Musicality

[franzeska]

What is it? What does it mean to you? Got any examples of it gone very, very right or very, very wrong? It's a word we toss around a lot, but I think it's one of the trickier concepts to explain in a practical way, so let's discuss it.

[icepixie]

I actually only learned that the term "musicality" was used in a vidding context when I joined this board, so I think I'm still feeling my way around it. But roughly, I guess...the visuals express the emotions/colors/beat/details of the music? Which is totally useless. Argh, this is hard to put into words, because it's so much something I feel rather than understand.

I think of vidding in terms of choreography, so one of my guiding principles when I vid is, "does the movement(/facial expressions/etc.) in these clips, and the cuts I'm putting in them, express something similar to what I would do if I were dancing to this song?" Not specific steps, obviously (heh, well, except in my dance vids), but more like a violin line will suggest an extended arm or leg, or a guitar riff will want some kind of frenetic movement rather than stillness, or the singer's delivery of a particular word wants a particular facial expression. The moments when the images on the screen really express the music are just magic for me.

Things that give a vid more musicality, for me:

- Cutting not necessarily on the beat, but not actively against it either unless for a deliberate purpose. I do enjoy vids that make use of the unstressed beats of a song for cutting purposes, but cutting between beats can often come off as awkward unless the two clips look very similar at the cut point.

Giant honking exception: astarte's "Clear the Area," which often cuts where I don't expect it and doesn't cut where I would expect it, and still totally, totally works for me on any number of levels.

- Things that emphasize what the artist emphasizes, like having someone's head turn when the singer stresses a word, or cutting when an instrument enters or a chord/note sounds particularly loudly. (Often this is on a beat anyway, but it reads differently to me than simply cutting on the beat, if that makes sense.)

- I also think of a vid as having more musicality if the vidder can highlight things the song stresses via internal motion rather than entirely through cutting. One character glancing at another on a bright piano note or something can often have more impact than cutting at that point.

- Highlighting what parts of the song other than the melody are doing. To use an example from one of my own vids, around 1:18 in "In a Barrel at Sea," Sally Ellyson sings, "As long as you're here with me," and I have Olivia taking Peter's hand and leading him offscreen. Right after that, there's a melancholy little three-note piano coda, and I chose to use a shot from several episodes later of him letting go of her hand. (Narratively, I think it works, but my explanation for it is so steeped in the show's mythology that it would take a while to get through, so I'll spare you all my rambling. )

- Respecting the tempo of the music. I'm sure there are vids out there that go against the grain and do a lot of fast cuts to slow music or vice versa, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. For some reason, I often find myself vidding to songs with lots of tempo changes, and I always try to either cut more frequently or use clips with more/faster internal motion in the fast parts of those songs, for example in the abovementioned "Barrel at Sea" or in "A Love That Won't Sit Still."

- As with tempo, I think it's important to work with the dynamics (volume changes) of a song. I don't have a guideline like "slow tempo = slow movement/cutting," but I like consistency. For example, in "A Love that Won't Sit Still," for the softer sections I often have Fred and Ginger standing or dancing in one place, but as the song gets louder they cover more of the floor.


Vids that are especially good with musicality are the ones I tend to save and watch over and over, because watching the action line up with and express the music is like getting repeated hits of really good drugs to me. Some that I really like:

Boom Boom Ba (Xena) by charmax – Heh, surely this is everyone's go-to example? The music makes me want to sway and undulate, and that's exactly what the images on the screen are doing.

Paul McCartney (Will & Grace) by jarrow – Amazing, amazing use of internal motion. From the beginning with Jack and Will doing air guitar to the guitar line and Karen "drumming" on the desk, it just keeps being awesome. There's a lot of crisp, sharp movements here that work well with the equally sharp delivery of the vocals and the strong beat.

Infinity and Beyond (Toy Story) by leanwellback and Boom Boom Pow (Fringe) by hollywoodgrrl – I'm putting these together because I think they appeal to me for mostly the same reasons. The songs are fast-paced, and the cutting and movement in the clips are as well. The cutting emphasizes the strong beat but also where the singers are placing emphasis. At the same time, the vidders give us some breathing room now and again by lingering on a clip when the singer's delivery of a drawn-out word or phrase allows for it.

