vidding meme
Vidding meme created by sockkpuppett and already answered by everyone ever, because I obviously haven't posted enough about vidding as of late.
Since I'm still new to the game, I'm hoping that a year or so from now I'll be able to go back and answer these again with much deeper and more thorough answers. I trust that this is a field I will grow in over time, and I think it's best, with that in mind, to present an accurate description of my starting point.
What does vidding "feed" into you? Is there an empty space that it fills, or is it just a marvelous extra in your life?
Right now it's filling a much more literal space (i.e. in my schedule) than intangible (i.e. in my SOUL! [dramatic chord]), but I think this is going to change as I become more emotionally invested in the art, the fandom itself, and the people in it. I don't feel a pang of "I have to vid or else I won't be me!" but it's certainly one of the more enjoyable ways I'm spending my free time at the moment. For example, I just waited three weeks for my hard drive to arrive so I could dig into my next project. I was ansy but not miserable; I can find ways of happily passing the time otherwise. But vidding is definitely the exciting, new obsession in my life, and I'm giving it as much attention as I can.
As far as what vidding feeds into me, that would definitely be energy on many different levels. It's first and foremost an outlet for my creative energy, but it's also stimulated me intellectually (learning about tech, reading synopsis meta, etc) and socially (who knew I could meet such interesting people without leaving my room?). It's also been a new angle for me to approach music that I'd never tried before, and that has been so very refreshing. I've dabbled a bit in fanfiction, but that seems so withdrawn and solitary in comparison. Vidding can be much more of a social activity (you're far more likely to have a group of friends on a couch watching vids than reading a fic together); it's a way of revisiting shows you love and seeing them in new ways, as well as revisiting music you love and hearing it in new ways. It's so many things I love about fandom rolled into one. What surprises me most is that I didn't get into it sooner.
What do you learn from watching other vids, or do you learn anything?
I've learned so much already, but I have so very far to go. I'm like Dorothy who just landed in Munchkinland and is thinking "wow, I hope I got frequent flyer miles for that" when the Munchkins are laughing to themselves about how much road lies ahead of her. (Two hundred miles in this day and age? I don't even know where I live now.)
My first obvious answer to this question is that vids have shown me what is possible. Very basic things like omg high res source! omg masks! omg swirly effects! omg intercutting! Video technology is definitely not an area where I can imagine something in my head that I've never seen before but think "hey, that should be possible." In music? Yes. In video? Not on your life. From day one, there will never be anything in my vids that I didn't pick up from someone else (unless it was a happy accident, but chances are it's still been done a hundred times over. I doubt anything I create will be the video equivalent of penicillin.) So, on a basic level, the main things I've learned from vids so far are what's possible in terms of tech (re: source quality) and editing techniques. This is all very surface. What I'm hoping will develop over time is the ability to read deeper into vids and extract real meaning, and then find a way to make deeper vids myself.
Arguably, though, I think it's safe to say I've learned just as much (if not more) from reading vid meta. This may also be because I've spent a lot more time reading meta than watching vids. If a meta post and a vid are both saying the same thing, chances are I'm going to pick up on the lesson a lot quicker if it's written in plain English rather than woven in a vid. At the same time, there is something to be said for a vid messing something up so badly that the lesson stays with you from sitting through the 3-minute wretch of a vid instead of just reading one sentence somewhere and taking their word for it. I'm finding that by doing both, I'm able to glean a lot more from the material as a whole. Some lessons are more visual, some are better explained in writing. I'm enjoying both perspectives very much.
Do you think that vidders put a piece of themselves into their work?
Absolutely. I think vids that are made with love definitely have a piece of the vidder's personality imbued into them. The most glaring example I have of this is that I can spot one of nobunnies's vids from miles away ;-) And I'm not saying she's the only vidder who fits that, of course, just that she's the only one I know well enough that I can point to the screen and say "OMG THAT WAS SO REBEKAH." As I'm watching more and more vids from vidders I love (that I barely know), I am starting to see hints of particular styles (whether intentional or not), but that's much more subtle and harder for me. Once I've met them in person, I'll probably be able to see bits of their personalities in vids, but for now that aspect is all guesswork. Not that I'm watching vids specifically as a personality study, but you know what I mean. It's an icing on the cake that might come with time. For now, there is plenty in a good vid aside from that to munch on.
And in a much more general sense, I think there is certainly a piece of the vidder's heart that goes into a vid. Vids can be ridiculously time-consuming, even the really crappy ones. Vidding is not a lightly undertaken endeavor. If you're going to make a vid, you have to really love it to see it through to the end. No one vids by accident. It's deliberate, it's thought out, and it's important to the vidder. But because what we get out of a process is what we put into it, it can be that much more rewarding.
