ROMENA VASANTH
It is the stage in the film making process in which sound and images are organised into an overall narrative.
In fast paced songs the use of fast cuts transitions are more commonly used as it allows for there to be a number of shots in one sequence moving along to the pace of the song to create a specific mood. For example, in a feel good music video that may be a party track there will lots of use of the fast transitions to continuously change between different shot types and locations. This allows to show different aspects of the setting quickly which conveys across the feeling of exhilaration to the audience. For example, the song “TGIF” By Katy Perry.
On the other hand, slow cuts establish more emotion of the artist as the pace sets the mood. With the slow cuts we can slowly move through the narrative following what is happening whilst understanding the lyrics more clearly. One example is the song “Wildest moments” by Jessie Ware.
Continuity Editing – The most common type of editing, which aims to create a sense of reality and time moving forward. It creates a sense of realism for the viewer by giving the impression of continuous filming.
Jump Cut – An abrupt, disorientating transitional device in the middle of a continuous shot in which the action is noticeably advanced in time/an or cut between two similar shots, usually done to create discontinuity for artistic effect.
Cross cutting – The editing technique of alternating, interweaving, or interspersing one narrative actions with another – usually in different locations or places, thus combining the two: this editing technique usually Parallel action, which takes place simultaneously. It is often used to dramatically build tension and/ or suspense in chase scenes or to compare two different scenes. This is also known as inter – cutting or parallel editing.
Eye line match – A type of edit which cuts from one character to what the character has been looking at.
Flashback – A scene or moment in a film in which the audience is shown an event which happened earlier in the film or music video’s narrative.
Slow motion – Indicates intensity or importance of an action. The shot is slowed down to emphasis something within the scene.
Linear Narrative –A style of storytelling in which events happen chronologically.
Parallel Editing – A type of editing in which events in two locations are cut together, in order to imply a connection between the two sets of events.
Visual effects – Are usually used to alter previously filmed elements by adding, removing or enhancing objects within the scene.
Editing styles of choosen genre:
Video one:
In the Music Video , the camera focuses on the artist as well as one other protaginist who appears for the narrative. By these people having the most screen time it highlights how they are significant and the most important in contrast to everything else within the frame.
There is a long introduction to this Music Video as Adele and starts at 1:16 as she is having a phone call conversation which reveals information that is relevant to the narrative. This is a common style to the pop genre to hook the audience before the actual song starts.
In this Music video there is a mix of a narrative and Adele singing directly to the camera, connecting herself to the audience. This is another frequent style in Pop music as it is useful for drawing audiences which is essential for the catchy songs. If a music video is interesting it will raise more attention to the target audience. What is significant about this Music Video is how it is all set in Sepia which is a style used in the Pop genre to reflect a specific mood. However, it is mostly set in Black and White rather than sepia to highlight the emotions of the song. For instance, Black and white is used in the song "Heart wants what it wants" - By Selena Gomez and One Direction's "little thing".
Video Two:
The music video commences with shots moving between the past and present. This is immediately clear as the same location is used but with one sequence of the protaginists are young and in the other they are old. Flashbacks are a common editing style in Pop music videos because it is an intriguing editing device for narratives to see differences of time and the characters. For flashbacks the editing usually consists of more jump cuts to alternate between shots quickly between the past and present. The more faster the transitions the more faster the pace of the moving shots which is useful for the pace of the song.
At part of the Music Video there is elements of forshadowing where the Portaginists sees pictures of theirselves as a old couple set in the future. This helps to connect the narrative together and help the audience understand more clearly what is going on. As well as this, close up shots are used to focus on motifs to its importance and at this point the shot lenghts are longer. There are also slower shot cuts and transitions to allow the viewers more time to focus on the meaning the motif connotes.
Towards the end of the Music video when the pace of the song speeds up the editing stye changes with a number of shots being cut together with fast transitions to show how the past and the present are connected and bringing the whole narrative together. This is a frequent editing style to this specific genre.
Video Three:
There is a main theme in this Music Video which stays consistant throughout and relevant to the meaning behind the song. From the start we follow the protaginist and as the narrative develops it is clear to us how she is an angel much like Cupid going around making people fall in love, yet ironically she does not feel love herself... Hence the title "Give me Love" Which is the main essence of the song with the theme being Love. Themes are a common style of pop music videos and can vary between party themes to adventure themes and even heart break. Usually the theme of the song is hinted in the song title or the opening of the music video itself.
The Music video has been edited so that the narrative goes in a full circle and we return to the beginning at the end of the song, and as an audience we can see through the narrative how it got to this point. There are many slow transitions used in this Music video which reflects the slow pace of the song. For this reason there are longer shot lenghts and the tone becomes more reflective rather than upbeat and exhilirating and so we can connect to the protaginist and the artist of the song on a deeper emotional level.
Within Pop Music Videos narratives are a conventional style as well as using aspects of performance of just the artist singing the song. This is intwined within the sequence to keep the audience hooked and not losing interest over just the narrative. As well as this, for this music genre editing plays an important role when it comes to editing as part of styles. Within most pop music videos it is common to use editing to add effects to something already within the scene, but has been added after in the post production part. For example, in this music video there are sparks that come off the arrow the protaginists fires., whereas in the music video for "Fireworks" By Katy Perry one of the main effects is having fireworks come out of each of the characters which is an essential element for the narrative as it is based on people doing what they want to do and being who they want to be so, exploding like a firework. Other effects include using fire or water to symbolise destruction or purity, but by adding these effects after it is a style that most videos take on to intrigue the target demographic.
Another frequent editing style used in many pop music videos is slow motion which is usually used in slow paced songs or where there are less shot types and instead longer cuts. Slow motion can be used to slow down, for example a glass smashing and the pieces dispersing on the ground if this sequence was not slowed down it probaly wont have the same effect on the audience as we pay more attention to something when we have more time to see its detail more clearly.
Also, focus pulls can be used throughout to move from one object/ person to another without cutting the shot, so instead it allows the sequence to continue. This style can be used to show the emotion of one character then suddenly the camera transitions to someone/something either behind or infront to focus on them, whilst the previous focus becomes blurred.