BLOG POST # 2: Editing Analysis
Skunk Anansie - My Ugly Boy
Skunk Anasie’s music video for their new song My Ugly Boy is the focus of my editing Analysis. The video starts with a tracking close up shot of the singer feet she is wearing a pair of high heeled red shoes and she is walking in a dark parking garage. You can hear the light guitar riffs start with as soon as soon as her left foot hits the ground. This shoot last about 4 seconds and is followed by a series of very quick shots of her holding a set of car keys (medium wide shoot), walking up the a car (wide shoot), opening the car door, her in the car closing the door (medium shoot), her in the car (close up) starting the engine (medium shoot), stepping on the pedals (close up) and shifting the gears (close up). A shot of the speedometer clocking around the dial shows the change of intensity and tempo of the music as the heavy guitar riffs kick in. Cut to shoots of the singer driving around the garage at high speed alone. At about he 34 seconds in we see that she checks the rear view mirror to revel that she is not alone but has passenger in the backseat. A slim, sweaty, disheveled man with messed up greasy hair. The songs subject "Ugly Boy". This shoot is the beginning of shoots that coincides with the lyrics of the song. A sign that some shots the shoots are being organized in term of content. For example when she sings the line “Where ever he likes to go the dirtest girls will show.” coincides with shoots of the man from the backseat of car standing in the garage with two questionable females.
This theme continues thru the course of the video.
Since it is a music video there is a lot of freedom in compsotion, color, movement, etc. But there is clear decision in the production to make everything dark and siddy. As if you see someplace you shouldn’t be and seeing things that you are not supposed to see. Everything from the car being the only one left in the garage to the band mate coming out the darkness near the end the video all done to create an underground feel to the video. From an editing standpoint they follow the rule of music videos that the shoots can be random and linear at the same time. Cut being seamless and obvious. What the editor does not do is follow the rule of most music videos, which is to have a cut every 3 to 5 seconds. “ My Ugly Boy " has a cut every 2 to 3 second. Most cut shoot are not longer than 2 or 3 seconds long. Which goes along with the fast pace of music. The editing does help give us some insight the story “My Ugly Boy” but keeps us entertained and excited about the song. Which is the job of a music video.
