Well no, but I appreciate the consideration.

Mar 15, 2007 01:46

It took me a long time to get into fanvids. Up until recently, they just failed to move me. The song's context and the context of the clips sort of blocked each other, working at cross purposes. (What are the vidder's intentions? How much canon am I supposed to be holding in my mind as I watch this? How closely do I need to be listening to the song?) I didn't get the point. Because there seemed to be only enough room in my head for one reading of those clips, and it's a reading that I've already done, from canon. I had trouble seeing a new story; I could only see the the same old story, the canon story, chopped up and rearranged.

And I remember having exactly this reaction when I first encountered fanfic. I was all, "Wait. Someone's telling me that Character A screws Character B. But that doesn't happen in canon! And then someone else is telling me that no, Character A goes bonkers and dies. But that doesn't happen in canon either!" I think that if I had read comics as a kid I would already have been comfortable with the idea of contradictory story arcs, but as it was, fanfic was my first big exposure. I had to rethink the way I approach fictional worlds. They suddenly became much more malleable than I'd imagined them before.

So, like with fic, the more familiar I become with vids, the more I enjoy them. I'm starting to become aware of the different ways to watch, and which way best serves each individual vid.

And in a burst of beginner's enthusiasm, tonight I had an idea for a vid!

But there are issues!

The song I have in mind is six minutes long, which is a little ambitious, especially for a fledgling attempt. Plus, the lyrics tell a very vivid, very specific story, which I think may interfere with the story I want to tell. So. Obviously, what I need to do is to remix the song. Easy peasy, right? Shave a few minutes off, cut out some lyrics while maintaining the mood and the integrity of the song. Maybe add a break and a funky beat you can dance to. WHAT COULD BE SIMPLER.

Then as far as the visuals go... I have a big realperson squick. I don't read RPF, and making manips is right out. I don't even use real people in icons. So how can I make a vid without using an actor's likeness? -- My squicks have left me ill-suited for this particular fannish endeavor! -- Well, I'll just have to draw it. Yes. Every frame? Um, no? I could do a lot of panning of still images. I could watch Ken Burns for inspiration! Maybe I could use figure rendering software. Yes. Will I be able to render animations or just stills? I don't know; google it! Plus some kind of color-flattening filter to counteract the uncanny valley thing. And with low lighting! Shadowed faces! Artistic angles! And lots of fade-to-blacks! IT IS SIMPLICITY ITSELF.

As you may have guessed, this vid will probably never see the light of day, but at least I can memorialize it with a screencap:



If that day comes, Google, you'll be the first to know.

pipe dreams what i've got, computers are our friends, on being a viewer of vids, on being a reader of fic, hey there's my navel

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