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 that I used to love when I was at college. At the age of seventeen, i really got into the world of NME and the Klaxons I think were one of the first alternative bands that wasn’t rock that I actually liked. I really liked their style of music and the way that that videos were so unique and bizarre. Even now all these years later when I hear their songs or watch their videos I can remember the feeling, smells and emotions I had, it is weird but it is true. I wanted to dedicate a month to their music videos because I was addicted to them as they were so unique and striking that I would watch them so many times.

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Klaxons – Magick

Why did you choose this particular video?

I think out of all the Klaxons music videos this one is my favourite and I remember watching it so many times. There is so much going on in this video that I always felt that one time was not enough. Even now I watch it and really admire it. There is some fantastic editing and cinematography techniques that have been used to create this unique visual experience.

So, what is the narrative?

The guys are working out a forlmula in a Runes like language and then do an experiment on each other to see the results – a lot of neon glow paint and Ks engraved on hands.

Favourite parts of the video?

Right at the beginning of the video there is this really fast edited sequence that fades to black throughout to really throw you into the action and to allow you to gain a sense as to what is happening in this scene. All of these shots are close ups of different symbols and it really creates a sense of mystery about the video which is something that a look of Klaxons videos tend to do. The thing that I really love is that these fast edited shots are in time to the beat which as an editor I truly adore.

One thing that I find incredibly striking in this video and probably one of the reasons that I love it so much is that the colour grade is used in such an effective way. A lot of the music video is in these dull colours, blacks, whites and dark blues which again add to the mystery as to what is about to happen. Playing with the colour of the music video really does create such drama and really allows you to enter the world of music around this time – it was all about neon lights and electronic style indie and this really sort of throws you right into the core of it. Also Klaxons videos were very unique to others that were around at the time.

I love when the green neon colour starts to come to play in the video as it takes it to another level. When the green colour comes into play both the music and the editing become a lot more erratic which creates this really dramatic part of the music video. It feels like the editing also reflects the emotion in the music as it really plays with the sounds that are there to create these really intense scenes.

The final part of the video I want to talk about is the part when they take off the first blindfold and the music stops and you are left with this close up shot of the eyes of the character completely black – again playing with the color grade and the mis-en-scene creates this mysterious and dark turn to the video whilst also pushing the narrative ahead with one iconic shot.