Rhythm in video editing often is either overlooked or overused, specially in these days of rapid-fire edits. Don’t get me wrong, rapid cuts from shot to shot have their place, but at some point it becomes more of an assault on the viewer than editing decision.

In his short piece Green Sami Takieddin shoots and edits with rhythm and pace in mind. Rather than cut from shot to shot, he employs a trick of pacing to replace what otherwise would be obvious edit points, and comes up with a look and feel that matches the mood in the music.

The second thing to take note of in this piece, is that Takieddin resists the urge to use a cut, or transition on every downbeat in the music, creating a sense of anticipation at points, rather than blindly editing measure by measure, downbeat by downbeat.

It’s a similar effect used by Alan Ball in the opening title sequence of his HBO Vampire Soap Opera True Blood. While cuts and fades are nice, try something a little different once in a while, change it up: remember in editing less is often more.