Video Editor as a DJ of visuals

DJs have been manipulating sounds for decades, and arranging them into new works of art. They sample sound from songs, video games, movies, TV shows, pop art, and then recompose them into their own personal expressions.

With the emergence of consumer non-linear editing systems, now the video editor can play a role as a visual DJ. An art form of remixing movies and TV shows into new interpretations is on the rise.

If a DJ can sample sound and get away with it, why can’t an editor sample visuals from several different sources and create a new work of art? Hopefully, these video mashups will eventually fall safely in the parody category, and these creative expressions can be protected from copyright law. Why should someone be punished for being creative?

Where does someone start in creating a mashup? The first step in the creative process is generating a cleaver title that merges multiple works together. For instance, Walk The Batman is a mashup of Johnny Cash as Batman (Walk The Line, mixed with the Batman movies). This is a good starting point.

How do you go about mixing these two distinctly different movies together? One method is overdubbing. Any chance possible, merge Johnny Cash and Batman together through dialogue. When appropriate, get Johnny Cash dialogue coming out of Batman’s mouth, or when Batman’s mouth in not visible on-screen. Merging soundtracks can also build the illusion that these are non-disparate films.

Another method to sell a mashup is through visual compositing, masking, and literally merging the visual information together through new “Special FXs”.  For instance, put a Batman symbol ring on Johnny Cash, or show him holding a Batman mask. New titles and ingenious combination of information all help build the overall mashup; put the source films in the same space and time.  

The most important piece of the process is creating a storyline that works between the source films. In Walk The Batman, Johnny Cash gets obsessed with saving his true fans locked behind bars at Folsom, and does so by masquerading as Batman and breaking them out of prison. To do this, locate Batman footage that appears to place him in Folsom prison.

Mashups are often funny, but they are also educational in the way they explore narrative storytelling. Movies are broken down to a sequence of scenes. Within a scene, there is room to change dialogue, character motive, music, sound design, and overall interpretation of character actions and reactions. By re-cutting a popular movie, a viewer can get a good sense of editing technique and how that affects storytelling.