Keanu Reeves is to Vidding as Patrick Swayze is to Collating
I'm trying this post again. Yesterday I accidentally hit one button on my keyboard and all of a sudden my screen went to something LJ-wonky and when I tried to return everything I had written was gone.
I am now convinced that the lost post possibly contained information that when decoded correctly could either lead to world peace or lost treasure in the Andes. The imagined outcome usually depends on how benevolent I am feeling at any given moment.
This past week my milk of human kindness went way past its expiration date, so take the following post with a grain of salt.
Let us start from the top - shall we?
There exists what I like to call the Keanu Reeves Factor in vidding. See, I like Sci-Fi/Fantasy movies with Keanu in them. I just do. His presence comforts and soothes me. Why?
Well, he is good-looking. He isn't incrediblely gorgeous, IMO - just pleasant to look at. His voice hits a register that I personally find pleasing (I think there exists evidence that humans respond well to a certain kind of monotone. It is like those tapes of whale-songs and Enya. Except those things raise my blood pressure). He isn't that great of an actor but as long as he isn't attempting an accent or Shakespeare, I often find I just don't care. I like to watch Keanu in Science Fiction movies because I know exactly what to expect - I know what he will bring to the table and I am on board with that. The plot may veer wildly all over the place. I might have the rug pulled out from under me several times. I might switch realities within the blink of an eye or the drop of a pill and yet... Keanu will remain the same. He is my guidepost - my beacon. I can depend on him to be my stable rock as I try to make sense and process the fantastical elements being tossed my way.
This also explains the career of Will Smith, by the way. It is all about giving the audience that comfort zone - you cast Keanu if you need the hero to be remote. You cast Smith if you need him to be likeable and you cast Bruce Willis if there is heavy lifting involved in the acting.
Simple enough really. But how does this apply to vidding?
Well I will tell you -- just not yet. First of all, I need to get a few - well a couple of disclaimers out of the way.
1. There are no absolutes in vidding. Let's agree now that all rules can be broken (and I am NOT talking about fannish courtesy at all right here - I am talking nuts and bolts vidding) and that I am not speaking in absolute terms here.
2. If you feel that the only way and the appropriate way to vid a song is by strict literal adhesion to the lyrics - ie if the song says "Touch my hand" then someone better be touching someone else's hand onscreen, or if the line talks about being lost in the rain - then we better see some rain -- if you feel this is the only way to vid and dislike vids that do not do this, and want to argue that point please just stop reading now.
Seriously. Stop. Cause we won't agree and feelings will be hurt and what I have to say won't matter to you and you will have wasted your time reading it and I will have wasted my time with this bit right here. We disagree on a fundamental purpose of the craft and neither of us is gonna budge on this one, so you just go on back to your editing software and I'll stay right here and prattle on about stuff that you could care less about and All is Right With the World. See - it is as easy as that.
Okay. - for everyone else - more behind the cut.( Read more... )
I am now convinced that the lost post possibly contained information that when decoded correctly could either lead to world peace or lost treasure in the Andes. The imagined outcome usually depends on how benevolent I am feeling at any given moment.
This past week my milk of human kindness went way past its expiration date, so take the following post with a grain of salt.
Let us start from the top - shall we?
There exists what I like to call the Keanu Reeves Factor in vidding. See, I like Sci-Fi/Fantasy movies with Keanu in them. I just do. His presence comforts and soothes me. Why?
Well, he is good-looking. He isn't incrediblely gorgeous, IMO - just pleasant to look at. His voice hits a register that I personally find pleasing (I think there exists evidence that humans respond well to a certain kind of monotone. It is like those tapes of whale-songs and Enya. Except those things raise my blood pressure). He isn't that great of an actor but as long as he isn't attempting an accent or Shakespeare, I often find I just don't care. I like to watch Keanu in Science Fiction movies because I know exactly what to expect - I know what he will bring to the table and I am on board with that. The plot may veer wildly all over the place. I might have the rug pulled out from under me several times. I might switch realities within the blink of an eye or the drop of a pill and yet... Keanu will remain the same. He is my guidepost - my beacon. I can depend on him to be my stable rock as I try to make sense and process the fantastical elements being tossed my way.
This also explains the career of Will Smith, by the way. It is all about giving the audience that comfort zone - you cast Keanu if you need the hero to be remote. You cast Smith if you need him to be likeable and you cast Bruce Willis if there is heavy lifting involved in the acting.
Simple enough really. But how does this apply to vidding?
Well I will tell you -- just not yet. First of all, I need to get a few - well a couple of disclaimers out of the way.
1. There are no absolutes in vidding. Let's agree now that all rules can be broken (and I am NOT talking about fannish courtesy at all right here - I am talking nuts and bolts vidding) and that I am not speaking in absolute terms here.
2. If you feel that the only way and the appropriate way to vid a song is by strict literal adhesion to the lyrics - ie if the song says "Touch my hand" then someone better be touching someone else's hand onscreen, or if the line talks about being lost in the rain - then we better see some rain -- if you feel this is the only way to vid and dislike vids that do not do this, and want to argue that point please just stop reading now.
Seriously. Stop. Cause we won't agree and feelings will be hurt and what I have to say won't matter to you and you will have wasted your time reading it and I will have wasted my time with this bit right here. We disagree on a fundamental purpose of the craft and neither of us is gonna budge on this one, so you just go on back to your editing software and I'll stay right here and prattle on about stuff that you could care less about and All is Right With the World. See - it is as easy as that.
Okay. - for everyone else - more behind the cut.( Read more... )