Or do you think it's just a sort of technical exercise or something in between?
Definitely something in between. It's a technical exercise, but I think the majority of vidders don't see it as only that. If a student had to make a fanvid as a school assignment to master certain techniques, then fine, but anyone who vids in their own time is going to have some emotion invested in it.
One of the most fascinating aspects of vidding to me is how different people interpret and manipulate the same source material to create vastly varied statements of it. If you give twelve vidders the same fandom and song and send them on their way, you're going to get twelve different vids back. Vids are not only a statement on the music we choose or what the source is saying, they're a statement on how we as people interpret both those variables. I think that always shines through to some degree whether we mean it to or not.
Can you draw the line in what you can teach a person re: vidding and what has to just come from within that person?
I think that line exists anywhere creativity lies. You can give someone tools, you can teach them techniques, but you can't give them talent to use them skillfully. You can't give them the drive to work to the best of their ability. There will always be ambitious people without the talent, there will always be talented people without the ambition, but fortunately there will be people with both.
I'm speaking very generally, of course. I certainly don't think it's as all-or-nothing as that. Life's a bit more complicated. And I think personal goals should reflect realistic notions of both what we already possess and what we don't. For example, I certainly think I fall somewhere in the middle (that is, I wouldn't fit in the all-or-nothing world). I know I'm definitely not any kind of vidding prodigy, nor do I think I'll ever become one of the most talented people in this fandom, but I'm okay with that because I have the ambition to try and be as good as I'm capable of being. I think I have enough of a fundamental grasp on the can't-be-taught stuff that's worth nurturing, and if/when I hit my ceiling, then so be it. I never started vidding to become the best in the world, and if I had, I never would have found the courage to start. My goals are always about bettering my work compared to myself, not compared to others.
Do you think that vidding illuminates anything about you TO you? Something that you may not have been aware of?
Thusfar, vidding has only reinforced things that I already knew about myself. I'm a perfectionist. I'm a music snob. I enjoy particular shows much more than others. I enjoy getting to know the most talented/intelligent people in a field, and I seek their approval/camaraderie if they also happen to be nice. I'm an idealistic forward-thinker who always has three more projects in my head for every one that I finish, and that finished one never looks quite like what I thought it would at the start. I can ramble on forever about anything I'm truly interested in. My life in fandom continues to take me down different paths that are new ways of exploring and enjoying the same original material. For every one jackass in fandom, there are twenty people who amaze and impress me.
Have you ever been pimped into a fandom by watching a vid? Elaborate?
You know, honestly? Not yet. I've watched several vids in fandoms I don't like or don't know very well (due South, Farscape, X-Files, and SGA mainly), but the ones I've seen haven't done much for me. Actually, wait! I lied. I saw an amazing vid for "Angels in America" by f1renze that totally makes me want to watch it.
And I'm proud to say that my "Goodies" vid has made at least six of my friends want to try BSG :-D Considering that vid has the combined depth and intellect of a paper clip, at least it makes a halfway decent recruiter vid for lesbians! I knew it'd be eventually good for something.
Have you ever had a vid "made to order?" How did you feel about it once it was finished? Was it anything like what you wanted or expected?
I don't think so...(unless Rebekah's singing videoblog counts, haha) but I have made a vid for someone else (the Crouton vidlet for Alice, even though she didn't ask for it!) And you know, if I were to buy/request a vid from someone else, I don't think it could be a vid that I already envisioned in any way. I'm way too particular and specific and greedy and selfish about these things. If I want a certain vid to be a certain way, I damn well better make it myself. Every vid is the vidder's particular take on something. I'd like to think that any request I could make would be exceeded above and beyond because there are indeed some vidders out there that blow me away with everything they make, but I wouldn't count on that happening on principle. And I think I'd be afraid to make a vid someone ordered for that very reason--it'd be my take on it, not theirs, so then how is it really a vid for them? It's not, really. A gift with their name on it, maybe, but not with their heart in it.
What are your favorite types of vids? Universe vids? Arguments? Lyrical? Mood pieces? AU's? Something else?
I freely admit that I'm still learning what in the world all these different genres of vids are. Right now my brain pretty much functions at: "One character in almost every clip: character vid. Same two characters throughout making googly eyes: shipper vid. (If same sex: slashy vid.) If vid tells a story: narrative. Vid with characters from different shows: Crossover. Pretty much anything else: uh, beats me." Until someone sits me down and says "this is a ________ vid, this is a _______ vid, etc" and why, I'm not sure how quickly I'll learn this. I need to take a class, really.
