IJVP Vidlet #2: "Steal My Sunshine" (Finding Nemo)
After more than two weeks, I finally have a second vidlet ready. Clearly this whole insane-vidding thing was a fantastic idea. ;)
Vidlet #2: "Steal My Sunshine" (10.9 MB, encoded with DivX)
Artist: Len
Fandom: Finding Nemo
Character: Nemo
Requested by: permetaform
Lyrics:
(Karen, I love you)
I was lying on the bench slide in the park across the street
L-a-t-e-r that week
My sticky paws were into making straws out of big fat slurpy treats
An incredible eight foot heap
Now the funny glare to pay a gleaming tear in a staring under heat
Involved an under usual feet
And I'm not only among but I invite who I want to come
So I missed a million miles of fun
I know it's up for me
If you steal my sunshine
Making sure I'm not in too deep
If you steal my sunshine
Keeping versed and on my feet
If you steal my sunshine
No sunshine
If you steal my sunshine
What I Think, What I Learned, Etc.:
OMG, this vid really *really* did NOT want to get made. I have been in utter agony for the past two days, y'all. First of all, I'd only seen the movie once before, and that was last year, so I didn't remember much of it and had to watch it again before I could even begin to plan this one out. Secondly, permetaform had requested second verse with Nemo POV, so I thought Hey, that's doable, and I started to form some vague ideas about what the vid should look like. Then I actually got around to rewatching the movie and realized that I had the fish mixed up in my head; I thought Nemo was the one who traveled across the ocean, but no, he's the one stuck in an aquarium for 90% of the film. So I had to completely scrap my vid plan (such as it was) and start over.
I also put this vidlet off for a really long time because I just didn't know what on earth to do with it. The song is bright and fun and bouncy and perfect for the movie, but the lyrics make no sense and I can't even understand them when I'm reading a lyric sheet while listening to the song. And for someone like me who clings to lyrics like a liferaft, that's a pretty big stumbling block. I also wasn't familiar enough with the source to develop a sufficient idea of what the vid should be about. So I eventually decided to fuck the lyrics and fuck the narrative; I'd make this vidlet an experiment with movement. It's something I've been wanting to work on for a while, and both the song and movie have enough energy and variety to provide an ample playground. This was my plan. So I sit down to actually *make* the thing, and what happens? I completely forget about movement and churn out an incredibly-narratively-focused, almost completely chronological vid. I'm starting to wonder if I CAN vid non-narratively at this point.
I vidded for about 4 hours Sunday night, and then started again at 5:30 Monday evening, and am sitting here typing this post at 5:00 Tuesday morning. Yes, I stayed up all night. I am NOT a fast vidder. That's one other thing I'm learning from IJVP; the vidlet-in-a-day thing? So, so not my scene. I have no idea how the rest of you IVP'ers do it. Although I do feel the need to point out that at least two hours were spent on the credits. Not making them (that took maybe 20 minutes including ripping new clips), but trying to find the right VOB file on the DVD that had the clip I wanted, as it's part of the menu and not in the actual movie.
This vid contains what is probably the fastest cutting I've ever done. Fast cuts and I do not get along so well. I love them in other people's vids, but it's like pulling teeth to force myself to put them in my own, because ... well, I don't know why. They just don't come naturally to me. I'd be interested to hear what you think of the pacing: if it's too fast, not fast enough, if the intercutting makes sense, etc.
I'm not gonna go into specifics for every single place where I used effects, because I'm tired. :) But here are the basics:
Comments or critique of ANY kind are vastly appreciated! If you have suggestions on how I can improve my vidding style or what I should have done differently, please don't hesitate to share.
