Whew! My work here is done

[gwyn]

Finally, all the vids from Vividcon are now up at my site :

Through Your Hands
John Hiatt
24.4MB QT file
Firefly (Simon and River) Done for the Challenge show: luck

Streets on Fire
Porno for Pyros featuring Kurupt
24.4MB QT
Robbery Homicide Division

Valentine Heart
Tanita Tikaram
20.3MB WT
Angel (Wes and Lilah relationship study of doom)

Anyways, password protected, use the e-mail link, I'll try to respond tonight, blah blah, same as before if you already have it...

I swear, I'm already maxed out even with the extra space I bought and can't really afford. I'm going to try to get the file sizes down on these and repost them later, but I'm not even sure if this program will install, let alone how I can make it work (me=stupid), but I'd also like to see if I can brighten it a bit since Angel especially is so dark. I hate how much beautiful detail the Firefly vid loses online (so contact me for DVDs!), but alas, this is how people seem to be happy with things (the philistines) these days.

And no one will care about any detail lost on Streets on Fire since that went over like a lead balloon, but that's okay. It was a learning experience -- show no one knows that has supernatural or sci-fi elements? Good. Show no one knows that is a cop or spy show, or even worse, a western? Bad. Apparently. I had no idea people were so dead set against cop shows, though I did know, from past, very bitter experience, how so much of fandom closes its mind instantly to westerns. But it made me sad how many people just shut off killabeez's exceptional, beautiful, and highly accessible Deadwood vid at the show just because ew, western. I guess I can handle the ew-shutdown reaction better on my own than for my friends! But I am now older and wiser.

Just a word since this seemed to confuse people: L'Abattoir is me and Jo -- feochadn. She was disappointed by the fact that I have a long name with lots of consonants and she has "jo." I thought about what people think about our vids individually and together -- blood, guts, misery, and violence -- and knowing her tastes as well as I do, suggested l'abattoir because it seemed to sum things up pretty well. (We like violence on film -- sue us -- and pain and misery.) Of course she loved it, and so many people have collaboration names and we thought we needed one too. We did put our individual names on the end of the vid, but... people seemed to be really cranky that they didn't know who this vidder was. So that's it: We're the ones to blame for Streets on Fire, and that name will appear on our new disc in progress as well as any future vids we do together.

(Though our strange symbiotic relationship may be forever dashed! I told her last night that I already kind of knew what I wanted to shoot for on a vid for next year's premiere show, and told her the song. And she got this pained expression and said, "I've been dicking around with an anime vid for that already." We really are joined at the hip when it comes to vids! But of course now I feel awful -- it could be funny that we both want to do the same song, or not so funny. Now we both have pain.)

As always, feedback of any stripe is welcome -- I can take kisses and hits equally well, and am always curious about constructive crit.

Comments

[klia.livejournal.com]

And no one will care about any detail lost on Streets on Fire since that went over like a lead balloon, but that's okay.

FWIW, I enjoyed it, and talked about it with Jo for quite a while after the show.

It was a learning experience -- show no one knows that has supernatural or sci-fi elements? Good. Show no one knows that is a cop or spy show, or even worse, a western? Bad. Apparently.

Just when you think fans are becoming more accepting of "non-fannish" fandoms, you realize no, they aren't. And that's really a shame, because they're missing cool vids like Streets On Fire or Blue On Black.

I had no idea people were so dead set against cop shows

I had no idea, either. And I really want to vid Peacemakers, which is a combination of western *and* cop/forensic show, so I already know it's doomed. *sigh*

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I guess I had an idealized view of the audience as more open to many things, but in reality that can't be supported. It's just as much of a "my fandom/type of show" place as any where large groups of fans gather. I just never knew people had such antipathy towards cop shows considering how many fannish shows are cop shows. Weird to me, but then, I like everything... God, what if Jo and I decide to do a Rescue Me vid? I guess we won't be able to show it ANYwhere.

