VividCon: Premieres & Challenges
Anyway, onto my thoughts on the vids that happened this year in Premieres. Most of the vids here are already up at vidding.
Premieres 2009
Intro Vid by halcyon_shift: It's Star Trek. In 60 seconds. As enacted by llamas. And it's completely accurate and totally hilarious.
Metaphor by Speranza (speranza), Seah and Margie (flummery): Highly enjoyable start to the Premieres! Not the deepest vid in the world, not trying to be, and just a whole lot of fun. And there's enough depth to the funny that it remains good on repeat viewings.
Sea Fever by here's luck (heresluck): I didn't have one single favorite vid this year the way I did last year. Instead, I had about five vids that were my favorites on first viewing and another couple that bumped up that high on the second viewing. This is one of those five very favorites that I adored from the start. I was excited before I saw because... Slings & Arrows + here's luck seemed like it could really work out. And it definitely did. This is a great, atmospheric vid.
Fight the Power by Deejay (deejay): Funny, stream-of-consciousness vid about Tropic Thunder, RDJ, and fannishness. I enjoyed following deejay's train of thought.
All Apologies by Cappy: This vid didn't work for me quite as well as I would have liked. It was funny but there was sometimes a sense that I shouldn't laugh, despite the permission being given in summary. There's definitely some quite good stuff in there, though.
Grown So Ugly by Acridnym: This was really good. It felt fresh, which can be hard with BtVS/AtS.
We Are by dragonchic (bananainpyjamas): This is another of those vids that really clicked for me on the first viewing. I love the unity and the building that the song brings into the vid.
Cassandra by hellpenguin: Unfortunately, some technical issues kept me from being able to concentrate on watching the vid -- instead of watching the vid, I was watching the top and bottom to see when the fullscreen shots were overlapping the wide-screen ones. I'm pretty sure that they'll continue to distract me if I attempt to rewatch it in the future. I heard someone say that the story of the vid is interesting, so if you don't have my particular hang-up and you like Morgana, give the vid a try.
Hard Sun by bradcpu and laurashapiro: Loved it. This was a meta vid about carrying fannish love with you both in general and also about Firefly in particular. It really struck a chord with me and I adored the hell of it. And it wins the 'most likely to get me choked up thinking about it' award. Love.
See the USA (In Your Chevrolet) by Carol S.: So, before I saw this vid, I was saying, "Do we really need another SPN car vid?" but afterwards, I was going, "Yes. We needed that SPN car vid." It was really delightful and fun and broke up the more serious vids perfectly.
Pretty When You Cry by diannelamerc: Gorgeously creepy and scary portrait of Alpha from Dollhouse. Pitch-perfect job.
Mad About You by gwyneth (gwyn_r): Beautifully-done and... it reminded me of exactly why I tried to watch Mad Men and just couldn't handle it. An incredibly depressing and disempowering vid to a show that I found depressing and disempowering to watch.
Learn to Crawl by jarrow: A sequel to his earlier Starbuck vid from a couple of years back, but it completely stands on its own. This one is very femslashy between Starbuck and Kat and it tells Kat's story really well, too. It's gorgeous and emotional and wonderfully constructed.
Sleeping with Ghosts by butterfly (... me): I grew up on Trek. I don't think there was ever a time when I didn't know that Kirk and Spock were meant to be with each other, in whatever way I understood that to mean. ST is my parents' fandom, but it's mine, too, because of that. There's a warmth and a love in the show that means the best parts of my family to me. And that's a large part of why I made this vid.
It Comes and Goes in Waves by M'lyn & Jo: Very interesting vid. It definitely made me curious about the source material. Gets quite violent at the end.
Turn Around by Lizbetann: It was amusing to watch, especially the beginning and end, but it's humor based on literalism for the most part, so the humor works best the first time through.
Marble House by hollywoodgrrl: This is a vid that I really liked on first viewing and then fricking adored on the next viewing. There's a lot in here to think about and ponder. And I actually managed to speak during the vid review for this and said that the vid worked particularly well for me because of how it resonated with Torchwood: Children of Earth. Score one for overcoming shyness.
Video Killed the Radio Star by dualbunny: This vid didn't quite connect for me. Obviously, it was very good technically, but I didn't understand the story. I heard later that it was meant to be a Wicked vid rather than a Wizard of Oz vid but it's still hard for me to see it (and I've both read the book and seen the musical). So, yeah. I couldn't quite get there.
