More than Just Cutting to the Beat: The Nuance of Editing Music Videos

It’s often said that a good edit is one you don’t notice. Cutting a film is always in service of its greater aim, whether that’s selling a new brand of ice cream or telling the story of the most extreme human hardships. But in music videos, editors are given more range to explore their craft than almost any other field.

Lucas Moesch, who works at Final Cut in New York, feels that the edit has a unique role in music videos. “The main difference in editing music videos is the freedom you have to construct the narrative,” he says. “This search and permission to look for experimentation provokes and allows the maximum connection between the song and lyrics of the artist with what was captured by the director. Editing comes in as a key piece to perfectly connect the imagery with the feeling of the music.” 

Felix Brady is a director who also edits his work. Represented by Stink, he splits his time between commercials and music videos and the difference between cutting each is clear to him. The tighter time restrictions weigh heavily on an ad edit. “You have to plan every second down to a T to ensure it delivers the brand's message on point. It means you have to be more targeted with providing a creative solution and working within the set parameters,” he says. Commercials also mean collaboration with a creative director so, even when you’re the director as well, an editor must find synergy between visions. “With music videos, there’s generally more freedom,” Felix says. “When I’ve directed music videos, I’ve been able to do exactly what I’ve wanted both on set and in the edit room which made it a much more free-flowing experience. Music videos aren’t about selling a product, they’re about conveying an artists’ message and overall vision, so by default you can be more artistic and fluid within a promo.” There's no denying that's the case in work he's done like the Greentea Peng video for 'Look to Him'.

Dialogue is also something to consider. Music videos are one of the few kinds of film that don’t demand it. When he edited his own short film, Felix felt this challenge intensely. “I was stunned with how complicated the process was,” he says. “The moment you have dialogue in a script, you’ll have both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds to think about which becomes way more complex.”

Senior editor at CHIEF., Ian McLaughlin has a specific process that he finds helpful for performance videos - a uniquely challenging sub-genre of music video. "Technically I will approach them differently, I’ll always create multi clips when cutting band performance. I'll multi clip each band member and edit a full film of the drummer, lead singer, guitarist etc. before weaving them together, that way I can easily switch angles and have every available option to hand to experiment with and quickly deal with label comments. It's a good way to explore all of the coverage and handy when the artist doesn't like their chin!"

There’s a blank-canvas aspect of music videos that editors relish, it seems. Matt Posey at PS260 enjoys how they are so often experimental in nature, sometimes narrative and sometimes completely free from trying to tell a story. “That gives you so much freedom to craft your story or lack of story, as loosely as you want, letting the feeling of the track guide you,” he says. “Cuts can be ‘on the surface’ and much more in-your-face to really punch up a big moment, or they can float invisibly when needed.” He points to the Metallica videos that he and co-editor Tyler Hurst just finished, which were primarily performance videos, so any narrative was pretty loose.  

“We’ve both worked on other music videos that were story-driven, and those presented their own set of challenges as you want the tempo and movement to complement the narrative,” adds Tyler. “Like in anything we do as editors, if it’s planned out well in pre production, it will feel natural in the edit suite, but sometimes there’s more heavy lifting editorially to make those two aspects work together.” 

That ice cream brand you’re cutting a 30-second spot for might be paying well, but the ad may only be showing alongside a third-rate reality show on a channel none of your friends or family watch. Music videos have the potential to become a valued part of culture – something that everyone involved in making them is chasing. US-based Brazilian director Mah Ferraz at Cut+Run points out that some of the music videos she’s edited, like 'Tuya' for Rosalia now have over 10 million views. “I can’t say that about commercials unless it’s airing during the Super Bowl. Music videos are just a more universal scale – my family and friends in Brazil, for example, don’t get to see the commercials I do in the US, but the music videos I cut also get popular there so that’s a fun aspect of it for me.

“The fun part of music videos is that, in theory, there is creative freedom to create something fresh and I get to work with artists I admire,” she adds.

That’s the theory. But then there are the downsides. Money is one. And it’s inextricably linked to time of course. “It’s no secret that music video budgets have been shrinking since the ‘90s, and this can really limit the scope of what we all want to do,” says Matt. 

Mah has seen these limitations impact work. “Oftentimes editing music videos can be very chaotic and rushed – timelines and budgets are significantly shorter/lower than in advertising so I typically work on music videos as ‘passion projects’ alongside my commercial work. I wouldn’t be able to just cut music videos due to the lack of protection and pay in that industry. That's the big downfall.” 

Many editors agree that keeping music videos in the mix of their work is worth the effort, despite its downsides. The lure of music being central is enticing for a craft that’s often driven by a sense of rhythm and pace. Tyler focuses intently on this aspect in his process. “It’s hard to describe in abstract terms, but you know it when you see it,” he says. “You want the pacing to flow, but sometimes what’s right for the piece is breaking that flow intentionally. A lot of times, that means cutting to the beat, but it also means knowing when that’s stale and how to excite the audience with something unexpected.”

The tempo and rhythm of an edit can match the music in a straightforward way. “It depends so much on the track in question and what kind of story I’m trying to tell,” says Felix. “If you want to be particular about it, you can match every frame to a 4-bar or 8-bar, or just to a high-hat, snare or a staccato point within the file you’re editing, but that approach doesn't always work.” 