[klia.livejournal.com]

It's just as much of a "my fandom/type of show" place as any where large groups of fans gather.

Yep, it sure seems to be. I heard and saw quite a few dismissive "I hate X Fandom" comments at the con and since, and they've really knocked me for a loop. I just don't get it. Even if I'm not into a show/movie, I'll at least watch a vid, for god's sake, because I never know what's going to really jazz me, you know?

God, what if Jo and I decide to do a Rescue Me vid? I guess we won't be able to show it ANYwhere.

To me! Show it to me! Please!! (Btw, you know I'm really into RM, and probably guessed I've been thinking the same thing. Feh.)

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain. I spent much of the con hearing the words "Ew, anime."

:-D

Can't wait to get home and see your vids again. And send you actual feedback.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

When I was at Jo's last night and we were talking about this vid song we both want to do separately, she said, "well, I'm never going to show it anywhere, so you should just do it." And I asked why, and she said because she's still kind of embarassed about the anime thing, and I wanted to scream STOP BEING EMBARASSED! Becuase if I came away with one thing from the con, it's that people were wowed by the stuff the anime vidders are doing, and people wanted to know more. We must have been moving in different planes, because most of the folks I heard were like, we have to get the anime vidders in the mix! We need to find out what they're doing!

Not that I'm not used to hearing that "ew" response, but... it seems like it's definitely a fandom that's got growing interest among a lot of people I know. Here's hoping that it will just continue.

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

I will go over and tie her to her chair :)

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

I didn't see the challenge vids, but I wondered who had made one to a John Hiatt song; I'm a great big John Hiatt fan. *g* Now I know. :-)

We ought to have DSL next week, inshallah, and if that turns out to be true, I'm going to be a vid-downloading fool! I've never downloaded a vid before and I'm oddly excited about it, though I expect I'll discover I need some kind of software to play them once they're on my hard drive...

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

It should be pretty easy -- my guess is that if you have a Windows computer, you have Win media player alreayd, and getting real player and quicktime is pretty easy. Though if you already had WMP before but didn't use it, you might need to get an update. It will install with all the codecs you usually need, though older vids or ones made with strange codec choices could cause problems. There's also a player called VLC that plays almost any type of file, but it needs configuring.

And if you want a DVD,just mail me you address privately and I will gladly send you a disc! They're all prettier that way, anyhow. It's been SO cool finding out how many people love John Hiatt -- I was really kind of worried in the back of my mind, because I've heard so many people go "he has a weird voice!" and dismiss him, and I just think he's the bomb, so... it's very very cool to find out how many people adore him.

[elz.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. *waits for brain to start functioning again* Okay, I always feel stupid giving feedback more detailed than "nice!" because I've got this lingering fear that I'll hit post and then realize that I completely misinterpreted everything, but... here goes. :)

Valentine Heart - I love, love, love the song, and the whole vid has this great, wistful air to it that I really liked. The framing with the dollar bill is perfect - that was one of the sweetest moments they had together, and then she just... lets it fall. The relationship was never so much hearts and flowers as it was fire and blood, and the potential for something that could never really be, and I thought you did a great job of capturing that. Also loved the "I would believe in you" section, with the jump from irony (the two of them spying on each other while they're sleeping together) to something like reality (Wes burning the contract and trying to free her). And then Wesley's friends not believing in him, which is what sets everything in motion in the first place. Ouch. Anyway, great job!

Through Your Hands - Awww, Simon. *sniff* Loved the focus on medicine as part of who Simon is, rather than just what he does, and on his hands, reaching out and healing. And again, how important his touch is to River, as the thing that helps to ground her. You got that great moment from Ariel in there, where Jayne starts to realize what Simon can do, and a lot of beautiful shots of River, especially the one of her walking through the ship and the shot of her looking up at the stars while they're out in space (probably my favorite scene in the whole show). *happy sigh*

I'll definitely get around to the third one too - I've seen other great vids from fandoms I'm not part of (I actually just added Jeremiah to my Netflix queue) and I don't have anything against cops. ;) (Just watched the Deadwood vid, too - I'm sure I was missing a lot, but: oooooohhhh. Nice.)

