Escapade vid

[gwyn]

I think there are only about five Band of Brothers fans out there who'd care about this in the slightest, and only one who wasn't at the con, but this is the vid I premiered at Escapade this past weekend, anyway.

After Rain
Fandom: Band of Brothers
Artist: Oysterband
File: 28.6MB QT Divx avi (as always, I strongly recommend VLC media player, linked at my site, though this file is much more pixelly than usual and I can't seem to correct it)
Summary: Even in the worst storm, there is shelter in love and friendship.

All feedback is welcome, here or privately -- no, really. Good, bad, indifferent... it's the silence that kills. Not that this is a big fandom, though, I know.

I don't have much to say about the con. It was weird being in southern California again after all this time, knowing sis_r was not just a few hours' drive away. Even though we only got together during my Escapade vacation a few times, it was always something I knew we could do if we wanted to. The palm trees and sunshine and birds of paradise bring back a lot of feelings for me.

I loved seeing my friends who were able to make it (so many didn't!) and the vid show went surprisingly smooth this time, despite my forgetting to give people the rundown on how to behave (I find it so hard to believe that so many people have no ability to show common decency for the fellow audience members). Also surprising considering the personal traumas beforehand, and that there were only four of us doing setup that usually takes a lot more. I spent a lot of time on the beach that is so close to the hotel, taking pics with my digital camera (bad ones, though) and trying to get the hang of it. black_bird_777 and I got stuck at Sea-Tac for six hours on Thursday with the most absurdly delayed series of flights I've ever experienced (taxiing back to the terminal TWICE on different planes) and that didn't start things out well for me, either -- we got up at 4 a.m. to catch a 3 p.m. flight, basically, and I had a hard time recovering from the fatigue; it isn't helped by the new pills I'm taking which make me so freaking sleepy I spend all day yawning uncontrollably. I'd planned to make up for the "spend the day in LA sightseeing" that blackbird and I always do before the con but which I missed last year due to my sister coming home from the hospital, but Alaska Airlines stole our entire day from us. I like going other places, but I sure as shit hate getting there, especially lately on these doomed flights.

I think both panels I helped out on went okay, the first ones I've co-modded since the Big Skinner Panel Debacle of 2000 (or whatever year it was). I didn't get to spend time with a lot of the people I'd earmarked to spend time with, but that seems to always be a problem. thevetia gave us local LA expert directions on how to get to LAX from Ventura using surface roads and the PCH (we drove by Neptune's Net so fast I never got to really see it, my only Fast and the Furious landmark so far), and we made it to the airport this morning in not just record time, but totally stress-free on a Monday morning rush hour in the rain. Thevetia, you have been elevated to goddess status.

I haven't been updating much before the con, and I wanted to say thank you to the folks who gave me virtual roses... your thoughfulness really touches me, and I appreciated it, even if I didn't update soon enough to tell you. A while ago I tried trimming down my flist, which was next to impossible, and even though it's getting too hard for me to read, I finally gave up after I'd done a bit of whacking -- nothing personal, as they always say, just me trying to manage with the folks who still share some commonalities, etc. etc. I find it really hard to unfriend folks, even if we've drifted off a ways, unless they jettison me first!

Right now, I'm just happy to be home with Le Puss, and I have to get cracking on really trying to plan this class for spring quarter, even though I haven't got a clue what I'm doing.

Comments

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

Just sent you an email, but thought I'd reply here as well. I'd love to see this vid. Could I have the password?

rosnora [at] gmail [dot] com

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

I read that someone else tried to check into their flight home and found that their seat did not exist. I'm glad your trouble didn't extend that far! But now I fear for myself.

I'm glad you're home too, and that you go to take the PCH. *G*

It's not only BoB fans who should watch this vid, you know.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Just sayin'.

I can't wait to re-watch it with the rest of the vidshow DVD, and give you more detailed squee. It's such a gorgeous vid.

Re: It's not only BoB fans who should watch this vid, you know.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you -- I really felt like I was making a vid for a super limited audience, so I'm very glad to know that it isn't as limited as I feared. BoB is often a hard sell for people and I think I've let the difficulty convince me that it isn't something I can share with a lot of folks. But I woke up to fifteen requests for the password, so I guess I must be wrong!

Re: It's not only BoB fans who should watch this vid, you know.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

And just wait until the vidshow reviews start coming in. (:

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

I didn't get to spend as much time with you as I'd hoped/earmarked this year, but that seems to happen some years no matter how hard I try.

