Song First

IntroSit down. Screens off.
You've been doing it backwards.

Verse 1You made the pictures first, then you laid a song on top
The lips went one way, the words went another, nobody could watch
Six fingers, melting faces, letters that don't spell
You hit the button one more time and hoped it turned out well

Pre-ChorusStop rolling dice, start with the sound
The song is the ruler, lay it down

ChorusSong first, song first, measure every word
Cut in the gap where nothing's heard
One still frame for every line
Give it the sound and the lips keep time
Song, time, board, plate, clip, cut
Six steps in order, no shortcut

Verse 2A rough guess runs early, half a second, sometimes more
So pull the voice out of the music and measure it for sure
Every word gets a number, every number gets a line
The cut list isn't feelings now, it's a ruler made of time
Four to eight seconds, that's a clip
Start in the silence, never on the line

ChorusSong first, song first, measure every word
Cut in the gap where nothing's heard
Song first, song first, measure every word
Cut in the gap where nothing's heard

Verse 3Who's your lead? One sentence, every time
Same hair, same shirt? Paste it, line for line
Where does the type go? In the empty space
What goes over her? Nothing on the face
One warm colour? On a field of blue
Words in the picture? No, that's what code will do
The model can't spell, I asked it for a tick three times
I got a squiggle, a bar, and the letter K

HookDraw it in code
The tick, the type, the line
Draw it in code
Draw it in code
And it lands on time
Draw it in code
It can't spell, you can

Verse 4Test three clips, then run the plan
One that moves, one that sings, one where someone else sings
Watch all three before you batch the whole thing
Then leave it running, go to bed, switch off the light
A little box is working through the night
Is it synced? Watch it
Is it her? Check it
Is it done? Not till you've watched it
Pull thirty frames and read them like a book
One face has drifted? Give it one more look
New seed, same shot, back in the line
Lay the song on top and the lips keep time

ChorusSong first, song first, measure every word
Cut in the gap where nothing's heard
One still frame for every line
Give it the sound and the lips keep time
Song first, song first, now you know the way
Go and make a thing worth pressing play

OutroIt was never slop, it was out of line
Put it in order and it comes out fine
Song, time, board, plate, clip, cut
Six steps in order, no shortcut
It was never the model
It was the order
Class dismissed.