Planning Editing Skills - Miss Miller

Planning Editing Skills

Introduction

Within a music video it is important to include different editing skills so the artist can be represented in different ways throughout. Editing skills means the audience will be engaged throughout and won't get bored of what is going on. Different editing skills can show different emotions from the artist, such as filters or specific colours which have different connotations. We have discussed as a group what different editing skills we will be including within our own music video and planned them out on a spider diagram so we can see them in a wider specific. Editing within music video's can also allow different emotional responses from the audience.

Analysis

The first piece of editing I have chosen to use is a black and white filter. The black and white filter is going to be used on the performance elements of the music video ahead the narrative concepts will be in normal colour. The black and white represents Amy's past, and how she is reflecting on it within the lyrics that she is singing to her audience. The direct address to her audience helps the audience to understand the lyrics by the use of a black and filter as they can see the low and depressing mood. The down mood being set for the audience to see shows the artist as being emotional and upset, the black and white filter In contrast with the normal colours that we will be using in the un-filtered sections, show her as emotional as we see her ups and downs through this filter as it flicks back to performance aspect throughout. The black and white filter being used on the performance aspect throughout and not just at the start shows a strong lead of emotion and that they stay the same and shows her audience instability in her feelings. The black and white filter over the images themselves will show Amy to be performing on stage and playing the piano in tune with the song Hometown Glory. This way because the audience are not looking at any bright colours that stand out to the audience as there will be none shown in black and white, the audience will be able to focus on her emotion from her face through the use of close-ups used in this part of the performance stages and body language being directed at Amy's target audience through mid-shots and long shots to keep the audience entertained and engaged.

The next use of editing we have chosen to include after discussion as a group is overlapping/layering of shots. These editing shots will take place throughout the whole music video to show different times and thoughts in Amy's life and how they reflect with each other and the lyrics being sung at that time. The picture on the left is a small example of what overlapping of shots looks like, although ours will look a lot different too this. Our shots will take place when performance is taking place for example our artist Amy playing the piano, and a London shot starting to overlap to change the scene, although this will have relevance to this part of the song and tell a narrative itself, or vise-versa. This will work effectively as it means a smooth changing of shots and allows the audience to see what is going on clearly. Overlapping of shots within a soul music video is conventional as build's up Amy's emotions to the audience, and allows her to express her emotions and feelings in a more subtle way. The building up of emotions will be shown as we will see her lyrics being sung with a overlapping shot over the top of her, almost justifying the emotions and lyrics, which will work well as soul songs are deep in meaning and feelings. I feel that overlapping and layering of shots will expand the viewing time for the audience as they will be able to see the fading image and the image on top being produced further onto the screen, allowing more understanding. This represents the artist overall as emotional, negative, confused and overwhelmed.

Slow-timing of shots is going to be included frequently within our music video as it can show deeper and more meaningful emotions. We have chosen to include these within the narrative and performance parts of our music video. Firstly the narrative side. Using slow-timing of shots and slow-paced editing within the performance aspect will mean the audience can see deeper emotions and meanings and more meaning to the body emotion that is going to be included. The slow pace will show how Amy feels her life is going at the moment, representing her emotions as sad and depressing, which the audience will see from her facial expressions, connecting to her looking down at the floor and away from the camera meaning no direct address to the audience at this point. This shows her negative outlook on life, and how she has no positive thoughts In her life at this time and everything is looking downwards for her. For the narrative side to our music video, we have slow chosen to include slow-timing of shots. These will take place when Amy is either walking in London or standing in London. For example, when Amy is walking down the street in London away from the camera, Amy will be at normal speed, whilst the people and cars driving/walking past will be in slow-motion to show how she feels her life is going, and how nothing is changing in her eyes. Amy being at normal speed and the background being at a slow-pace will show her outlook to the audience and how she is seeing things in her world and perspective, meaning the audience can create a relationship with the artist easily as they have a full understanding and able to see the shots for longer. Slow-timing of shots is conventional in a soul genre as is helps portray emotion and detail to the audience.

The final use of editing that we have chosen as a group to include is fast-paced editing. Fast-paced editing is a use of editing that is used frequently within music videos as it can show a rush of emotion and feelings being expressed towards the audience. Within our music video we are going to include this editing technique within the narrative side to the video. We are going to use this technique on London shots, where buses, cars, people walking past and showing an insight into everyday life in London will be in fast pace to show a hectic and busy life-style that Amy is leading. This will show her rush of emotions and how she is not in a happy place and not in her hometown where she is happy and relaxed. The fast-paced editing will represent her emotions and feelings hugely, in corporate with her facial expressions being shown in the narrative shots of her walking around London. Fast Paced editing is un-conventional of a soul music video as is shows the artist to be living a hectic lifestyle and doesn't allow for intricate detail to be shown, for example the facial expressions and emotions, meaning the audience cannot understand clearly unlike the other editing styles that we have included. I feel that although this editing style is unconventional for our genre it will work effectively and show the artist in a different light that reflects on the mood of the song, and the lyrics being sung at the specific time that this editing technique will be used.

Conclusion

In conclusion I feel that this post has allowed me and my group to oversee what editing skills we will use, and how they will work effectively. It has allowed us to plan out our music video in detail and where each editing style will go and for what reason. I am happy with our choices of editing styles as I feel that they help with the mood that is going to be set and help show specific emotions and feelings towards the audience helping create a relationship between the artist Amy and the audience. A relationship means good understanding and enjoyment of the music video, which is what we want to achieve. The styles that we have chosen will help portray the artist in a conventional way and be included well within the soul genre.