Ask the Vidder/Artist maichan808

[maichan]

Hello there, spnroundtable! My thanks to the lovely oxoniensis for inviting me to participate in this round of Ask the Vidder.

I thought I’d get the ball rolling with some of the most frequently asked questions about my work:

Comments

[krisd81]

Do you find it hard to still create art based on characters from SPN, after so much time? What keeps you going?

[maichan]

When putting together samples for this post, I noticed that most of the art I create is J2 and not SPN. And since RPS is predominantly AU, I can indulge in everything from J2 cowboys to Mormons, which keeps things engaging for me. Plus, you know how I feel about any opportunity to genderswap/cross-dress these boys :P

[deirdre_c]

Hi! Hi! Yay, it's you!!

*insert requisite 'how are you so AWESOME?!?' here*

Wait, I have to ask real question? Um... are you ever tempted to go back and re-edit vids when new canon comes around? Or just re-edit because you later realize you don't like how something came out originally?

(Also, how so awesome?)

[ash48]

HEE!! You pinched my question! Or rather... great minds think alike.. :D

How the hell is she so awesome!?!

[maichan]

Oh pssh, I could say the same to the both of you :D

[deirdre_c]

Wheee! It's the Mutual Admiration Society! I nominate you for president. ;)

[ash48]

I'd ask "how are you so awesome?* but that'd be showing off my fangirling too much.. so, instead, two questions...

Can you tell me about what inspires you - especially for vidding. (song, idea, fic, .. etc.)

Can you tell me more about Snapz Pro X. Better than MPEGStreamclip or Quicktime for clipping?

[maichan]

My crackiest ideas often come from miller_thriller and bluetambereen, like the Shrine of Jared's Ass. I wouldn't call them muses since I reject half the random craziness they come to me with, but they do keep me amused.

Other times I get inspired by a challenge like the title sequence in the style of Chuck. That project was a almost like a personal test to see if I had the patience and skill to do frame-by-frame animation.

And like most vidders, music plays a big part in inspiring me. Sometimes you just see a vid in your mind when you hear a piece of music.

As for your second question, Snapz Pro X is totally different from MPEGStreamclip and Quicktime because it's a motion capture software. I don't actually split up larger files, I just record the portion of the episode I want and the program converts it into a Quicktime file. This is especially useful for getting around the DRM from iTunes episodes. It also saves me the hassle of ripping my DVDs.

[bitter_crimson]

I have a follow-up question! What framerate do you record at with Snapz Pro X, then? Do you try to match the source or do you do, like, double the framerate and then later convert it back down? I ask just b/c I tried to capture source like this once (using CamStudio; I'm on a PC), but it was very choppy. Admittedly I didn't play around with it much b/c I found an alternate capture method for that particular source, but I just figured I'd ~ask~ how you do it. ;)

[maichan]

I record at 30 fps for smoothest capture, but the program allows you to set any rate up to 30. I know a lot of people complain about choppiness with other capture software, but unfortunately I don't know of a PC equivalent for Snapz Pro X which is only available for Mac.

[rhythmsextion]

Okay, I have to tell you this. My dad's home sick today and I was reading this post and flailing and I showed him the picture of Jensen in glasses and his entire response was, "WOW," like, in serious awe. And then, "She DREW that? It looks like a photograph." HEEE.

And now I will ask a question! Have you ever had an idea for a vid or art piece that you haven't gotten around to creating because it feels too intimidating? Or, alternatively, have you ever tackled an idea that ended up having a life of its own and turned out completely different than you intended?

[maichan]

Aww, your dad is so precious *pets him*

And yes, I do have some ideas brewing, but I haven't gotten the motivation to do them because they are so labor intensive. I do want to try doing more animation, but at 24 frames a sec, it's a super painstaking process.

As for the second part, that's only happened once. I had an idea for a Christmasy vid for spn_j2_xmas that turned out to be about Dean's journey to the afterlife. So yeah, I ended up making another vid for the recipient that was more in the holiday spirit. LOL

[maichan]

Aww, thank you! I play around with textures a lot in my coloring so I can gain a lot of detail that way.

And I have two J2 art postings coming up this month for j2_everafter.