American Tune by greensilver: This vid, I think, required an emotional attachment to the characters that I (never having seen the show) simply didn't have. I did perk up whenever Gus (Dulé Hill) showed up because I just adore Psych and his character, but for the most part, I didn't really understand what was going on. It sounds like people who knew WW all really adored it, though, so if you've watched the show, you'll probably love it.
Make Your Own Kind of Music by barkley: This vid mostly reminded me of how much I'm looking forward to seeing Glee this fall. Loved the inclusion of the Glee clips. No other thoughts (deep or otherwise) from me on this one.
Then the Morning Comes by Eunice (fan_eunice): Mostly a retelling of Galaxy Quest, but it's in only a few minutes and contains all the joy of the movie. I really enjoyed it and it started off the second half of the vid show nicely. It was bouncy and retains its joy on rewatch.
Location, Location, Location by Stacia Yeapanis: I agree with the people who say that this could have been shorter and even more effective. I did enjoy it, though, and it was really interesting and weird to see the BtVS HS in a different school (yes, I never watched 90210).
Every State Line by keerawa: While I think I understand what the vidder was trying to do (the story of the Winchesters as a kind of handed down folktale), the song choice really threw me. I think it's supposed to be the voice of the person telling the legend, but I can't actually disentangle myself enough from SPN in order to get to that emotional place. I pretty much went "Ani diFranco? To Supernatural?" I've never been a person who thought that a song was just... unworkable for a fandom, but putting Ani diFranco, who is so strongly feminist, and using the show SPN which... is so strongly not and using it to describe the main guys of the show just didn't work for me. It bothered me on this fundamental level that I just couldn't get past. Especially since that song... part of the power of it is the female voice to me (and I mean in more than just vocal tone). But for anyone who doesn't have those particular feelings, it could work really well. I don't know.
That Was Another Country by Kass: This vid kinda lost me in the middle, partly because I just don't know Lost. But I still cared about Hurley at the end of the vid and the disappearing Dominic was intriguing. I don't know if it's a Beautiful Mind kind of thing or not, but it really made me sit up and get really interested right at the end.
Comfortably Numb by sisabet: Fantastic. This vid felt like Cameron. I love the grid-technique and all the split-screens really put me right in her head. I adored this vid and can see myself rewatching it many times.
Go Baby (Cherry Lips) by jescaflowne: Bouncy and shiny. I may or may not be imposing a greater narrative on it, but I actually did relate it back to the actual content of the song because of how artificially feminine the Angels are. It's something that they put on and yet that doesn't make it any less real. Also, I have great love for the song.
beautiful dirty rich by astolat and Merry: Adam! I was very excited to see a vid about Adam in the vidshow because I wasn't sure whether or not shows like American Idol got any respect in the vidding community. So, I was really glad to see this here. It was a fun vid. I enjoyed it. My only sadness is something that the vidders could not possibly have fixed -- I found myself desperately wanting some of Adam's sexy Fame dancing in the vid. But tour didn't start until after the vids had been sent in.
When Your Mind's Made Up by Valoise: Like the West Wing vid, I think that I would have needed to know the source (Highlander) in order to truly be able to wallow in the emotions of the vid. It appeared well-edited, but I didn't get an emotional buzz from it.
Dark Room by Cherry (cherryice): I liked this one -- it was very broody and had a deep sense of truth to it because knowing the original mythology of Merlin means knowing that it all goes wrong.
Heaven Is a Place on Earth by rhoboat: One of those great funny vids that has remained funny through multiple viewings. I loved this. It's funny, but it's actually also a really well-balanced romance story.
In My Veins by Milly (millylicious): Adored the feeling of this vid. It was creepy and dark.
Boy on a String by Traykor: This never quite got to the right place with me. I don't know if it was the song or the editing or just that the first Slings and Arrows vid so successfully blew me away.
Keeper of the Fire by sweetestdrain: I think that this vid is about fate/destiny/being bullied by larger forces. And how you can't really escape them. Sometimes, that leads to worse results than others. So, it's interesting that there are several characters for whom 'God' is the bully.
How the West Was Won by nc: Enjoyed this. I loved the quirky, light feeling of the singer's voice and felt it really suited Firefly.
Don't Stop Me Now by Jetpack Monkey: Hilarious. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get into this because of the awesome Master (Doctor Who) vid to the same song, but that didn't end up being a problem at all. It was bouncy and told the story and I really love this song, period, so I really enjoyed the vid.
They Don't Know by laurashapiro: Hmm. I have mixed feelings when it comes to this vid. I half-felt as though Doctor/Rose was just being made fun of, which is a very uncomfortable feeling. So, yeah. Need more time to think about this one. Not sure how I feel. I don't know if that's something that's actually in the vid or something that I'm bringing because I know that the vidder is most definitely not a shipper. Apparently is a shipper, which only leaves me more confused.
