Basic Combo Video Etiquette: Editing

Editing is the final step before releasing a video, so it gets the last word on how your video will look. Everyone has a different style when it comes to presentation, but following these basic guidelines will help set you on the right track.

    #1: Don’t go overkill on the editing. Make sure your transitions don’t obstruct the combos. There’s nothing more annoying than watching a video where you can’t see the beginning of any combo because the clip is flying all over the place. The best editing tricks are subtle, and blend in with the actual subject matter instead of trying to take center stage.

    #2: For combos ending with a super (or any move that takes forever to finish), unless there’s some compelling reason to show the whole super, please skip to the next combo. We’ve all seen a Proton Cannon before, so if that’s the last move of the combo, skip to the next one as soon as we can see that it connected. If we all work together, we can put Proton Cannons and Magnetic Tempests on the federal endangered species list where they belong.

    #3: Don’t use horribly overplayed radio music. There was a year where half the combo videos made reused the-band-that-shall-not-be-named as background music. To this day, i still turn off my speakers before i watch those videos. There’s a quick and easy fix: choose from the most obscure, unobtrusive songs in your collection. At least that way you’ll never have to worry about everyone being sick of your video before they ever watch it.

    #4: Do yourself a favor and list your background music in the credits. People always ask for that – in some cases they’ll skip reading your initial post and any other post after that, and just ask what the BGM was. Save yourself a lot of repetition and include the name of the artist and the name of the song in your video. Besides, they deserve proper credit.

    #5: Using programmable pads and emulator tools is fine, as long as you plainly admit it in the video. You don’t have to make a big deal of it – a small note at the end of the video is fine. The entire tool-assisted speedrun community does this and so do most prominent combo creators, such as Sai-Rec and kysg.

    #6: Using cheats is a little more shady, but that’s why it’s even more important to clearly state every cheat you use. If you’re giving yourself infinite meter so you can do stylish combos, make a note of it in the video. If you’re turning off dizzy to make longer combos, make a note of it in the video. Let your viewers be the judge of whether or not they should overlook those cheats. After all, the only reason you used them in the first place was because you thought you could do something cool with them right? Trying to hide the fact that you cheated is only going ruin your rep down the line.

    #7: It doesn’t hurt to include production and release dates somewhere within the video. The month and year will suffice. This helps you because if you’re the first person to discover a glitch, viewers can use the date to compare. Also, with capture devices constantly improving in output quality alongside your own development as a video editor, your old videos are going to look ghetto. There’s no way around that. Citing release dates can help put a little distance between your first attempts at combo video making and your latest work.

Well, that covers the basics. The rest comes down to your own personal view of aesthetics. Don’t be afraid to express yourself in your videos, as long as the content remains clear.

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13 Responses to Basic Combo Video Etiquette: Editing

  1. Don Vecta says:

    For the music I guess I try always to go with something instrumental or with lyrics that are not so obstructive and make you lose interest in the video while you’re chanting happily. I mean, the music it is part of the sauce of a video but the combos should be the main course of it. gosh I still remember how some people loved to put even lyrics of foreign language songs (J-pop or K-pop anyone?) in CMV’s, god, those were awful!
    For collaboration videos with plenty of makers involved, I always recommend a tag with the credit of the maker, just to add a bit of personal touch on them. sometimes certain makers get specialized in a certain game and their name shown there would give them a better relationship with the combo and the game itself… although i know plenty of people that might disagree with this.

  2. Maj says:

    Yeah, instrumental music is usually safest, although finding the right tone can still be tricky. But at least you don’t have to deal with the eternal conundrum of “can’t hear the lyrics” vs “can’t hear the game.”

    I guess my general advice would be: If i’ve never heard the soundtrack you’re using, then i can make up my mind as i watch your video. But if i have heard that song before and i happen to hate that band, i’ll never be able to fully enjoy your video.

    • Don Vecta says:

      In fact, it is a double edge sword. If it happens that you know the band/singer/composer but you hate it, you won’t enjoy the video, by the other hand, say you love this performer then the video will become highly loved.

      With instrumental music, fortunately, the response it’s slightly more neutral, the odds of completely hating the theme are less, but are also less the odds of having a higher musical punch with the theme of the video.

    • Maj says:

      Maybe, but i still don’t think it’s worth the risk. Plus even if you like the song, you may not want to have it show up in three different videos.

      I think it’s always a bad idea to go with popular stuff. Even it’s popular because it’s good, you’re not helping the situation by contributing to overplaying the song. I’d be happy if radio singles were considered strictly off limits in combo videos, but i know that’s probably never going to happen.

      Although things seem to have gotten better lately. And now that i think about it, it’s possible that u2b deserves some of the credit. Nobody wants their ugly banners on their videos, so more combovid makers have begin avoiding mainstream soundtracks.

      Anyway the songs that i enjoy most in combo videos are new songs that are introduced to me through those combo videos – not songs i already liked.

  3. darcontek says:

    Just curious… what is the-band-that-shall-not-be-named ?

  4. n00b_saib0t says:

    its also a good idea to make sure you wont cringe when you see your own vid down the line. i made a super turbo revival vid a few years ago and used one winged angel as the song. i went through and put my stuff on youtube and immediately audioswapped it lol.

    also, i think hearing the hit effects helps with video quality, but it isnt a requirement. a good blend of soundtrack and game sound effects is awesome.

  5. darcontek says:

    Is it dragonforce????? haha sorry. I want to know.

    • Maj says:

      Fine, it’s Linkin Park. But really, any shitty raprock band from that era qualifies. That whole genre should’ve died when RATM disbanded. They were the only good one.

      Anyway even if you liked that terrible whiny song, i don’t see how anyone could still like it after literally every other combo video copied it.

  6. Bruise Collector says:

    Tip #3 should read: “Guile’s Theme goes with everything.” XD

  7. zool says:

    Darn, I wish I knew all this info before I released my video.

  8. Tigre III says:

    All true, the overkill edit can convert a nice combo vid in “impossible to see it again” vid…
    might be good advice:
    appropriate level to level editing your editing program.
    Do not try to do an “super professional” edition if you only know how to use the windows movie maker… Always end up looking like a “ghetto” vid. Its also possible to make a nice vid with a basic editing program, by making something functional, simple but dignified. Sometimes a simple Title in the back- left corner with a good font, and with a black background its better than the “best” title effect of the windows Movie Maker…
    Try to make a vid with style, not spectacular.
    About the music, if you get the combos be synchronized with music and transitions, certain that the final result will be very good. If you do not like to sync anything, then try to get a song that not many changes, it is fairly linear.
    If you are not sure what song to choose, sometimes it is better not to put any (provided you have the original game audio)
    If you want to make a CMV with style, then the music chosen is a very important thing to consider.
    the key is proposed where anger directed towards the editing, and working with transitions, effects, music, to get everything linked.

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