Since I'm still new to the game, I'm hoping that a year or so from now I'll be able to go back and answer these again with much deeper and more thorough answers. I trust that this is a field I will grow in over time, and I think it's best, with that in mind, to present an accurate description of my starting point.
What does vidding "feed" into you? Is there an empty space that it fills, or is it just a marvelous extra in your life?
Right now it's filling a much more literal space (i.e. in my schedule) than intangible (i.e. in my SOUL! [dramatic chord]), but I think this is going to change as I become more emotionally invested in the art, the fandom itself, and the people in it. I don't feel a pang of "I have to vid or else I won't be me!" but it's certainly one of the more enjoyable ways I'm spending my free time at the moment. For example, I just waited three weeks for my hard drive to arrive so I could dig into my next project. I was ansy but not miserable; I can find ways of happily passing the time otherwise. But vidding is definitely the exciting, new obsession in my life, and I'm giving it as much attention as I can.
As far as what vidding feeds into me, that would definitely be energy on many different levels. It's first and foremost an outlet for my creative energy, but it's also stimulated me intellectually (learning about tech, reading synopsis meta, etc) and socially (who knew I could meet such interesting people without leaving my room?). It's also been a new angle for me to approach music that I'd never tried before, and that has been so very refreshing. I've dabbled a bit in fanfiction, but that seems so withdrawn and solitary in comparison. Vidding can be much more of a social activity (you're far more likely to have a group of friends on a couch watching vids than reading a fic together); it's a way of revisiting shows you love and seeing them in new ways, as well as revisiting music you love and hearing it in new ways. It's so many things I love about fandom rolled into one. What surprises me most is that I didn't get into it sooner.
What do you learn from watching other vids, or do you learn anything?
I've learned so much already, but I have so very far to go. I'm like Dorothy who just landed in Munchkinland and is thinking "wow, I hope I got frequent flyer miles for that" when the Munchkins are laughing to themselves about how much road lies ahead of her. (Two hundred miles in this day and age? I don't even know where I live now.)
My first obvious answer to this question is that vids have shown me what is possible. Very basic things like omg high res source! omg masks! omg swirly effects! omg intercutting! Video technology is definitely not an area where I can imagine something in my head that I've never seen before but think "hey, that should be possible." In music? Yes. In video? Not on your life. From day one, there will never be anything in my vids that I didn't pick up from someone else (unless it was a happy accident, but chances are it's still been done a hundred times over. I doubt anything I create will be the video equivalent of penicillin.) So, on a basic level, the main things I've learned from vids so far are what's possible in terms of tech (re: source quality) and editing techniques. This is all very surface. What I'm hoping will develop over time is the ability to read deeper into vids and extract real meaning, and then find a way to make deeper vids myself.
Arguably, though, I think it's safe to say I've learned just as much (if not more) from reading vid meta. This may also be because I've spent a lot more time reading meta than watching vids. If a meta post and a vid are both saying the same thing, chances are I'm going to pick up on the lesson a lot quicker if it's written in plain English rather than woven in a vid. At the same time, there is something to be said for a vid messing something up so badly that the lesson stays with you from sitting through the 3-minute wretch of a vid instead of just reading one sentence somewhere and taking their word for it. I'm finding that by doing both, I'm able to glean a lot more from the material as a whole. Some lessons are more visual, some are better explained in writing. I'm enjoying both perspectives very much.
Do you think that vidders put a piece of themselves into their work?
Absolutely. I think vids that are made with love definitely have a piece of the vidder's personality imbued into them. The most glaring example I have of this is that I can spot one of nobunnies's vids from miles away ;-) And I'm not saying she's the only vidder who fits that, of course, just that she's the only one I know well enough that I can point to the screen and say "OMG THAT WAS SO REBEKAH." As I'm watching more and more vids from vidders I love (that I barely know), I am starting to see hints of particular styles (whether intentional or not), but that's much more subtle and harder for me. Once I've met them in person, I'll probably be able to see bits of their personalities in vids, but for now that aspect is all guesswork. Not that I'm watching vids specifically as a personality study, but you know what I mean. It's an icing on the cake that might come with time. For now, there is plenty in a good vid aside from that to munch on.
And in a much more general sense, I think there is certainly a piece of the vidder's heart that goes into a vid. Vids can be ridiculously time-consuming, even the really crappy ones. Vidding is not a lightly undertaken endeavor. If you're going to make a vid, you have to really love it to see it through to the end. No one vids by accident. It's deliberate, it's thought out, and it's important to the vidder. But because what we get out of a process is what we put into it, it can be that much more rewarding.