Bromance? (Birdhouse In Your Soul) by clucking belles: This really clicked for me after someone in Vid Review said that they saw it as Rodney trying to explain bromance to John. That really made it work for me.
The Long Spear by jmtorres and niqaeli (primarily): I was one of the people who found the ending jarring because by the time we got there, I'd forgotten what the beginning of the vid had told me. The middle part worked really well for me, even the transitions into later Trek, but the additional sounds cutting in threw me off. More rewatches might change that.
Challenge 2009
Red Cliff (State of Divinity theme) by obsessive24: So gorgeous. I actually went to netflix after the show and put this on 'save' (not available to get yet, unfortunately). I didn't understand the specifics of the story, but epic scope came across so clearly that I just could keep watching this vid over and over. Loved it.
Land by sweetestdrain: Incredibly epic Terminator universe vid. It's between 9-10 minutes long, though it was a completely shock to find that out. For both myself and everyone I talked to, we could tell that it was a long vid, but it felt, like, 5 minutes long, not 9. It's epic and covers everything before Salvation. It's twisty and non-linear and gorgeous.
Right in Two by an anonymous vidder: My note for this vid says "depressingly awesome" and that's pretty much how I still feel about it. I thought it was amazingly well-done. Hopefully, the vidder will anonymously upload it so that people who weren't at the con can see it, because it is definitely worth at least two watches.
When You Wish... by keely: My personal subtitle for this vid is "sucks to be a woman in BSG". The montage of dead women at the end of the vid was a little overwhelming for me. Incredibly depressing vid.
Internet Porn by diannelamerc: A welcome dose of humor! This was really a whole lot of fun and I really appreciated having it in the show.
Convenient Parking by cherry: Funny and clever crossover. I wish it were longer, but understand that the source wouldn't really allow it (unfortunately).
Choose Life by kiki_miserychic: Really enjoyed this. I felt like it really build and grew to the point where Dean shoots down the possibility of the alternate life being offered to him.
Swing by marycrawford: Delightful! A Uhura-ensemble vid for TOS that moves really well and reminds that, even though new!Uhura is hella cool, TOS!Uhura was absolutely amazing as well. Loved it.
Premieres 2009
Intro Vid by halcyon_shift: It's Star Trek. In 60 seconds. As enacted by llamas. And it's completely accurate and totally hilarious.
Metaphor by Speranza (speranza), Seah and Margie (flummery): Highly enjoyable start to the Premieres! Not the deepest vid in the world, not trying to be, and just a whole lot of fun. And there's enough depth to the funny that it remains good on repeat viewings.
Sea Fever by here's luck (heresluck): I didn't have one single favorite vid this year the way I did last year. Instead, I had about five vids that were my favorites on first viewing and another couple that bumped up that high on the second viewing. This is one of those five very favorites that I adored from the start. I was excited before I saw because... Slings & Arrows + here's luck seemed like it could really work out. And it definitely did. This is a great, atmospheric vid.
Fight the Power by Deejay (deejay): Funny, stream-of-consciousness vid about Tropic Thunder, RDJ, and fannishness. I enjoyed following deejay's train of thought.
All Apologies by Cappy: This vid didn't work for me quite as well as I would have liked. It was funny but there was sometimes a sense that I shouldn't laugh, despite the permission being given in summary. There's definitely some quite good stuff in there, though.
Grown So Ugly by Acridnym: This was really good. It felt fresh, which can be hard with BtVS/AtS.
We Are by dragonchic (bananainpyjamas): This is another of those vids that really clicked for me on the first viewing. I love the unity and the building that the song brings into the vid.
Cassandra by hellpenguin: Unfortunately, some technical issues kept me from being able to concentrate on watching the vid -- instead of watching the vid, I was watching the top and bottom to see when the fullscreen shots were overlapping the wide-screen ones. I'm pretty sure that they'll continue to distract me if I attempt to rewatch it in the future. I heard someone say that the story of the vid is interesting, so if you don't have my particular hang-up and you like Morgana, give the vid a try.
Hard Sun by bradcpu and laurashapiro: Loved it. This was a meta vid about carrying fannish love with you both in general and also about Firefly in particular. It really struck a chord with me and I adored the hell of it. And it wins the 'most likely to get me choked up thinking about it' award. Love.
