VVC vid recs + short report
Vividcon had a much different feel this year - one that's beautifully summed up here with, in part: "Old friends paging through the depth and history of this shared experience that will never be the same ... And not forgetting tomorrow, the new faces who bring new memories, new friendships, new connections. Time to have new adventures. Not to replace the old ones, but to honor them."
Some of my favorite vids of the con
This is by no means comprehensive or even objective - only the ones that I felt were the most geared to me, personally. Also, as is often the case, Club Vivid is mostly MIA here until I get a chance to watch them properly on the DVD.
Vividcon 2011 Premieres Intro Vid by dualbunny (Multi)
Yes, the intro vid, believe it or not, which captures the con experience in a way I never would have thought possible. On a tech level, I also love the wonderful composition and clever connections all through.
Blow by winterevanesce (Sucker Punch)
Kitty's beautiful sense of musicality and action editing instincts really make this one soar. If you're getting a con DVD, wait and watch it there. It's much too big for a computer screen.
One Foot Wrong by dualbunny (Batman Returns)
This smoky, nigh-noir (Pfeiffer) Catwoman vid slinks along smirking at the music. While kicking its ass.
Hook Shot by kuwdora (Multi!!)
A stream-of-musicality tribute to female action heroes. It's big and explodey and looks *exactly like the music*, while linking an insane number of sources into a beautifully epic flow. All these things make me happy.
Enter The Void by sockkpuppett (Enter The Void)
This was the Club Vivid vid that cut through the crowd and the haze and hit me with a blast of "wow" and "wth" that I seem to get from one CVV vid every year. But yeah, this one was hard to miss. You'll know why when you see it.
High Voltage by kuwdora (SGA, SG-1, SGU)
It's so epic and so beautifully constructed that, despite the fact I don't know any of the sources and had never heard of "The Ancients," I still came away from the first view thinking it was one of the most memorable vids of the con.
May I Suggest by absolutedestiny (Up)
I felt like this vid was speaking specifically to me, and I know I'm not the only one in the room who felt that way. I've never felt such a personal connection to a vid. The fact that I've never seen the movie is barely an afterthought. I think that's why "May I Suggest" is so effective: the vidder was able to draw out a statement about the human experience and make a comment on it in a way that's more or less detached from the source. In that way, I've never seen a better example of transformative work in vidding.
There were many more vids that I really enjoyed, and I told many of the vidders so at the con. Hoping to tell more on their LJs.
In years past, I would walk up to some of my favorite vidders and ask them about their creative process or what they were working on. This time, I found myself wanting to know instead that their life is going well, and that they're happy. I wanted to catch up.
It felt a lot less like a "vidding convention" for me and more like a family reunion.
As usual, everyone was wonderful to be around. No matter who I found in front of me, there was always a warm, engaging, and often surprising conversation to be had. And so much fun!
At the same time, I felt a lot more of a disconnect to the convention programming and the con as a whole strictly as an audience member than I did in years past. There wasn't much to be shared or celebrated in the sense of my (admittedly limited and older) fandoms or pairings, my sense of aesthetics, or my sense of humor. The audience in general seemed to be there for a different type of content than me (and found it!), which is great, except that I often felt like the one guy in the room who wasn't in on the squee.
It's true that Vividcon has something for everyone; I just felt like it had less for me (as an audience member) than in the past. And what *was* there for me, largely flew under the radar for everyone else.
Maybe it's always been that way and I just haven't noticed because I've been so distracted by the anxiety of having a "Premieres" premiere, which I didn't have this year. The feeling was probably also a lot more noticeable this year because of what's been going on with me personally.
In any case, it was a strange mix of feeling embraced and belonging on a personal level, and yet feeling out of place as a fan/audience member.
