Ramble, SDW, ramble!
How is it Thursday? It feels like Friday. Surely it must be Friday. I've done enough work for it to be Friday. Heh.
Via side-of-zen, BSG's fourth season has been upped from 13 to 22 episodes. I hope that they are able to get their act together for another long season, but after the mid-season slumps (or collapse, even) in both Season 2 and 3, I'm not that hopeful.
I have Thoughts to share about You Can Call Me that have been rattling around in my head since I posted it. Thoughts I wasn't actually sure I should share because I talk not just about the process, but a lot about the product, and I'm not trying to override what people are getting out of what they're seeing, but I can't stop thinking about why this vid worked for me. I got very long-winded and detailed. And self-absorbed. You've been warned. *g*
The...realization, I suppose, that I keep coming back to with this vid is that I feel like I was able to let my heart go for the first time, without feeling I had to pull back a little or protect myself. Normally I have an internal editor that doesn't let me say too much that I think is too personal, and even in vidding there have been times I haven't let it go that extra step when I maybe should have. But the fact that the essential theme of this vid is about love and connection let me tap into that and really share it.
Part of it, too, is that I feel that if I vid too much from the emotive place, that I'll lose all of my skill. That somehow emotion works at cross purposes with ability. And I think, at least for me, that that's true in some ways. What is most remarkable to me about the way this vid came together was that my vidding skills were what kept me afloat and allowed me to add coherence. I guess it was the connection part of the theme. Hm.
The connection part of the vid actually was the last piece to fall into place. When I first got the idea it was as three separate character portraits, with a smattering of fun thrown in. I didn't know where I was going to end or how I was going to get there, and even my storyboard notes are primarily notes on the stanzas, not touching the choruses at all.
It was the Vecchio stanza that first gave me the idea of the vid at all. I was randomly listening to the song and "soft in the middle" made me think of him. "Shot at redemption" was what sealed the deal, and as I listened eagerly to the rest of the song, wondering how I would make it all work (because clearly it was about Fraser's effect on Ray even from the beginning), "short little span of attention" was when I knew it would be about all three of them. I've known and loved this song for years and I never ever imagined I would vid it. The original video is one of my favorites!
The Vecchio section came together the most quickly and with the least amount of pain. I knew immediately what I wanted for 90% of it, and the parts I didn't know ended up being fed by the parts I did. I went through a couple of different clips before I got to the basketball for Vecchio on "redemption." And, interestingly, each time I changed the clip it was to get more and more abstract, from Zuko bleeding on the floor, to Ray holding the basketball, to the basketball itself. I got a lot of comments on the basketball - it was, until I laid the Fraser clips - my favorite part of the whole vid, because I felt like if you knew the show, that one bounce really lived up to the "a picture is worth a thousand words" edict. It tells me about Marco Metroni, about Fraser and Frank on the court, about Frank's petty use of power, and about Ray ultimately redeeming himself. Plus the basketball bounces on the beat. Hee.
My other favorite parts of the Vecchio section were the bits with his dad and the pool table, and the badge. I have always been intrigued by Ray's fascination with his father playing pool, the way he latches onto that as something to connect to. And I love the fact that Ray isn't his dad when he could have so easily become that, or become a mobster of any sort. The bit with Ray's redemption is meant to lead into Ray's father and then the mobster very much on purpose - these are the things he's holding at bay (his "well-lit door") by becoming a cop. Becoming a cop isn't just about Ray wanting to save other people, but about needing to save himself as well, and Fraser comes in and helps him do that.
As for the connecting shots between each stanza of Vecchio and Kowalski, I have to thank the show for giving me exactly what I needed. Those bits weren't planned at all, but once I laid the first ones at the beginning, the rest just fell into place. I chose Kowalski throwing the papers for after the Vecchio stanza so that we had the sense that we were moving from Vecchio (who sets the papers down) to Kowalski within the structure of the vid as well. Plus having the fighting shots up front let me use them coming together and laughing right before the Fraser section, since by then I had introduced Fraser in each of their sections and you (hopefully) knew that these ties were binding them all together. Getting a chance to use the Vecchio & Kowalsi working together bits during the instrumental bridge was a bonus that I think really helped sell the feeling that all of these guys were connected together.
For each guy's section, I tried to have their "a man walks down the street" moving, but in different ways. Vecchio is striding, straight line, but in a side shot. Kowalski I have doing a sort of spin movement - turn to the back shot, back shot, turn to the front shot, because Kowalski is all about movement. His section was the most fun to put together, actually, because it was great getting him to move. His energy is different and I tried to capture that with both the internal movement of the clips and the way they were cut. (And I got to use the little dance from the country music episode! I love the little dance! Hee.) I knew almost from the beginning that Volpe was going to be the girl in the alley, and I have a shot of RayK grinning after that reveal as a sort of meta moment of him laughing at the joke, like he heard Paul Simon calling Volpe a girl and that made him laugh. Heh. I didn't realize I was going to bring Volpe back after that until I laid the clip and it all made sense.