Or do you think it's just a sort of technical exercise or something in between?
Definitely something in between. It's a technical exercise, but I think the majority of vidders don't see it as only that. If a student had to make a fanvid as a school assignment to master certain techniques, then fine, but anyone who vids in their own time is going to have some emotion invested in it.
One of the most fascinating aspects of vidding to me is how different people interpret and manipulate the same source material to create vastly varied statements of it. If you give twelve vidders the same fandom and song and send them on their way, you're going to get twelve different vids back. Vids are not only a statement on the music we choose or what the source is saying, they're a statement on how we as people interpret both those variables. I think that always shines through to some degree whether we mean it to or not.
Can you draw the line in what you can teach a person re: vidding and what has to just come from within that person?
I think that line exists anywhere creativity lies. You can give someone tools, you can teach them techniques, but you can't give them talent to use them skillfully. You can't give them the drive to work to the best of their ability. There will always be ambitious people without the talent, there will always be talented people without the ambition, but fortunately there will be people with both.
I'm speaking very generally, of course. I certainly don't think it's as all-or-nothing as that. Life's a bit more complicated. And I think personal goals should reflect realistic notions of both what we already possess and what we don't. For example, I certainly think I fall somewhere in the middle (that is, I wouldn't fit in the all-or-nothing world). I know I'm definitely not any kind of vidding prodigy, nor do I think I'll ever become one of the most talented people in this fandom, but I'm okay with that because I have the ambition to try and be as good as I'm capable of being. I think I have enough of a fundamental grasp on the can't-be-taught stuff that's worth nurturing, and if/when I hit my ceiling, then so be it. I never started vidding to become the best in the world, and if I had, I never would have found the courage to start. My goals are always about bettering my work compared to myself, not compared to others.
Do you think that vidding illuminates anything about you TO you? Something that you may not have been aware of?
Thusfar, vidding has only reinforced things that I already knew about myself. I'm a perfectionist. I'm a music snob. I enjoy particular shows much more than others. I enjoy getting to know the most talented/intelligent people in a field, and I seek their approval/camaraderie if they also happen to be nice. I'm an idealistic forward-thinker who always has three more projects in my head for every one that I finish, and that finished one never looks quite like what I thought it would at the start. I can ramble on forever about anything I'm truly interested in. My life in fandom continues to take me down different paths that are new ways of exploring and enjoying the same original material. For every one jackass in fandom, there are twenty people who amaze and impress me.
Have you ever been pimped into a fandom by watching a vid? Elaborate?
You know, honestly? Not yet. I've watched several vids in fandoms I don't like or don't know very well (due South, Farscape, X-Files, and SGA mainly), but the ones I've seen haven't done much for me. Actually, wait! I lied. I saw an amazing vid for "Angels in America" by f1renze that totally makes me want to watch it.
And I'm proud to say that my "Goodies" vid has made at least six of my friends want to try BSG :-D Considering that vid has the combined depth and intellect of a paper clip, at least it makes a halfway decent recruiter vid for lesbians! I knew it'd be eventually good for something.
Have you ever had a vid "made to order?" How did you feel about it once it was finished? Was it anything like what you wanted or expected?
I don't think so...(unless Rebekah's singing videoblog counts, haha) but I have made a vid for someone else (the Crouton vidlet for Alice, even though she didn't ask for it!) And you know, if I were to buy/request a vid from someone else, I don't think it could be a vid that I already envisioned in any way. I'm way too particular and specific and greedy and selfish about these things. If I want a certain vid to be a certain way, I damn well better make it myself. Every vid is the vidder's particular take on something. I'd like to think that any request I could make would be exceeded above and beyond because there are indeed some vidders out there that blow me away with everything they make, but I wouldn't count on that happening on principle. And I think I'd be afraid to make a vid someone ordered for that very reason--it'd be my take on it, not theirs, so then how is it really a vid for them? It's not, really. A gift with their name on it, maybe, but not with their heart in it.
What are your favorite types of vids? Universe vids? Arguments? Lyrical? Mood pieces? AU's? Something else?
I freely admit that I'm still learning what in the world all these different genres of vids are. Right now my brain pretty much functions at: "One character in almost every clip: character vid. Same two characters throughout making googly eyes: shipper vid. (If same sex: slashy vid.) If vid tells a story: narrative. Vid with characters from different shows: Crossover. Pretty much anything else: uh, beats me." Until someone sits me down and says "this is a ________ vid, this is a _______ vid, etc" and why, I'm not sure how quickly I'll learn this. I need to take a class, really.