A friend asked some questions about the NJ to NO (and Back) video. Even non-videos might benefit from some explanation so here's a slightly edited reply:
I wanted it to be a documentary of my [recent Amtrak] trip, and as much like in-camera editing as possible. In other words, the shots are in the actual order they were taken, and the same approximate length as my attention span from clicking on to clicking off the camera. Some editing took place but I never changed the order of the shots. Other "rules" were to keep train windows or other indicators of where I was sitting out of the view. (Reflections and streaks on the glass I couldn't control.)
So then it was a matter of my "taste" in deciding when to turn the camera on and whether to keep shooting. I tried to keep a representative balance of nature, urban blight, industrial, suburb, etc.
Everything else was just happy accidents: the [Free Chelsea] Manning sign suddenly appearing in the frame; the shot where I momentarily touched the zoom knob by accident and got that arty sweep into the building; the cut from the bayou to the metal pipes; and the occasional interesting synergy between image and music. The tune was written seven years ago and not edited to "fit" the video -- however, the video was occasionally cut to fit the music, especially at the beginning.
In editing I did some cutting and nudging to make the happy accidents more happy, without deviating from the basic premises.
The "view from the train" is kind of like the country's dirty laundry, mostly because tracks weren't laid in the nicest parts of town. I wanted to "get it all down." Even the nature seems a little unhealthy to me, though.