End of Year Vidding Meme (2012)
My first vidding meme! Because my first year vidding.
January
The World is a Very Scary Place (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ensemble)
February
None (but I was making a Jenny/Giles vid that no one will ever see. It was how I learned Final Cut Express.)
March
See above.
April
None
May
Deeds That Have Made Me (BtVS, Buffy)
June
Under Stars (BtVS, Buffy)
Burn the Mazes (BtVS, Willow)
July
None
August
The Island (The Black Stallion, Alec & The Black)
September
Maybe Sparrow (Angel, Wesley & Wesley/Fred)
October
None
November
None
December
Festivid! But technically that will count for 2013.
Ahem. There is a clear inverse lag-correlation between my vidding productivity and my work productivity. I took my general exam in May. I submitted a second journal article in December. The two months prior to those are practically the only months I didn't release a vid!
Favorite
It's a toss up between "Under Stars" and "The Island". I still enjoy watching both of them, for somewhat similar reasons. I like how they both move to the music. I've heard a couple of complaints about the pacing of "Under Stars", but honestly I like how I paced it -- I like that she spends most of her night alone, hunting, with the excitement of the kill only a brief punctuation mark at the end. As for "The Island", I'm quite pleased with how I structured it around the changes in music, from the lonely first few sections to the crashing excitement of the second to-last-section to the uncertain ending. I really enjoyed vidding without lyrics, and it's been the case in many of my vids that the bridge has been my favorite section.
Least Favorite
On a technical level, obviously "The World is a Very Scary Place" is the worst of the lot. But I'm actually kind of fond of it, both because it was my first vid (I learned so much making that thing!) and because I still love the idea of it. I hope to fully remake that vid someday, perhaps using footage from S2 and S3 as well, though it works as an homage to the camp of S1.
So instead I'll go with "Burn the Mazes", which just feels kinda meh to me for reasons I can't quite describe. I'm not sure how well it succeeds at my primary goal, which was showing the parallels between Willow and Warren. I don't really like the song that well, I think that's a big part. Also, the vid is all about my issues with Willow -- not my issues with how she was written or acted, which I think are great, but how that excellent writing and acting turned my favorite character into someone I don't really like. Maybe I'm never going to feel as good about that as I am about a vid that's all "yay Buffy", for example.
Most Successful
Judging from comments, youtube/vimeo views, and downloads, it's definitely "Deeds that Have Made Me". Which is cool, since that's the vid idea that got me into the hobby in the first place! I was quite proud of that vid when I released it, and got some great comments, which was nice. But when I rewatched it a few weeks ago I noticed a lot of issues I'd never seen before. Still, what it has to say is fairly complex, much more so than "Under Stars" or "The Island", and I believe it does so better than "Burn the Mazes" or "Maybe Sparrow", so it's probably more successful in those terms as well.
Most Underappreciated by the Universe
I dunno? I do wish I'd gotten more feedback on "Maybe Sparrow" -- I actually had less response on that than "The Island", though obviously the Angel fandom is bigger than The Black Stallion! Still, I don't want to complain too much, given my newbitude and all I've been hearing about decreased engagement with vids in the LJ/DW world.
Most Fun Video
Probably "The Island". I mean, what beats taming a wild horse and riding it bareback and bridleless on a Mediterranean beach? But "Under Stars" had many happy accidents on the timeline, and I had fun experimenting with color and adding motion in "Maybe Sparrow".
Vid with the Single Sexiest Moment
None? I guess "Maybe Sparrow", with the Wesley/Fred kiss montage. I haven't yet made any romance/shipper/etc vids.
Biggest Vid Fail
Minor aspect ratio issues in "Maybe Sparrow", which I really should have noticed before obsessive24 pointed them out.
Hardest Video to Make
Actually, a vid I never finished because, once I had a complete timeline, I realized the structure was all wrong and I didn't know how to fix it. But, of my completed vids, I guess "Maybe Sparrow". Mostly because I had a hell of a time figuring out how to fix the aspect ratio issue, and then Final Cut started crashing every time I tried to export, so I never actually fixed the problem.
Most Unintentionally Telling Video
Probably "Maybe Sparrow". I meant to say, "look at how Wesley/the writers objectify and idealize Fred and how it hurts him in the end too". I kind of ended up saying "look at how Wesley objectifies and idealizes Fred ... oh but the woobie face!"
Things I've learned
Everything I know about vidding! Seriously. On a technical level, most of what I've learned came from Foolish Passion, while a lot of what I've learned about process, tips for structuring vids, etc, came from perusing some of my favorite vidders journals and reading just about every word on vidpub.
Some things I've learned about my own vidding process, lately:
For me, music has to take the lead. Some vidders compare vidding to choreographing a dance. While I have little in the way of formal dance experience, this resonates with me more and more, and what that means is that the music has to inspire me to vid. I can't just intellectually know that the song works well for the vid concept; I have to love the music -- I have to want to dance to it, so to speak.
- Relatedly, music that has lots of layers is really fun for vidding. I love when I can sometimes vid to the beat, sometimes to the melody, sometimes to the vocals.
- Music that builds and develops, rather than sounding basically the same throughout, is great for vidding.
- Songs that stray from the standard pop music Verse-Chorus etc structure are also great!
Sometimes I take the visual metaphor too seriously and forget the original context of the clip. This only works if I can be sure the audience will do so as well! I still haven't worked out when/how to know that this will be true, so I should err on the side of not taking clips too far out of context just because I think the visual works well for what I want to say, because my point won't necessarily come through.
comments at http://frayadjacent.dreamwidth.org/10341.html.
