a world so pure and blue.
are introduced to this video, the camera immediately cuts to a close up of the artist, singing the lyrics, (probably miming). Showing Alex in a close up shot, in a shirt, in what seems to be a hotel.
As the chorus beings "You are so beautiful"the camera then cuts back to the filming of the couples, several couples are used in this video, and are filmed in either a close up or medium shot, of them both. There is a strong contrast in this video, as we see the couples together happy and clearly in love, we only see Alex alone, in his room, and not sharing his love with anyone, however it is ironic because he sings the worlds "you are so beautiful" yet it seems unknown who he is singing these lyrics to.
You are so beautiful, and you're filling up my day, with the things I can't explain.
You are so beautiful, and I'm holding on today, yeah, we're holding on, we're holding on.
Over all, I do not believe this was one of Alex Lloyd s BEST videos. The filming is very simplistic, with straight cuts throughout, and mostly close ups and mediums shots. The video does not have any real storyline, although the lyrics to correspond with the video quite well relating to people in love, with the lyric. If this video, had a storyline to it, I think it would be much more of an improvement, as the video seems too dull and boring, and would not hold the viewers attention, as it is extremely repetitive.
The music song, Stan was created in 2000 by rapper Eminem and singer Dido, and was later released as a music video in 2002 by the aftermath entertainment. The song tells the story of an obsessive fan of Eminem, who goes to the extremes to gain his attention. The full length music video lasts 8miniutes and ten seconds, where as the shorter version which is most commonly shown on the music channels, lasts just four minutes , fifty seconds.
The opening scene of this music video uses a transition which fades from black to a zoom towards a sets the mood window, looking from the outside in. The use of weather in this scene, which is thunder, rain and lightening, for the video and automatically creates a sense of unhappiness for this home. The camera then continues to zoom until we see pregnant Dido laying on the bed. There are then several camera movements including, over the head, and close ups of the stomach, to show her heavy pregnancy to the audience. The room is artificially lit, with the lightening effects, and the sound of the rain continuing to continuously set the mood.
There is then a straight cut to the scene in the bathroom, where we see a man, looking very similar to Eminem. This is the introduction to Eminems obsessive fan, Stan. In this scene we see several close ups of Stan putting bleach onto his hair, which shows its importance in the video. This supports what Andrew Goodwin says about there being "a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close ups of the main artist". We then see an over the shoulder shot of Stan looking at himself in quite a bizarre manor, which causes concern for the audience, as to why he is behaving in this way.
The camera then cuts to a long shot of Dido, rushing to the bathroom, whilst shouting "Stanley open the door" to which Stan acknowledges, but does not respond to at this point, as he continues to stare into the mirror.
We are then shown the divide between Dido and Stan, with the over the head pan, looking down at both bodies, separated by the wall and closed door, showing how Slim locks his pregnant girlfriend out of his life, and their communication boundaries. The camera then returns to the grim bathroom, showing an over the shoulder shot of Stan as he opens the door to Dido, and they begin to argue. Stan then returns to look at him self in the mirror at his new bleached hair, and a close up shot is shown of this.
The melody and lyrics of the song then begins at 1.22, with Dido positioned in center frame in a medium shot on the toilet in the bathroom, as she mimes to the chorus. The lyrics then link with the video, as Dido sings "the morning rain clouds up my window, and i cant see at all, and even if i could it would all be grey" implying Dido's mood, and her unhappiness with her life as it is at the moment, also linking with the argument she had just had with Stan, which may have been the cause of this. This supports Andrew Goodwins theory of "there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. With the visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music."As these lyrics are performed, the camera then returns to a medium shot of the window, from the outside in the pouring rain, which had been shown at the beginning of the video.
A fade effect is then used as a transformation from one scene to Eminem in his tour bus, sitting down, positioned on his sofa, in a medium shot, in a gaze. This scene immediately contrasts with the one of Stan in his grotty bathroom, as Eminem, is in much more expensive clothing, with a man handing him his fan mail.
We then cut to the a camera movement which is panning down the house leading into the low key lighting basement, where we are reunited with Stan as he enters the basement in a long shot down the stairs. The basement scene then reinforces Stan's obsession with Eminem, as he begins to write his letter to him, a pan of the room reveals the amount of posters, and newspapers clippings Stan has collected about Eminem, revealing his obsession.
There are two key shots which are filmed in this scene, in order to enhance Stan's obsession of Eminem. One of which, is when Stan waves at Eminem on the TV, as if he knows him, and is responding to Eminems actions, unaware that Eminem is just waving to the TV. Another is when, Stan placed a photograph of Eminem, over the face of his girlfriend, in order to make it look like the picture is of them both instead of him and his girlfriend. Similarly, as Stan continues to write his letter to Eminem, we see Stan looking in the mirror, and his reflection is Eminem, which also reveals his obbsession with the rapper. Our thoughts of Stan are then proven, as we here the lyrics "truly yours, your biggest fan this is Stan".