Glad you're home safely. No virtual roses, except in my imagination, but lots of hugs and good wishes.

I'll email you about the vid show DVD after we get a chance to watch it. Maybe after I get home from the business trip to Denver next week.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I know -- i went looking for you on Sunday and wondered if you might have left already. I was bummed! But yeah, next year, beachtime, no matter what.

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

We drove morgandawn to Burbank airport on Sunday afternoon. Then, we stayed in town to have dinner with a friend and to get our respective hairs cut.

Sorry we missed you.

I didn't end up making it to the beach until Monday morning, and that was just a very brief jog between raindrops.

[barkley.livejournal.com]

This was lovely. I still have BoB sitting on my Tivo from the marathon on New Years, and I was going to hold off on watching this, but I'm glad I didn't because this was such and enjoyable and lovely treat tonight.

I really love that picture freeze frame thing (but not quite freeze frame because they blend and move into eachother. Whatever that is, I really think it's very nifty looking) and it looks and feels like a WWII photograph and then you tie in that effect all together at the end with the real picture. I love that!

And now, you've really inspired me to watch to see all the emotions of those two (i.e. Office Space Man and The Other Guy *g*) played out in the series. You've captured it so wonderfully in the vid.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Maybe this will lure you into watching! the still frames is something I stole from the opening credits -- not literally, because I couldn't lift their own stills as much as i wanted to (too much text), but figuratively, even though I couldn't match the beautiful job they did with texture, making the "photos" look like they were old, scratched, and torn. I figured it was a good trick to make those musical cascading notes work for something different, without getting too effecty (which I suck at still).

I need to get my con dvds back from Jo so I can rewatch the HLotS vid you showed again. All I have is my first impression which was "HELL yeah" and it was one of my favorites of the show (which is also saying a lot, since there weren't a lot of huge faves for me this time), but I want to be able to articulate things and stuff.

[barkley.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I keep intending to watch BoB, but I want to make sure I have a chunk of time. (Which is different than thinking I might have chunks of time.) I anticipate a March 18ish marathon.

And that photo effect was darned effective. They totally evoked the old photograph image.

[fishsanwitt]

Sending ::hugs::

[ixchel55.livejournal.com]

Oh Gwyn, it's too late for me to be up, but I remembered that I downloaded your vid while I was talking to mlyn and I wanted to watch it once, or *koff* five times, before going to bed. Then I had to be sure I spread the word. I hope you don't mind but I pimped your vid on the 2 BoB communities I'm a member of. Here's the text of my message, it says it all.

Oh people! Run, do not walk, to gwyn_r's LJ for a look at her new Band of Brothers vid, 'After Rain' that she previewed at Escapade this last weekend. It's not only one of the best BoB vids I've ever seen, it's one of the best - period.

It completely captures the relationship between Winters and Nixon. The song is gorgeous and appropriate and the editing is magnificent, with cleverly paced stills interspersed with the clips.

It shows a more uplifting side of the series; how the relationship that these two men had with one another (whether you're coming from the slash angle or from simple friendship) carried them through some of the really awful times.

It's simple and breathtaking and it's simply breathtaking.

You'll need to email her for the password but she's very quick in responding. And while you're there take a look at some of her other vids. They range far and wide and are all a cut above. She just keeps getting better and better.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, and especially for the pimpage, because I don't belong to a lot of places where I might be able to pimp much and it really makes a huge difference in traffic. I'm so glad you liked it that much! It's been years of me searching for the right song to make this and I was so glad to finally be able to.

(I'm also really grateful for you including your message, as the one site people mentioned in a couple of password requests is one of those grotesquely overdesigned and poorly designed LJs that only work in one browser, which pisses me off to no end, and I couldn't see anything there.)

I am really glad to be able to give other fans of this series something of value, since it's so small and often a hard sell. Maybe, if we're lucky, a few others might join us someday!

[ixchel55.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked it that much! It's been years of me searching for the right song to make this and I was so glad to finally be able to.

Oh, I did like it that much! I think this is my favorite of your vids so far. But then I say that about all of your vids. You just keep getting better and better. And I thought the choice of song was perfect.

Also, I went back to the 2 BoB communities and added and edit letting people know exactly where to look for the link to ask for the password. Next time I'll be a little more exact to stave off confusion. *G*

[deadbeatwalking.livejournal.com]

oh i heard the vid was good. wish i could see it..though i dont know the password

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

As I mentioned above (and if you already have it, it hasn't changed; if not, just use the link at the site and I will send you the info. The site is at gwynethr.net

I manage all the password stuff out of my email account.

