Vidding chat: First vids
I was so thrilled by the response to the first vidding chat last week. Thank you to everyone that shared! I was especially pleased to see people chatting among themselves in the comments--please always feel free to do so.
This week, I've got a vid deadine (for Vidukon looming, so I beg your understanding. I am a little distracted. ;) One day maybe we'll have to have a chat dedicated to how-the-hell-you-vid-to-a-deadline-because-I-sure-as-hell-can't!
Anyway, meanwhile I wanted to invite everyone this week to share the story of how you took your first steps into vidding. What was the first vid you made and what made you take the plunge into vidding? If you haven't (yet) made a vid yourself, feel free to tell us about the vids you dream of making one day.
First vids are a funny thing... they often hold a special place in our hearts even if we look back on them and wince a little at their clumsiness. I think they're worth celebrating no matter how clunky, because taking those first steps is really scary and the learning curve is so huge in those first stages. I'm sure there are some vidders who learn lots of tech before releasing any vid at all to the world at large, but for me, I was pretty much partying the minute I laid any clip sequence at all on the timeline. And I was, I admit it, a little in love with seeing my own vision come to life before my eyes. It's a magical moment and I think it's something worth hanging on to.
Having moved on to other vids subsequently, I still find I look back to that first vid and remember the joy and also the frustration associated with it. In many ways, not much has changed. I am still frustrated by the tech and by my limitations as a vidder, and I am still thrilled when I get to see things come together that I was never sure would see the light of day. At the same time, I feel like I've come a long way... no, I'd never make that vid that way again, but I also love it for being so exactly what it is, a first vid, and working anyway.
- What was your first vid? (If you feel comfortable enough, you could link to it.)
- Why did you make it?
- How long did it take you?
- What did you have to do/overcome to complete it?
- What did you learn making it?
- How do you feel about it now? Do you still love it?
- What was the hardest thing about making it?
- How did you feel posting it and sharing it with others?
- Do you have any tips for those thinking about making a vid for the first time?
- If you haven't made a vid, what is the closest you've come to doing so? or what is the vid you'd most like to make?
- Are there any 'first vids' out there by other vidders that you love? (Please feel free to rec them! First vids can be so exciting as a glimpse of a new vidders' vision.)
I told the story of my first vid, very briefly, here. What I didn't fully explain is that I made it for a friend, kristiinthedark. She'd recently started watching BSG and loved Kara and Leoben. Back then there weren't nearly so many vids on the subject and so I hoped she'd be pretty happy with any vid at all of them... the track I found tonally captured the claustrophobia of the connection and I hoped that that would carry the vid despite newbie vidder issues... and the ship had the advantage of having a limited amount of source material. All of those aspects made it a lot easier to tackle. I didn't think about producing a perfect vid while making it, I thought about making something for a friend... and that was a lot easier, because it allowed me not to get paralysed by my own high standards.
It's pretty funny that my first vid is of Kara/Leoben because I've subsequently become so annoyed by that plot... and even at the time it threatened my own ship, Kara/Lee. But in a weird way I like that my first vidding choice was offbeat--it shows I was genuinely interested in the vidding itself, even if I didn't know it yet. And as it happens the vidding bug stuck with me. ;) What I also didn't realise going in is something I'm still constantly astonished by: the degree to which vidding a character allows you to develop compassion for them, even if you don't naturally feel in tune with them.
What is the story of your first vid?
ETA: Over 70 'first vid' stories were collected here in 2007.
This week, I've got a vid deadine (for Vidukon looming, so I beg your understanding. I am a little distracted. ;) One day maybe we'll have to have a chat dedicated to how-the-hell-you-vid-to-a-deadline-because-I-sure-as-hell-can't!
Anyway, meanwhile I wanted to invite everyone this week to share the story of how you took your first steps into vidding. What was the first vid you made and what made you take the plunge into vidding? If you haven't (yet) made a vid yourself, feel free to tell us about the vids you dream of making one day.
First vids are a funny thing... they often hold a special place in our hearts even if we look back on them and wince a little at their clumsiness. I think they're worth celebrating no matter how clunky, because taking those first steps is really scary and the learning curve is so huge in those first stages. I'm sure there are some vidders who learn lots of tech before releasing any vid at all to the world at large, but for me, I was pretty much partying the minute I laid any clip sequence at all on the timeline. And I was, I admit it, a little in love with seeing my own vision come to life before my eyes. It's a magical moment and I think it's something worth hanging on to.
Having moved on to other vids subsequently, I still find I look back to that first vid and remember the joy and also the frustration associated with it. In many ways, not much has changed. I am still frustrated by the tech and by my limitations as a vidder, and I am still thrilled when I get to see things come together that I was never sure would see the light of day. At the same time, I feel like I've come a long way... no, I'd never make that vid that way again, but I also love it for being so exactly what it is, a first vid, and working anyway.
- What was your first vid? (If you feel comfortable enough, you could link to it.)
- Why did you make it?
- How long did it take you?
- What did you have to do/overcome to complete it?
- What did you learn making it?
- How do you feel about it now? Do you still love it?
- What was the hardest thing about making it?
- How did you feel posting it and sharing it with others?
- Do you have any tips for those thinking about making a vid for the first time?
- If you haven't made a vid, what is the closest you've come to doing so? or what is the vid you'd most like to make?
- Are there any 'first vids' out there by other vidders that you love? (Please feel free to rec them! First vids can be so exciting as a glimpse of a new vidders' vision.)
I told the story of my first vid, very briefly, here. What I didn't fully explain is that I made it for a friend, kristiinthedark. She'd recently started watching BSG and loved Kara and Leoben. Back then there weren't nearly so many vids on the subject and so I hoped she'd be pretty happy with any vid at all of them... the track I found tonally captured the claustrophobia of the connection and I hoped that that would carry the vid despite newbie vidder issues... and the ship had the advantage of having a limited amount of source material. All of those aspects made it a lot easier to tackle. I didn't think about producing a perfect vid while making it, I thought about making something for a friend... and that was a lot easier, because it allowed me not to get paralysed by my own high standards.
It's pretty funny that my first vid is of Kara/Leoben because I've subsequently become so annoyed by that plot... and even at the time it threatened my own ship, Kara/Lee. But in a weird way I like that my first vidding choice was offbeat--it shows I was genuinely interested in the vidding itself, even if I didn't know it yet. And as it happens the vidding bug stuck with me. ;) What I also didn't realise going in is something I'm still constantly astonished by: the degree to which vidding a character allows you to develop compassion for them, even if you don't naturally feel in tune with them.
What is the story of your first vid?
ETA: Over 70 'first vid' stories were collected here in 2007.