Thanks for the nice encouragement! So I’ll just jump right in..

When making a montage, the creator has to consider many things… first of all, finding a great song…then deciding how to approach making a montage with it. Is the song to be viewed thematically? That is, letting the song set the mood or theme, and choosing clips and pictures to bring it to life. Or is the song to be viewed as a sort of storyline, where the words will be somewhat ‘acted out’ by the pictures and clips? Also, the song is a vehicle for the creator to say something about Clay…. has the creator been successful in making their point?

Then there’s the actual nitty-gritty of putting the montage together. Effects, transitions, titles… what things does the creator use to help express themselves?

And finally, what impact does this montage have on the viewer?

For my first featured montage, I’m choosing one of the ‘gold standard’ of montages… Wicked Game, made by Goood Baby Brush.

As I said earlier, the primary thing is the song. GBB chose this haunting, evocative song by Chris Isaak… and it’s a brilliant choice. Right away, the viewer is transported into this melancholy feeling by the minor key used throughout. She further emphasizes this with dreamy images of sepia and gold… up close clips focusing on his ethereal face…

Using the song thematically, she allows the words and the images to impact the viewer… using a downward wipe’ effect to move from image to image… the viewer sees the pictures emerge from top to bottom, an interesting stylistic choice. The images sometimes ease in… moving toward the viewer; sometimes they ease out… moving away. Nothing is still. The constant slow movement goes right along with the quiet rhythm created by guitar and backup voices in the song. Elegance in image and sound.

There is desperation in this song… “no, I don’t want to fall in love with you”… but there it is, this overwhelming rush of emotion as beautiful, wistful images of Clay flow past your eyes. Isaak holds out one long “I” towards the end, and GBB uses a slo-mo clip of Clay singing ISY from the IT… it is very hard to breathe… watching him move and sing while holding his lips to the mic.

The final image of Clay and Quiana singing WY… she's facing him, he's turned away, his eyes closed; pain in their expressions…GBB employs a ’shatter in’ effect. I know the first time I watched this montage… that final effect almost had me clutching my heart. Very powerful.

Impact? This montage left me with tears running down my face the first time I saw it. Even after repeated viewings, I still get tears in my eyes.. both from the words and at the stunning beauty of Clay Aiken that the amazing photographers in the Clay Nation manage to capture. Don’t want to love him so desperately? Who can help it?

This montage is an amazing work of art. The song and images are combined with loving skill by Goood Baby Brush. If this is one you haven’t seen, you can find it here under GBB’s name: http://www.allthingsclayaiken.com/vault/montages.html. And if you just haven’t watched it in awhile… go find it and let the music and images take you to that feeling of desperate love for Clay Aiken….