Sea Fever (Slings & Arrows) by heresluck – In addition to going with the slow, contemplative tempo of the song, I really like the way heresluck uses camera motion to suggest the rocking of a boat, which the guitar line of the song itself suggests to me. The camera doesn't actually rock, but in this vid there are a lot of shots where the camera is following someone who's walking, or is filming someone who's stationary, but is moving to the right or left itself. (It's been a while since I watched the show, and I can't remember if that's something the show did or if it's something heresluck added.)

[dragonchic]

I'd agree with a lot of icepixie's criteria, particularly the first point about following the inflection of different layers of the music. I tend to be biased towards following the vocals above all else but do try to acknowledge the beat and background instruments (e.g. guitars) too. I'm loathe to ever put forth "rules" for musicality, but percussion tends to be better suited for sharp movement while guitars or strings work for long drawn-out motion.

I also think an underrated aspect of musicality is capturing the mood and emotion of the song with the visuals, but that's rather subjective so it's hard to offer specific advice about that.

Some recs off the top of my head:

Disarm by obsessive24 - I see this as a good example of both acknowledging the layers of the music (strings, percussion, vocals) and really capturing the mood of the song. Nicky knows when to go for the wink of musicality (e.g. the snake slithering over the strings) or maximize the emotional impact of the music (e.g. the clips of Draco to start the first chorus).

Magic Pad by Nostromo - Not quite as intricate as some other examples but it does a good job of getting an appropriately moody and flow-y feel out of animated footage, which is difficult. It's also not quite as tethered to the beat as most AMVs - he lets clips breathe and goes for some nice moments of within-clip musicality.

This World by Buffyann - Another gorgeous moody vid that blends the visuals with the feel and flow of the song perfectly.

This is Matrix Life by Mister Anderson - Besides the awesome use of lyrics (which isn't *quite* part of musicality per se but certainly is part of getting the most out of your music) I see this as a good example of "creating" musicality though editing tricks like jump cuts and repeated clips.

Bitches by OtakuVengeance - (Fair warning, as might be obvious from the title, offensive lyrics ahead). This vid is ridiculous but interspersed with a lot of cool moments of matching clips (spinning Pikachu, lights turning on, etc) to cues in the audio. Not to mention the 1-to-1 matching on one Pikachu slapping another in time with the guitar riffs.

[killabeez]

icepixie, that's a wonderful post, with which I agree wholeheartedly.

One thing I'd say, about this:

Dec 7, 2011 16:44:28 GMT -5 icepixie said:

- Cutting not necessarily on the beat, but not actively against it either unless for a deliberate purpose. I do enjoy vids that make use of the unstressed beats of a song for cutting purposes, but cutting between beats can often come off as awkward unless the two clips look very similar at the cut point.

Giant honking exception: astarte's "Clear the Area," which often cuts where I don't expect it and doesn't cut where I would expect it, and still totally, totally works for me on any number of levels.

That's a great example vid, and I'd suggest that one big reason the vidder's able to get away with that is the colorization. Exactly as you say, "unless the two clips look very similar at the cut point"—the fact that this vid is heavily (and beautifully) colorized to limit the palette and carry through the blue and gold allows more freedom with the cutting, I think.

[icepixie]

Dec 7, 2011 17:47:11 GMT -5 dragonchic said:

Disarm by obsessive24 - I see this as a good example of both acknowledging the layers of the music (strings, percussion, vocals) and really capturing the mood of the song. Nicky knows when to go for the wink of musicality (e.g. the snake slithering over the strings) or maximize the emotional impact of the music (e.g. the clips of Draco to start the first chorus).

Oh, this is awesome! I love the snake slithering over the strings. Nicky, all the ways you highlighted the xylophone(? or whatever that chiming instrument is) create exactly those moments I love about vids, where visuals/movement and music intersect perfectly.

