(no subject)

[sisabet]

Everyone in LJ land put your hands together and wish caphricacorn a big Happy Birthday!!!

Cappy, I remember when I first found out you were born. Dawn had just gotten home from high school and she was out behind the garage freaking out because she hit Casey Moon's car in the parking lot at school and she really didn't want Dad to find out. That is when we got the call explaining where Mom and Dad were actually at. Did you know that as a newborn you had dark hair and skin? - you looked like a tan baby. Little did we know that was the darkest you would ever get.

I am heading to Chattanooga after work (five hours each way - oh joy) to see the indomitable Cappy perform this weekend in Winterguard watchamacallit competition. She is actually quite graceful when given a big pole, a heavy rifle or sharp sabre. I have no idea where she gets it.

Look at my pretty new icon. Isn't it lickable? Thanks to anniesj for making it for me - she is also very lickable ::licks annie::

In Vid news:
Development of Dawn's and my latest projects continue to plod along. I realized last night that we are in serious need of editing these vids down. Dawn's is around 6 minutes - although I understand that she needs every single moment in the song to tell her story - that is just too long for a vid. Her saving grace is that it is Wesley and a perfect song. Really - she does justify the length with the material, but making a version that is high quality and downloadable will be a bitch.

While Dawn does have justification in her song length/choice/whatever, I will most likely rot in hell for making a Spuffy vid that clocks in at over 5 minutes long. WTF??? There is no call and there is no need for this in the world, but I truly cannot figure out what to cut. [whine] I need it all [/whine]. When I get back from Chattanooga, I'm gonna tighten it up, and add a bug. That is right. A bug. You know those things the network puts on the show - the annoying thing that says "UPN" or "WB" or whatever - I'm putting one on this vid. Why this vid? Because it is Spuffy and more specifically Spike-centered Spuffy and one thing I know for certain: if vids are gonna be stolen and chopped up the thing that most of them have in common is Spike. I don't think that this vid is the end all be all to Spuffy (and I would love and end all be all to Spuffy - close the door, shut the book, let the horse be dead) but that doesn't mean I want to see my edits in a dozen crappier vids. Also - I just want to play with AE and this seems like as good a project as any.

Comments

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

your icon looks like a bizare melding of Spike and Xander. or JM & NB. very odd.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

It is all pretty Xander as far as I can see. Pretty, pretty Xander. People get distracted by the guy with the cheekbones and fail to notice the pretty prettiness of Xander. Have I mentioned he is pretty? Cause he is. Pretty, that is.

Re:

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

yeah, I think it's jsut the angle though... it looked like a spike moment from profile. which is odd, because face-on they look nothing a like. probably because I just rewatched LMPTM, which had no Xander but did have several spike head-tilts like that.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Actually - Xander does not say more than one line, but he does have a very important task (chaining up Spike) and that moment he looked at Anya when she was babbling on (I don't know what she said - the hat distracted me) he was absolutely yummy. Mmmmm...Xander.

Re:

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

you're right! I forgot about the chain thing. Of course. :)

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Never Break the Chain, Rashaka, Never break the chain.

Sorry - if you live with Dawn you can't pass up the opportunity, however slim, to quote Fleetwood Mac. Just be glad I didn't ask you "Won't you lay me down in tall grass/And let me do my stuff."

Re:

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Have you heard tht new fleetwood mac song on the radio? I swear the first two and a half lines of the chorus sound just like the chorus in an old Paul Simon song.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Shhhh... If Dawn gets her hands on the new album then it will mean nothing else gets played in the house for all eternity. She is just now getting over "The Dance" and that came out like, what? 4 years ago?

[7spoons.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday, Cappy! I suppose I should post that on her LJ, which I'll do in a second. But first, if you cut the Spuffy vid down to a more manageable size, please keep a longer director's cut and let me see it!

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

But what to cut!!??

Do I cut out "kiss me hard, make me wonder who's in charge"
or do I cut out one of the choruses (but I need all three - the vids development depends on this!) Maybe I could cut out the part about flirting with death? But that is integral. Integral!!! How can you make a Spuffy vid and not have the obligatory death fetish double entendre? It cannot be done. At least - not by me.

BTW - "World Without Tears" will be the soundtrack on the drive to Chat. Thanks again, you luscious bombshell, you.

[kimera.livejournal.com]

How can you make a Spuffy vid and not have the obligatory death fetish double entendre?

How true, how true. *glares at "Cemetary", which would be perfect for a Spuffy vid, but for the pronoun issue*

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that the necrophilia that was season 6 is not seen just by me.

[mrmonkeybottoms.livejournal.com]

You will cut nothing, you ungrateful slut! That vid is perfection, adn it may be the only Spuffy you'll give me, so therefore I want all 15 minutes of it.

Yeah, you heard me right. I said 15 minutes. FIFTEEN!

Or five.

P.S. I flove you.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Hell hath frozen over - for mrmonkeybottoms now has a Spander icon while I have one of Spuffy Smoochies. Spuffy Smoochies!!! Egad, monkey what have you done to me?!

[mrmonkeybottoms.livejournal.com]

It looks like I've worked my evil, evil magickksszzz on you.

And...*looks at Spander icon* ...you have worked yours on me.

We are in love!

[7spoons.livejournal.com]

Hey, don't cut. Who told you to cut? Not me. Don't cut!

[luminosity]

This is what becomes of us, isn't it? We become source snobs so that we can put our *own* bugs on the vids. We've come full circle now. Teach me how! :)

Five minutes, huh?

Have a safe trip! I hope Cappy knocks 'em dead, or breaks a leg, or whatever it is that we have to say for this sort of marching, swinging-guns and flags thang.

