Review: Supernatural, Low Red Moon
Title: Low Red Moon
Vidder: Melymbrosia (untrue_accounts)
Fandom: Supernatural
Music & Artist: Low Red Moon by Belly
Download link: http://untrue-accounts.livejournal.com/108740.html
Overall impression: a little long, but still a very effective, atmospheric look at Ruby's relationship with Sam in Season 3.
Titles: White text over a shot of the red-tinted moon at the beginning of the vid. Simple, but it did a good job of establishing the mood.
Music choice: I'd never heard the song before, but I really liked it and it worked well with the story the vid was telling. The slighly eerie, echoing vocas contributed to the spooky feel. At 4 and 3/4 minutes, it did feel a little long, but the dynamic pacing of the clips helped keep my attention.
Narration, tone and movement: The vid is mostly Ruby POV, but there's a bit in the second half where it seems to shift into Sam's POV. I'm not sure if the shift was intentional. I noticed three recurring visual threads pulling the story together: demons (Ruby herself, Lillith, Crossroads Demon, the YED, etc), ritual magic (candles, devil's traps, other magical symbols and objects), and bloodletting (knives cutting flesh, dead and wounded bodies stained with blood, etc.) There's a dangerous world of dark magic out there, and Ruby is drawing Sam into it, for reasons of her own. At the same time, many of the clips focus on Ruby watching Sam, or Sam seen through her eyes, suggesting that she's being drawn to him in return. Sam is a pawn in Ruby's game, but not an entirely innocent pawn. This is a very mytharc-heavy vid, and probably would be confusing for viewers who hadn't seen the first three seasons of the show.
Cuts, Transitions, Effects & Colouring/Coloring: The transitions were a combination of quick cuts and slow crossfades. Both were used well and never seemed obtrusive. Most clips were short and focused on action or strong, single images, so the vid didn't lose momentum despite being on the long side. I really liked the way the vid began and ended with blood-red coloring, and with circular symbols -- moon, devil's trap, lock on Hell's gate -- fading into each other.
Specific notes:
0.07: Nice effect here, with the red moon fading into the devil's trap
0.30: Another good use of cross-fades and circular images, from the witches' circle to the moon to Sam's circle of candles
2.09: Nice juxtaposition of Ruby looking at Sam with the lyrics about the "shining knight."
3:18: This is where I felt the vid switched to Sam's POV, and stayed there until the shot of Dean is Sam's arms at 3:26. But it did work, especially with the "shine so different on another" lyric, to remind the viewer that no matter how entangled Sam and Ruby get with each other, in the end Sam is still all about Dean.
4:04: Good transition from LittleGirl!Lillith to Ruby'sHost!Lillith here.
Final Notes: This was an effective, visually striking vid, and a strong exploration of an underappreciated character.
Vidder: Melymbrosia (untrue_accounts)
Fandom: Supernatural
Music & Artist: Low Red Moon by Belly
Download link: http://untrue-accounts.livejournal.com/108740.html
Overall impression: a little long, but still a very effective, atmospheric look at Ruby's relationship with Sam in Season 3.
Titles: White text over a shot of the red-tinted moon at the beginning of the vid. Simple, but it did a good job of establishing the mood.
Music choice: I'd never heard the song before, but I really liked it and it worked well with the story the vid was telling. The slighly eerie, echoing vocas contributed to the spooky feel. At 4 and 3/4 minutes, it did feel a little long, but the dynamic pacing of the clips helped keep my attention.
Narration, tone and movement: The vid is mostly Ruby POV, but there's a bit in the second half where it seems to shift into Sam's POV. I'm not sure if the shift was intentional. I noticed three recurring visual threads pulling the story together: demons (Ruby herself, Lillith, Crossroads Demon, the YED, etc), ritual magic (candles, devil's traps, other magical symbols and objects), and bloodletting (knives cutting flesh, dead and wounded bodies stained with blood, etc.) There's a dangerous world of dark magic out there, and Ruby is drawing Sam into it, for reasons of her own. At the same time, many of the clips focus on Ruby watching Sam, or Sam seen through her eyes, suggesting that she's being drawn to him in return. Sam is a pawn in Ruby's game, but not an entirely innocent pawn. This is a very mytharc-heavy vid, and probably would be confusing for viewers who hadn't seen the first three seasons of the show.
Cuts, Transitions, Effects & Colouring/Coloring: The transitions were a combination of quick cuts and slow crossfades. Both were used well and never seemed obtrusive. Most clips were short and focused on action or strong, single images, so the vid didn't lose momentum despite being on the long side. I really liked the way the vid began and ended with blood-red coloring, and with circular symbols -- moon, devil's trap, lock on Hell's gate -- fading into each other.
Specific notes:
0.07: Nice effect here, with the red moon fading into the devil's trap
0.30: Another good use of cross-fades and circular images, from the witches' circle to the moon to Sam's circle of candles
2.09: Nice juxtaposition of Ruby looking at Sam with the lyrics about the "shining knight."
3:18: This is where I felt the vid switched to Sam's POV, and stayed there until the shot of Dean is Sam's arms at 3:26. But it did work, especially with the "shine so different on another" lyric, to remind the viewer that no matter how entangled Sam and Ruby get with each other, in the end Sam is still all about Dean.
4:04: Good transition from LittleGirl!Lillith to Ruby'sHost!Lillith here.
Final Notes: This was an effective, visually striking vid, and a strong exploration of an underappreciated character.