new vid - 天龙八部 - All That I Am
This is a vid mostly for my own enjoyment, but figured I'd put it up in case anyone's interested in seeing it. Only AVIs available; quality is kinda shoddy because of problems with source.
All That I Am
Fandom: 天龙八部 (The Eight Regiments of the Sky Dragon - Chinese Central Television 2003)
Song/Artist: All That I Am by Rob Thomas
Duration: 4:29 minutes
Summary: Relationship studies, overview
Spoilers: Entire series.
I am the one winged bird for flying
Sinking quickly to the ground
See your faith in me subsiding
See you prime for giving in
I give you all that I am
I am the sound of love's arriving
Echoed softly on the sand
Lay your head upon my shoulder
Lay your hand within my hand
I give you all that I am
And I breathe where you breathe
Let me stand where you stand
With all that I am
I am the white dove for a soldier
Ever marching as to war
I would give my life to save you
I stand guarding at your door
I give you all that I am
I am the one winged bird for flying
Sinking quickly to the ground
I am the blind man for a watchdog
I am prime for giving in
I'll show you all that I am
Notes
Firstly an apology. I know it's bad form to use a song somebody else used in a vid, especially if that vid is possibly the single most awesome thing in the universe. Which is exactly what happened here, with regard to wistful_fever's The Boy Was a Puppet (Harry Potter). I desperately wanted an English song with a distinctly Chinese feel, and this one just really fitted the bill. Since Fabella's on a prolonged offline stint, I wasn't able to get her permission to use the song, but I hope the injury is lessened by the obscurity of this particular subject matter.
Wuxia is a popular genre in Asian culture, mixing elements of martial arts, fantasy and period drama. "The Eight Regiments of the Sky Dragon" is a novel by arguably the most famous wuxia author of all time, Louis Cha (Jin Yong), and this particular source is a relatively recent adaptation to a 40-episode series. Work in Chinese television is still a long ways off the skill level of Western productions, and acting, CGI and camerawork usually do come off a little amateurish. However, as far as wuxia adaptations go, this was very faithful to the novel. The storyline is extremely complex and epic, so the vid was more an exploration of feelings rather than an attempt to retell the story in 4 ½ minutes. The overreaching idea is the fraternity between the three protagonists, despite their very separate storylines and adventures.
The show was shot on DV, which gave rise to some interesting techniques, and I pushed that a little further in the vid with some additional time toggle, etc. This also really managed to satiate my inordinate love for swooping crane shots. On the downside, there were some interlacing problems in the source, and I wasn't able to rectify that when encoding. Grr.
The Eight Regiments of the Sky Dragon is a Buddhist concept, and is intended to be metaphor for a whole spectrum of characters and character relationships. The novel/series itself is also heavily underpinned by Buddhist values. It is also interesting to note that the author was reading a lot of Homer and Shakespeare at the time, and at the very heart of the story there is a tragic hero in the classical, Western sense. The thing that I regret most about this vid is that I wasn't able to push the inevitability of his demise, which is the one essential element but unfortunately too complex to be expressed properly, given the constraints.
All That I Am
Fandom: 天龙八部 (The Eight Regiments of the Sky Dragon - Chinese Central Television 2003)
Song/Artist: All That I Am by Rob Thomas
Duration: 4:29 minutes
Summary: Relationship studies, overview
Spoilers: Entire series.
Click to viewI am the one winged bird for flying
Sinking quickly to the ground
See your faith in me subsiding
See you prime for giving in
I give you all that I am
I am the sound of love's arriving
Echoed softly on the sand
Lay your head upon my shoulder
Lay your hand within my hand
I give you all that I am
And I breathe where you breathe
Let me stand where you stand
With all that I am
I am the white dove for a soldier
Ever marching as to war
I would give my life to save you
I stand guarding at your door
I give you all that I am
I am the one winged bird for flying
Sinking quickly to the ground
I am the blind man for a watchdog
I am prime for giving in
I'll show you all that I am
Notes
Firstly an apology. I know it's bad form to use a song somebody else used in a vid, especially if that vid is possibly the single most awesome thing in the universe. Which is exactly what happened here, with regard to wistful_fever's The Boy Was a Puppet (Harry Potter). I desperately wanted an English song with a distinctly Chinese feel, and this one just really fitted the bill. Since Fabella's on a prolonged offline stint, I wasn't able to get her permission to use the song, but I hope the injury is lessened by the obscurity of this particular subject matter.
Wuxia is a popular genre in Asian culture, mixing elements of martial arts, fantasy and period drama. "The Eight Regiments of the Sky Dragon" is a novel by arguably the most famous wuxia author of all time, Louis Cha (Jin Yong), and this particular source is a relatively recent adaptation to a 40-episode series. Work in Chinese television is still a long ways off the skill level of Western productions, and acting, CGI and camerawork usually do come off a little amateurish. However, as far as wuxia adaptations go, this was very faithful to the novel. The storyline is extremely complex and epic, so the vid was more an exploration of feelings rather than an attempt to retell the story in 4 ½ minutes. The overreaching idea is the fraternity between the three protagonists, despite their very separate storylines and adventures.
The show was shot on DV, which gave rise to some interesting techniques, and I pushed that a little further in the vid with some additional time toggle, etc. This also really managed to satiate my inordinate love for swooping crane shots. On the downside, there were some interlacing problems in the source, and I wasn't able to rectify that when encoding. Grr.
The Eight Regiments of the Sky Dragon is a Buddhist concept, and is intended to be metaphor for a whole spectrum of characters and character relationships. The novel/series itself is also heavily underpinned by Buddhist values. It is also interesting to note that the author was reading a lot of Homer and Shakespeare at the time, and at the very heart of the story there is a tragic hero in the classical, Western sense. The thing that I regret most about this vid is that I wasn't able to push the inevitability of his demise, which is the one essential element but unfortunately too complex to be expressed properly, given the constraints.