2018 Vid In Review Part 1

[sisabet]

Hello fellow kids! Welcome back to my efforts to blog more and do something else less (what should I do less -- that has not yet been determined). Inspired byluminosity  making vid posts -- I WILL ALSO MAKE VID POSTS! And inspired by it being December, I WILL MAKE A YEAR IN REVIEW POST! Yes. It's either that or keep working on my Vid In Progress and I'm at that stage where all I want to do is think about it and work on it but if I see another second of it I will puke.  

ETA:  Part 2 is here







Comments, critique, questions, thoughts and recipes are always appreciated either here, on twitter or at the AO3 posts.  You can get crazy and send me a youtube comment if you want as well -- I get a kick out of those. 

(Content notes are posted on AO3 posts)







Video #1 Posted This Year: 

Title: Patience
Artist: Guns N Roses
Fandom: Supernatural
Category: Dean/Castiel
Summary: Tragic Widow Dean is Tragic

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13259805


An interesting thing happened in late 2017 and by interesting I mean "may you live in interesting times" interesting - I fell back into the giant trash heap that is DeanCas and Supernatural and since I was raised evangelical,  I decided to proselytize to my closest friends the most effective way I knew how: 

"Have you heard the good news about Tragic Widow Dean?" 

And it worked. HA! You're Welcome. 


Video #2 Posted This Year: 

Title: This is the Song that Never Ends
Artist: Toto
Fandom: Supenatural
Category: Dean/Castiel
Summary: Second verse, same as the first!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15158384 

Hey remember that time I made a 30 minute vid to Toto's Africa on repeat? Good times.


Video #3 

Title: The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard
Artist: Queen
Song: Bohemian Rhapsody
Fandom: MCU (pre-Infinity Wars)
Category: Loki character study
Summary: Any way the wind blows

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15265557

I almost didn't complete this vid after Infinity Wars but like... you can't leave Loki half finished on the timeline. It's like putting Baby in the corner.  Loki is absolutely ridiculous and the MCU's most dedicated Theater Kid and I luff him a lot and I have a lot of feelings about him having a lot of feelings. 



And now it's time for a breakdown: The Vividcon Vids

"" (Watch on YouTube)

While the number of works I published  earlier in the year, at first glance,  might seem fairly reasonable and in keeping with recent years output, the end of Vividcon  really did a number on me. Apparently! I've never completed more works in over 15-16 years in fandom and I honestly felt like if I didn't make ALL THE VIDS NOW I never would again.  Like VVC was my ability to vid and if it one goes the other does too? IDK, it wasn't rational but my vids never are. 

Video #4

Title: Friends In Low Places
made with: fan_eunice 
Artist: Garth Brooks
Fandom: Supernatural
Category: Dean Winchester Character Study
Summary: "all your friends are dead"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15665334

We originally started this for VVC Karaoke, but then it was cancelled and we had this vid that we both liked a lot because while everyone is dead, there were also so many hugs. And dogs. It was very On Brand for me and Eunice.  ALSO DEAN GETS THE GIANT SLINKY AT THE END BECAUSE THAT BECAME SO VERY IMPORTANT TO US. So this was in the final VVC Premiere show and I feel like at some point a lot of people might have gotten Supernatural fatigue at VVC -there were several SPN vids in the premieres show and I loved them all. And they were all so good and very very different and I got over the guilt because it wasn't like I didn't try to sink every last person into the fandom in one way or the other.  I spent a solid six months making fetch happen. (Also there was Wayward). 
 
Video #5

Title: Bright Lights
Artist: Gary Clark Jr
Fandom: Supernatural
Category: Castiel Character Study
Summary: Went up a different person, came down somebody else

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15674895

This is the last vid I will ever send to Vividcon Premieres and it was supposed to be the vid I sent to VVC premieres in like...2012? And then the source file got corrupted and I rage quit Supernatural and I think I ended up sending a mindy project vid that year.  ANYWAY,  I guess I'm glad I waited since I would not have been able to make this video 6 years ago. I've learned a lot -- look at me: growth. 


