Looking for character study vid recs

[bop_radar]

Help, oh wise and wonderful f'list!! :)

For Vidukon, I will be running a panel on character study vids. It's a 1.5 hour panel and I'd like to show at least parts of a couple of vids as examples or discussion points. For this reason, and also simply for research and preparation purposes I would love to get recs of any character study vids (in any

Comments

[beccatoria]

In terms of character studies that are unusual in some way, I guess I would suggest Signal to Noise (second vid on that page) by keewick. It's interesting because the vid bills itself as a Lee Adama character study but most people I've heard seem to view it more as a general overview of the universe. I love it actually because I think it is a character study, quite firmly. But rather than doing what most character study vids do, and trying to relate everything in the world of the show to the character, this vid inverts that - instead it simply shows us the BSG universe, in all its wide, messy complexity - all the bits that do and don't relate to Lee. Then it asks us - what is it like to live in this universe? It puts Lee down in the middle of it and asks what it's like for him, in a world where everyone else is going insane or seeing cylon visions or committing political suicide or rioting. I think it manages to make a really interesting point about Lee by situating him in the wider world? I hope that makes sense.

Also Jolene by nicole_anell is interesting because of the way it pulls Cally more firmly into the human/machine metaconflict of the show by depicting her romantic rival not as a woman, but as the entire cylon race, but that's perhaps more an interesting way to do a 'ship vid rather than a character study (even though I think it's mostly a character study? IDK!) ;)

On the flip side, dualbunny's For Your Entertiainment is a stunning character study of Chief that's interesting for the fact it deconstructs him and criticises him in a way the source almost certainly didn't intend.

And to spread out at least a little from BSG:

Etheric Messages is a Fringe vid, an Olivia character study by thuviaptarth that's interesting for its use of atmosphere and symbolism rather than narrative.

The Girl or the Weapon by kiki_miserychic is a River Tam character study (Firefly). It's notable for its experimental style, specifically the way it uses the mashup music track to show the difference between the extremes of River's personality.

And finally Ecstatic Drum Trip (partway down that page), by luminosity. It's a John Crichton vid, and be warned, it has spoilers for the whole show, so you may wish to avoid watching it til you've seen it. But I think it's notable not just for the crazy mess of awesome editing but also for the way it entangles one of the show's main narrative threads with John's character and ends up giving a portrait of both at once.

Good luck! :D

[bop_radar]

Oh cool! I've not seen 'Etheric Messages' so I'll check that one out and it's been ages since I've seen 'Ecstatic Drum Trip' so I need to revisit that one. (Spoiler avoidance on Farscape is useless for me given the number of Farscape vids I've watched over the years--don't worry!) Thanks so much for reccage--it's great hearing other people describe even the vids I know--helps firm up for me what people feel they do and why.