In honor of sherrold's b-day

[gwyn]

I suppose that in the pre-Vividcon frenzy and the fact that it's summer and that this is the fastest vid I've ever made (basically, almost all of it in one day), I should not post this vid, but I have. The vid, A Time of Her Own, is for Sharpe, the series of movies starring Sean Bean, and it's 19 MB in the QT Divx codec. The beautiful song is by Oysterband.

I've never made a vid so quickly, but I think that I felt so passionate about it, about the characters and the song and the story, that it just flowed out of me. It helps that it's a very short song, and uses only the first four movies. Usually I do nothing with a vid until feochadn has viewed it and given me a thumbs up or thumbs down, but I felt that this was just how I wanted it, and if she has suggestions for changes, I will make them later. (You know how sometimes you are a lucky vidder and you find that perfect person to critique your vids and tell you what's the what? Jo is that person for me, plus I think we make some pretty damn great vids together as collaborators.)

But. I ended up putting this up so soon because it is the natal day of sherrold, and even though I'm sure she won't see this and she never DLs vids anyway, this is a present for Snady (yes, Snady -- it's a joke from long before I knew her). It's her discs I made this from, because she loaned me her boxed set (in an ammo crate!) and she will probably never see them again, since I take them out regularly because they make me feel better. And Sandy is another person I think I make pretty damn great vids with.

Sandy is the person who taught me to vid, taught me how to appreciate vids and what to look for and how to handle timing and just... everything. Without her, I would never have been making these things. So here is a happy birthday to you (even though it's a sad story, so I guess maybe that's not much of a pressie!), and a thank you.

Once again, I really recommend DLing the VLC media player if you haven't, which is linked at the site. I can't believe the quality difference between QT and VLC -- light years!

If anyone likes the vid and you want to rec it, that would be fantastic -- I'm afraid the quanitity of Sharpe's fans on my list is probably low, and so getting word out to other fans might be helpful. Let's face it, this is a fandom that does not have a lot of vids! Please don't feel obligated to rec; I just want to try to reach people I might not otherwise, but I don't want to guilt anyone into it.

Comments

[cy-girl.livejournal.com]

Oh, a Sharpe's vid!!! I can't wait to see it. You are the person who turned me onto the series.

[hobbituk.livejournal.com]

Help... the link doesn't work for me. I have recc'd the vid as requested because I know I will love it - I have liked all the others - but now I want to see this one! Because mmmmmm it's Sharpe!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Sorry about that -- I only just discovered that for some reason, live journal added its address to my link! WTF... it's http://www.gwynethr.net

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

Oh Gwyn, this was heartbreaking and lovely. I've never even seen these movies, but you set it up so clearly that I was completely moved at the end. I love your use of fades here, not just the one at the end (although that works wonderfully), but a couple of times throughout where you do sort of quick fades from one shot of Theresa to another. The song is beautiful and absolutely perfect. I will be pimping this shortly, as I know I have at least one Sharpe fan on my flist!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you... that really, really means a lot to me that you enjoyed it. (And I've always had a fantasy crossover in my head where the HH folks, the M&C folks, and Sharpe all come together, since they were running around in fiction at the same time.) It's not a huge fandom, and I've never understood why other than that historical fandoms traditionally are never as big as SF or fantasy, but... it has beautiful stories in it.

[maubast.livejournal.com]

Can I be all bold and ask for it on DVD?

*sheepish*

Please?

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I still owe you the disc from before... I'm just trying so hard to get all the discs made for VVC that I'm completely running behind! I won't forget though, even if it takes a while.

[maubast.livejournal.com]

I promise, I'm not in a rush, and please, take your time.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Dooooood. What was that, three days? LOL!

Off to download.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Teresa deserved her own vid, and this one certainly does her justice.

And I think I'm mad at Bernard Cornwell for what he did to her all over again.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I confess that much as I love death stuff in fiction, she is one character I would have liked to see hang around for a little while. I need to really go back and read the books again, and get past the first few. I'd love to see the ones he wrote after Sean -- and I keep wondering... if they'd made the first movie before she was written out, would Cornwell have seen how magnificent their chemistry was and kept her around? It's stupid things like that that can keep me awake nights. I spent countless hours going over and over in my head how that stupid fat friar could have brought the letter to Romeo faster so that he and Juliet didn't have to die.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I've read an interview with Cornwell ('course I can't remember where, possibly on his web site) where he's pretty unrepentant about killing off Teresa, damn him. But I do like to think that the massive chemistry between Bean and Assumpta Serna might have stayed his hand if he'd seen it before writing Enemy.

[zebra363.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was fast, and very nice, too. You really captured their joy in one another. I love the way they cherish each other, but still have their own separate lives. There's no suggestion that Teresa will stop her own work to stay with him, and she has no expectations of him in regard to caring for their daughter — who is just an added source of joy for them.

