VID: 'Blackbird' [SPN, Sam]
Oh, man, there are no words for how fulfilling it is to finally finish a vid whose song has been staring at you on your ‘to vid’ play list for years...
‘BLACKBIRD‘
Sam Winchester in Season Four
Song/Artist: ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles (both original and Across The Universe) versions
Vidder: zimshan
Show/Character: Supernatural/Sam Winchester
Length: 2:29
Summary: Into the light of a dark black night, you were only waiting for this moment to be free
Links: MPEG (640x320) (29 MB) | AVI (640x320) (26 MB) | BAM Vid Vault (Streaming)
Disclaimer: All clips property of Eric Kripke, WB & The CW. I claim no ownership of anything in this vid other than the editing I have done myself.
Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault
Special thanks to dev_earl for taking a last minute look at this and helping me frame the vid‘s overall tone!
CONCEPTUAL & TECHNICAL NOTES
No joke, this song has been sitting on my ‘to vid’ playlist waiting for its source FOR YEARS. At least since Season Three maybe even before that, I can’t even remember anymore. For so long, it was a simple, one-note idea, a somewhat sinister take on an otherwise hopeful song. Instead, Sam’s story progressed into one that grabbed me by the heart strings, and so the idea has morphed slowly with time. He’s a damn hard character to capture, and I’ve had a hell of a time getting a song works for him. I can’t tell you how many Sam vids I’ve scrapped over the years. But the guy just breaks my heart with how hard he continually tries despite it all. And I just wanted something to finally capture that.
For this vid, in my mind, the black bird referred to here is a raven, recognized by multiple cultures to be the bringer of both death and wisdom. And so just like the bird, there’s a duality in the song of the dark and light, sadness and hope. While the real author’s intent on this song is pretty widely known, there have been many personal interpretations over the years derived from it as well. For me, it has always captured the desperate will to push forward, the risk you take in always trying, and the wisdom you gain after an inevitable fall. So it’s slightly hysterical that only now after completing this, do I fully notice just how much it captures Sam, especially recently.
I applied on the song here a slight double displacement, an old producer’s trick to achieve a thicker, fuller sound. In this case I was interested in highlighting the song's inherent duality by making a physical disconnect as well. So double Paul McCartneys for you all! :)
This is also my first non-Ulead video. Working with Vegas instead was an interesting challenge and the main reason this thing didn’t get finished this summer. It was definitely a learning experience, right from the first clip laid. But in retrospect, had I known what I was doing when I first started this, my approach would have been different and probably would have resulted in a very different vid. In this case, I think going into the dark black night only helped it. I did have trouble retaining the quality of some clips after coloring and effects, some of which I fixed, others of which I'm still wishing I could have fixed. But I love the freedom of pretty credits now, and wouldn't go back for anything. ;)
And yes, that is the Across the Universe version in the beginning and ending. I wish the two versions flowed into each other better, but I tried to supplement the change as much as I could with an audio bridge (stolen from Andrew Bird‘s [ha!] "A Nervous Tick Motion From The Head To The Left" if you're having a 'where have I heard that?' moment).
LYRICS:
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
[Bridge]
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Comments are like cake and cookies with frosting on top. :)
‘BLACKBIRD‘
Sam Winchester in Season Four
Song/Artist: ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles (both original and Across The Universe) versions
Vidder: zimshan
Show/Character: Supernatural/Sam Winchester
Length: 2:29
Summary: Into the light of a dark black night, you were only waiting for this moment to be free
Links: MPEG (640x320) (29 MB) | AVI (640x320) (26 MB) | BAM Vid Vault (Streaming)
Disclaimer: All clips property of Eric Kripke, WB & The CW. I claim no ownership of anything in this vid other than the editing I have done myself.
Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault
Special thanks to dev_earl for taking a last minute look at this and helping me frame the vid‘s overall tone!
CONCEPTUAL & TECHNICAL NOTES
No joke, this song has been sitting on my ‘to vid’ playlist waiting for its source FOR YEARS. At least since Season Three maybe even before that, I can’t even remember anymore. For so long, it was a simple, one-note idea, a somewhat sinister take on an otherwise hopeful song. Instead, Sam’s story progressed into one that grabbed me by the heart strings, and so the idea has morphed slowly with time. He’s a damn hard character to capture, and I’ve had a hell of a time getting a song works for him. I can’t tell you how many Sam vids I’ve scrapped over the years. But the guy just breaks my heart with how hard he continually tries despite it all. And I just wanted something to finally capture that.
For this vid, in my mind, the black bird referred to here is a raven, recognized by multiple cultures to be the bringer of both death and wisdom. And so just like the bird, there’s a duality in the song of the dark and light, sadness and hope. While the real author’s intent on this song is pretty widely known, there have been many personal interpretations over the years derived from it as well. For me, it has always captured the desperate will to push forward, the risk you take in always trying, and the wisdom you gain after an inevitable fall. So it’s slightly hysterical that only now after completing this, do I fully notice just how much it captures Sam, especially recently.
I applied on the song here a slight double displacement, an old producer’s trick to achieve a thicker, fuller sound. In this case I was interested in highlighting the song's inherent duality by making a physical disconnect as well. So double Paul McCartneys for you all! :)
This is also my first non-Ulead video. Working with Vegas instead was an interesting challenge and the main reason this thing didn’t get finished this summer. It was definitely a learning experience, right from the first clip laid. But in retrospect, had I known what I was doing when I first started this, my approach would have been different and probably would have resulted in a very different vid. In this case, I think going into the dark black night only helped it. I did have trouble retaining the quality of some clips after coloring and effects, some of which I fixed, others of which I'm still wishing I could have fixed. But I love the freedom of pretty credits now, and wouldn't go back for anything. ;)
And yes, that is the Across the Universe version in the beginning and ending. I wish the two versions flowed into each other better, but I tried to supplement the change as much as I could with an audio bridge (stolen from Andrew Bird‘s [ha!] "A Nervous Tick Motion From The Head To The Left" if you're having a 'where have I heard that?' moment).
LYRICS:
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
[Bridge]
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
Comments are like cake and cookies with frosting on top. :)