Dust in the Wind 5

Forever Knight
Dust in the Wind 5 - Final

Theme: LaCroix frustrating Nick

This is bit twiddling time. You know what you want to put where, but you have to squeeze it to make it fit. Stories have larger elements than what we emphasize in a music video, so this is where you edit out their story in order to create yours. Three people are in the scene. Your video is about two of them. So when you pick up a sequence, you first have to edit out the other person.
And sometimes the scenes within the clip work, but not in the order they appeared. Reversing scenes within a clip can help your transitions, the point where one scene leaves off and another scene starts.
Avoid jump cuts. These are defined as two scenes next to one another that differ less than about twenty percent in size or position. Of course, this rule goes out the window if you're after a stuttering effect with rapid jump in changes of size.
Characters talk a lot. Besides being distracting in a silent-movie-like music video, it can go on for a boringly long length of time. So you have to cut all the talking scenes to bare minimal.
Even with action sequences, they almost always have elements that you don't need for your story. Your clips are usually only 2-6 seconds long, so you have to cut like a surgeon to get just enough pieces to tell your own story.
When you put in your sequence, look to see if an internal scene change in the video was close enough to a significant note to make it worthwhile to cut the previous scene to start the new scene on the note.
Rule of thumb (or toe, if you prefer): you need at least 20-25 frames (2/3 or 5/6 of a second) in order to comprehend the video.
Music phrases have natural ending places. So do actions. You need to reach the end of your music phase on the end of the action. Which means you let your action play until it feels right to pause the video, then mark the end, then back compute from the length of the music phrase to get the beginning of your clip. If it doesn't fit, you get to learn about speed changing in digital editing.
Music phrases have rhythm. So do actions. You need to let your body feel the rhythm of the music, then look for action that matches that in speed. That gets you approximately there. Then you just move the clip back and forth by a few frames until you see if you can get them walking in time to the music. If it's way off, or the motion looks jerky, I'd usually deep-six the clip and look for another one.
Note that the laying down of clips has changed the theme. It's fluid until you put down your last edit.

Done

Theme: LaCroix frustrating Nick

Finished - Go Back to Three Quarters Done

Music opening	LaCroix talking while Nick drives - sets theme
I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone	Curiouser - LaCroix leaves him holding his hand; Nick looks at LaCroix's body
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity	Curiouser - LaCroix talking from chessboard, flashes
Dust in the wind	BabyBaby - LaCroix's face slides over Nick's in car
All they are is dust in the wind.	Can't Run, Can't Hide - Nick runs to massacre bodies
Same old song,	Undue Process - Nick kills man
Just a drop of water in an endless sea	Undue Process - LaCroix comes up and praises him
All we do,	Capital Offense - pleasant with nun
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see	Capital Offense - putting body on ground, seeing wound
Dust in the wind,	.
All we are is dust in the wind	Bad Blood - LaCroix holds up dust and lets fall
Music bridge	Pilot2 - green cup dropped 1966 - book burned, The Fix - drug experiment, Faithful Follower - egyptian painting
Don't hang on,	LAST ACT - where girl suggests suicide
nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky	LAST ACT - holding her ring near pile of her clothes
It slips away,	Love You to Death - Nick kills girl
And all your money won't another minute buy.	Love You to Death - holding dead girl
Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind	Be My Valentine - intercutting Fleur, Natalie
Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind	.
Music ending - slice off end	Be My Valentine - holding her after LaCroix's gone

Watch the Video

Finished - Go Back to Three Quarters Done

Index of Plans and Lyrics
All Downloadable Videos		Chronological List
Blake's 7	Boston Legal	Buffy	Cadfael
Camera	Due South	Forever Knight	House
Lord of the Rings	Miami Vice	Miscellaneous	Professionals
Quantum Leap	Sherlock Holmes	Star Trek	Starsky and Hutch
Star Wars	.	.	.
Christmas	Duenna	Julia Ecklar	Tom Lehrer