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you SO much. Truly, you should never worry about what you say or whethe you "get" it or not, because I have this strong belief that most of the time, vidders just want to know if they succeeded in connecting with people, and that that's more important than whether it was interpreted correctly or not. And for me, I really feel like what the viewer gets from it is what counts -- up to a certain point, whatever I'm trying to say matters, but beyond that, what the viewer takes from it is the only thing that really counts. Good or bad, it's legit.

Which is not to say that this wonderful feedback isn't going into my folder to be looked at when I'm feeling like a hack. ;-) I'm so glad that you enjoyed them, you have such an incredible eye that it really means a lot to me. And Yay for finding shows through vids! That's the best thing for me -- seeing something and going, okay, what is THAT? I must see it!

[melinafandom.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if its western per se or cop show per se, as much as "show I don't know." Mag 7 vids have gone over well over the years, I think in part because even if people don't know the show, they get the concept from the movie -- same with your La Femme Nikita vids. Deadwood is not quite so easily accessible, IMO, and for those who didn't know the show, I think it was harder to follow than the Mag 7 vids I've seen; at least to me, it was more context dependent (not a criticism, btw).

I enjoyed the RHD vid, but I knew the show, so I don't know how it was perceived by those who don't. (It was on my list for vid review, in fact, under the grab bag topic of vidding un/less familiar fandoms -- I was going to use it as a successful example to contrast with, say, the Sleepy Hollow vid -- we just didn't get to it.)

I think certain kinds of vids are just more accessible when the fandom is unfamiliar -- like funny vids (your Keen Eddie vid), vids that work without a lot of context like Big Red Boat, or vids that use a song that creates an energy of its own (I'll put Bawitdaba here -- as much as lots of people hate the music, there is no denying it has a certain energy). Vids that are more serious and dramatic, and rely to varying extents on context for the narrative, are, I think, less accessible to those who don't know the fandom. Visually, too, I think some fandoms are more accessible to those who don't know them. FWIW. I'm just not sure that there's a knee-jerk reaction against cop shows or westerns, as much as a sense that you are not going to get as much from a vid in a fandom you don't know as opposed to one you do.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I think it was the constant comments (not a tea!) of "cop show, echhh" that really surprised me and made me feel kind of bleh. I had no idea there was so much antipathy about them till I began reading the reports. I knew about the western reaction (believe me, we've gotten both great reactions to Mag 7 and also been absolutely excoriated for wasting people's time with a non-fannish western at Escapade), but... the way some people commented on things made me feel really bad about the Deadwood vid. I guess it had felt more accessible to me... I'm not sure.

I just came away, after reading comments, with a feeling like people are open to shows they don't understand, such as Odyssey 5 and Miracles last year, if they're more supernatural or fantasy/sci-fi. I realize that no two audiences could be the same, of course, and that's probably a large part of it -- I mean, I know how crazy I was about Bawitdaba, but I'm sure there were people who were like, cop show! Ugh! And you can never predict for that, nor know whether the vid is good enough to overcome unfamiliarity. But some of the reports were definitely anti certain genres; it was a cognitive dissonance, I think, because the reaction at the show was really positive, a lot of clapping and whooping, which I think was more due to having friends in the audience. ;-) So the reports after a decent response were weird!

Even if you try not to make things contextual, people will, obviously, impose context on them anyway. There really wasn't much context in this vid at all -- just, as someone put it, a lot of blood and shootings and cop cars -- since it's mostly about the visual picture of LA as violence hell, but it seems almost as if people who hate cop shows were trying to impose context on it. I would expect that would make it easier to just kind of push off to the side. I know I kind of do that mentally with shows I don't like such as WW and Smallville -- so I get that, totally.