VividCon Premieres Pt. 1 - reviews
I typed up the first half of my VividCon Premieres Show reviews the other day, but I was holding off on posting them until I'd posted about everything else. But who knows when that will happen. So here you go - the beginning of Premieres through the intermission, my thoughts.
(And I have rewatched very few of these since the show - no time! - so a lot of this is memory-based/first impression kinda stuff. Yeah, I know, the first year when attendees get the DVDs right away and can refresh their memories at leisure, and what do I do...)
First, the triumphant celebration of the llamallamallamavid. I died a little. Then...
Ecstatic Drum Trip (Farscape) by luminosity
Couldn't breathe during this vid. Great choice to kick off the Premieres show. God, I love John Crichton and everything that goes on in his world. Lum is awesome. I love how she worked in the "time" audio, especially the bit where the hologram of John says it in Einstein's voice. And the swirling and the wormholes and the beat that never stops, except when it does. Rosemary and...
Street Cafe (Bourne movies) by JKL
I got to see this vid twice on the big screen because I attended the In-Depth Vid Review panel. I love this vid to death. They managed to make it incredibly fast-paced and action-packed, yet still convey a depth of emotion and desperation. Someone was talking about the "every day ends at the street cafe" part of it, and I think they said it was Bourne finding answers only to discover more questions... the search for his identity. Wait - no. I think I'm totally misquoting that, but it was something along those lines. Anyway - that was was interesting to me, because the first time I watched the vid I took the more pessimistic (and literal?) view that all of Bourne's searches will end in violence. Either way, fascinating vid, relentlessly rewatchable.
Joker (BSG) by tv_elf
It had great Starbuck moments, and I like the song. I must admit some of the literalism jolted me out of the vid's "zone" a little, and so I couldn't enjoy the vid as much as I wanted to.
Tiger (Dead Like Me) by Keely
I adore this vid! And not because keewick was a fabulous VividCon roomie. Someone at vid review said this vid was like George's inner inner voice - the layer beneath the show's narration, where George is so heartbroken about the loss of herself. Whoever said that was really smart. I can't even think about this vid without turning into a bundle of squee. I love the motion and the intercuts at the beginning of George running forward/George running away.
Hallelujah (SGA) by Zoe R & wickedwords
I didn't have a problem with the song choice like some people at the vid review did, and I thought the vid was beautiful looking, but I couldn't fully get into it because I kept trying to figure out whose POV it was in. I'll have to read some other people's thoughts on it and then rewatch.
Ring Them Bells (Kill Bill) by sisabet
I don't know if it's cliched to love everything sisabet does, or what, but this was one of my favorite vids at the con. Managed to bring a bit of grace into the story of the Bride, and was the first vid - the first anything, really - I'd seen that managed to address her rage, her pain, her need for revenge, her love for her daughter, and her love/respect for Bill. And how the path that ties together all those things is also a bloody and uncompromising one. Gorgeous vid, made me cry the second time I watched it.
Rebels of the Sacred Heart (Boondock Saints) by Zeneyepirate
Fun and boisterous assassin guys? I've never seen the movie. Good vid, though. Some people were saying that the song was the perfect choice for the movie, which I can't really judge, but to me it almost seemed like the song was too perfect. It seemed more like a trailer for the movie than a vid. (Of course, in my view, that's not bad. It makes me want to rent it.)
Polaroid Millennium (Buffy) by gwyn_r
Awww, Buffy! I was filled with Buffy love. The continuing motif of the photographs was really cool, although I would've liked to have seen a few more metaphorical interpretations of that line.
Girl Anachronism (Gia) by lierdumoa
Great song choice, great editing, puts you in a chaotic frame of mind. I loved how mixed up and crazy it was, like some sort of vase that'd been shattered and reassembled. And I heard many people who had actually seen the movie saying that it really represented the character well. And the pink!
Ghost (Doctor Who) by morgandawn
I really enjoyed this vid. It also reminded me I need to watch Doctor Who. But anyway - the song the vidder used really set a mood for me, and although I didn't really grasp everything that was happening, I got an emotional feel for it, which worked out well. Very nice. One I'll probably rewatch over and over until I finally break down and find some eps of the show.
Someone You Might Have Been (NUMB3RS) by merry
I didn't understand much of this vid, as I've never seen Numb3rs. But then some people at the vid review panel seemed confused about it, and I later showed it to a Numb3rs watcher and they seemed confused as well. (Of course, the person in question is confused by vids in general.) I did really enjoy the look of this vid, and especially the way the mathematical bursts of insight were used. Very pretty.
