Two Takes It is for me the best SA video of 2010. Not only are the stunts truly epic but the editing is quite unlike anything I have ever seen in a video – it’s, well, playful. Every time I return to it I notice something new: a new filter catches my eye, a camera angle reveals something about a stunt I’d not noticed and with every viewing the audio track starts to makes more and more sense.
Two Takes ItNot being around the forums for so long kind of makes
Two Takes It something of a mystery. And let’s be honest, the introduction doesn’t help – it’s more enigmatic than anything else:
Who cares about a description, it's only a project like other. I'll only give some tips about this video. 31 gb of footage, 9 songs used, 16 different color correction, a guest editor... Why people like to do simple video with rock or metal song ? Maybe because everyone like that on GTAS. Don't be afraid of critics, try to be creative and work as hard as you can to put the watcher in a fantastic position. A movie is famous because this movie is special, not because everyone like this kind of movie. This is the same about GTA. The revolution is coming. JUST TRY NEW WAYS OF VIDEO-MAKING !
What I want to know is where did this video come from? What inspired it? Who is this WaRoW and what do I need to do to get in on his revolution?
And so I decided to get in contact with the man himself and ask about
Two Takes It. What follows is an edited transcript of my chat with WaRoW about
Two Takes It and his approach to editing.
m3rrix: I recently returned to the forums after a few years away and one of the first things I noticed was that the quality of editing, particularly in SA stunt vids, has really gone up. While I think that this is partly because of better hardware and software, it is also pretty clear that people are putting a lot more time and effort into their editing. These changes are thanks largely to guys like you and Daffy and BeaT as well as the work of the editing crew you founded, Beyond Tomorrow. In a way though, this all reminds me of kr3mlin’s ambitions to change peoples’ approach to editing three-or-so-years ago with neoRetro films. Have you been influenced by kr3mlin’s break with standard editing? I’m thinking particularly of
Rakish and
Now, Returning To View. What GTAS videos influenced
Two Takes It?
WaRoW: Yes I really was influenced by kr3mlin in stunting & editing,
Now, Returning To View was my favorite video for a really long time. We see that kr3mlin doesn't really care about the people, he is doing his thing. That's the best state of mind to give the best. And all that editing crew is great but there shouldn't be more than 3 editing crew to my mind. There are only Visual Prox and Beyond Tomorrow (Visual Prox isn't very active to me). Others are doing things without any ambitions, only to put a logo on the beginning of their videos.
I never used high quality setting, because it's only video games. We shouldn't put importance in Xtrem Quality or whatever, a good old 720p is great. Certainly that's pretty to watch a video in an amazing quality but, all that things are only games !
I don't think there are any videos that influenced
Two Takes It – it was all creation. Or it was [unconscious] influences because I really worked on doing something new.
I’m really inspired by movies. I really love directors who give a real importance to the editing, like Quentin Tarantino, Danny Boyle or Robert Rodriguez. I mean, GTAS stunting videos aren't really inspired, they only edit because they have to do it, and when they want they only use basics effects. To my mind, GTAS editors don't put a real sense in their edit, the editing must have an atmosphere, a soul.
m3rrix: I guess what I mean when I talk about influences has more to do with ambition, or intention.
It is interesting that you mention Tarantino or Danny Boyle – the parallels are obvious now you mention them. I’m guessing you’ve also seen Guy Ritchie’s
RocknRolla and Chan-wook Park’s
Oldboy? I’m going to use a word to describe them that you don’t hear very often these days – they are all auteurs. Hollywood has perfected a mode of production that strips autonomy from the director. It has basically become this globe-spanning money making machine. And so you end up with films like Cameron’s
Avatar or Burton’s
Alice in Wonderland that are visually very pleasing but don’t really stay with you after you’ve left the cinema. It is really quite rare these days that directors are totally free from the input of their investors. This is bad for art.
WaRoW: When I do a video, I try to give a message with it, it's my main intention. And I mostly try to don't get you bored like others video ! And yes, I saw a lot of Guy Ritchie's movie but my favourite still is
Snatch, the editing has a real important place. I think the editing should be more important nowadays, there are as you said some upgrade with softwares etc... But editors or directors don't take it as an Art, this is mainly a tool to produce the movie. It looks like they don't even know what is possible to do with a little bit of editing ! The commercial society is clearly bad for Art, that's not only in the cinema.
Avatar and
Alice In Wonderland are really enjoyable but, this isn't Art, this is entertainment in my opinion. And not for everyone, I get bored when I watched them ! Well, directors should better think about editing and scenario than money !
m3rrix: When you sit down to edit where do you start? Is it with an idea, with a song in mind or do you fire up SA and take a look at your reps?
