There are a lot of resources out there on the technical requirements for making a fan video. These tend to cover things like how do you capture video or what editing software to use, so I figure that ground has been well tread at this point. Instead, I thought I’d take a minute to write a bit about what goes into the editing aspect of a great fan video and give you the opportunity to watch some of the best fan videos ever created.

What is a fan video?

Obvious first question, but important to get out of the way nonetheless. These videos are created by fans of a particular movie or TV series by taking clips and editing them to a piece of music.  The work is meant to be an expression of tribute to the movie or TV series that can be enjoyed by other fans.

Isn’t that copyright infringement? Absolutely. Let’s not kid ourselves about that one and always appreciate the fact that it is neither your video clips nor your music that is the creation here. The only thing you as a fan vidder are bringing to the party is your skills as an editor.

Some tricks of the trade

Not to sound like an 80 year old film professor, but video editors today seriously don’t have any idea how easy they have it. With the software that’s available now, you can shave off a single frame or shift a clip a fraction of a second so that it aligns precisely with a beat of the music. This power is at your finger tips so do not be afraid to use it.

Be mindful of how your clips are tailing out. If a clip is too short for the spot you’re throwing it into then you’re likely going to get the first few frames of the next clip. This will appear as a blip that’s too fast the viewer to really register what’s going on and can be jarring. A great trick is to use speed controls on the clip to slow it down just slightly. If all you’re looking for is a half second or so, the fact that you’ve changed the speed won’t be noticeable within the clip, but it will provide you with the extra frames needed to fill out that slot. Also, watch for clips tailing out during long cross dissolves. Having the clip cut to something else during the middle of a transition always looks odd and can interrupt the flow of an otherwise smooth dissolve.

For an example of this, I refer you to a section of my own fan video, Oh My God. If you look at this first series of quick cross dissolves and compare it to the second, the first doesn’t seem quite as clean and crisp. You can sort of see what I’m trying to do but the result is just a bit sloppier. This tailing out can usually be fixed by applying the same speed trick that I described earlier, but in the case of my own video I wasn’t ever able to resolve it quite to my satisfaction.

Don’t cut too quickly! I’ve seen this many times with people cutting to fast music. They’ll try to slot a completely different clip in for every beat change and the result goes by so quickly that you can’t actually see what’s going on. Give your audience the chance to really appreciate what they’re seeing. I’m a big proponent of trying to group clips from the same scene in order to give the audience a chance to see something happen over the span of a few clips as opposed to just a bunch of smiling headshots flashing by.

A fantastic example of this is done right Corn_Child’s Firefly/Serenity fan video, Must Be Dreaming, where clips from the same shot are intercut at a rapid pace. This allows Corn_Child to nail the beat with each cut, but gives the viewer time to see the clip in full.

Don’t be afraid to look for beats within the clips themselves. Most editors know how to place cuts on the beats of the song, but the really keen ones know how to find the beat in the middle of the a clip. They’ll take that beat then throw it against a clap of the hands, a kick, a kiss or a gunshot. Remember, you’ve got the power of precision with digital video editing so use it. You can use clip speed control here as well to increase the speed of a clip in order for it to better match the pace of the music or have that visual beat land exactly where you want it to.

No video, in my humble opinion, does this better than Rache & Sandy’s Stargate: Atlantis video, Stress, which makes a point of highlighting all of McKay’s hyperactive little twitches and gestures and keying the music to them as often as it does to the cuts themselves.

Have something to say or a story to tell. If all you plan to do is take your favourite song and combine it with all your favourite shots from your favourite show, that’s well and good, but really all you’re doing is creating the video equivalent to elevator music. Remember, the clips belong to the show and the music belongs to the artist, but this edit belongs to you, so why not make it something extraordinary. Take some time to select just the right song and then listen to it on repeat with your eyes closed until you start to feel the sorts of places the music takes you and the images that it brings up. Think about what it is you want to communicate about a particular character or a particular relationship and then start to build a narrative that gets that message across.

When it comes to shaping a really sharp narrative using clips and music, I think there is no better example than Dallascaper’s Farscape fan video, Scorpy Went Down to Georgia. In a brilliant bit of casting, Dallascaper puts Scorpius in the role of the devil and our hero, John Crichton, as the brilliant fiddler that takes him down. Easily one of the most classic Farscape fan videos ever made.

(for the best quality version of this video visit Farscape Fantasy)

 
So there you have it. Hopefully I’ve been able to inject some inspiration into all those eager vidders out there. If you know if other great fan videos, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. To find the fan videos that I’ve made, visit the Video Editing section of this website. I personally don’t think I’m in the same league as these guys, but it’s still fun to push those skills when I can.