Poll: Vid Watching

[thefourthvine]

This is the counterpart to the poll I posted earlier. (It, uh, had to undergo some revisions after the results of that poll.) And this one is for anyone who has ever seen a vid.

Again, feel totally free to pimp. I'd love to get a range of responses on this one.

After this, there'll be a round of vid meta coming out, but then I swear we'll go back to fan fiction. I'm really starting to miss recommending the written word.

[Poll #800594]

Comments

[paceus.livejournal.com]

I tend to view music as pretty sounds and so I often forget that the lyrics might, you know, have meaning. I did manage to catch one thing once: a character was kissing someone, and in the next scene another character hit something very hard. I thought, "Jealousy!" and was in awe of the vidder's abilities. :)

I'd love to read a "vid recs for vid newbies" post: I'm not very acquainted with vids at all. Reviews would also be interesting: they could discuss what the fic is about and I'd take notes. I hadn't even thought that there were humorous vids -- thank you for pointing that out!

[dzurlady.livejournal.com]

Vid recs for newbies is still some way off, but if you want I can link you when I post.
You might like to check out the_reel for recs and especially reviews; if you want elaboration you can comment and you'll probably get a response.
I have seen (but can now no longer remember who) several vidders discussing their work, often in detail. I'm sure there are others. Try asking for links on vidding.

Before I rec, some general things that might be of help. If they're not, feel free to ignore them. :)
Vids, I have decided, are more like poetry. Very shiny, and you probably won't fully get them until you've watched them a few times - and you're likely to love them more as you do.
A good thing to remember about vids is that you won't always get every clip, even after several viewings. This is natural. Knowing the source aids understanding, for reasons I will discuss below.

Clips are generally choosen for two things: 1) meaning and 2) movement within the clip.
1. Meaning comes from either
within the source (context) e.g. clips of someone grieving a death or living happy times with the deceased when your vid is about how character X was affected by a death; or
from the literal actions in the clip - this is a sort of AU from the source where you construct a new meaning from people's actions e.g. taking a clip of someone looking sad and depressed because their job went south and making it seem like they're depressed because someone broke up with them - there are many variations. Comedy vids frequently do this for humerous effect.
Clips may be a mix of both context and AU elements, sometimes within the same clip. In practice, the distinction isn't very important - I just mention this as a way you might be able to figure out what's happening if you're confused. If it doesn't make sense and you don't recognise the clip, it's quite possible that it's deriving its meaning from canon, so take heart.
2. Talking heads are boring; cameras swooping around and people leaping is interesting. This is where movement comes in. Listen to the music (you can ignore the lyrics, just treat the voice as another instrument). If there's a drum beat, is there some movement (a leap in the air, someone hitting someone else, a door opening) that's matched to it? On the long notes, does the clip zoom in? Are the cuts (simple clip changes directly from one clip to another are known as cuts) on a strong beat? Is there a dissolve from one clip to the next as the music makes a shimery noise? If you're not getting the context, look for the shiny - interesting movement and good cutting skills. This can make you happy even when you're not sure what the hell's really happening, and you can work your way up from there.
Clip choices are generally mix of a focus on movement or a focus on context - good vids have a mix of each in their clips.

Re ignoring the lyrics - I do the same thing often the first (and second. and third.) times I watch vids. Watch it again! Google the lyrics and read them over. Possibly refer to them as you watch. Not every single line is always hugely important - look for repeated or emphasised lines, as they tend to carry more meaning. Clips choices to lyrics can be metaphorical, as this increases interest/meaning. 'I'm on fire' might mean 'I'm really exited!' or 'I'm really angry!' or 'Fuck me now!' not 'Ah! Ah! Grab the hose and call an ambulance!'

Oh, and you won't like/get all vids. This is normal, as people are different to each other and what pings for one person will be meh for another. (Also, like fic, some vidders are less skilled than others.)

[dzurlady.livejournal.com]

Right - recs!

Humerous:
Knights of the Round Table (http://seacouver.slashcity.net/killa/index.html) by killabeez and T. Jonesy.
You'll need a password, but this is hilarous. Also very skillfully done - the lipsyncing (making their mouths move as if they're singing the words) is hard to pull off, esp. in live action source. Monty Python's 'Knights of the Round Table' reenacted by Star Trek.

I see from your userinfo your a Rodney McKay fangirl (so I'm going to assume some familiarity with SGA and rec accordingly. If you know other fandoms, let me know.)

Stress (http://www.relative-obscurity.org/belles/cb.html) by Rache and Sandy
Great Rodney vid. Goes off the lyrics, so not really canon dependent. Fantastic, fantastic use of movements. Look at how Rodney's actions match the music. Bonus fun - jump cuts, where bits of one continuous movement are cut out to speed up clips and make them more interesting.
The point is Rodney = cool (and stressed.)

If I were gay (http://home.arcor.de/taelonmahal/Songvids.htm) by Ma'hal
John/Rodney
I really love this one - very funny. So gay! I don't have much more to say, but this does not reflect on how much I love this vid. Plus, very catchy song.
Humourous pairing vid.

