thoughts on visual fanwork in two very different fandoms

[isiscolo]

I figure with everyone away at Vividcon I can post about my shameful little secret, which is: I don't really like (most) vids. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, because SGA has a lot of vidders and a lot of vids, and also because it has led me into some tangential thoughts about fanart and other visual derivatives

Comments

[noblerot]

I'm not an SGA afficionado, but I love this post. We share an aesthetic brain, sista, even if you're smarta.

[isiscolo]

Yeah, but you get paid more than I do to write. :-)

[noblerot]

That's just cuz I'm a HO.

[isiscolo]

I have not! I will check it out.

I take it that this is Lockhart-centric? As I came to the fandom after the first 2 movies, Branagh's Lockhart suits me fine, which might be one reason I love the "I'm So Sexy" vid.

[merrymelody]

There's a couple of others floating around too, iirc. One to the HMS Pinafore's 'Creation of Man' and one to 'You're So Vain'.

[idlerat]

This is a great post, and I don't have all that much time to comment but I will say:

a) it's really exciting to me to have you going through this transition to media fandom at the same time. Because there are such deep differences. The importance of the visual medium and the actors just permeates it.

b) I never liked or saw the point of view of vids *at all*, and now I'm suddenly seeking them out- even recced one. And I had a similar thought: ie., that it is because I *am* a music person that it works. The song is a very powerful unit for me, if I like the song. I think you have to be very invested in the show, the fandom, and the song, all at once, for it to work- it may be the most heavily intertextual and immersive type of fanwork. But that vid I recced, for me, seemed like the show in song form. It moved me, and it gave me a new angle, I might almost say a new appreciation, for both a song and a show I already liked.

You don't have links for any of these vids? Is there a vid comm or archive for sga?

[isiscolo]

You can find Mamoru's work at her website. I will email you the URL of a copy of Danvers's vid: her bandwidth is problematic so hers are by request only, but I actually put a copy of this one on my site because I wanted fabularasa to see it. I would put up the URL publicly but I don't have her permission to distribute it.

There is a vid comm: atlantis_vids. I think there's an archive also.

Oh, and if you go to the comm, another vid that I didn't mention because it isn't quite a songvid in the way the others are, but which I enjoyed, is the "extended credits remix" which is basically a fan version of the (cut) credits for season 2.

[idlerat]

Thanks for the recs, links etc! I'm not sure I'll get as much out of the sga vids because not invested in the source- I kind of have to have a feeling for the song, too, at least somewhat.

[isiscolo]

And additionally: I also never saw the points and then, once I started in on SGA, started seeking them out. But I quickly got bored because I don't know most of these songs (and some of them I really, really dislike!).

And yeah, it's a whole different type of fandom, and as a very metaish analytical person I am driven to dissect my attraction to it.

[kaysha]

NOOOOOOOOO, there's not really a fanvid that uses "Space Taxi" as its theme/song/background music/whatever it's called???!?! Bwaahahahahhaha! Hahahahaa!! - Nooo way! HAAAA! I want to see it, I want to see it! Where can I find it?!?!?

(And yeaaaah, I've seen the film!! Ha! It's a German movie and it was made by an ingenious group of German (+ 1 Austrian) comedians. (Though I have to say I prefer their meanwhile-dropped TV show to their movies.))

Goodness, I don't think this should be amusing me so! ;)

[kaysha]

Ah, sorry, missed the bit about the userinfo pages! Haaaaa. *runs off to check it out*

[isiscolo]

There is a version in German, too, which you should probably see!

And I will edit the post so it's a bit clearer.

[ngaio]

I must admit, I'm having much the same reactions to vids. I'd never ever watched vids before a few weeks ago as I don't have a decent enough collection but moonlettuce put SGA on disc for me and included a bunch of vids (is there an echo in here, or is it just me?!). And I'm 'meh' really, I can name 3 I like which are 3 funny ones where it is the combination of the theme of the music and the clips makes me giggle.

But, like you, I don't 'see' most of my fandoms, even those I *have* visual starting points for, even if I could draw I couldn't draw you 'my Snape' *or* 'my McKay' because when I'm reading fic I'm only semi picturing it in my head, in fact, almost not at all.

I'd be interested to see vids from a fandom with a *lot* of source material because you could trace themes through the series (I'm thinking particularly of SG1, I'm certain you could vid almost any 'ship successfully there!) and you could chose your theme a lot more.

I'm rambling, sorry, basically the above can be summed up by 'yeah, I agree'!

[isiscolo]

Oh, interesting thoughts. I don't "see" a McKay or a Snape in my head but if I see a fanart work of Snape, there is greater latitude for me to say, "oh, yes, that is Snape" than there is for me to say it about McKay, because in the former case there is no canonical visual model. (What's funny is that the Mary GrandPre illos might be taken as canonical visual models, but I don't think anyone takes them that way.)

And I love to hear people say 'yeah, I agree', because it doesn't happen all that often to me. :-)

[cesperanza]

from vvc, so brief, but: there are vids and there are vids. Wait! *g*

[isiscolo]

When you return, we will be expecting you to post "Speranza's starter kit of vids for people who think they don't like vids." Anxiously awaiting!