I already showed you examples of mixing 80’s & 90’s music in a one hour mix, taking into account the harmonic keys. I like creating those, but nevertheless I took the next step: creating the same in a videomix!
Tempo
That is easier said than done. The records are, of course, not in their original tempo in the mix. To blend them together, their tempo has been adjusted to each other. But in order to maintain an interesting mix, changes in tempo do exist. Usually very gradually; very occasionally a little faster. For example, it can happen that a record is running slower in the first minute than the same record 3 minutes later in the mix. The videomix must follow the same pace, otherwise dance steps and lips will be out of sync with the music.
On the beat
Then there is a more complicating fact. Virtual all pop music is written in a 4/4 time signature: there a 4 beats in a bar. But still, there might be a difference in the location of the stressed notes: onbeat of offbeat. That also must be taken into account in the video mix, otherwise you will see a drummer hitting a drum which you don’t hear at that moment.
Audiomix
Screenshot showing the complete videomix in Ableton Live
Of course, you don’t hear the difference, but some parts of the audiomix were easy to make, while other sections took hours before I was satisfied with the result. The transitions from and to the reflex by Duran Duran per example is one of those that took me several evenings. The mashups met Robin S. (Show me love) and Christine W. (Feel what you want) where quiet easy on the other hand, while still very pleasant to hear.
Videomix
The video was only created after the audiomix was completed. Both were created in Ableton Live. Editing video in Ableton Live is pretty rudimentary, but it’s the only way I know to synchronize the tempo of a video to a different audio track. Should you know of an other method, please let me know. You can use the comments below this posts to do that.
I have lost a great amount of spare time 🙂 Please enjoy!
Update: unfortunately I had to screen off some parts of the video to satisfy the rights holders.
The full audio is still available: