Video Production & Freelancing

Editor Commentary by Katherine Amy Vega

About the Edits

In contrast to the official "Believer" video, I made my edit into a cleaner and linear storyline. It's from a slightly different angle than the official version, but staying true to the theme of overcoming emotional and physical pain to arrive at a place of self-confidence. I believe that my interpretation is along the same lines as what the band and director intended, but a little more spelled out for the viewer.

I incorporated a lot of color psychology and storytelling into my edit. Also, I love making the footage follow along with the lyrics, while keeping the cuts punchy to the drum & bass, and using the edit styling for further psychological suggestions. I'm one that's more for subtlety, tasteful edits and boldness in my art projects; with edits that serve a purpose, rather than edits just for the sake of flashy edits or special effects. Even the type of transitions I used have meaning behind them. I used longer cuts than the official video, because I felt they were more impactful in telling a story, and allow the audience to soak more in.

While some consecutive cuts match the original, I made those choices unaware of this. I made a special point not to watch the original before I started working, and for it to have VERY little influence on my choices.

I chose to change the amount of usage of the band member (instrumental) footage for each iteration of the chorus, going from most inclusive to least. I think it's an effective way establish the rock, to let each band member shine, and then transition focus as the story comes to a climax. The band really rocks it in the first chorus, and then with the slow-mo clips in the 2nd it adds to the drama of the crescendo up to the climax.

My Story & Message

Over the course of the video, it is somewhat unclear which Dan is present-day Dan. It starts off with Dan's younger, vulnerable self, who is dealing with intense feelings. With the pressure boys face to hide their feelings, he uses catharsis as an outlet… drawing and imagining his grown self who has overcome these pressures. But then, you also see the young adult Dan drawing, which could serve as an indication that he is working to nurture his inner child.

As Dan is imagining his stronger, superhero-like grown self, the man is still shrouded in a blue sadness, because it's hard for young and naive Dan to fully picture and comprehend a well-adjusted self that he does not yet know. But that healthier, adjusted adult Dan flashes in from time to time, and he displays confidence and has a strong voice… This is the ideal Dan. Meanwhile, we see the sad and unassured self who is compensating and posturing, with hints of self-doubt.

Then, the storyline progresses and the natural result of this psychological timeline takes shape - sadness becomes anger. Cue the angry middle-aged version of Dan. He has been stuffing down his feelings, and succumbing to pressure for far too long. He looks down upon the young adult version of himself, while the young adult version wants to resist becoming that angry man.

Dan battles with himself in an inner struggle, which we witness a physical representation in the form of a boxing match. As young adult (sad) Dan takes hits from mid-aged (angry) Dan, the anger grows harder to resist. As he starts to gives into anger, nearing the point of being consumed by it, he checks himself and finds the voice to set a boundary to stop it… But angry-Dan, who is too set in his ways at this point and convinced he cannot allow himself to be vulnerable, tells him they can't stop. The anger rises back up in the young adult Dan.

The anger overcomes him. Darkened and fueled by it, he nearly kills his middle-aged self. At that point, young adult Dan remembers who the child self wanted him to be, as the child flickers into his mind. In getting punched out by his young adult self, the middle-aged Dan finally seems to express remorse at losing sight of himself. And the young adult Dan starts to realize what he has done... finally he is able to feel and cry.

At the end, there's a quick cut of the confident and well-adjusted (natural color) Dan raising his arms as the word "Believer", written by the child, fills the screen. That cut wasn't part of my original ending, but I was inspired to add it while writing up the commentary. I felt like it tied in more with the "arriving at a place of self-confidence". Following the word, it's a sort of bittersweet ending as a somber young adult Dan stares blankly, still kind of working it out. It's almost like a challenge to catch yourself before you reach this point… you have thought about the options, and now it's up to you to decide which path you choose.

I think that this video also sends a message that through art and music, you can find a healthy way to cope; and that's really important during this time when a lot of our arts have been politically threatened.

In Closing

I work in Adobe Premiere on a regular basis, but I don't always have the chance to experiment and get creative with it because my projects will have specific budget limitations with the clients. I learned about this contest late; with about half a month left to create my version. It was an amazing opportunity to be able play around, teach myself and discover new things, to work with such beautiful footage, to work with a story that has great meaning to me, and to work with such a great dramatic song that I didn't get sick of despite hearing it repeatedly! Regardless of the outcome of the contest, I'm proud to have this as part of my portfolio. Although I was on a time crunch, I am very happy with my version, which I think is worthy of being an official version, despite not being selected as one of the Top 25. This has definitely made me a bigger fan of Imagine Dragons, and I look forward to an opportunity to photograph them in concert!