Bohemian Like You (http://astolat.livejournal.com/105403.html) by astolat.
John/Rodney. Astolat's a big fan of fast editing, and it shows - high paced clips and cuts. More canon references, but still enjoyable even if you don't get them.
Humourous and slightly more serious pairing vid.

Cartoon Heros (http://www.viddish.org/sga.html) by Mamoru
A crossover with SG-1, this takes behind the scenes footage to construct an affectionate and above all loving look at the shows. I think the start is the weakest part, so if it doesn't immediately grab you stick with it.
Joy love and squee for the shows themselves.

Other:
Data's Dream (http://community.livejournal.com/vidding/172572.html?mode=reply&style=mine) by GF & TS, with assistance remastering by MD. Also needs a password, but is worth the extra effort.
By the wishes of the vidders, I won't tell you the music/artist, but you don't really need to know. Multifandom love letter to science fiction and fantasy - the point of this is simply to fill you with wonder and love.
Not so much with the context and heavy on the movement - look for swooping movements to match the music, sharper movements to emphasis beats, and how the speed of the clips changes when the music changes.
Note: The video will start before the sound, and that is normal.

Check TFV's past vid posts for 'Failed Experiments in Video Editing' for a humerous behind the scenes look at vidding, too.

I have several other vids I think you might like, but it is late and I must sleep. If you are interested/ have fannish preferences let me know.

Part 1

[paceus.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your thought-out responses! I love your guide to understanding vids. I guess references to the source material are a bit more elusive (if you can’t remember where a single clip is from), but AUs (I really like the way you apply the term here) I’m on board with! “Look for the shiny” is also a useful piece of advice -- this all makes sense to me as I relate to fics like that: there’s the deep and somewhat intimidating, like the message of a fic or anything that’s left unsaid in it (I always fear that I won’t get it), and then there’s “the shiny” -- humour, for example.

I’m very excited about the links you gave -- the comms sound interesting, especially the recs and reviews part -- I’m always looking for discussion and frequently wonder why no one’s talking about the fics I love, or if it’s just that I haven’t seen where. I dearly hope dvd_commentary will become such a place.

And the vid recs! They’re lovely! I haven’t yet gotten around to getting the passwords, but I watched those that didn’t have any and was blown away by what vidders can do. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the recs: I’m humbled that you went through the trouble of writing the comments and deciding what to rec and everything. Here’s what I thought about the vids:

If I were gay: Oh my god! That was gorgeous! I didn’t know that could be done: the way the lyrics and the action match (“But I’m not gay”), and all those looks (man, I hadn’t realized John looked Rodney like that so often in canon; I only remembered the sarcastic looks), and the ending is lovely -- I hadn’t known that such stories could be constructed out of canon material, period. And wow, am I happy to be wrong! Thank you so much for this rec: I can’t bear think about missing it.

[paceus.livejournal.com]

Bohemian Like You: I’ve actually seen this before -- I even recced (http://paceus.livejournal.com/29465.html) it during my first frenzy of reading SGA fics and generally acquiring a new fandom. I was immediately fond of it because of the slashy moments and because I like how the music sounds. Liking and watching this vid actually made, in part, me as frustrated as I was (before your generous help!) about not understanding vids, because I googled the lyrics and didn’t become any wiser. I appreciate your advice about paying attention to repeated lines, and remembering that there’s a chance of a metaphor! (I think I wanted every line to matter, or something; now I’m more confident about knowing what the vid is about, in a general sense.)

I really like the fast cuts in this vid -- they look good and fit the music, and there are also longer scenes that let me catch my breath and appreciate these two together (and oh, are they gorgeous). What you say about canon references makes me wish this was reviewed on the_reel but I don’t think it is: I don’t think I catch them by myself and knowing that they’re there makes me very curious! :)

Cartoon Heroes: Whoa, the material that wasn’t from the show actually scared me (“Oh my god, what are they doing!”) -- but I really liked this too! The song is very well chosen and it’s a surprisingly amount of fun (and pleasure) to see the clips of these characters/actors, whether I’d seen the clips before or not -- apparently it’s not about creating a new story all the time but just mixing these clips in a new way and finding fitting music. It’s really fun to watch!

Stress: Fantastic, fantastic use of movements. You’re right! And wow, that’s really cool, for example when the song says, “All right” and the little wave of Rodney’s hand fits it. Besides, the song is such a Rodney song already (like when the song’s about the migraine and the clip shows Rodney explaining something in his usual style I can just hear Rodney say the lyrics, sort of). I wouldn’t have expected that the same scene (John giving a pat on Rodney’s head) would look so different in different contexts: it’s totally “the love pat” in If I were gay, and here it’s completely different. And all the expressions! “If I have to work late -- which I usually do,” the clip is extremely well chosen. You’re also right about the jump cuts being bonus fun, and it adds to the “stressed” theme, too.

In conclusion, I loved the vids. I’m very much a Rodney fangirl, and Rodney/John fangirl, so the vids you chose were spot-on. And now I think I have to go lie down, because all this “omg incredible!” is making me dizzy. (But first I’m going to watch If I were gay once more.)