All of that aside, I think it's important that the convention continues to draw in talented new vidders with new ideas and approaches, and grows as much as possible, while remaining a place where longtime attendees (like me? am I a "longtime attendee" now?) still feel at home. On a personal level, I also really hope to see more vids from people like bananainpyjamas, bop_radar, mranderson71, and buffyann at the con (and in general!) in the near future. I really missed their vids and what they bring to the overall mix.
A few memorable moments from the weekend:
-Meeting an amazing circle of vidders in the lobby of the hotel as I arrived - that's really the moment it hits you that it's Vividcon. I remember being hugged by someone and thinking "who is this random grinning girl? I don't know you!" Until she pulled away and I realized it was dualbunny. Why always changing the hair??
-buffyann getting scammed into a $100 cab ride from the airport by a predatory driver. Grr! Why does stuff like that always happen to her?
-Wandering through the hotel late on Thursday night, striking up conversations with old friends and some new ones. Nothing defines VVC Thursday to me like the feeling of walking into the darkened hotel lobby around midnight and finding anoel sitting alone, illuminated by her laptop screen, and seeing her recognize me and smile.
-Club Vivid, of course. When you take so many people who are so different in many ways, yet who share common passions and who all have such good hearts; and you give them an open bar, a dance floor, and a seemingly neverending stream of premiering vids made by their friends, they sort of... fall into each other. (Sometimes literally! Ha!) I think that's what makes CVV so special. It's total catharsis.
-Bonding with one of my vidding heroes over a shared love of video games. Random and awesome!
-Absolutely losing it after absolutedestiny's Up vid at the Premieres show. It was very embarassing when the lights came back on immediately after it played because the vid stopped but the emotions would NOT. And then I was so emotionally drained that I just sat there numb for the entire second half. I think there were vids?
-Still hearing personal and touching stories about "Hard Sun" two years later. :)
-James' acoustic guitar concert on Sunday night. He played virtually his entire, haunting "Songs For Kahlan" EP (Cue John: "Now available through iTunes and Amazon for only $4.95!"), as well as several other amazing songs. And Justin Bieber. SERIOUSLY.
For those who went to the con: I loved seeing everyone there, and I hope you all had a great time.
If you've never gone to the con or at least submitted a vid to it, please consider doing so! Your voice will make it even more special.
Some of my favorite vids of the con
This is by no means comprehensive or even objective - only the ones that I felt were the most geared to me, personally. Also, as is often the case, Club Vivid is mostly MIA here until I get a chance to watch them properly on the DVD.
Vividcon 2011 Premieres Intro Vid by dualbunny (Multi)
Yes, the intro vid, believe it or not, which captures the con experience in a way I never would have thought possible. On a tech level, I also love the wonderful composition and clever connections all through.
Blow by winterevanesce (Sucker Punch)
Kitty's beautiful sense of musicality and action editing instincts really make this one soar. If you're getting a con DVD, wait and watch it there. It's much too big for a computer screen.
One Foot Wrong by dualbunny (Batman Returns)
This smoky, nigh-noir (Pfeiffer) Catwoman vid slinks along smirking at the music. While kicking its ass.
Hook Shot by kuwdora (Multi!!)
A stream-of-musicality tribute to female action heroes. It's big and explodey and looks *exactly like the music*, while linking an insane number of sources into a beautifully epic flow. All these things make me happy.
Enter The Void by sockkpuppett (Enter The Void)
This was the Club Vivid vid that cut through the crowd and the haze and hit me with a blast of "wow" and "wth" that I seem to get from one CVV vid every year. But yeah, this one was hard to miss. You'll know why when you see it.
High Voltage by kuwdora (SGA, SG-1, SGU)
It's so epic and so beautifully constructed that, despite the fact I don't know any of the sources and had never heard of "The Ancients," I still came away from the first view thinking it was one of the most memorable vids of the con.
May I Suggest by absolutedestiny (Up)
I felt like this vid was speaking specifically to me, and I know I'm not the only one in the room who felt that way. I've never felt such a personal connection to a vid. The fact that I've never seen the movie is barely an afterthought. I think that's why "May I Suggest" is so effective: the vidder was able to draw out a statement about the human experience and make a comment on it in a way that's more or less detached from the source. In that way, I've never seen a better example of transformative work in vidding.