See the USA (In Your Chevrolet) by Carol S.: So, before I saw this vid, I was saying, "Do we really need another SPN car vid?" but afterwards, I was going, "Yes. We needed that SPN car vid." It was really delightful and fun and broke up the more serious vids perfectly.
Pretty When You Cry by diannelamerc: Gorgeously creepy and scary portrait of Alpha from Dollhouse. Pitch-perfect job.
Mad About You by gwyneth (gwyn_r): Beautifully-done and... it reminded me of exactly why I tried to watch Mad Men and just couldn't handle it. An incredibly depressing and disempowering vid to a show that I found depressing and disempowering to watch.
Learn to Crawl by jarrow: A sequel to his earlier Starbuck vid from a couple of years back, but it completely stands on its own. This one is very femslashy between Starbuck and Kat and it tells Kat's story really well, too. It's gorgeous and emotional and wonderfully constructed.
Sleeping with Ghosts by butterfly (... me): I grew up on Trek. I don't think there was ever a time when I didn't know that Kirk and Spock were meant to be with each other, in whatever way I understood that to mean. ST is my parents' fandom, but it's mine, too, because of that. There's a warmth and a love in the show that means the best parts of my family to me. And that's a large part of why I made this vid.
It Comes and Goes in Waves by M'lyn & Jo: Very interesting vid. It definitely made me curious about the source material. Gets quite violent at the end.
Turn Around by Lizbetann: It was amusing to watch, especially the beginning and end, but it's humor based on literalism for the most part, so the humor works best the first time through.
Marble House by hollywoodgrrl: This is a vid that I really liked on first viewing and then fricking adored on the next viewing. There's a lot in here to think about and ponder. And I actually managed to speak during the vid review for this and said that the vid worked particularly well for me because of how it resonated with Torchwood: Children of Earth. Score one for overcoming shyness.
Video Killed the Radio Star by dualbunny: This vid didn't quite connect for me. Obviously, it was very good technically, but I didn't understand the story. I heard later that it was meant to be a Wicked vid rather than a Wizard of Oz vid but it's still hard for me to see it (and I've both read the book and seen the musical). So, yeah. I couldn't quite get there.
American Tune by greensilver: This vid, I think, required an emotional attachment to the characters that I (never having seen the show) simply didn't have. I did perk up whenever Gus (Dulé Hill) showed up because I just adore Psych and his character, but for the most part, I didn't really understand what was going on. It sounds like people who knew WW all really adored it, though, so if you've watched the show, you'll probably love it.
Make Your Own Kind of Music by barkley: This vid mostly reminded me of how much I'm looking forward to seeing Glee this fall. Loved the inclusion of the Glee clips. No other thoughts (deep or otherwise) from me on this one.
Then the Morning Comes by Eunice (fan_eunice): Mostly a retelling of Galaxy Quest, but it's in only a few minutes and contains all the joy of the movie. I really enjoyed it and it started off the second half of the vid show nicely. It was bouncy and retains its joy on rewatch.
Location, Location, Location by Stacia Yeapanis: I agree with the people who say that this could have been shorter and even more effective. I did enjoy it, though, and it was really interesting and weird to see the BtVS HS in a different school (yes, I never watched 90210).
Every State Line by keerawa: While I think I understand what the vidder was trying to do (the story of the Winchesters as a kind of handed down folktale), the song choice really threw me. I think it's supposed to be the voice of the person telling the legend, but I can't actually disentangle myself enough from SPN in order to get to that emotional place. I pretty much went "Ani diFranco? To Supernatural?" I've never been a person who thought that a song was just... unworkable for a fandom, but putting Ani diFranco, who is so strongly feminist, and using the show SPN which... is so strongly not and using it to describe the main guys of the show just didn't work for me. It bothered me on this fundamental level that I just couldn't get past. Especially since that song... part of the power of it is the female voice to me (and I mean in more than just vocal tone). But for anyone who doesn't have those particular feelings, it could work really well. I don't know.
That Was Another Country by Kass: This vid kinda lost me in the middle, partly because I just don't know Lost. But I still cared about Hurley at the end of the vid and the disappearing Dominic was intriguing. I don't know if it's a Beautiful Mind kind of thing or not, but it really made me sit up and get really interested right at the end.
Comfortably Numb by sisabet: Fantastic. This vid felt like Cameron. I love the grid-technique and all the split-screens really put me right in her head. I adored this vid and can see myself rewatching it many times.