Vidlet #2: "Steal My Sunshine" (10.9 MB, encoded with DivX)
Artist: Len
Fandom: Finding Nemo
Character: Nemo
Requested by: permetaform
Lyrics:
(Karen, I love you)
I was lying on the bench slide in the park across the street
L-a-t-e-r that week
My sticky paws were into making straws out of big fat slurpy treats
An incredible eight foot heap
Now the funny glare to pay a gleaming tear in a staring under heat
Involved an under usual feet
And I'm not only among but I invite who I want to come
So I missed a million miles of fun
I know it's up for me
If you steal my sunshine
Making sure I'm not in too deep
If you steal my sunshine
Keeping versed and on my feet
If you steal my sunshine
No sunshine
If you steal my sunshine
What I Think, What I Learned, Etc.:
OMG, this vid really *really* did NOT want to get made. I have been in utter agony for the past two days, y'all. First of all, I'd only seen the movie once before, and that was last year, so I didn't remember much of it and had to watch it again before I could even begin to plan this one out. Secondly, permetaform had requested second verse with Nemo POV, so I thought Hey, that's doable, and I started to form some vague ideas about what the vid should look like. Then I actually got around to rewatching the movie and realized that I had the fish mixed up in my head; I thought Nemo was the one who traveled across the ocean, but no, he's the one stuck in an aquarium for 90% of the film. So I had to completely scrap my vid plan (such as it was) and start over.
I also put this vidlet off for a really long time because I just didn't know what on earth to do with it. The song is bright and fun and bouncy and perfect for the movie, but the lyrics make no sense and I can't even understand them when I'm reading a lyric sheet while listening to the song. And for someone like me who clings to lyrics like a liferaft, that's a pretty big stumbling block. I also wasn't familiar enough with the source to develop a sufficient idea of what the vid should be about. So I eventually decided to fuck the lyrics and fuck the narrative; I'd make this vidlet an experiment with movement. It's something I've been wanting to work on for a while, and both the song and movie have enough energy and variety to provide an ample playground. This was my plan. So I sit down to actually *make* the thing, and what happens? I completely forget about movement and churn out an incredibly-narratively-focused, almost completely chronological vid. I'm starting to wonder if I CAN vid non-narratively at this point.
I vidded for about 4 hours Sunday night, and then started again at 5:30 Monday evening, and am sitting here typing this post at 5:00 Tuesday morning. Yes, I stayed up all night. I am NOT a fast vidder. That's one other thing I'm learning from IJVP; the vidlet-in-a-day thing? So, so not my scene. I have no idea how the rest of you IVP'ers do it. Although I do feel the need to point out that at least two hours were spent on the credits. Not making them (that took maybe 20 minutes including ripping new clips), but trying to find the right VOB file on the DVD that had the clip I wanted, as it's part of the menu and not in the actual movie.
This vid contains what is probably the fastest cutting I've ever done. Fast cuts and I do not get along so well. I love them in other people's vids, but it's like pulling teeth to force myself to put them in my own, because ... well, I don't know why. They just don't come naturally to me. I'd be interested to hear what you think of the pacing: if it's too fast, not fast enough, if the intercutting makes sense, etc.
I'm not gonna go into specifics for every single place where I used effects, because I'm tired. :) But here are the basics:
- For the "flashes" to ocean or Marlin/Nemo scenes, I played around with Levels, Desaturate, Soft Edges, and Zoom Blur. I had a solid color matte underneath all of these, to show through at the edges of the frame. It's not white; it's a very light blue, in keeping with the whole ocean vibe.
- On "I love you", right before the main vocals come in, the bleed-to-white is done by keyframing Levels and Desaturate filters.
- I flipped two clips horizontally to match the direction of the surrounding clips; they're the green-tinged Nemo-with-a-rock clips at 0:37 and 0:39. I feel guilty about this because a major plot point of the movie is that Nemo's right fin is tiny and weak, and so if you pay attention to those clips, it's obvious they're flipped. Oh well.
- The dissolve to the ocean floor at 0:42 has almost the same settings as the "flashback" clips (Levels, Desaturate, Soft Edges, Zoom Blur), with the addition of a keyframed opacity.
- I zoomed in on belly-up!Nemo in the bag and on the last clip.
- Lots of speed changes. Hardly any color adjustment except where previously indicated.
- The very last effect was achieved by making 5 copies of the same freeze-frame and lining them up on top of one another in 5 adjacent video tracks. Then I just staggered the ending points of each clip, ending with a zoom transition. Every clip has a keyframed opacity; they all start at 100%, and end at successively-decreasing percentages right before they zoom out of frame. Also, there's a Soft Edges filter keyframed on each one to appear right before the zoom starts. That probably makes no sense, and if you want me to explain further with mathematics and pretty charts, I can.
Comments or critique of ANY kind are vastly appreciated! If you have suggestions on how I can improve my vidding style or what I should have done differently, please don't hesitate to share.