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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4 Minutes – Madonna Featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland

Why did you choose this particular video?

This video always stood out to me when it was released as it had so many interesting and amazing video effects that I was always fascinated as to how they were done. If you are looking for a video where there are high production values then this is definitely one. It is used to create this sassy video and highlights the dancing talents of the two individuals. Whilst this song technically is a trio and not a duet I still wanted to include it.

So, what is the narrative?

Apparently according interviews that Madonna did this video was conceptualistic, you see a dance routine, and that it shows that the world is slowly being eaten up and what you would do in 4 minutes.

Favourite parts of the video?

The one thing that I love about this video is the way that the this screen thing that is engulfing the world interacts with the musicians. It is such a sophisticated graphic that it works really well and brings a real glamour to this video. I said in the opening that I find that for duets the music videos go above and beyond and with this video it really does. I like the opening editing sequence to this video as well, it is fast, swish and has lots of different effects to create this really sexy and snazzy opening.

Both Madonna and Justin Timberlake are professional dancers and this video with it’s editing style and techniques mean that it highlights this throughout. The editing is fast paced and cuts to lots of different shots of the duo dancing, leaping on cars and even dancing on the till at a supermarket. Whilst they are dancing, there is also the graphic in the background that they are trying to escape it. It is a really effective part of the video and makes you want to watch it more then once to actually see what is happening.

One of the shots that really stands out in this music video is the ones with the bright light of the huge timer behind them on the close ups. There are so many great close up shots scattered throughout the music video and they stand out and really give the video this punch and glamourous look. The light really amplifies the drama in the video and is a lot of fun to see. There is also not a lot of videos of the musicians together so these close ups really allow you to see each one of them.