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Video Editing with Music

Posted on: December 16th, 2014 by Tom McDonald

Editing with MusicThroughout my news career, I always cherished those rare opportunities to edit a news story to music.  These were rare instances for sure but now and then, a feature story would come up that allowed a little musical soundtrack.  Today, in my professional video production life, nearly every piece we do is edited to music.  Through nearly a decade of editing hundreds of videos with music at Fireside Production, I would like to share some tips and observations.

Tip #1 – Find the right track!  Music is very subjective. The important thing is to find music that fits the story and your target audience.

Tip #2 – Music is not just for the background.  I like to treat music the same as any other element in the video. For instance, if the music changes pace at a critical place in the script, bring it up full and let the audience feel it.  Let the music dictate the beginning of the video with a video montage.  In other words, don’t just lay it down in the background and forget about it.

Tip #3 – When you work with as much music as we do, finding new and fresh cuts can be a huge challenge and often time consuming.  Find the sites you like to work with and constantly listen.  Keep track of music… and more importantly, artists you really like.  Some sites offer playlists for favorite tracks. That’s a great thing – when you find a really good one!

I would love to hear more tips on choosing music for editing.  Please share your tricks of the trade!

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by Webolutions Digital Marketing Agency
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