I am a Video Editor – and one of the things (probably the main thing) that inspired me to work in television post production was actually music videos.

Music videos are one of my favourite things in the world and I spent hours and I MEAN literally hours when I was growing up watching them Even now in the modern world, I can find myself getting lost on YouTube watching music videos for hours on end – they are an addiction.

This month we look at a pop band that I grew up listening to when I was a kid – Steps. When I was a kid I used to find music videos magic, I was addicted to them and I used to find some of the pop bands had the most amazing videos and in some ways I have them to thank for my obsession with them. I used to love Steps videos – they always came with a great dance routine (one of them i learnt and won a talent show with) and a really fun video. There are some from Steps that I loved and some of them I found so clever that even when I watch them now I am amazed and have a huge surge of nostalgia. So this month we celebrate a fun pop group!

Steps – It’s The Way That You Make Me Feel

Why did you choose this particular video?

I found with Steps that they really introduced me to the world of narrative in music videos and this is a perfect example of the way they used to do it and how well they did it.

So, what is the narrative?

The music video re-enacts scenes from the film Dangerous Liaisons. The film is a period romantic drama that is adapted from the 1782 play. The film is about a scheming widow and her manipulative ex-lover making a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman. 

Favourite parts of the video?

The video is edited and stylised like a film, a lot off neutral colour grades that compliment the outfits that the members of the band are wearing. This is a really good example and it also one of the reasons that I like this video. Faye is wearing neutral colours and gold shades that the grade is tinted to both highlight the outfit that she is wearing and also create the emotions in the shot.

In a lot of music videos, the shots are usually edited fast and quick to look sexy and appeal to the audiences eye but this video does something different, it is edited a lot slower and a less harsh to other songs and that is a great way to really feel engaged into the narrative. The fact that the edits are simple means that the emotions that are being portrayed can be expressed.

Whilst there is not too much to talk about in the editing in this video, the final thing that I want to talk about is the lighting in the video as it is really interesting. When you look at shots throughout the video you will notice a lot of different types of lighting presented in the video, and the light of each of the things such as the candles etc is emphasised through the colour grade. This shot of H is a good example. Look at the light on his face and on the chair, it is subtle but it emphasises the emotion in his face.