Montage lengths and # of clips.
To be honest, Skillet is not that unknown when it comes to Halo montages. The first Halo montage I ever watched used Collide and there have been many others. Forever Savior's M1 used Whispers in the Dark, Stalin's M1 used Hero, there have been a few that used Comatose and Rebirthing. I've used Never Surrender haha.
Anyways, yeah it's a pretty slow song overall so you can probably get away with being on the lower end quantity wise.
There really is no minimum or maximum amount of clips to make a Halo video. Because through editing you can shorten or lengthen any play you want to.
BX is right--you're kinda overthinking it. You don't really need an exact number of clips. You just collect what you feel is a solid play. Unless they're making the montage explicitly around the premise of having a theme(like all from one game, or exactly this amount of time or this certain number of clips) I don't think anyone really knows how many clips they're going to need or use or end up using. I can't tell you a single montage I've made where I counted the number of clips I had. You(or in this case, your editor) might want to make changes, or you might get something better in the process, there are so many factors--too many for anyone to pin something like this down.
Just don't worry about it, Simplicity--keep getting clips regardless. It's always better to have too many than not enough. Let the inspiration and flow just come to you naturally, and you'll be fine.
ForeverSavior's montage with Whispers In The Dark, which happens to be my all time favorite song, is where I first discovered Skillet lol.
They arent used much in montages? All the more reason to use Collide! I cant tell you how many montages I have imagined with that song at the core, and how epic it would be. Sorry, but I don't like quiet songs, or dubstep, in my montages. The only slow music I like in montaging is film score music.
And by the way, the intros I have imagined for my use of Collide are (not to be rude to that montage's editor) FAR better than that. I'd like to model my intro in a slight similarity to how Zola made the intro to Str8 Rippins Halo 3 montage.
Because it's one that would be put into the list of overused songs in Halo montages. Honestly, anything by Skillet would be. You're saying they aren't mainstream, but they sure as hell were back in 2007-08 (in the Halo scene at the very least). You seem to have missed it though.
Did you not watch the Rooktage that was linked? 400k views, using the same song. That in itself should be an indicator that maybe people have already heard this one too many times. Whatever though, it's your montage.
I personally care a lot about song selection and 'over'think everything. It's what makes making the bigger videos that require a ton of effort and time fun for me.
You often dont just use one song in your video (credits song, intro music, second part etc.), matching those to create a certain vibe or build of intensity level is a fun way to think about song selection.
Most editors do, and it's an important thing to spend time on. I spent a good amount of time looking for music that fit what I wanted for All the Gold 2 and the video I'm currently making as well.
EDIT: But, I don't think you should be worrying so much about what other people think. Make your montage for yourself and make sure you enjoy it. Don't worry too much about what others think, as long as you like the end product, it's fine.