A lot of fading transitions are then used to show the passing time after that. As we see time pass, we also see an extreme close up of Stan's letter to Eminem fall from the mail basket, meaning that it would not reach Eminem in time. We also see Stan becoming more aggravated and aggressive towards his girlfriend as time passes, causing a concern for her safety for the viewers, whilst also building tension.
As the second verse begins, the audience are shown a low angle shot of Stan looking up towards his aggravated face, as he writes another letter to his idol, Eminem. The lyrics link well with this image, as we here " i just think its fucked up you dont answer fans!" The lyrics then continue to link with the images, as we here "If you didn't wanna talk to me outside the concert you didnt have to..." whilst the video shows an Eminem concert and a close up on Stan in the audience. Similarly, this link is shown again, as he says "we waitied in the blistering cold for you for four hours and you just said no", and shows Stan in the snow waiting for Eminem. This obsession with Stan in then amplified, as Stan says "I even got a tattoo with your name accross my chest" which confirms any confusion about whether or not Stan was obsessed with Eminem. As he continues to write his letter, Stan continuously compares himself and his and Eminems experiences to each other. He then goes on to explain in his letter "my girlfriend jelous kos i talk about you 24/7", revealing why he is so distant from him girlfriend, and that his obbsession with Eminem is the cause of that, and then goes on to end his letter with "ps we should be together too."
We then cut back to the chorus, involving Dido, leaving her bed whilst Stan is asleep and creeping down the stairs into the basement, which the camera following with a downwards pan into the basement. A she reaches the basement, and begins to look through Stan's collection, we realize that she has not ventured into the basement before, as she may have been restricted to do so by Stan, as she is so shocked by what she finds, especially the photo which her face has been replaced with Eminems. As Dido looks at the collective obsession, Stan arrives down the stairs positioned in the background and watches her. This builds a huge amount of tension for the audience, as we worry how he is going to react to this.
Of course, Stan's reaction is just as we suspected, as he grabs hold of his pregnant girlfriend in anger. The camera then straight cuts to a fast speeding car in the pouring rain, which immediately builds tension as to what is happening. Our fears are then proven, as we see Stan driving the car with one hand, whilst recording into a cassette tape, a cassette for Eminem, as he drives. The audience is instantly confused, and worried, as Stan exclaims in anger;"this will be the last package i ever send your ass!". Similarly, the weather conditions are still very bad, as Stan exclaims he is "doing 90 on a free way" the audience immediately expect the worse to happen. The use of camera shots throughout this clip, focus on Stan the whole time, whilst showing the harsh weather conditions in the background, as well as a photograph on Eminem hanging from his interior mirror. Stan's driving becomes worse, as he swerves to avoid another car, and almost crashing, building a huge amount of tension for the viewer. Stan then continues to shout " I loved you slim we could have been together" once again proven the audiences awareness of Stan correct. As Stan exclaims his final words he shouts "thats my girlfriend screaming in the trunk" which builds even further tension, as we now fear for Didos safety. Stan then ends the tape with "well gotta go im almost at the bridge now, oh shit i almost forgot how am i supposed to send this shit out?" then we hear an emphasized skidding of the car, cut to the car flying off of the brige and landing into the river with a huge water corruption.
The car is then seen sinking from an ariel view as if we were watching it from the top of the bridge, as the camera then fades back to Eminem, still sitting in his tour bus, not knowing what has happened. The medium shot shows Eminem reading his fan mail, which we assume is from Stan revealing that he had only just received it, or had time to read it.At the same time, the camera cuts back to the sinking car in the lake as the chorus begins to play. The sinking car is then filmed from several shots, as it sinks, to show that no one escaped from the car, or left the car revealing they must have died. The camera then cuts back to Eminem, as he begins his third verse and begins to write his reply to Stan. Eminem begins with the lyrics "I meant to write sooner but i just been busy" which immediately gives regret to the audience, as we realize Stan's and Dido's death was unnecessary, as Eminem is now replying to his letter. As he continues to write his letter, unknowing that Stan has already died, the camera cuts to his little brother and another lady, which we assume to be his mother, standing at the burial stone of Stan.
As eminem, finishes his letter he says "I hope you get to read this letter, I just hope it reaches you in time" which is ironic, as we as the viewers already know it wont, as it is too late, as Stan is alreasy dead, however Eminem is still unknown to this. Eminem then becomes to realise the truth the video shows the news reporters at the scene, and the car being pulled out of the river, Eminem says:
"I see this one thing on the news a couple days ago that made me sick. Some dude was drunk and drove his car over a bridge, and in the car they found a tape but they didnt say who it was to, come to this about his name was, it was you. DAM."
The video then comes to an end, with Eminem still sitting in his tour bus, as a flash of lightening appears, and as it does, we see Stan in the window looking through at Eminem. The camera then faded back to Stan memorial as we see his little brother in a medium shot leaning on his brothers grave stone.