Dec 7, 2011 18:50:17 GMT -5 killabeez said:

That's a great example vid, and I'd suggest that one big reason the vidder's able to get away with that is the colorization. Exactly as you say, "unless the two clips look very similar at the cut point"—the fact that this vid is heavily (and beautifully) colorized to limit the palette and carry through the blue and gold allows more freedom with the cutting, I think.

I think you're right. I notice that the cuts aren't exactly where I would expect, but the great colorizing job keeps me from being thrown out of the vid. And the unexpected cutting really enhances it, because XF was so much about paranoia and feeling out of one's depth, which this vid definitely communicates.

[legoline]

The first fanvid I watched that made me actively go, "How did she do that? Everything in here matches the movement and the lyrics of the song!" is Deus Ibi Est by Charmax (Supernatural). For a long time it was my very favourite fanvid.

I feel like everything I could have added to the discussion has already been said, so I'll just add this: I think musicality is about understanding the music. Not just to listen to the lyrics but also to the rhythm, the mood, the arrangement.

[obsessive24]

For me personally, I actually think it's reasonably easy to define "musicality" in a general sentence. For me it's: "Visuals should look the way the music sounds, invoking a sense of synesthesia." Running out the door; back with some examples later.

[littleheaven]

I've been told musicality is my strongest point, and I think if that's true, I could maybe attribute it to being a musician before I was a vidder.

My interpretation is that it's about using all of the music, not just the lyrics and the beat, to gel with the visual. Generally all music rises and falls - it has dynamics - soft, gentle bits and parts where it builds to a sensory peak, and your visuals need to do that too. I think it's also about picking out secondary instruments and using them to highlight internal motion, because there are many different parts within the music that aren't the melody, but that support it, and they can provide excellent opportunities for matching up small body movements, like a flick of the hair. Certain sounds lend themselves well to certain actions, like the "zip" of someone dragging their fingers down the fretboard of a guitar matches well with someone or something collapsing.

[voodoochild]

I don't know that I fully understand musicality as a vidding technique, but I think icepixie nailed it, actually:

more like a violin line will suggest an extended arm or leg, or a guitar riff will want some kind of frenetic movement rather than stillness, or the singer's delivery of a particular word wants a particular facial expression.

When I think of musicality, I always come back to the "El Tango de Roxanne" scene from Moulin Rouge. That opening string bit drawing out the tension, timing the music to Nini's eye flick upward to the other dancer and Satine taking off her gloves. The epic build of the end with Nini spinning around the circle of dancers as the camera spins, Christian and Satine and the Argentinian's howling, and that mock throat-cut to the final note. To me, musicality is, I guess, choreographing a vid. Making motions and music synch.

[franzeska]

Dec 8, 2011 3:21:16 GMT -5 obsessive24 said:

Visuals should look the way the music sounds, invoking a sense of synesthesia.

Ooh! I really like that definition.

[legoline]

Dec 8, 2011 11:29:39 GMT -5 voodoochild said:

When I think of musicality, I always come back to the "El Tango de Roxanne" scene from Moulin Rouge. That opening string bit drawing out the tension, timing the music to Nini's eye flick upward to the other dancer and Satine taking off her gloves. The epic build of the end with Nini spinning around the circle of dancers as the camera spins, Christian and Satine and the Argentinian's howling, and that mock throat-cut to the final note. To me, musicality is, I guess, choreographing a vid. Making motions and music synch.

That scene is so perfect from beginning to end. My favourite musical bit in a movie ever.

[obsessive24]

Alas, still out of time, but firstly dropping by with two examples of moments that seem to me to perfectly capture the idea of synethesia. The visuals and the sound of the music, in those moments, just seem like two facets of the same thing. These two vids have musicality overall in spades, but those particular moments are just so perfect they give me chills no matter how many times I watch them.

Living Dead Girl by bradcpu, 1:08 - 1:10. That zippy sound is the knife.

45 by dragonchic, 2:51 - 2:54. Obviously the drums are the explosions, but I also love how the vocals are the camera motion immediately prior to that. The fact that the vidder got both layers represented perfectly in a single clip is the thing that really gets me in the gut.