Video #6

Title: New Rules
Made with: kiki_miserychic 
Artist: Dua Lipa
Fandom: Supernatural
Category: Dean/Castiel
Summary: If you're under him, you ain't getting over him


https://archiveofourown.org/works/15678981

Does what it says on the tin.  Honestly, we just wanted to dance at Club Vivid to this song and scream at Dean Winchester for being a truly awful boyfriend. Cas has terrible taste in romantic interests, but it's not changing anytime soon. 


Video #7

Title: Buffalo Stance
Made with: luminosity 
Artist: Neneh Cherry
Fandom: American Gods
Category: ????
Summary: Fuck God and Cum Hard  OR   Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15698550


I've been screaming at Ian for years about this song and then lamenting loudly about how I wanted to vid it but what fandom and finally sweetestdrain said "American Gods" and I shut the fuck up and grabbed Lum and then this happened and honestly it might be one of the best things I've ever done (not her of course, but for me? easy)
 

Lum posted about it here


Video #8

Title: Man on the Moon
Made with: sweetestdrain 
Artist: REM
Fandom: Supernatural
Category: Team Kill Lucifer (Sam Winchester POV)
Summary: "Time is a flat circle" -the Archangel Gabriel, probably

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15698925

So like when I went to see what vid was next and I saw it was Man on the Moon I actually said "awwww" out loud.  Sweetestdrain and I took a lot of road trips this year.  Vidders come up with vid ideas during road trips.  I made 4 videos for VVC last year and every single one of them was because I took a road trip.  

I always liked Sam but when I fell back into the trash heap, I was kinda like "haha poor Sam has nothing to do but to be upset at how dumb his brother is" and that was fine. It was a good life. But then something happened on the show and we spent a full week yelling about SAM! BEING! COMPELLING!  We made this video for the Full Circle Challenge Show. 


Video #9

Title: Stand Back
Artist: Stevie Nicks
Fandom: Supernatural
Category: Dean/Castiel; AU
Summary: No man came

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15699468


Also made for the Full Circle Challenge show (and the last of the SPN VVC vids, I promise) this video is an attempt and I honestly don't think it was successful but AT LEAST I TRIED, right?? One night we were screening old 80s videos (like ya do) and got hung up on Stand Back, which I have loved since a small child. I mean, it's Little Red Corvette but with Stevie Nicks, if that doesn't do it for you then we possibly have nothing in common.  

ANYWAY sweetestdrain  said  "This is Dean Winchester," and I laughed. But then I started to feel it. And then I started the video and the concept came to me -- what if Dean's still in hell? What if Castiel never rescued him? What if Castiel doesn't even exist? What if the last decade has just been Alastair breaking Dean.  What if he tempts Dean with this divine idea of a fucking angel that is in love with him? And in the illusion Dean can't even allow himself to have that -- he pushes it all away and then that fucking Angel dies and THAT is when Alastair allows him to see the truth: There is No Cas. No one could love you like that. No one is coming. 

I got so much help from the usual suspects and vidding slack and I tried really hard to not be subtle but I don't think the concept came through in the end.  At some point you might just be asking way too much of your audience - it's a discussion I would love to have. 



Video #10

Title: Finesse
Artist: Bruno Mars feat Cardi B
Fandom: A Different World
Category: Dwayne Wayne/Whitley Gilbert
Summary: Don't we look good together

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15700071

I have wanted to make a Whitley/Dwayne video for such a long time (26 years maybe??) but getting source was a major issue. Then I found out that the series was streaming and I went out old school style and I captured some fucking clips. This video makes me happy in that it exists and that maybe more people can be introduced to the amazing that is this show and pairing.  I decided to end the video at  graduation and not go into later seasons, not because I don't long to vid the "baby, please" interrupted wedding because OMG I DO, but the vid wasn't about that.  Just means I'll have to make another video which is no hardship for me. 

Also reboot this show! 


I'm gonna stop here at the halfway point - if you read this far, wow! I'm impressed.  I have a lot more thoughts about creativity bursts and collaborations and how the ways we interact create this compounding effect and connecting with other fans is what can drive even creativity but it is late and I'm tired and I still have to remember how to do an LJ cut for this long ass post.  

