Shaping motion into emotion

To bring the emotion out of an arrangement of video clips, you have to find a way to connect the images together – and that can be through rhythm and movement. If you look at piece of footage long enough you will start to see patterns and connective tissue that allow moments to be woven together into one seamless experience. 

Some edits require a form of choreography and structure with a sprinkle of a late-night rave.

In my early twenties, when I was still developing my creative intuition and exploring my voice with filming and editing, I went to my first rave and had my first experience of really letting go. I danced to the music without feeling like I had to be perfect or be exactly on the beat. 

I was raised to be stoical and to guard my emotions closely – it's a very common trait in the culture I grew up in. So to me, the concept of letting go and being off beat was totally new. 

Above: Khoma's work with Audi depicts the car elegantly 'dancing' around curving roads.

That night, the concept clicked to me that dancing freely was like editing. There are no rules, when you feel the music and you feel the rhythm, you just go with that feeling and make something great. 

From that point on my creative intuition in editing really grew. I felt like editing had become a part of me and my creative expression. Some edits require a form of choreography and structure, while some edits give you free reign to 'dance' however you want to.

In the end, editing is less about assembling images and more about shaping energy.

I like to take viewers on an emotional, visual rollercoaster ride by combining fast moving shots that move in a specific direction (left, right, clockwise, in or out) followed by moments that leave a beat to breathe. 

Good sound design gives the moment texture and brings the viewer into that world.

Even with a narrative project, motion in an edit is really up to the editor to define and that’s an exciting aspect of any project. Just as with late night-dancing, there are no rules to infusing motion in an edit. You can create emotion by choosing to stay on a shot for a specific amount of time and following that up with curated shots that make the movement before them feel bold or bland. 

Sound is the nervous system of the edit for me. I genuinely believe sound does more than half the emotional work.

It’s all about how I want to make the viewer feel in that moment. I try to make the edit as refreshing as possible. You can’t just have the same pacing throughout the edit and expect to have a viewer to feel am emotional impact. 

Unlike a free-dancing reverie (or at least how I move on the floor) you have to be intentional when crafting the edit with pacing and the order of shots to gain the reaction that you’re aiming for from your viewer.