Hopefully back later with examples that are less about moments than they are about how the entire song unfolds, but alas, I'm late, I'm late, I'm terribly late.

[dragonchic]

Heh, I cut my list of recs down so as to not be overwhelming but I originally had Living Dead Girl in there for that exact clip.

And that's one of my favorite moments in 45 so I'm tickled to see you point it out.

[obsessive24]

Dec 8, 2011 22:09:56 GMT -5 dragonchic said:

And that's one of my favorite moments in 45 so I'm tickled to see you point it out.

Well, of course! Because it's genius. ;D Another moment that really grabbed me was 2:17, the way the Viper goes spinning on the vocal of "forty-five". I wouldn't have called it if I'd only heard the song by itself, but somehow that circular motion perfectly encapsulates the rise and fall of the vocal cadence there. Very cool.

So to me these moments of synethesia are "musicality" in the purest sense. But I think there's another way it applies to whole songs, how it follows the ebb and flow and feel of the song as a whole. That may still fall under the umbrella of "musicality", but I think that's also bleeding into the concept of "pacing" and "dynamics" and "mood" and various other abstract concepts that don't mean much in conversation unless we pre-agree upon the definitions. It's harder to pinpoint exact moments of synethesic "musicality", but easier to think about in terms of how the entire vid connects to the entire song as an organic whole. Anyway, here are a couple of examples of what I mean:

Love Turns 40 by Jarrow. If you divide it up by pacing segments, the start - 1:45 is one pace, then 1:45 - 3:00 is another pace (incidentally, 1:50 - 1:55 contains some fantastically whimsical and clever moments of synethesic musicality), and the pivotal segment of 3:00 - 4:24 is another pace, and from there to end is another pace. That's reflected in the speed of the cutting as well as the motion of the clips, both the internal motion and the external motion. As a whole the visual journey captures the musical journey.

La Maree Haute by Buffyann. Firstly, the water motif is the feel of the song. Secondly, watch how it gradually builds up and up, again via motion and cutting, into the climatic segment of 2:29 - 2:36. By then the pace is built up so well that it can maintain that speed of cutting even though there is no music. Is it audio/visual synethesia in that sense of "musicality"? Not by my narrow technical definition. But it's exactly what the music needs at that moment. I don't know whether to call that "musicality" or "pacing" or "mood", but I feel it's all facets of the same thing anyway.

(In relation to this vid, my favourite moment of synethesic musicality: 1:23. Also love the camera motion on the springs at 1:57.)

[dragonchic]

Dec 9, 2011 13:25:14 GMT -5 obsessive24 said:

I don't know whether to call that "musicality" or "pacing" or "mood", but I feel it's all facets of the same thing anyway.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at with some of my examples. It's not quite synethesia but capturing the feel or mood of the song is an integral part of musicality nonetheless.

It's interesting to see you distinguish between synesthia-based musicality and a kind of broader "the visuals develop with the song" musicality. I also tend to think that way, but also feel that different songs are better suited to each. Songs that are complex in terms of the number and variety of layers tend to be good vehicles for lots of little moments of synesthia. Whereas songs that are simpler in terms of layers and cues but are complex in terms of how they change and develop are good ways to focus on developing that sort of broader musicality.

As an example, The Last Firstborn was basically an exercise in synesthia. The music is constantly changing with lots of interesting little cues. Having to work with so many different layers and cues can force you to up your game, so while it can seem intimidating and overwhelming to start, I feel like that kind of music is particularly good for pushing yourself in terms of synesthetic musicality.

In contrast, music that follows the standard repeated verse-chorus structure without a ton of variety over the course of the song doesn't lend itself as well to the type of pacing or mood-based musicality vidders like buffyann do so well. That's not to say that it isn't possible to achieve awesome musicality with almost any song, but I think if you're trying to improve a specific aspect of your musicality, it can be helpful to think about whether the song you've chosen gives you the highest possible "ceiling" to showcase it.