Planning Editing

Planning what editing effects and tools I wanted to use when beginning the editing process was essential as it allowed me to visualise what I wanted my music video to look like and it enabled me to know how I wanted to portray my narrative and concept, and my artist to my target audience. I decided to use many conventional editing tools and styles to the dance genre in my music video in order to excite the audience and allow my narrative and concept to flow well within my music video, making it easier for my audience to understand my music video.

These are some of the editing tools I decided to use in my music video:

• Rewind Effect: This effect links well with the dance genre and my chosen song, Stay Awake, as it allowed the visuals to link with the music (which was a main feature of Goodwin's theory). I used the rewind effect after we see the main girl leave her house and get into the artists car, so after he begins to drive away the whole scene is reversed. This effect helped the music video to follow its narrative as it allowed the audience to see the breaking relationship between the girl, who later abuses alcohol and drugs, and the artist, who does not give into the peer pressure of alcohol and drugs.

• Mirror: This effect allowed me to create a distorted shot which links to the concept of drugs and alcohol, as these substances can give people distorted and blurry vision. The mirror effect also went well with the beat of the music, as I used it when a car door is seen being slammed a few times, so the mirror effect just emphasised the banging sound the closing doors would have had. Also, one of the lines in the song mentions going 'into wonderland' which also adds to the reason of the effect as I wanted to create a distorted yet vivid image.

• Fast Forward Effect: This effect allowed my music video visuals to follow the music well, as my song is a conventional dance song with a fast paced beat, so I had to use the fast forwarded effect in order to keep the visuals up with the pace of the song. I also wanted to use the fast forwarding effect in order to excite my audience and to make them want to continue watching the music video. In addition the fast paced visuals adds a bit of chaos to my music video which links strongly to the party scene within my music video and the concept of drugs and alcohol. This effect also helped me to create the perfect representation for my artist, as in my music video I added some out-take clips of the artist messing around and I added this fast forward effect to it which enables the audience to see the fun and lively side of the artist without the help of alcohol and drugs, so this represents my artist in a very positive way.

• Colour Saturation/Contrast: I edited the colour saturation and contrast of some shots in order to make it lighter and to add warmth to the shot, as I wanted a conventional dance music video which makes the audience feel good and excites them. I also used this to add lighting to the party scene shots to replicate the look of strobe lighting and to make the scene look more exciting to translate what the atmosphere of a party that played the artists music would look like.

 

• Glow and Colour Balance: I used the glow effect in some of my shots in order to make it look more vibrant and fun in order for my music video to be conventional to the dance genre. I also used the colour balance tool to help make some shots brighter or darker, and I made some shots have a bit more of a red balance to it so that it would reflect the lights in a concert or club. The glow effect helped represent my artist positively as it put a white glow around his body which conveys ideas of innocence and good nature, so the audience would hopefully decide they like my artist and want to listen to more of his music. I also used the glow effect and red colour balance on a shot with the main girl after she falls off the bed in order to add to the concept of drink and drugs and show the audience that although she did give in to the pressure of drink and drugs once she is still a normal, good teenager.

Overall
Overall I think my editing styles are very conventional to the dance genre as they mainly connote positive and exciting moods. I also think my editing styles will definitely help the development of my music videos narrative and concepts and allow the target audience to understand what is happening more and enjoy the video. I am happy with the editing tools and styles I have decided to use as they create emphasis on specific shots which are important to the narrative and it helps my music video's visuals to link with the music and lyrics, making the video flow more easily and look more like a professional music video. My editing effects will also help to represent my artist in a positive way, and some of the fast paced editing reflects the busy lifestyle of a music artist, but the other effects, such as the glow, represents how passionate my artist is to his music and how his song does have a slightly deeper concept than some other conventional dance songs.