One of the challenges vidders face is finding a song with lyrics that work for the character and acquiring the technical expertise to cut to the beat. The best vids go beyond that. “A Day in the Life” illustrates many other elements of the music through the clip, transition and effect choices. The source footage comes from “The Dead Zone,” a series about a man named John Smith who has visions triggered by touching someone or something. The stream of consciousness reverie of the lyrics allows the vid to explore the visions Johnny finds himself being dragged through. The slow cross fades in the beginning match the slow rhythm in the beginning of the song. The clip cutting gets faster and faster as we get to the crescendo, supporting the tension that is already in the music and giving the viewer a sense of being overwhelmed. The middle section of the song is lighter and more concrete than the rest. This becomes a fantasy sequence showing what Johnny's life would have been like had he not developed this ability. The clips are suddenly more literal with fewer visual effects and more straightforward transitions. The final crescendo is an incredibly tense moment in the song where the vid has set the viewer up to expect overwhelming fast cuts. Instead, the viewer gets one long uncut sequence - the pivotal moment of the series. Giving the viewer long and slow when they are expecting fast and overwhelming creates suspense. This increases the impact of the final image of the vid. One of the lovely things for viewers who know the show and the song is the way it weaves the song and the visuals together to give a richer experience of both. But for those who do not know the show, this vid tells its narrative independently, relying on our familiarity with the song to create a meaning all of its own.