WaRoW: When I sit down to edit... I generally don't do that, haha! I always listen to music so I think that's the start of my editing ideas. I get ideas with a song, or something I’ve imagine in my mind.
I’m a [composer] too so I always discover new songs and I know a lot about music rhythm etc... I can nicely cut songs. I'm not limited for the soundtrack of my videos, other editors always choose one or two songs, not me ! I'm trying to don't make my video monophonic and boring, the watcher is more implicated with that process I think.
For my cameras views, I do some photography too, so I can take the best angle possible and I try to make it artistic as more as possible. I love to do a lot of cameras angles, it gives a great rhythm to the video.
Most of the time, I’m doing totally another thing and I get the idea from nowhere, I don't know how to explain that. I never fire up GTA at first, it ruins my ideas !
m3rrix: Haha. Let’s talk about music for a bit then. I’ve been listening to Mr Oizo which you used a lot in ‘Two Takes It’. He has this amazing cut-up style that just seems to work so well with the chunky Ed Bangers electro sound. When did you come across him? I think he is really great – thanks so much for using him – but I don’t really think ‘stunt video!’ when I listen to his records. How did you decide to use his music?
WaRoW: I started to come across Mr. Oizo when I started to do electronic music. He is from Ed Banger right, I really think Ed Banger is one of the best record [labels] ever, really, they are so different and they look happy to make stuff together, that is how should be in cinema or music! I decided to use him in
Two Takes It because I wanted to try something new, and I directly thought of him because he isn't a conventional artist, I mean, he does what he really want. Plus Mr. Oizo's style fit really well with editing effects. There are some cool sounds etc...
m3rrix: Yeah he is and they are. I don’t really listen to a lot of techno music, but my brother is a DJ so I hear a lot about Ed Banger records. How do you discover new music?
WaRoW: I generally discover new music by luck, I’m always on youtube and myspace. I first listen to for example: Mr. Oizo, then I look the comments or friends and I always find something pretty! There are a lot of artists on internet, that's a great improvement of the music art.
m3rrix: I agree. I think the internet has really helped music as an art form. It is such a cheap distribution platform and has really helped to lower the cost barrier of entry for aspiring musicians. There are parallels of course with online video. But in a time when everyone is producing, how do you get your work noticed? Do you want to make a career out of all this?
WaRoW: Yes that's really awesome because [it’s posssible to produce] recording studio quality without a recording studio ! I think it’s the music choice which is making it unique, and of course, the editing ! If a stunt video has really incredible stunts, but a bad edit, the video will be just “good”. The editing [makes] the difference between a “good” job and an “unbelievable” job.
I would love to become a director, I’m trying to. I think that would be great because i have got the editing eye, and the musician ear. That would be pretty great ! I'm already doing some movie test !
m3rrix: Do you associate a visual style with music? Or does that emerge through experimentation?
WaRoW: Both. A song always gives me a feeling, an atmosphere, so it gives me a visual style in mind. But when I try to do my “mind idea”, I sometimes fail but I sometimes [get] a better idea. So it depends. Generally, if I can't do my idea, I cancel it and cancel the project...
I must have a really strong motivation to release a video, I always hate my work, I always think that I could do better.
m3rrix: I think you have touched on something about the nature of art there. How do you keep up motivation to continue editing? How do you know when to let go?
WaRoW: I keep up motivation because the people love my work. And i always want to do something more awesome than what i did. That's like a sixth sense, haha, i just know when i have to let go or not ! I think artists always have something to show, a message or an unique thing, this is why they aren't happy of their work because they think they can always do better.
m3rrix: How did the collaboration with Daksad work?
WaRoW: The collaboration with Daksad was like always, wonderful. I love to work with him, he has a great stunt/stunter choice and I always show him what I do, betas etc... He gives his opinion and I work with it ! But I really wanted to include him in
Two Takes It, so I decided to make a guest editor, i gave him a song and he tried something.
m3rrix: And I think he did a great job. What are you views on the state of SA stunting more generally.
WaRoW: My views on SA Stunting... I left stunting but anyway I can give my opinion. I think that stunters only see the massive things, they should try to find another way of stunting like kert did or kr3mlin… In my opinion stunting is evolving, or was evolving when I was a stunter. Burn is taking the whole thing to a new level, he combines massive with creativity, that's a great thing for everybody. [The sam goes for] editors, they should try new things, every editors should put their soul in the editing, not only effects.
m3rrix: Ok, thanks very much WaRoW, I enjoyed chatting with you and finding out a bit more about
Two Takes It. Is there anything else you want to add?
WaRoW: I hope you'll all try something different and make GTA an Art !
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