Comments

[kuwdora]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

[seekingferret]

I got so much help from the usual suspects and vidding slack and I tried really hard to not be subtle but I don't think the concept came through in the end. At some point you might just be asking way too much of your audience - it's a discussion I would love to have.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I know you were hammering hard at VVC on the idea of not being subtle. But I like being subtle! I like slipping in little clues and hoping that over the course of the vid the viewer will be able to put together clues that originally didn't make sense into the full whole that is my theme/message/idea/narrative. I like puzzles and I like making vids that are like puzzles. I like to do that in my writing and I like to do it in my vidding, but it doesn't usually work in vidding, and I constantly get feedback on my ambitious vids from my betas that they don't understand what I'm trying to say and I need to hit my themes much more clearly and obviously.

So I now have a whole toolkit of things I can do to unsubtle my vids upon beta feedback, but I guess the whole thing hinges on whether betas are a viable proxy for audience, or if I'm happy if just one very keyed in viewer gets what I'm doing, or if it's okay to make vids that only work if you explain the whole premise of the vid beforehand or what.

[sisabet]

Oh wow, you brought up my favorite subject!!!

My number 1 advice when vidding is to not be subtle - you have 3.5 minutes to make your point and get out and visually conveying a story even with solid lyrical backing is incredible difficult, especially if you are presenting an argument that was not either explicit in the source material or to an an audience presumably not as familiar with the source as you.

I adore subtlety - I believe show not tell is way superior for fiction. I don’t like it when I am spoon fed twists and turns in a movie or television show but all of those mediums have a lot more time and space to get an idea across. I’m super interested in long form vidding and am wondering if a bit more subtlety might be rewarding since the time investment is so much longer. I worry though about losing an audience when you are asking for 6 plus minutes of their focus if they aren’t hooked both on the visuals and where the story/argument goes is clearly in the beats.

I think that is probably the issue with Stand Back, actually. I am asking too much of the audience - first I am asking them to suspend cheesey disbelief due to the combination of song and source material. I am then, more or less, presenting a slash pairing argument which highlights Dean’s repression. None of this is new or novel or exciting and while I did put more call backs to hell in the part of the vid that is illusion, I don’t think it was enough to keep the audience focus and investment in the vid itself - the reveal isn’t until the last minute and while 3 minutes does not seem that long, asking for a viewers complete and total focus without enough of a reward promised that something is off here, something isn’t right - trust me and come down this path with me. Therefore the idea that Dean is back from hell and yet something is still off needs to be hammered in.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out way to do that and also maintain the viewers ease so that the reveal was more emotionally rewarding. The show could EASILY decide to end with this being all a hallucination Dean is having in hell! I mean Dallas had that one season that was all a dream, so if the show wanted to do that they could and it would be...affecting (also infuriating). If I wrote fic and I wanted to end with the entire thing being a hallucination I could also do that and my authorial intent would probably carry through. Vids are just different - so I’m still figuring this one out.

So really it comes down to intent and how you want to make your audience work to figure out yours (or any sometimes with vids, lol - I got a comment on a vid saying it was just random clips set to Santa Buddy and was hilarious so it was a nice comment that I then had a nervous breakdown over, lol). You also have to take into account that your audience is gonna approach the vid from whatever skill at reading vids they have developed be it “wow those clips move to the beat!” or “the complexities of the relationship are really laid out here and I especially loved that moment in the bridge where we understood that this is a leap of faith”

I think probably one of my only real talent at this is making a cohesive narrative that someone can follow. I do that by not being subtle and so that’s my advice to other vidders - that doesn’t mean you have to do it or the goal of finding that perfect audience of one WHO GETS IT isn’t just as great. I often layer a lot of things in a vid and hope the audience gets the wider theme “omg Victoria is a polar bear. OMG they are BOTH polar bears!” Is great! But then you get that one person who says “shit they are in a snow globe” and you dance up and down the block.

[seekingferret]

My experience with 6 minute long vids is limited to um... three vids, one never completed, but based on that, I'd say that the problem with subtlety in long vids is that if you're trying to do something in longform, you probably have more to say than you do in a short vid, so the ratio of content to time is about the same and you still don't have room for subtlety if you want it to be clear to your audience.

And ugh, I hate comments like that. I always say that it's important when operating in online fandom to remind yourself periodically that some fraction of online fandom is twelve years old.