There were many more vids that I really enjoyed, and I told many of the vidders so at the con. Hoping to tell more on their LJs.
In years past, I would walk up to some of my favorite vidders and ask them about their creative process or what they were working on. This time, I found myself wanting to know instead that their life is going well, and that they're happy. I wanted to catch up.
It felt a lot less like a "vidding convention" for me and more like a family reunion.
As usual, everyone was wonderful to be around. No matter who I found in front of me, there was always a warm, engaging, and often surprising conversation to be had. And so much fun!
At the same time, I felt a lot more of a disconnect to the convention programming and the con as a whole strictly as an audience member than I did in years past. There wasn't much to be shared or celebrated in the sense of my (admittedly limited and older) fandoms or pairings, my sense of aesthetics, or my sense of humor. The audience in general seemed to be there for a different type of content than me (and found it!), which is great, except that I often felt like the one guy in the room who wasn't in on the squee.
It's true that Vividcon has something for everyone; I just felt like it had less for me (as an audience member) than in the past. And what *was* there for me, largely flew under the radar for everyone else.
Maybe it's always been that way and I just haven't noticed because I've been so distracted by the anxiety of having a "Premieres" premiere, which I didn't have this year. The feeling was probably also a lot more noticeable this year because of what's been going on with me personally.
In any case, it was a strange mix of feeling embraced and belonging on a personal level, and yet feeling out of place as a fan/audience member.
All of that aside, I think it's important that the convention continues to draw in talented new vidders with new ideas and approaches, and grows as much as possible, while remaining a place where longtime attendees (like me? am I a "longtime attendee" now?) still feel at home. On a personal level, I also really hope to see more vids from people like bananainpyjamas, bop_radar, mranderson71, and buffyann at the con (and in general!) in the near future. I really missed their vids and what they bring to the overall mix.
A few memorable moments from the weekend:
-Meeting an amazing circle of vidders in the lobby of the hotel as I arrived - that's really the moment it hits you that it's Vividcon. I remember being hugged by someone and thinking "who is this random grinning girl? I don't know you!" Until she pulled away and I realized it was dualbunny. Why always changing the hair??
-buffyann getting scammed into a $100 cab ride from the airport by a predatory driver. Grr! Why does stuff like that always happen to her?
-Wandering through the hotel late on Thursday night, striking up conversations with old friends and some new ones. Nothing defines VVC Thursday to me like the feeling of walking into the darkened hotel lobby around midnight and finding anoel sitting alone, illuminated by her laptop screen, and seeing her recognize me and smile.
-Club Vivid, of course. When you take so many people who are so different in many ways, yet who share common passions and who all have such good hearts; and you give them an open bar, a dance floor, and a seemingly neverending stream of premiering vids made by their friends, they sort of... fall into each other. (Sometimes literally! Ha!) I think that's what makes CVV so special. It's total catharsis.
-Bonding with one of my vidding heroes over a shared love of video games. Random and awesome!
-Absolutely losing it after absolutedestiny's Up vid at the Premieres show. It was very embarassing when the lights came back on immediately after it played because the vid stopped but the emotions would NOT. And then I was so emotionally drained that I just sat there numb for the entire second half. I think there were vids?
-Still hearing personal and touching stories about "Hard Sun" two years later. :)
-James' acoustic guitar concert on Sunday night. He played virtually his entire, haunting "Songs For Kahlan" EP (Cue John: "Now available through iTunes and Amazon for only $4.95!"), as well as several other amazing songs. And Justin Bieber. SERIOUSLY.
For those who went to the con: I loved seeing everyone there, and I hope you all had a great time.
If you've never gone to the con or at least submitted a vid to it, please consider doing so! Your voice will make it even more special.