Often, the director will plan out different scenes that are meant to play to certain sections of the track. The idea is that each setup doesn’t become stale, explains Matt. “Maybe there’s a new setup for each verse, something we come back to for each chorus, and then something unique for the bridge, solo, or ending. Like with any shoot, though, we have to see what works when we get into the edit suite and change things around or even remove whole setups.”

Rhythm is sometimes there to be disrupted or played with. And a talented editor knows when to do this, sometimes even aurally. “I personally love to incorporate sound design to the music videos I cut as much as possible,” says Mah. “To add some new layers to the pace, instead of being limited to following the music track at all times. When I can, I break up the music with sound design-only moments or I just add to it to provide more nuances and texture to the video.”

This is not always welcomed, she notes, since labels and artists often want their music to reflect the official track released on streaming platforms. “I understand it, but I believe the music video is its own form of art and should be treated like it, so I like to encourage music artists to consider sound design or allow for their track to be slightly manipulated for the sake of a more interesting video.”

In the video Lucas at Final Cut edited for ‘Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kind Of Music,’ the rhythm of the edit played a crucial role. The director Douglas Bernardt sought to reflect on a person in the process of a panic attack. “The imagery took us inside the character's head, and the music in a frantic rhythm dictated by Youssef Dayes's drums for a few moments directed us to this more rhythmic editing countered with parts of Tom Misch's vocal that intoned long and not-so-rhythmic edits,” says Lucas. “I think we achieve the perfect balance between showing his mental state, the gorgeous 16mm imagery, and the intense musical rhythms. There always has to be a balance between the rhythm, the lyrics, and the imagery.” 

Sometimes the opposite approach can be even more powerful. “I find it beautiful when in moments of music with frantic rhythms, we have a long, uncut shot where the sound takes over and plays the main role without having to chop,” says Lucas. “This exchange is editing for me. Every cut has to have an intention.” 

But that intention can overreach. Music videos should be something you want to watch. And a good edit also ensures the video isn’t a chore. “For me, editing is about being aware of movement and understanding how the viewer responds,” says Felix. “So if someone’s gaze moves from camera left to camera right, it means I can cut something into camera right because their eyes will already be in that position on the screen. My guiding rule is to try to avoid making the viewer's eyes move too much around the screen. So much of filmmaking is about subtly manipulating the viewer’s subconscious to create a smooth viewing experience, which I do through trying to match the music to the visuals. You have to let the viewer breathe.”

While music videos are often smooth compared to the too-many-cooks symptoms that commercial projects can easily suffer from, there is still always an artist involved in each one. “I feel that more and more, we will see short film/narrative styles that involve much more than the music itself but the concept of the artists,” says Lucas. In his projects Nego Bala - ‘Dream’ and ‘Inside the Blind Iris,’ the director Douglas Bernardt and he worked directly with the artists, including them in the process of directing in order to tell the story the way they wanted and envisioned. “In doing that, we got to portray the music in the most realistic way and create a complete universe where the artist can have a strong and clear voice,” he says. 

Lucas hopes this investment from artists is a sign of a return to what he calls the ‘golden days’ of music videos, “where there was more experimentation with language rather than just using gimmicks,” he says. “Like the classic Chris Cunningham music videos. He used intention rather than just using film, flashes, and burns to hide something. We need music videos with more intention, with a greater visual force that has something to say. After all, music was made by an artist in order to express what they could not otherwise. Music is an expression of life, and the clip should portray that.”

There’s no sign that Mah is going to stop cutting music videos soon as she loves the work too much. “I think the music video industry tries to really embrace fresh creative ideas and for that reason, it constantly leads trends and often produces groundbreaking work,” she says. “I believe when this happens it is because of trust.” In the ideal scenario, the artist trusts the director with executing their idea, and the director trusts the editor with bringing it all to life in post. There are usually fewer cooks in the kitchen and Mah loves the deep collaboration with a director that often brings. “Not much outside noise makes the vision stronger and that, in my opinion, is what often makes the process with the artist go smoothly and results in the best videos.”

Felix gets different things from commercials, short films and music videos and will continue to direct and cut all three: “Commercials are led by strong storytelling delivered in a succinct way. Short films are all about narrative and dialogue. Music videos are a free-for-all (although I still plan every shot). And I have to approach each differently in the edit suite.”

That free-for-all environment is something Matt’s grateful to have as a playground. “It’s always a challenge in the edit to make each moment feel as big and important as it deserves to be,” he says. “But thankfully, the audience has grown more sophisticated, just as our tools have. Fast, fluttering cuts are fine; dipping into and out of disparate spaces is fine; bringing in and layering images from different sources is fine because, editorially, these are just experimental films meant to evoke and lift up the feeling of the track.”

Emotion is at the heart of Tyler’s love for cutting music videos too. “At the end of the day, each project is a unique and collaborative experience centred largely around feeling. Beats in the piece will receive onomatopoeic names, and body gesticulation is considered actionable feedback. This profession can be ridiculous and feels like elementary school in all the best ways.”