I struggled with "what if I die here," whether I should include the clip of Kowalski actually lying in the grave or if that would just be so on-the-nose that it was disruptive. Ultimately I went with it because it was, to me, more about just the sight gag of Kowalski lying in the open grave (although that was a side benefit), but also because this is when we've first really met Kowalski and we're learning about his regrets and the things he wished he could change, and I like that moment as a turning point for him, for realizing that he doesn't have to die being the man who regrets his past, that he can accept it and move on. That was a very long sentence.
The toughest part about the Vecchio and Kowalski stanzas was not showing Fraser's face. I kept wanting to use scenes where Fraser was involved, but I managed to keep his face out of both of their sections until their choruses. Inadverantly I did include shots of his back at least once for each of them and that actually worked to the vid's benefit because it gave the viewer the hint of Fraser so you were subconsciously ready for him when he arrived. (Plus, he is the third face you see at the start of the vid, so when he gets his own section later you're hopefully not entirely surprised!)
I also tried to mimic some of the scenes in each chorus - "if you'll be my bodyguard" are both times where Fraser is giving them emotional comfort instead of physical; "I can call you" are times with them conversely giving Fraser some sort of emotional connection (both times through a physical touch). The cut from Kowalski on the sled to Vecchio on the sled was done to bring us back to Vecchio in a hopefully not confusing way so I could - again! - connect each Ray individually to Fraser and then, on the horn section (which, once I knew this was about the three of them, was always and forever Vecchio opening the hotel room door), connect all three together. The sled cut was also to show that the two Rays are not really that different, they're both setting out on adventures with Fraser at the end of those episodes (the Pilot and CotW). I tried to once again mimic some of the movements in each of their sections during the bridge, with the lifting Fraser up from the ground dissolve as the most obvious.
Fraser's "a man walks down the street" is walking towards us, which I love because it's about him walking towards us, the viewer, and also the Rays and Chicago the city. He's about openness, willingness to see what's going on and try to help. And that's pretty much what his whole section is about - what he gives to the city and what he gets, without asking, in return: love, connection, angels. :)
"Orphanages" was another bit I struggled with; my first thought was to go to the obvious orphanage from ACAAMAAB, but as with the Rays sections, I wanted this to be about him alone, doing these things on his own and then how much brighter and better everything is with his Rays and his friends in the picture. "Angels in the architecture" is about how Fraser sees the people he's met in Chicago (and Mr. Mustafi is standing in for the neighborhood at large here), but it's also and - this is where the meta gets kind of loud - the fact that I love these characters as well. It's like 3 seconds of adoration.
Then of course, "amen, hallelujah." I originally had Fraser's smile on "amen" and then the cut to the wide shot of everyone clapping for him on "hallelujah," but then pipsqueaky said "why don't you flip those two shots? I think it might work better." Pips - I bow at your feet. Thank you! It's the moment that seals the whole vid, IMO, and I'm not even responsible for it. *g* If you ever want to know why to use betas, I'll just point to that clip.
This song was structured so perfectly for what I wanted to do that I didn't give it a lot of thought when I was first laying the clips, I just went with what was there. Fraser's chorus, coming after "angels in the architecture" gets to be about the comraderie and comfort he gets from everyone even as he's helping them. As someone said when they commented, it's not that Fraser or the Rays are doing these things with an expectation of reward, it's that they're doing these things and getting a reward, and that reward is - wait for it! - connection and love. :)
I used the shot of Fraser looking upward on his last "call me" before the Rays come back into it because I liked him looking up like that, it's sort of a Superman pose (which we'll see again at the end) and it leads us back into the Rays working together in CotW. The rest I don't really have much to say, except I really thought the last clip was going to be the three of them for a long time, then at one point it was going to be a tracking shot of just Vecchio, a tracking shot of just Kowalski, and the tracking shot of Fraser that it is now, and neither one of those endings worked. Eventually I realized that, much like the show, this vid is ultimately about Fraser, and it should end that way.
Whether you made it through all of that or not, you should go read brynnmck's two new birthday themed ficlets because they are fantastic.
Due South (Fraser/Vecchio/Kowalski! PG-13; spoilers through "Call of the Wild") - It's Fraser's 40th birthday and no one seems to remember.
Slings & Arrows (Geoffrey & Anna! OTF of Ultimate Awesome! PG-13 for language; spoilers through 2x01) - Anna celebrates a birthday and she and Geoffrey are unbelievably amazing together as always
Back to work.
