Blog: I'll Be Godley, You Be Creme

< previous

next >

Back to B3ta Towers last night for some more EDIT ACTION for the video of The Gay Train yesterday, and OH BOY did we get a lot done. We got the proper audio track stuck in, then assembled the INTRO ("In Peterborough was where I was raised..."). We filmed lots of little snippets for this, like me sitting in bed, holding a Spectrum, showing things on a map etc, and it was lovely to watch it very gradually come together, vaguely in the way you'd imagined. It was, in fact, a LOT like when you record songs - you might have an idea of how, say, some HARMONIES might work alongside a backwards guitar part of something, and as you record each one you tend to WORRY in case it's all a waste of time and/or rubbish, only discovering either way when it's all finished, and when it DOES work it's a mighty relief. That's how it was with all this - later on there's a bit where I walk past a sign pointing to Balham, which felt very weak and pointless when we did it, but now it's all editted together properly it looks GRATE!

The main difference is that, with songs, you put things on top of each other to make it all work, so the whole song gradually gets better, whereas with this here VIDOE stuff you put things one after the other, so the goodness gradually gets LONGER. Does that make sense? I'm not sure if it's an important ARTISTIC DIFFERENCE, but a difference of some sort it most definitely IS.

Anyway, we trundled through, LABOURING against the fact that Mr Manuel hadn't really used the software package before (although he had some experience of VIDOE) and also that I had NO IDEA at all how any of it worked. However, we are both COMPUTER TYPES so the fact that we were learning how we went along made it MORE FUN, in a weird GEEKY way, and we had several typical computer bloke conversations i.e. "First we must ascertain whether it is the file, the software, or the computer itself that is undergoing difficulty." "Indeed - quick! To GOOGLE!"

It was looking REALLY REALLY GOOD - we'd got as far as the first proper chorus, with LOADS of Dead Good Bits, including me TELEPORTING (OH MY how chuffed we were with that bit!) and The Terrified Tourists, as well as lining up all three of the Full Performances (Full Body Camera/Face Only/Moving Camera) and were feeling PRETTY GOOD ABOUT THINGS, when suddenly DOOM AND FEAR! The whole thing started going all CLUNKY and CHOPPY and, basically, CRAP. We spent about half an hour WORRYING, trying to work out what on earth had gone wrong, and when we EVENTUALLY found out (FUNCTION KEYS were being used, and the key for FUNCTION: BUGGER EVERYTHING UP had accidentally been pressed) and fixed it, a GRATE WAVE of JOY spread throughout the room. Our triumph was such that we decided to watch through the whole thing and GIGGLE DELIGHTEDLY... several times!

Shortly after that it was time for me to go home, which I did with a heart full of JOY. There's still LOADS left to do, and when next we meet in a couple of weeks time i doubt VERY MUCH that we'll get it all done, but HEY! The song itself took MONTHS to record, I don't see why VIDOE should be any different. The main thing is that it's looking REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD. I am EXCITED!

posted 22/8/2006 by MJ Hibbett

< previous

next >

Comments:

Your Comment:
Your Name:
SPAMBOT FILTER: an animal that says 'to-whit to-whoo' (3)
	(e.g. for an animal that says 'cluck' type 'hen')