[justacat.livejournal.com]

I don't think I ever saw you again after the vid show, or at least we didn't talk - it's a bit of a blur - so I didn't get to tell you that though I don't know *anything* about Band of Brothers, I really loved this vid; it's one of the very few that stand out in my mind from the show. Once I have a chance to watch it again I'll try to write a bit more.

And I was glad to have the chance to chat with you at least for a bit ...

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I know -- I only got a quick chance to talk to you afterwards, sorry to say! I'm always so brain dead after the show it's embarassing. I'm really glad you enjoyed it -- I think it's definitely of that sort of vid you and I have talked about many times, not much tech, mostly focused on telling a specific relationship. I know it's old fashioned, but that's still something that matters to me. (I can see you nodding your head!)

[stewardess.livejournal.com]

I'd love to view the vid. My email address is stewardess.lotr at gmail.com.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I manage all the password info from my gmail account, so if you could use the email link at the site, that would be great. As mentioned, there's a link at the vids site: gwynethr.net

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

I think there are only about five Band of Brothers fans out there who'd care about this in the slightest,

Oh my, so not the case. I feel like I've been waiting forever for a vid like this to be made, and here it is and it's so fabulous I'm almost at a loss for words.

I adored the way you did the stop-motion bits, which reminded me of the opening credits of the miniseries. The movement, all the "raining" down of shells and mortars, how Winters and Nixon found in each a haven in the middle of all the storm and chaos. Beautiful.

I'd offer to pimp this out at camp_toccoa, but someone already beat me to it. I'll be reccing this in my journal, however.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm really happy to hear that the fans out there are finding this and that they're enjoying it. My immediate friends list, and in RL, is pretty short on the BoB love. ;-) If they'd only give it a shot...

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

It's a difficult thing to pimp out, I think. My best friend, who even gave me the DVD set for Christmas, doesn't care for the gore and such so despite her love for the slash she doesn't really watch it with me. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I know plenty of people who love BoB and war movies in general but who aren't fannish by nature so wouldn't "get" vids. Oy.

[nestra.livejournal.com]

I am an entire wuss when it comes to war movies and the like, so I only saw about twenty minutes of Band of Brothers when my husband rented it (enough to remember that one of the two guys was named Nixon. I think.).

I thought your vid was lovely. As barkley said above, I really liked the still images, like they were these beautiful snapshots that captured these guys forever in a particular moment in time. I'm anxiously awaiting my con discs so I can watch it again.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I keep trying to reply and LJ keeps eating it, so if you get a bunch of different replies, I apologize. I just wanted to say thank you and that I am genuinely and pleasantly surprised that I didn't get the golf clap at the con, and that people are getting something out of it!

[nestra.livejournal.com]

Another thing I wanted to mention, now that I've had a chance to rewatch -- I love the way the sound of the song somehow matches the muted palette of the show. I suspect the show did that so that the blood and the explosions would be that much more shocking, and I think (aside from the general awesomeness of Oysterband) that the quiet timbre of the song was a lovely match for that. The song never gets really loud or raucous, and the instruments/voice are all kind of covered and restrained.

If that made any sense at all. Anyway, as lovely on rewatch as it was the first time.

[volmerburroughs.livejournal.com]

"After Rain" was fun - good choice of song, clean editing - and left me feeling Win/Nix fuzzy.

"Fraternite" was cool also, another good song selection, and reminded me how much I loved that movie.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Merci! So glad you enjoyed them both.

[elishavah.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is wonderful. I fell hard for all of the guys, but Winters and Dix were totally the heart of it, and this captures the whole spectrum of the love they have for each other. Terrific use of that moving-snapshot effect from the credits (I squeed a bit when I saw you use it, and then a bit more when I saw you copy it), and just...man, now I want to sit down and watch the whole series again.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I wish I could have done the stills the way they did in the opening credits, but I have a feeling I need a lot more tech and a lot more talent to do that! It was the best I could do under the circumstances, but I'm pleased that it seems to be enough and that the folks who know the series all get it, and the folks who don't think it's a cool effect. ;-)

[dine.livejournal.com]

Gwyn, I know *nothing* about Band of Brothers - haven't seen it yet, but the vid really struck me when I watched it on the (loooong) train trip home. for the first time, I actually have an interest in seeing BoB, and learning more about the characters - so you've done a masterful job of pimping to a complete newbie. congratulations!