Go Baby (Cherry Lips) by jescaflowne: Bouncy and shiny. I may or may not be imposing a greater narrative on it, but I actually did relate it back to the actual content of the song because of how artificially feminine the Angels are. It's something that they put on and yet that doesn't make it any less real. Also, I have great love for the song.
beautiful dirty rich by astolat and Merry: Adam! I was very excited to see a vid about Adam in the vidshow because I wasn't sure whether or not shows like American Idol got any respect in the vidding community. So, I was really glad to see this here. It was a fun vid. I enjoyed it. My only sadness is something that the vidders could not possibly have fixed -- I found myself desperately wanting some of Adam's sexy Fame dancing in the vid. But tour didn't start until after the vids had been sent in.
When Your Mind's Made Up by Valoise: Like the West Wing vid, I think that I would have needed to know the source (Highlander) in order to truly be able to wallow in the emotions of the vid. It appeared well-edited, but I didn't get an emotional buzz from it.
Dark Room by Cherry (cherryice): I liked this one -- it was very broody and had a deep sense of truth to it because knowing the original mythology of Merlin means knowing that it all goes wrong.
Heaven Is a Place on Earth by rhoboat: One of those great funny vids that has remained funny through multiple viewings. I loved this. It's funny, but it's actually also a really well-balanced romance story.
In My Veins by Milly (millylicious): Adored the feeling of this vid. It was creepy and dark.
Boy on a String by Traykor: This never quite got to the right place with me. I don't know if it was the song or the editing or just that the first Slings and Arrows vid so successfully blew me away.
Keeper of the Fire by sweetestdrain: I think that this vid is about fate/destiny/being bullied by larger forces. And how you can't really escape them. Sometimes, that leads to worse results than others. So, it's interesting that there are several characters for whom 'God' is the bully.
How the West Was Won by nc: Enjoyed this. I loved the quirky, light feeling of the singer's voice and felt it really suited Firefly.
Don't Stop Me Now by Jetpack Monkey: Hilarious. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get into this because of the awesome Master (Doctor Who) vid to the same song, but that didn't end up being a problem at all. It was bouncy and told the story and I really love this song, period, so I really enjoyed the vid.
They Don't Know by laurashapiro: Hmm. I have mixed feelings when it comes to this vid. I half-felt as though Doctor/Rose was just being made fun of, which is a very uncomfortable feeling. So, yeah. Need more time to think about this one. Not sure how I feel. I don't know if that's something that's actually in the vid or something that I'm bringing because I know that the vidder is most definitely not a shipper. Apparently is a shipper, which only leaves me more confused.
Bromance? (Birdhouse In Your Soul) by clucking belles: This really clicked for me after someone in Vid Review said that they saw it as Rodney trying to explain bromance to John. That really made it work for me.
The Long Spear by jmtorres and niqaeli (primarily): I was one of the people who found the ending jarring because by the time we got there, I'd forgotten what the beginning of the vid had told me. The middle part worked really well for me, even the transitions into later Trek, but the additional sounds cutting in threw me off. More rewatches might change that.
Challenge 2009
Red Cliff (State of Divinity theme) by obsessive24: So gorgeous. I actually went to netflix after the show and put this on 'save' (not available to get yet, unfortunately). I didn't understand the specifics of the story, but epic scope came across so clearly that I just could keep watching this vid over and over. Loved it.
Land by sweetestdrain: Incredibly epic Terminator universe vid. It's between 9-10 minutes long, though it was a completely shock to find that out. For both myself and everyone I talked to, we could tell that it was a long vid, but it felt, like, 5 minutes long, not 9. It's epic and covers everything before Salvation. It's twisty and non-linear and gorgeous.
Right in Two by an anonymous vidder: My note for this vid says "depressingly awesome" and that's pretty much how I still feel about it. I thought it was amazingly well-done. Hopefully, the vidder will anonymously upload it so that people who weren't at the con can see it, because it is definitely worth at least two watches.
When You Wish... by keely: My personal subtitle for this vid is "sucks to be a woman in BSG". The montage of dead women at the end of the vid was a little overwhelming for me. Incredibly depressing vid.
Internet Porn by diannelamerc: A welcome dose of humor! This was really a whole lot of fun and I really appreciated having it in the show.
Convenient Parking by cherry: Funny and clever crossover. I wish it were longer, but understand that the source wouldn't really allow it (unfortunately).
Choose Life by kiki_miserychic: Really enjoyed this. I felt like it really build and grew to the point where Dean shoots down the possibility of the alternate life being offered to him.
Swing by marycrawford: Delightful! A Uhura-ensemble vid for TOS that moves really well and reminds that, even though new!Uhura is hella cool, TOS!Uhura was absolutely amazing as well. Loved it.