Via side-of-zen, BSG's fourth season has been upped from 13 to 22 episodes. I hope that they are able to get their act together for another long season, but after the mid-season slumps (or collapse, even) in both Season 2 and 3, I'm not that hopeful.
I have Thoughts to share about You Can Call Me that have been rattling around in my head since I posted it. Thoughts I wasn't actually sure I should share because I talk not just about the process, but a lot about the product, and I'm not trying to override what people are getting out of what they're seeing, but I can't stop thinking about why this vid worked for me. I got very long-winded and detailed. And self-absorbed. You've been warned. *g*
The...realization, I suppose, that I keep coming back to with this vid is that I feel like I was able to let my heart go for the first time, without feeling I had to pull back a little or protect myself. Normally I have an internal editor that doesn't let me say too much that I think is too personal, and even in vidding there have been times I haven't let it go that extra step when I maybe should have. But the fact that the essential theme of this vid is about love and connection let me tap into that and really share it.
Part of it, too, is that I feel that if I vid too much from the emotive place, that I'll lose all of my skill. That somehow emotion works at cross purposes with ability. And I think, at least for me, that that's true in some ways. What is most remarkable to me about the way this vid came together was that my vidding skills were what kept me afloat and allowed me to add coherence. I guess it was the connection part of the theme. Hm.
The connection part of the vid actually was the last piece to fall into place. When I first got the idea it was as three separate character portraits, with a smattering of fun thrown in. I didn't know where I was going to end or how I was going to get there, and even my storyboard notes are primarily notes on the stanzas, not touching the choruses at all.
It was the Vecchio stanza that first gave me the idea of the vid at all. I was randomly listening to the song and "soft in the middle" made me think of him. "Shot at redemption" was what sealed the deal, and as I listened eagerly to the rest of the song, wondering how I would make it all work (because clearly it was about Fraser's effect on Ray even from the beginning), "short little span of attention" was when I knew it would be about all three of them. I've known and loved this song for years and I never ever imagined I would vid it. The original video is one of my favorites!
The Vecchio section came together the most quickly and with the least amount of pain. I knew immediately what I wanted for 90% of it, and the parts I didn't know ended up being fed by the parts I did. I went through a couple of different clips before I got to the basketball for Vecchio on "redemption." And, interestingly, each time I changed the clip it was to get more and more abstract, from Zuko bleeding on the floor, to Ray holding the basketball, to the basketball itself. I got a lot of comments on the basketball - it was, until I laid the Fraser clips - my favorite part of the whole vid, because I felt like if you knew the show, that one bounce really lived up to the "a picture is worth a thousand words" edict. It tells me about Marco Metroni, about Fraser and Frank on the court, about Frank's petty use of power, and about Ray ultimately redeeming himself. Plus the basketball bounces on the beat. Hee.
My other favorite parts of the Vecchio section were the bits with his dad and the pool table, and the badge. I have always been intrigued by Ray's fascination with his father playing pool, the way he latches onto that as something to connect to. And I love the fact that Ray isn't his dad when he could have so easily become that, or become a mobster of any sort. The bit with Ray's redemption is meant to lead into Ray's father and then the mobster very much on purpose - these are the things he's holding at bay (his "well-lit door") by becoming a cop. Becoming a cop isn't just about Ray wanting to save other people, but about needing to save himself as well, and Fraser comes in and helps him do that.
As for the connecting shots between each stanza of Vecchio and Kowalski, I have to thank the show for giving me exactly what I needed. Those bits weren't planned at all, but once I laid the first ones at the beginning, the rest just fell into place. I chose Kowalski throwing the papers for after the Vecchio stanza so that we had the sense that we were moving from Vecchio (who sets the papers down) to Kowalski within the structure of the vid as well. Plus having the fighting shots up front let me use them coming together and laughing right before the Fraser section, since by then I had introduced Fraser in each of their sections and you (hopefully) knew that these ties were binding them all together. Getting a chance to use the Vecchio & Kowalsi working together bits during the instrumental bridge was a bonus that I think really helped sell the feeling that all of these guys were connected together.
For each guy's section, I tried to have their "a man walks down the street" moving, but in different ways. Vecchio is striding, straight line, but in a side shot. Kowalski I have doing a sort of spin movement - turn to the back shot, back shot, turn to the front shot, because Kowalski is all about movement. His section was the most fun to put together, actually, because it was great getting him to move. His energy is different and I tried to capture that with both the internal movement of the clips and the way they were cut. (And I got to use the little dance from the country music episode! I love the little dance! Hee.) I knew almost from the beginning that Volpe was going to be the girl in the alley, and I have a shot of RayK grinning after that reveal as a sort of meta moment of him laughing at the joke, like he heard Paul Simon calling Volpe a girl and that made him laugh. Heh. I didn't realize I was going to bring Volpe back after that until I laid the clip and it all made sense.