Forget Regret (Pros) by przed
Cute vid, but one where I felt like my lack of knowledge about the fandom probably hindered any deeper enjoyment.
Circles (West Wing) by laurashapiro
I think the more I rewatch this, the neater it gets. I loved the opening credits, and the use of the walk-and-talk sequences. She managed to make them all go in circles even if the characters obviously were intending to walk in a straight line, and conveyed the crazy bustle of the White House staff, plus the wrench in the works. For being such a hard-to-vid TV series, (they won't shut up and stand up!), this vid managed it really really well.
The Happy Happy Birthday Song (Smallville) by The Frosty Beverage Twins
Cuteness! Took me a few seconds to get into it, but it was really funny. Especially loved the name stuff at the end. ("Bubba!" And Clark looks even more annoyed...)
Blue Jean (Labyrinth) by Mary Crawford
Fun vid! I was a little distracted cause my vid was coming up next, but I really liked the look of this vid. Very lush. The lip-synching worked so well that I was convinced it was actually from the movie. (Or was it?)
Scared (Firefly) by sweetestdrain
I wasn't sure if I'd have to hide my face while my own vid played, but I didn't! Everything looked the way I wanted it to, although it being on a big screen made some of my cuts seem slower. And the audio was a little hissy because I used an mp3-to-wav file. Other than that, yayness.
American Tune (Alias) by andraste
I thought the vid was fairly well-constructed, but I couldn't really get into the image it was seeming to present of Jack Bristow as angst-ridden family man, because in my head Jack Bristow is one Badass Motherfucker (capital B capital M) and that didn't go along with the gentle Paul Simon-ness. I did start to get into the vid after a while, but I was never fully convinced of their portrayal of him, which took some of the enjoyment out of it for me. It did make me think some about Jack's inner thoughts, and how much he might just want to be a husband and father.
A Day In The Life (Dead Zone) by shalott & speranza
This vid reminded me of Jig of Life, in the way that the vidders took a song that I'd heard countless times before, moved into it, and fucking owned it, man. This vid blew my mind (out in a car). It also contained one of the longest and most appropriate clip choices ever. I haven't seen the show, and I'm still not sure if I want to (maybe?), but if I don't, this vid might be enough anyway. It seems like it contains the whole universe that this guy must live in, weird visions and all. Seriously impressed.
And then came the intermission, where we all paused and blinked at each other a lot.
(And I have rewatched very few of these since the show - no time! - so a lot of this is memory-based/first impression kinda stuff. Yeah, I know, the first year when attendees get the DVDs right away and can refresh their memories at leisure, and what do I do...)
First, the triumphant celebration of the llamallamallamavid. I died a little. Then...
Ecstatic Drum Trip (Farscape) by luminosity
Couldn't breathe during this vid. Great choice to kick off the Premieres show. God, I love John Crichton and everything that goes on in his world. Lum is awesome. I love how she worked in the "time" audio, especially the bit where the hologram of John says it in Einstein's voice. And the swirling and the wormholes and the beat that never stops, except when it does. Rosemary and...
Street Cafe (Bourne movies) by JKL
I got to see this vid twice on the big screen because I attended the In-Depth Vid Review panel. I love this vid to death. They managed to make it incredibly fast-paced and action-packed, yet still convey a depth of emotion and desperation. Someone was talking about the "every day ends at the street cafe" part of it, and I think they said it was Bourne finding answers only to discover more questions... the search for his identity. Wait - no. I think I'm totally misquoting that, but it was something along those lines. Anyway - that was was interesting to me, because the first time I watched the vid I took the more pessimistic (and literal?) view that all of Bourne's searches will end in violence. Either way, fascinating vid, relentlessly rewatchable.
Joker (BSG) by tv_elf
It had great Starbuck moments, and I like the song. I must admit some of the literalism jolted me out of the vid's "zone" a little, and so I couldn't enjoy the vid as much as I wanted to.
Tiger (Dead Like Me) by Keely
I adore this vid! And not because keewick was a fabulous VividCon roomie. Someone at vid review said this vid was like George's inner inner voice - the layer beneath the show's narration, where George is so heartbroken about the loss of herself. Whoever said that was really smart. I can't even think about this vid without turning into a bundle of squee. I love the motion and the intercuts at the beginning of George running forward/George running away.
Hallelujah (SGA) by Zoe R & wickedwords
I didn't have a problem with the song choice like some people at the vid review did, and I thought the vid was beautiful looking, but I couldn't fully get into it because I kept trying to figure out whose POV it was in. I'll have to read some other people's thoughts on it and then rewatch.
