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 I thought we would take a different approach to this article and instead of focussing on just one band, instead I wanted to focus on a particular subject – the duet. I am fascinated by the world of the duets and this will not be the only month that we will have a look at this subject. I love the way that when two musicians collaborate the videos see bigger, better and bolder and they really go into overdrive when it comes to the editing. So this month we will take a look at just a handful, but because there are so many I adore this will be a topic we will visit again in the future.

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Perfume – De’Wayne Feat. Awsten Knight

Why did you choose this particular video?

This is the most modern video in our selection this month and was released in 2021, the reason that I included this track was that I actually really like the video. In a world full of social distancing I am paying attention to music videos a lot these days to see just how you can create something unique. The one thing I like about this video is the use of different style of cameras that create this really interesting style of video.

So, what is the narrative?

There is not a narrative as such it is more about the music in a sense, the video is based around the world of skating and there are different elements of the skate board and park. There is also segments of the video where you see De’Wayne and Awsten Knight breaking things up with a baseball bat.

Favourite parts of the video?

The video opens with De’wayne skateboarding being pulled along the street. The shots are really effective and automatically opens you up into the world. It is a really unique shot and the thing I really like about it is that they decided to keep in the shots where he falls off. That may sound cruel to mention but it has this amazing effect where it fades to black with this heavy bass then it reappears with the skating continuing. I love the fact that they kept this failure in the video as it sort off brings a sense of realness to it.

The one thing I really enjoy about this video is the very unique and varied camera shots as it brings the video to life. You are always looking out for the next interesting shot throughout. One of the shots I particularly like is the 360 camera as it is another way of bringing you into this music videos world. I love the really good colour gear and find the jumping on the trampoline a very fun shot.

When Awsten is introduced to the song, there are still some really interesting shots that still allow De’Wayne to be part of the shot really subtly but also really effectively. It is a close up of Awstens face and positions it so you get the bright colours of his hair popping against this really vibrant background of pink. If you look in the reflection of his glasses there is a reflection of De’Wayne and I think it is such a clever piece of cinematography because it still allows the star to be part of the shot.

When the chorus kicks in when they are both in the shots, the editing gets more erratic and it is a sequence of lots of quick cut edits. The one thing that makes this part really stand out is the sections where there are these quick jazzy transitions which allow the different styles of camera shots to work together really well.