I also downloaded the Keen Eddie vid, which I don't think was online last time I looked at your site. I'd seen it once at a friend's and loved the bouncy, upbeat song. The line "not as smart as you think you are" makes me laugh and laugh, as do the hilarious shots of the dog. I don't know Keen Eddie at all, but the vid is lots of fun!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. I know what you mean about how they cherish each other but have their own lives -- I think that's what made me love Sharpe more than anything, the way he treated Teresa, never expected her to be anything but what she was. That maybe more than how he treated his men, or his heroic nature, was what really grabbed me.

The Keen Eddie vid was on Morgan Dawn's site for a long time. I only put it up recently (along with Darkness, Darkness and Atom Bomb) when I moved my site to another host that offered more space for less money. They are kind of a pain in some respects, and I never ever want to move my domain or vids again (it was just awful), but it allowed me to put up those first three that Morgan hosted when I didn't have the ability or the money. She was incredibly generous with her web space!

That vid seems to really connect with people, which always surprised me. I feared it might be too inaccessible even though there's no story to speak of... but people just seem to love it, so I'm happy!

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

Gah! I can't get it to work here in my office. I've downloaded it twice and it tells me there's an error or I don't have the required compressor each time. I will demand a viewing on Friday!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you don't have the Divx codec? Though you did see Loaded Gun... must be your DL that's fritzing. I've discovered that if it hiccups at all, then you will get a file not found or some other error message. Check to see if it's 19 MB -- if not then that means the file didn't fully load.

Absolutely gorgeous

[ixchel55.livejournal.com]

I downloaded the vid last night but I didn't think it had come through because of my stupid, wonky dial-up (which I hope to be upgrading within a week), but when I went to download it again I found that it had simply been stuffed in a strange out-of-the-way place.

But it was certainly worth the wait. Beautiful song and so very fitting.

I know the quality of the original films leaves something to be desired but you certainly made the most of what you had. That kind of soft hazy quality really lent itself to the mood and tempo of the music. And your use of fade-outs really was quite elegant.

Beautiful.

And from a comment earlier in this posting, I agree with you that it's really quite strange that very few people have merged Sharpe with HH. A long time ago I told [Unknown site tag] that a cross over was brewing in my mind and she said it was entirely possible to do and stay within the timelines of both fandoms.

In the books, HH actually is on land in Spain during the time period that Sharpe was campaigning there. Horatio was already a captain and a little older than the movies but the difference wouldn't be that great.

Well damn. Now I have to make myself a Sharpe icon (and probably a HH one, also.) *g*

Re: Absolutely gorgeous

[ixchel55.livejournal.com]

Actually, that 'unknown link' should be khaleesian.

Re: Absolutely gorgeous

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm glad it worked out and that the DL was okay, and that you liked it. I don't know when I've ever been so ... I don't know, maybe worked up, about the perfect tie of a song to a fandom. Loaded Gun, maybe, but I sat on that for a year to wait for other things! It was almost like they wrote it for this series -- the Spanish guitars, the brevity, the whole beautiful package and that it ends sadly just like Sharpe and Teresa... hard not to connect the two.

Yeah, you know, I thought about playing with filters to try to punch up the colors, but in the end, the blurriness and flatness just seemed okay, especially when I punctuated the two first movies with the third and fourth, where the visuals improved a lot. So I think in the end it turned out okay as is, but if Jo says to change it, I might still try to adjust colors.

I think Horatio could easily help Sharpe learn to cope with his loss. ;-)

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

I hope it's not too tacky of me to leave a comment on this post which actually has no relation to the content of the post.

I just wanted to say that I'm thinking of you, and wishing you strength and comfort at this time.

This is *beautiful*!

[(Anonymous)]

I couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous present! Theresa is one of my all time favorite fictional women; tough, gorgeous, and smart; ebullient and sexy, and so thoroughly adult in a way that's rare for women in popular culture. And the vid shows off all of her strengths, along with her undoubted love for Sharpe. And the song -- you're right; it was made for Sharpe! Beautiful vid: I can't believe you made it in a day.

Thanks so much for the kind words. I agree; I think we make pretty damn great vids together, too. (So, what song are you thinking for the big funny Angel vid?)

Snady

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

I finally got a chance to watch this, and it's just lovely - so much fabulous Teresa and the song fits Sharpe's bleak mood of regret in "Honour" so well (alas, though I mourn her terribly, I think one of my favorite scenes in the series is Sharpe brooding over her death at the beginning of "Sharpe's Honour") I think I forgot how much they smiled and laughed together too - and now I have this urge to watch all the Sharpe/Teresa episodes all over again because they are that awesome (sadly, there is new BSG tonight but perhaps tomorrow!)

Anyway, this is all very rambly - mostly just wanted to say thanks so much for using your talents on a Sharpe vid and how much I loved it!