Ring Them Bells (Kill Bill) by sisabet
I don't know if it's cliched to love everything sisabet does, or what, but this was one of my favorite vids at the con. Managed to bring a bit of grace into the story of the Bride, and was the first vid - the first anything, really - I'd seen that managed to address her rage, her pain, her need for revenge, her love for her daughter, and her love/respect for Bill. And how the path that ties together all those things is also a bloody and uncompromising one. Gorgeous vid, made me cry the second time I watched it.
Rebels of the Sacred Heart (Boondock Saints) by Zeneyepirate
Fun and boisterous assassin guys? I've never seen the movie. Good vid, though. Some people were saying that the song was the perfect choice for the movie, which I can't really judge, but to me it almost seemed like the song was too perfect. It seemed more like a trailer for the movie than a vid. (Of course, in my view, that's not bad. It makes me want to rent it.)
Polaroid Millennium (Buffy) by gwyn_r
Awww, Buffy! I was filled with Buffy love. The continuing motif of the photographs was really cool, although I would've liked to have seen a few more metaphorical interpretations of that line.
Girl Anachronism (Gia) by lierdumoa
Great song choice, great editing, puts you in a chaotic frame of mind. I loved how mixed up and crazy it was, like some sort of vase that'd been shattered and reassembled. And I heard many people who had actually seen the movie saying that it really represented the character well. And the pink!
Ghost (Doctor Who) by morgandawn
I really enjoyed this vid. It also reminded me I need to watch Doctor Who. But anyway - the song the vidder used really set a mood for me, and although I didn't really grasp everything that was happening, I got an emotional feel for it, which worked out well. Very nice. One I'll probably rewatch over and over until I finally break down and find some eps of the show.
Someone You Might Have Been (NUMB3RS) by merry
I didn't understand much of this vid, as I've never seen Numb3rs. But then some people at the vid review panel seemed confused about it, and I later showed it to a Numb3rs watcher and they seemed confused as well. (Of course, the person in question is confused by vids in general.) I did really enjoy the look of this vid, and especially the way the mathematical bursts of insight were used. Very pretty.
Forget Regret (Pros) by przed
Cute vid, but one where I felt like my lack of knowledge about the fandom probably hindered any deeper enjoyment.
Circles (West Wing) by laurashapiro
I think the more I rewatch this, the neater it gets. I loved the opening credits, and the use of the walk-and-talk sequences. She managed to make them all go in circles even if the characters obviously were intending to walk in a straight line, and conveyed the crazy bustle of the White House staff, plus the wrench in the works. For being such a hard-to-vid TV series, (they won't shut up and stand up!), this vid managed it really really well.
The Happy Happy Birthday Song (Smallville) by The Frosty Beverage Twins
Cuteness! Took me a few seconds to get into it, but it was really funny. Especially loved the name stuff at the end. ("Bubba!" And Clark looks even more annoyed...)
Blue Jean (Labyrinth) by Mary Crawford
Fun vid! I was a little distracted cause my vid was coming up next, but I really liked the look of this vid. Very lush. The lip-synching worked so well that I was convinced it was actually from the movie. (Or was it?)
Scared (Firefly) by sweetestdrain
I wasn't sure if I'd have to hide my face while my own vid played, but I didn't! Everything looked the way I wanted it to, although it being on a big screen made some of my cuts seem slower. And the audio was a little hissy because I used an mp3-to-wav file. Other than that, yayness.
American Tune (Alias) by andraste
I thought the vid was fairly well-constructed, but I couldn't really get into the image it was seeming to present of Jack Bristow as angst-ridden family man, because in my head Jack Bristow is one Badass Motherfucker (capital B capital M) and that didn't go along with the gentle Paul Simon-ness. I did start to get into the vid after a while, but I was never fully convinced of their portrayal of him, which took some of the enjoyment out of it for me. It did make me think some about Jack's inner thoughts, and how much he might just want to be a husband and father.
A Day In The Life (Dead Zone) by shalott & speranza
This vid reminded me of Jig of Life, in the way that the vidders took a song that I'd heard countless times before, moved into it, and fucking owned it, man. This vid blew my mind (out in a car). It also contained one of the longest and most appropriate clip choices ever. I haven't seen the show, and I'm still not sure if I want to (maybe?), but if I don't, this vid might be enough anyway. It seems like it contains the whole universe that this guy must live in, weird visions and all. Seriously impressed.
And then came the intermission, where we all paused and blinked at each other a lot.