*hugs*

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you, sweetie! Man, I am SO annoyed with myself for not being able to get time to hunt you down for some chat time. I keep doing this every year, and I don't know why I can't seem to learn that if I don't make an actual appointment, it won't happen, even if I know someone's schedule. I always underestimate what the vid show will take out of me, and then I miss the people I most want to see. So, so sorry!

[dine.livejournal.com]

don't be annoyed with yourself - I am also guilty of assuming I'll just 'happen' to find folks (and find the time to visit). I'm thinking a definite appointment for drinks, coffee or a meal is likely the only way we'll make it happen.

*hugs*

[dualbunny.livejournal.com]

This is really lovely--subdued, but complex, and puncuated with so many so many atmospheric shots of the planes and explosions and struggle. I'm unfamiliar with the miniseries, but even so, the complexity of their friendship came through completely. Even if I was sort of making it up to go with all of the great images. :) And I thought that still/blending effect worked great with those sections of music--very fitting for the time period and the tone of the vid.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much. Making it up is good -- I figured few who would see this would be familiar with it, so I was hopeful that people could read between the lines and get enough sense of what was going on to create something. So, yay!

[mackiemesser.livejournal.com]

I've only seen bits and pieces of the series--not enough to even catch many of the character's names--so I was very impressed at how clearly you were able to establish the relationship between these two. As so many others have mentioned, the "photograph" effect was an especially nice touch. The thing that really stuck out for me, though, was how you were able to convey how far they had journeyed together, and not just geographically. That sense of time and distance crossed stayed with me.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It means a lot to know that people can pick up what they need to know -- sometimes that is the hardest part of making a vid in a small or challenging fandom. You don't want it to be so obscure that people won't watch, but if it gets overly explainy, then it's boring. I'm really happy to know it's working out okay!

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! Yes, the W/N squee is what I'm all about!

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

I thought since I rec'd you this morning, I'd leave feedback, too. Heh.

I absolutely adored this video; I found it wistful and unusually gentle for a movie about war. But you focused so strongly on the bond between these two soldiers, and you used some absolutely breathtakingly quiet moments, by the lake in the sun, sitting on the tank together, it was marvelous. I also loved the photograph effect very much; it added to the feeling of nostalgia. I don't know the source at all, and it still really moved me.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Oh, you have no idea how much that means to me. There's always that little extra squee in there when fb comes from a favorite vidder!

[stewardess.livejournal.com]

I received my Escapade vid yesterday, and your vid was the highlight for me. Your restrained use of special effects enhanced it perfectly.

[tearful-eye.livejournal.com]

i just got recced here (because i finally started watching this series) - and awww.
what an absolutely lovely, melancholic vid. i LOVE the way you used a similar technique to the intro of BoB, the desaturated stills... just beautiful, ♥.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Awww, thank you so much!! I really loved working on that vid -- sometimes they're a labor, and sometimes they're a labor of love, and this was definitely in the LOVE category.

[arabesque05.livejournal.com]

Came here by way of rec, and--this is absolutely gorgeous. I love what you've done in showing the comfortableness and familiarity in their relationship: where they've been and where they're going, the moments of war and the moments of peace, and all the moments in between, that long history the two of them share. It's complicated sometimes, and it's subtle sometimes, and you bring that out wonderfully. Also, like someone said above, that mimicking of desaturated stills worked beautifully here. It all fits the song so well: it's not exactly happy, but it's hopeful, and just alkdsjf; ♥ There's faint nostalgia at the end, but it seems to be a happy ending. Lovely, lovely.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!! Not exactly happy, but hopeful is a pretty perfect description, and couldn't make me happier to hear. I have such intensely warm feelings for the guys that there's no way I could do something sad that has either of them in it.

[halcyon-shift.livejournal.com]

I just recced someone this vid, and realised I'd never commented *facepalm* It's beautiful - and beautifully put together - and was largely instrumental in making me watch the show (finally) so - thank you! *g*

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

So sorry for my tardy reply, I've been backed up with mail and have been slowly slogging through it. I wanted to thank you so much, this was one of those vids that's really close to my heart and I love that people are still watching it!

I saw your vid at a friend's house and only got one quick watch in, and the first couple seconds she was still messing with things, so I need to get my own copy and watch it, but it was LOVELY from what I saw and I can't wait to watch it again. I am SO glad you watched the show because OMG vids -- not just vids, but a GOOD vid, which in this fandom is kind of short supply, sadly. The music just fits so beautifully and I loved that everyone is in it and my heart went pitty pat.