New Leverage vid

[gwyn]

I made this as a (belated) birthday present for sherrold because she is a doll and I hope it will cheer her a little. But the nice thing about vids is sharing and hoping others enjoy the gifts as well.

Only an Expert
Artist: Laurie Anderson
Fandom: Leverage
File: Divx avi 37MB
An expert can solve the problem: Ask Hardison how.

The song is very political, a wry and sarcastic commentary on America's ridiculous devotion to "experts" and the kinds of situations we get ourselves into by not valuing independent thinking. It's seven and a half minutes long, and I cut out the verses that have to do with global warming, torture, and the bank bailouts. But the funny thing was, the first time I heard it, even with all the political comments, I kept thinking of Hardison. Because... he IS an expert. All of them are, in their own ways, but there is something inherently funny about Hardison and his expertise, which probably reached its zenith in the High Noon showdown between him and evil Will Wheaton in the 2 Live Crew Job episode.

BTW, thanks to everyone who provided clip help for this.

Comments

[nagasvoice]

I do love your vids. I had to rec this one and Brickhouse to family.

[gwyn]

That's cool -- thank you for that!

[movies_michelle]

This is so adorable! I love it!

[gwyn]

Thank you! I'm glad someone actually watched it!

[bientot]

Laurie Anderson is quirky and it seems like vidding to this would be a real challenge - the timing and clips are exquisite. As usual you prove that you, too are an expert!

[gwyn]

Aw, thank you. You can't fail with Hardison guiding the way. ;-)

[stultiloquentia]

Both the song and your cutting have such a fantastic rhythm. I love the way you mimic what's going on in the intrumentation -- the meaning you infuse into the little string riffs, for instance. This was super fun and interesting to watch.

[gwyn]

Thank you so much! Hardison is really an interesting subject and makes it easy to put motion with music.

[unovis]

What a perfect match -- Laurie Anderson and Hardison. He'd be pleased.

Liked this very much.

[gwyn]

I know, right? I totally think he would love her -- the things she's invented like the talking violin and the lighted beatbox body suit...

Thank you so much!

[mareeana.livejournal.com]

Dude, every single frame of this is hilarious! Plus, the editing is awesome and I love how you got Hardison so perfectly across. He's an expert but sometimes, sometimes! he thinks he's just a little bit better at every single thing ever than he is. ;) Fabulous.

[gwyn]

I can't tell you how happy this makes me -- I'm so, so glad you enjoyed it, and I thank you for taking the time to tell me. It really made a horrible week so much better.

[ifreet]

What a terrific Hardison study -- he really is the expert's expert! There's such great timing and interesting interplay between the lyrics and the images throughout, right from the opening dissonance paired with the red computer warnings. It's a wonderful vid!

[ifreet]

Also, I hope this isn't weird/wildly inappropriate, but given the dedication I just wanted to say I'm sorry for your loss.

[gwyn]

Oh, thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it, because gift vids are the ones I have the most emotional attachments to and it always makes me so happy when they reach other people.

And Sandy would totally, totally love it that you found it this way, and enjoyed it -- this was what fandom was all about for her, and it would please her no end.

[kass]

This vid is so fabulous. I love the marriage of Laurie Anderson and Hardison (never would have thought to put them together, and yet it totally works) and I adored this vid when I saw it this weekend. <3!!!

[gwyn]

I am so glad you liked it!!! Let's face it, the Laurie Anderson vid song club is pretty small, isn't it? I think it's just you and me!! I totally think Hardison would worship her.

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

Awesome!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thank you!

[mackiemesser.livejournal.com]

That was great! I loved the shots you chose, and how it's both slick/cool and comic. I enjoyed it very much.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm so glad someone watched it! (I need a Hardison icon, don't I?)

[mackiemesser.livejournal.com]

Everyone needs a Hardison icon, really.

[viverra-libro.livejournal.com]

Oh, fun! I don't watch Leverage, but you make me thing that perhaps I should! Really enjoyable vid. Thanks for sharing it!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Leverage is a ton of fun. I found I really, really had to check my brain at the door, but Hardison especially makes watching it so worthwhile.

[emmiere.livejournal.com]

HARDISON!! And also heeeee, because that was all kinds of fun. Love it!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I always wonder why there aren't more Hardison focused vids - he's so, so viddable!

[faos.livejournal.com]

Okay, that was awesome! Perfect Hardison song; LOVED the intro. Loved all sorts of little bits:
- the keyboard trill and fingers dancing over something (a bomb? a map?)
- the salutes for "in America we like solutions" (perfect, edgy visual pun about military solutions)
- "...cuz I'm an expert" and the first hacker face-off clip (and the gesture for the first line of that set!)
- "not a very plausible problem" and the nun/priest outfits! (hee!)
- "gonna get exposed" --> Sterling!
- the whole 3:00 to 3:06 "completely out of control" and the plane. PERFECT!

And then the way the music picks up there after the non-crash.

Seriously, I'm just going to recount the whole damn vid at this rate. But I loved it. Deeply, deeply cool.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you so, so much. I was feeling a lot of despair over the fact that it had hardly any hits or views, and wondered if it really sucked that much. This lifts my spirits quite a bit, let me tell you. I think Hardison would totally worship Laurie Anderson!

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

I don't watch Leverage but I can see from this vid that Hardison is the reason that would. This is a fun vid, and slyly funny, even for a non-viewer of the show!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! Hardison is TOTALLY the reason you would like the show (you'd also like Elliot, but you would adore Hardison). Someday maybe me and Brynn can tag-team you and show it to you. ;-)

[soundingsea.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I loved this! Hardison is the reason to watch the show, and you capture just how awesome he is with this look at all his competence. I'm not familiar with the full version of the song, but what parts were here have a sardonic edge that matches Hardison well.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Yay! THank you! Hardison is my spiritual boyfriend. If he were real, I'd hunt him down and kidnap him and make him my prisoner.

[dualbunny.livejournal.com]

LOL, Hardison, FTW! :D

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Heee from me too! Thank you!

[ceares.livejournal.com]

this was great--terrific flow of clips plus Hardison and his badass skills just = *love*

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That's quite an icon, btw. I'm always amazed and amused by Parker and how easily she drops trou, and how panicked Hardison gets by that.

[ceares.livejournal.com]

yeah I kind of love how casual she is about the whole thing, it fits in perfectly with the characters lack of socialization