You'd think that being down here would spur some creativity on my vid. You'd think. sigh

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Hey - I was pissed that I missed you yesterday (the life that it appeared we were having was just simultaneous napping).

Yep - we search high and low for pretty unbugged source and then we bug it! Hard! Sunday - if you are back - we break out the AE and crack this mutha wide open. Or something like that. Maybe we should stick with figuring out how to animate icons for now? Oh - maybe Eunice will be free and she will teach us how to do this!!

Eunice????

[just-eunice.livejournal.com]

You don't need AE to make a bug. Just Photoshop and Premiere will do it. There's probably an easier way but the complicated "Eunice played around and figured out one way to do it." way is as follows. Lets assume you want to use a small text bug, we're going to assume that because I don't know how to do anything else. I just kinda made this up as I went along. So. Open Ye Olde Photoshop and make some simple white text on a black background the same size as your footage (320x240 or whatever). Put the text where you want your bug to go and make sure it's the size you want. Select the text, then go to "Select--->save selection", you'll notice you now have an alpha channel in the shape of your text in the channels menu. Save as a .psd or .tiff file and make sure "keep alpha channel" is selected. Import this file into Premiere, make it the length of your vid and stick it on the top video track. Now go to the transparency options and choose "alpha channel". Voila...bug. I'll discover a better method for you when I can but that should let you mark your vids reltatively unobtrusively for now if you use really small text.

[bloodypoetry.livejournal.com]

*sings* When you call, Eunice will answer! */singing*

Now if only I could figure this out, even with the neat intructions...And I guess having Photoshop would help too....

Re:

[luminosity]

EUUUUUUUNIIIIIICCCCCCCEEEE!

I should be at the homestead by Saturday night. I don't know if I'll get through another John Wayne marathon unscathed.

Five minutes...wow (snerk)

[just-eunice.livejournal.com]

I went over and friended Cappy and wished her a happy birthday.

I will most likely rot in hell for making a Spuffy vid that clocks in at over 5 minutes long.

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha...gasp...splutter...wait, I had something to say. Nope, I didn't. Just wanted to laugh hysterically at the knowledge that you have a 5 minute Spuffy vid. Spuffy. sisabet is making a Spuffy vid. *chortle*...*giggle*...*snicker*. See, part of me is deliriously happy to be getting a Spuffy vid that won't suck, the other part of me can't stop laughing at the idea that you are making it. The bug is a good idea. A Spuffy vid that doesn't suck is very likely to be hacked to pieces practically before you have it all the way uploaded.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

*Waits for Eunice to quit laughing*
*Waits some more*
*Checks watch*

Are you done? Got that out of your system have you. Good. Cause I was just calling for you in the post above. Go see.

[heresluck]

...if vids are gonna be stolen and chopped up the thing that most of them have in common is Spike.

Yeah. I don't even want to know how many bits of my vids are floating around out there, hacked up and set to Celine Dion. *shudders*

...and I would love and end all be all to Spuffy - close the door, shut the book, let the horse be dead...

Once more I say, yeah. And you know it's bad when I'm saying it. *looks at vid output* *shudders again* I've got a S7 Spikevid in the works, and I just can't get going on it -- mostly because Buffy's a significant part of it. It's not a Spuffy vid, not a 'shipper vid at all, and yet... I know that people are going to want to read it that way. Bleah.

[luminosity]

It's not a Spuffy vid, not a 'shipper vid at all, and yet... I know that people are going to want to read it that way. Bleah.


You know? I haven't, in my own way of looking at things, made a Spuffy vid yet, (not one that anyone has actually seen...*cough*) but that hasn't stopped everyone from saying that my vids that happen to have Spike and Buffy as the main characters are *Spuffy*. Maybe my definition of Spuffy isn't right. I've made... *Spike* vids. Dream On (RIP) is a Spike vid about Spike reconciling his evil self to his soul and ... lusting after Buffy. Rebel Yell is a Spike vid about him lusting after Buffy. FFL is a Spike vid about him lusting after Buffy. Mad World is a Spike vid about him, ummm, well, lusting after Buffy.

I so completely believe that I haven't made a Spuffy vid that I have a particular song all lined up for after the finale--one that I call "my Spuffy vid song." And yes, "Indian Love Call" came in second.

All of life and communication is just a definition of terms, isn't it?

[bloodypoetry.livejournal.com]

You know I can't wait for your Spuffy vid. And I will be wanting the special directors cut as well.

Why oh why couldn't I have gotten into vidding when Spuffy wasn't so popular among vidders? *sobs* Maybe in a few years....

Wow.

[(Anonymous)]

TWO new headtilt.com vids to look forward to! I already know I will love the Wesley one, and damn - I'm even going to have to watch the Spuffy one (even though I hate that 'ship with every fibre of my being) just. because. it's sisabet.

And wow - people just chop up and steal clips from videos you slaved over? That's harsh. I've tried vidding, using the 'rancid whore' (TM BandOfBuggered), Windows Movie Maker :-), and damn, it's hard.

Thank you for the lovely, lovely vids. Especially 'Cowboy', since I'm an Angel-ho.

Imation

Re: Wow.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Thanks - Always nice to hear from fellow Angel-hearters (Angel-Hos Unite!) - I'm doing Spuffy because I am taken with the footage that is there and a specific song (and Spike is pretty dammit and I am not immune)but I still don't exactly support that ship - but I am even more ambivalent now.

Yes - it sucks to have your vid chopped up and passed off as someone elses - I continue to preach the evils of this practice but sometimes I feel like it just isn't getting through. My Angel vids, thankfully, have been spared this fate. The obnoxious morons who steal apparently "rely liek Spike!"