January
The World is a Very Scary Place (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ensemble)
February
None (but I was making a Jenny/Giles vid that no one will ever see. It was how I learned Final Cut Express.)
March
See above.
April
None
May
Deeds That Have Made Me (BtVS, Buffy)
June
Under Stars (BtVS, Buffy)
Burn the Mazes (BtVS, Willow)
July
None
August
The Island (The Black Stallion, Alec & The Black)
September
Maybe Sparrow (Angel, Wesley & Wesley/Fred)
October
None
November
None
December
Festivid! But technically that will count for 2013.
Ahem. There is a clear inverse lag-correlation between my vidding productivity and my work productivity. I took my general exam in May. I submitted a second journal article in December. The two months prior to those are practically the only months I didn't release a vid!
Favorite
It's a toss up between "Under Stars" and "The Island". I still enjoy watching both of them, for somewhat similar reasons. I like how they both move to the music. I've heard a couple of complaints about the pacing of "Under Stars", but honestly I like how I paced it -- I like that she spends most of her night alone, hunting, with the excitement of the kill only a brief punctuation mark at the end. As for "The Island", I'm quite pleased with how I structured it around the changes in music, from the lonely first few sections to the crashing excitement of the second to-last-section to the uncertain ending. I really enjoyed vidding without lyrics, and it's been the case in many of my vids that the bridge has been my favorite section.
Least Favorite
On a technical level, obviously "The World is a Very Scary Place" is the worst of the lot. But I'm actually kind of fond of it, both because it was my first vid (I learned so much making that thing!) and because I still love the idea of it. I hope to fully remake that vid someday, perhaps using footage from S2 and S3 as well, though it works as an homage to the camp of S1.
So instead I'll go with "Burn the Mazes", which just feels kinda meh to me for reasons I can't quite describe. I'm not sure how well it succeeds at my primary goal, which was showing the parallels between Willow and Warren. I don't really like the song that well, I think that's a big part. Also, the vid is all about my issues with Willow -- not my issues with how she was written or acted, which I think are great, but how that excellent writing and acting turned my favorite character into someone I don't really like. Maybe I'm never going to feel as good about that as I am about a vid that's all "yay Buffy", for example.
Most Successful
Judging from comments, youtube/vimeo views, and downloads, it's definitely "Deeds that Have Made Me". Which is cool, since that's the vid idea that got me into the hobby in the first place! I was quite proud of that vid when I released it, and got some great comments, which was nice. But when I rewatched it a few weeks ago I noticed a lot of issues I'd never seen before. Still, what it has to say is fairly complex, much more so than "Under Stars" or "The Island", and I believe it does so better than "Burn the Mazes" or "Maybe Sparrow", so it's probably more successful in those terms as well.
Most Underappreciated by the Universe
I dunno? I do wish I'd gotten more feedback on "Maybe Sparrow" -- I actually had less response on that than "The Island", though obviously the Angel fandom is bigger than The Black Stallion! Still, I don't want to complain too much, given my newbitude and all I've been hearing about decreased engagement with vids in the LJ/DW world.
Most Fun Video
Probably "The Island". I mean, what beats taming a wild horse and riding it bareback and bridleless on a Mediterranean beach? But "Under Stars" had many happy accidents on the timeline, and I had fun experimenting with color and adding motion in "Maybe Sparrow".
Vid with the Single Sexiest Moment
None? I guess "Maybe Sparrow", with the Wesley/Fred kiss montage. I haven't yet made any romance/shipper/etc vids.
Biggest Vid Fail
Minor aspect ratio issues in "Maybe Sparrow", which I really should have noticed before obsessive24 pointed them out.
Hardest Video to Make
Actually, a vid I never finished because, once I had a complete timeline, I realized the structure was all wrong and I didn't know how to fix it. But, of my completed vids, I guess "Maybe Sparrow". Mostly because I had a hell of a time figuring out how to fix the aspect ratio issue, and then Final Cut started crashing every time I tried to export, so I never actually fixed the problem.
Most Unintentionally Telling Video
Probably "Maybe Sparrow". I meant to say, "look at how Wesley/the writers objectify and idealize Fred and how it hurts him in the end too". I kind of ended up saying "look at how Wesley objectifies and idealizes Fred ... oh but the woobie face!"
Things I've learned
Everything I know about vidding! Seriously. On a technical level, most of what I've learned came from Foolish Passion, while a lot of what I've learned about process, tips for structuring vids, etc, came from perusing some of my favorite vidders journals and reading just about every word on vidpub.
Some things I've learned about my own vidding process, lately:
For me, music has to take the lead. Some vidders compare vidding to choreographing a dance. While I have little in the way of formal dance experience, this resonates with me more and more, and what that means is that the music has to inspire me to vid. I can't just intellectually know that the song works well for the vid concept; I have to love the music -- I have to want to dance to it, so to speak.
- Relatedly, music that has lots of layers is really fun for vidding. I love when I can sometimes vid to the beat, sometimes to the melody, sometimes to the vocals.
- Music that builds and develops, rather than sounding basically the same throughout, is great for vidding.
- Songs that stray from the standard pop music Verse-Chorus etc structure are also great!
Sometimes I take the visual metaphor too seriously and forget the original context of the clip. This only works if I can be sure the audience will do so as well! I still haven't worked out when/how to know that this will be true, so I should err on the side of not taking clips too far out of context just because I think the visual works well for what I want to say, because my point won't necessarily come through.
comments at http://frayadjacent.dreamwidth.org/10341.html.