I struggled with "what if I die here," whether I should include the clip of Kowalski actually lying in the grave or if that would just be so on-the-nose that it was disruptive. Ultimately I went with it because it was, to me, more about just the sight gag of Kowalski lying in the open grave (although that was a side benefit), but also because this is when we've first really met Kowalski and we're learning about his regrets and the things he wished he could change, and I like that moment as a turning point for him, for realizing that he doesn't have to die being the man who regrets his past, that he can accept it and move on. That was a very long sentence.
The toughest part about the Vecchio and Kowalski stanzas was not showing Fraser's face. I kept wanting to use scenes where Fraser was involved, but I managed to keep his face out of both of their sections until their choruses. Inadverantly I did include shots of his back at least once for each of them and that actually worked to the vid's benefit because it gave the viewer the hint of Fraser so you were subconsciously ready for him when he arrived. (Plus, he is the third face you see at the start of the vid, so when he gets his own section later you're hopefully not entirely surprised!)
I also tried to mimic some of the scenes in each chorus - "if you'll be my bodyguard" are both times where Fraser is giving them emotional comfort instead of physical; "I can call you" are times with them conversely giving Fraser some sort of emotional connection (both times through a physical touch). The cut from Kowalski on the sled to Vecchio on the sled was done to bring us back to Vecchio in a hopefully not confusing way so I could - again! - connect each Ray individually to Fraser and then, on the horn section (which, once I knew this was about the three of them, was always and forever Vecchio opening the hotel room door), connect all three together. The sled cut was also to show that the two Rays are not really that different, they're both setting out on adventures with Fraser at the end of those episodes (the Pilot and CotW). I tried to once again mimic some of the movements in each of their sections during the bridge, with the lifting Fraser up from the ground dissolve as the most obvious.
Fraser's "a man walks down the street" is walking towards us, which I love because it's about him walking towards us, the viewer, and also the Rays and Chicago the city. He's about openness, willingness to see what's going on and try to help. And that's pretty much what his whole section is about - what he gives to the city and what he gets, without asking, in return: love, connection, angels. :)
"Orphanages" was another bit I struggled with; my first thought was to go to the obvious orphanage from ACAAMAAB, but as with the Rays sections, I wanted this to be about him alone, doing these things on his own and then how much brighter and better everything is with his Rays and his friends in the picture. "Angels in the architecture" is about how Fraser sees the people he's met in Chicago (and Mr. Mustafi is standing in for the neighborhood at large here), but it's also and - this is where the meta gets kind of loud - the fact that I love these characters as well. It's like 3 seconds of adoration.
Then of course, "amen, hallelujah." I originally had Fraser's smile on "amen" and then the cut to the wide shot of everyone clapping for him on "hallelujah," but then pipsqueaky said "why don't you flip those two shots? I think it might work better." Pips - I bow at your feet. Thank you! It's the moment that seals the whole vid, IMO, and I'm not even responsible for it. *g* If you ever want to know why to use betas, I'll just point to that clip.
This song was structured so perfectly for what I wanted to do that I didn't give it a lot of thought when I was first laying the clips, I just went with what was there. Fraser's chorus, coming after "angels in the architecture" gets to be about the comraderie and comfort he gets from everyone even as he's helping them. As someone said when they commented, it's not that Fraser or the Rays are doing these things with an expectation of reward, it's that they're doing these things and getting a reward, and that reward is - wait for it! - connection and love. :)
I used the shot of Fraser looking upward on his last "call me" before the Rays come back into it because I liked him looking up like that, it's sort of a Superman pose (which we'll see again at the end) and it leads us back into the Rays working together in CotW. The rest I don't really have much to say, except I really thought the last clip was going to be the three of them for a long time, then at one point it was going to be a tracking shot of just Vecchio, a tracking shot of just Kowalski, and the tracking shot of Fraser that it is now, and neither one of those endings worked. Eventually I realized that, much like the show, this vid is ultimately about Fraser, and it should end that way.
Whether you made it through all of that or not, you should go read brynnmck's two new birthday themed ficlets because they are fantastic.
Due South (Fraser/Vecchio/Kowalski! PG-13; spoilers through "Call of the Wild") - It's Fraser's 40th birthday and no one seems to remember.
Slings & Arrows (Geoffrey & Anna! OTF of Ultimate Awesome! PG-13 for language; spoilers through 2x01) - Anna celebrates a birthday and she and Geoffrey are unbelievably amazing together as always
Back to work.