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Trying to replicate a certain editing style

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
April 17, 2019
3 replies
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Okay, so I have been trying to see if I can replicate the 80s 90s music video/commercial editing style. The Cocteau Twins music video for their song "Iceblink Luck" is a perfect example. The link: Cocteau Twins - Iceblink Luck (Official Video) - YouTube

Would anyone be able to tell me as much as they know about how to replicate this kind of editing style? For example, how to get the retro VHS look, the various effects used, the ideal camera settings for my DSLR, etc.

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Correct answer R Neil Haugen

That's some complex work there. Very.

Dan Moran has a couple tutorials on Mixinglight.com about replicating VHS music videos but of course, you gotta pay the subscription. This is one ...

https://mixinglight.com/color-tutorial/look-inspiration-emulating-vhs-camcorder-footage/

Mixing the right effects and knowing how to 'properly' degrade the media is hard, tricky, and typically takes blending a bunch of steps.

Neil

K

kevina41766135

Inspiring

I disagree that this is super complex and difficult editing work. It does look like very particularly filmed footage, however, that is probably quite different than what you're working with. There's a lot of green screen and elaborate silhouetted lighting setups. As for the editing style, it looks like it's just taking this already surreal footage and using a combination of opacity/dissolve, echo, speed effects, and keying.

If you really want to emulate a VHS look, there are plenty of tutorials out there that can kind of sort of help. But If you want it to actually look good, just shoot on actual VHS! Or MiniDV if you want. Or shoot on your DSLR and then transfer that onto a VHS and then transfer it back to digital. I have friends who bought an old camera that records straight to VHS and they use it for music videos regularly. It looks great.

If you're stuck with your DSLR, play around with the Echo effect for sure, as well as speed effects, posterize time, and a lot of opacity/blending/overlay/dissolve techniques. And maybe this one:

Premiere Pro CC : How to Create a Simple Glow Effect - YouTube

R Neil Haugen

Legend

You are most correct about the original. It had a ton of things created in-camera between lighting, gels, gobo's, on-lens filters/effects, and other tools. As someone with 40+ years of studio work, the skills and knowledge required to get that lighting and "see" and use all the other tools is sadly well past most non-highly-trained pros these days. It would sure be a great learning experience!

And there were some post-processing steps involved with the original also. That medium was radically different than digital processing, and trying to recreate those effects with digital media is ... very involved. That's where some of the difficulty comes in. The level of "precision" of modern effects and image treatment is well above that of that era. So ... one needs to creatively degrade both the image and the effects used. Without being obvious one is degrading the image/effects ... mostly.

So yes, the "easiest" way to re-create is to get a high quality VHS camera, and learn a ton about lighting to be able to get the thing on tape to begin with. Then process in your NLE/effects app of choice. But even then, going from original VHS to a final look like it was processed totally on tape can be a right pain.

But of course, "looks great" is a subjective term ... and our experiences and expectations are all subjective. What can "look great!" to one person is "Um ... just, no ... not even close ... " to someone else. It all depends on who makes the final judgement, mostly. (Because everything that starts with "It all depends ... " is never more than "mostly".)

All that said, this type of project is a great learning tool. At any level of experience. I've known pro colorists who struggled trying to recreate this sort of thing for clients. VERY skilled colorists. Who had clients saying something like "I want the look of Peter Gabriel's video X, but on this mix of Arri and 16mm footage here ... ".

If the OP gets somewhere down the road with a cool looking project final, even if a different cool look than the specifics of this example, I'd love to see it and hear what they did. It's all ... learning.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

R

rodneyb56060189

Legend

===========

It does look like very particularly filmed footage, however, that is probably quite different than what you're working with. There's a lot of green screen and elaborate silhouetted lighting setups. As for the editing style, it looks like it's just taking this already surreal footage and using a combination of opacity/dissolve, echo, speed effects, and keying.

========

I kinda agree with the above statement. It's sorta edited to the song (music) so that isn't a real 'style' of editing. You're stuck with what clips you have during specific song portions. Hence the song (music) is played over and over and over and over and over for about 18 or more hours until the shoot is done.

As a grip I worked on this thing, and if I ever hear the song again I'll probably keel over dead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAkMTu6q2pY

So, you keep playing the song over and over and move on to 'insert shots' over and over and over. The Stones thing was done on a big insert stage ( not a giant sound stage, but a medium sized sound stage ). This was panaflex, and I think the video the poster refers to is also a film camera ( not VHS). If you shoot silhouette on a screen and then move ( like make the screen do a wavy motion) you get one of the effects used.. same with hitting a black silk with light from behind... you get weird patterns of hot light … lots of tricks of SHOOTING being used, and is not a function of editing. Smoke does a lot to get light beams... add a star filter and you get more striation.

At any rate the shoot to make the video in question took a LONG time ...over and over and over and over …. with lots of overcranking the FPS and all sorts of tricky stuff... but ultimately, you have to edit to the MUSIC and what clips you have (that are good ) for those portions.

DigitalSpatula

Inspiring

Hey

Looks like one of the main effects would be a video trail which is available in After Effects under effects:time menu. Try playing with echo or some of the others.

Steve

R Neil HaugenCorrect answer

Legend

That's some complex work there. Very.

Dan Moran has a couple tutorials on Mixinglight.com about replicating VHS music videos but of course, you gotta pay the subscription. This is one ...

https://mixinglight.com/color-tutorial/look-inspiration-emulating-vhs-camcorder-footage/

Mixing the right effects and knowing how to 'properly' degrade the media is hard, tricky, and typically takes blending a bunch of steps.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

Ann Bens

Community Expert

Sorry this video is for members only.........................

R Neil Haugen

Legend

I noted that it was behind the paywall in my post.

The video the OP wants to emulate is requiring rather high-end work. Most successful jobs doing that I've seen involved at the least, the use of applications with *heavy* color/fx capabilities if not the use of spendy plugins such as Red Giant ones.

Doing that well ... well, it's going to require some time and probably some expense for the OP to learn how.

Part of The Business.

Neik

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

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