So You Want to Edit a Political Ad In case you haven't heard, election day is tomorrow. I'm sure you know that, though, because over the past weeks the political commercials on TV have just gotten out of control. As a video editor, I'm always looking to learn more techniques and styles, so why not take some notes from the dozens (if not hundreds) of political ads we've seen this season. Here is my foolproof five step method for creating a flawless political ad that is guaranteed to point out all of your enemy's flaws.
1. Make your opponent look old, worn and pathetic. Or to put things even more literal, use the worst possible lighting possible to make your opponent look like an evil villian. Use that harsh light to point out all of his/her crow's feet and snarled eyebrows. Take away all of the color to make him/her look like a lifeless human being. And whatever you do, make sure you accentuate (or just go ahead and add) plenty of gray hairs. No one likes an old candidate.
Just for the record, we're not trying to publicly support either of these guys. We just wanted to prove our point with pictures.
2. Use sad pictures of children and old people. You want the sympathy vote? Well, you should make sure you have plenty of stock footage of old people and children looking depressed. Apparently people eat that up. Please note, however, that this tactic is only for attack ads. If you're using children and old people in your own ads make sure they're doing happy things like baking cakes and happily strolling through a park.
3. Use a lot of freeze frame and slow motion to get your point across. Nothing happens in real time in political ads. If you want to really accentuate a visual, you have to make it in slow motion. Let's face it, no one will understand just how happy that little boy who just got free health coverage thanks to your candidate is unless you slow him down by at least 25%. And if you're running an attack ad about job loss, well you have to freeze frame the shot of a hard working middle class man struggling as he flips through his bills at the kitchen table. At real speed we'd never be able to feel his pain.
4. Use over simplified graphics with unnecessary rhetorical questions. In typical video projects, graphics are used to portray a message that his hard to do through live action video or audio. Pie charts, line graphs, infographics and so on are all great tools for a candidate to explain their proposed plan to the public. But let's face it, political ads rarely contain any actual information, and they rarely use animated graphics to their full potential. So instead of wasting your time in After Effects, just make some really simple graphics in your title tool that say Can you really trust Mr. X? or What do you really know about Ms. Y? . Apparently these types of graphics are far more important to the American public.
5. Add a very powerful voiceover. While the graphics, editing tools and stock footage used in political ads is often underwhelming and infuriating, I must say that the voice over talent they get for these do a great job. They can make even the most boring script seem like the most important think I'll hear all day. The voices are always neutral in diction, but firm in tone. A good voice over is the icing on the cake for political ads.
Just follow these five steps for editing your political ad and you're sure to have a winner on your hands in no time! Oh, and don't forget to use a lot of American imagery! The more stars and stripes the better! In fact, we're going to give away a free American flag stock footage clip so you can have plenty of patriotic pride in your ad! Just click on the button below to download your free American flag stock footage clip. And in all seriousness, don't forget to vote tomorrow, November 6th!
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So You Want to Edit a Political Ad In case you haven't heard, election day is tomorrow. I'm sure you know that, though, because over the past weeks the political commercials on TV have just gotten out of control. As a video editor, I'm always looking to learn more techniques and styles, so why not take some notes from the dozens (if not hundreds) of political ads we've seen this season. Here is my foolproof five step method for creating a flawless political ad that is guaranteed to point out all of your enemy's flaws.
