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 are looking at the band Sum 41 because their music videos were a big part of my teenage years. I used to find their music videos fascinating as they had the perfect balance of Punk Rock and Comedy and I would watch their videos over and over again. I am sure one of their albums came with a DVD with the videos on as well. They were a band that you would get excited to see their music videos as they were so good and that is why I wanted to write about them as these videos I have seen sooooo many times that I feel they are one of the major impacts in why I look up to music videos so much as a great form of edit. So over the next few weeks we are going to look at some of my favourites.

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Sum 41 – Fat Lip

Why did you choose this particular video?

When you are a teen growing up in the UK and you watch teen movies or music videos from the States it sort of creates a sense of the world that you are missing which in some ways always made you jealous that your life was never going to be as cool as these kids in America living it up. I felt that Fat Lip took this ideology and took it to the extreme and whilst it still has the concept that being a teen is one big party, it sort of shows the real punk rock version of that.

So, what is the narrative?

I was watching an interview with the band and they were saying that apparently they didn’t really have a plan for the video and just shot in various areas of California where they had the biggest fan base.

Favourite parts of the video?

When I first used to watch this music video, the beginning of it used to confuse me but at the same time I admired it because it was so unique. It is only when you start to really like the band that you realise that is a rap from another song that they had on an earlier album. It is a really interesting way to start a music video and when you read that actually it was done off the cuff without the shop owners expecting it you can see that reaction and that is why I find it clever as it sort of writes the rules of being punk rock without being punk rock.

Whist a lot of the music video is pretty raw and has this natural touch to it which could be to do with the fact it was pretty early on in their career and also it gives a sort of feel for the band, there are still some sections that have some editing techniques that stand out to me. The one thing that I really like is the mix of slow motion clips throughout that work really well with the quick edits of the band performing in a skate parl. It feels like you are thrown into the band is performing but at the same time get to focus on the narratives of the fans around them which is really interesting.

Another thing that is enjoyable about this video is the way that it has these fast edit cuts of the band having fun and acting silly with their fans. I like the fact that with the nighttime shots there is a blue light flare that highlights the events that happen in the evening, it is a simple effect but it works really well.