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How to stutter-cut between 2 tracks in EDM (Electronic Dance music) video?
Two-part question. I ask it here because for good or ill, FCPX users are sometimes stereotyped as “kids” and a youthful “kid”‘s help is just what I need right now, if you’re familiar with EDM (electronic dance music), that stuff that goes “oonce-oonce-oonce-oonce…” for what seems like forever. If you are familiar with EDM and/ or “House” music, tell me what this technique is in this video, what’s it called when the beat keeps doubling and doubling to a crescendo, followed by a sussur or break. A typical representative example is in this you tube clip between the 47 second and one minute marks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsApjk6tOhA
Part two of the question: now that you’ve schooled me on what that accellerating beat-mixing/effect technique is called, I am building a similar track, in Garage Band ( Could use royalty free sample links BTW) and then in FCPX and/or more likely Motion 4 or 5, I want to cut between two tracks, a b-roll track and a graphics/text track, where the cuts all match that ever-doubling beat. With the beats starting at 120BPM and only accelerating the whole time, no way I’m going to hand-keyframe that.
I could buy the BPM plug-in I suppose, but maybe one of you knows a fast, efficient, slick and free way to get the same effect, automated to the beats?
Muchas Gracias
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4 Replies
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To answer your first question, I’m not sure there is a “name” for what you’re describing as suggested by your example. In sheet music, if you gradually increase the tempo of a song it’s called Accelerando or Accel, but I listened to the example, and the tempo isn’t changing. They’re just increasing the number of accent beats. An example of Accelerando would be like how some Greek or Russian folk tunes start speeding up at the end, getting faster and faster. What you have is more of an example of an electronic drum fill.
As for your second question. There are a couple things you could do. If you have the two shots as separate clips in the browser, you can set an IN and OUT on both clips equivalent to the beat you’re cutting to. Then select both clips and insert into your timeline repeatedly until the beat accents get faster. Adjust the IN/OUTs and do same. Evenetually, the IN/OUT on both clips will only be 1 frame long (the smallest increment you can cut with) and you can keep cutting that in until your break.
If your accent speed changes are mathematically double, you can make the changes in IN/OUT easily. If you start with 12 frame shots, then 6 frames, then 3, then 1.
Andy
https://plus.google.com/u/0/107277729326633563425/videos
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I’m thinking to use the audio behavior in Motion to drive the opacity of a layer of black, so the opacity drops to zero between audio peaks of the drums, then adjust the blending mode of the black layer so it reveals or obscures the layer below.
Or I could make that black layer chroma green, then use the matte to reveal the other image layer of text or whatever, beneath the b-roll layer?
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I’d call it “beat slapback” since that’s exactly what it sounds like to me.
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I think the kids call this part of the tune the “drop”.
I was on deadline, so I cheated and bought the “BPM” plug-in on sale from FCP Effects. It didn’t work the way I expected, but it DID get me the effect I needed, which was the rapid flicker between two tracks without needing to keyframe anything. BPM doesn’t react to an audio input; it’s essentially a flicker controller, and you need to know the beats per minute of the song to set a corresponding flicker rate.
I’m still going to go back and try to build a free version of this effect in Motion 4 and 5, when I get the chance.
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