Vidding Chatter

[colls]

Hello vidders!!
Welcome to the monthly(-ish) chatter post.


How're your vids going? --- the ones you can talk about at least, for anyone else participating in exchanges.


What was your vidding gateway?
Either the first vid you made or the first vid you saw that made you think "I want to do that".


P.S. Feel free to talk about other vidding things (or non-vidding things), make suggestions for future monthly discussion posts, etc.

Comments

[colls]

I stumbled on a Firefly vid that included Serenity footage set to Aerosmith's 'Living on the Edge' and it blew me away*. I immediately wanted more and wanted to make my own.
I was heavy into the Stargate fandom at the time as well, and a couple vidders on my LJ flist - who were vidding Stargate - were kind and encouraging.
Especially valamd who I see is still somewhat active (yay!).


*FYI - I've searched for the Firefly vid since and haven't found it.

[nyctanthes]

Wading in though I'm definitely a vidder-in-training rather than a vidder.

1) First vid that made me think I want to do that: devilpiglet's (or was it sisabet's?) Buffy the Vampire Slayer vid, specifically about the episode Restless, set to Gorillaz "Clint Eastwood".

2) First (and to date only completed) vids: teenage boy id set, appropriately, to the White Stripes and the Violent Femmes. I'm branching out now. :P

3) I've clipped everything for my next vid! Some of these clips are even in the timeline. I'm resisting the urge to fully clip the other vid I'm working on, in the name of one project at a time. Though maybe it's better to get the most boring part over with all at once.

4) I'd love to hear people's thoughts on how they use bridges/instrumental sections in songs.

That said, I'm out of town for a while starting tomorrow, and might might be slow with the replies. This might be a topic for another month?

[seekingferret]

4) I'd love to hear people's thoughts on how they use bridges/instrumental sections in songs.

My theory on bridges/instrumentals is that:

a) ideally you luck out and the bridge just falls in the right place to let you continue your narrative arc

but when that doesn't work out:

b) My more pedestrian theory of vidding bridges is that your bridge should be an opportunity to say the same thing you're saying in the rest of the song, but in a different way. So if you've focused primarily on one set of characters, maybe the bridge is an opportunity to explore how a different character interacts with the same themes, or an opportunity to show the same set of characters in one particular setting that reinforces the vid's overall themes.

Also:

c)If you have nothing, it's totally okay to just cut out the bridge altogether! It's not cheating and nobody will look down on you for it.

[nyctanthes]

So sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your thoughtful comment.

To date I've done A (continue the narrative arc), which was a natural choice because the songs were lyrically dense.

But I'm interested in trying out B (explore theme, character, etc. in a new way.) The song I'm currently thinking about (I can't say working with since I've been so focused on writing over vidding this year, and have only started to clip), has minimal lyrics and a lot of instrumentals. Which works with the source in question, but presents challenges since I can't simply match images to words.

[seekingferret]

I find instrumentals fun to work with because you're not pinned down as much by the lyrics, so you get chances to do more dynamic and interesting things with the visuals with less constraint. I've done a few vids to purely instrumental songs and I find it really satisfying. But yes, it can be tricky to figure out at first. The only answer is practice. :P

I did a panel on vidding to jazz, mostly instrumentals, at VVC last year and I think my basic advice that came out of that for dealing with instrumental passages is to first understand the music theory as much as possible. What time signature is it in, what rhythms does it use, what is the overall musical structure, what harmonic structures are used, etc... Just as much as music with lyrics has narrative that you can use, instrumental music has narrative and music theory is the language that has been developed to talk about that narrative structure. I like to put markers on my timeline at key moments: with lyrics, I mark key lyrics that I want to make sure I hit properly... with music, I mark changes in the music, changes in rhythm or instrumentation or key signature.

[maristu]

4) I'd love to hear people's thoughts on how they use bridges/instrumental sections in songs.

Hmmm... I usually start off with a plan for a theme in the bridges/instrumentals and then end up with something completely different. Generally I try to follow the flow of the song? So for example, I did Bohemian Rhapsody at one point and that has SO MANY instrumentals, and each one evoked different feelings so I went with them, like the guitar was Lex and Lionel fencing, and then the big dramatic finish was Lex and Lionel arguing and then Lex considering if he'd let Lionel die or not. But that kind of song is easier (for me) because they're not very repetitive. For songs with a lot of repetition I try to create a theme, but sometimes I just go where the vid narrative is taking me. And sometimes I just fill it in? Hee. Which is the case for All Star, where I vidded the parts with lyrics and then used the instrumental to narratively bridge the different sections. And then there's Bad to the Bone, where I just cut off a lot of the instrumentals (that song is SO LONG).

Sorry this was so convoluted!

[nyctanthes]

Oh my goodness, it's been so long since you posted this thoughtful comment. My apologies for taking so long to reply!

I like the idea of using the instrumentals to cover different aspects of a character or different feelings/aspects of a relationship. I've been pretty literal in my thinking about bridges (using them to cover parts of the narrative.) And it's interesting to think about ways to get outside this box.

Oh! And I see that you did a Killmonger vid. Very excited to watch that. I tried, but the song was tough and my will to finish it wasn't strong enough. :P

[colls]

3) Congrats!

I’ve sometimes used the instrumental/bridge to highlight a different aspect of the sources. Like if my vid is a found family thing, I’ll use the bridge to show battles they’ve faced together (action scenes) or vice versa using it to highlight emotional scenes if I’m doing an action vid.

[nyctanthes]

So late in my response...

I'm really glad I asked this question. Beyond helping me make better vids (which, let's face it, could take decades because I spend so much more time writing than vidding), it's got me thinking about how to watch them with a more critical (and by that I mean aware) eye.

[colls]

I'm glad you joined in, too! :)

[ljwrites]

4) I'd love to hear people's thoughts on how they use bridges/instrumental sections in songs.

Personally I think of them as a kind of counterpoint. If the song is generally fast/intense with clips going by at a fast pace I might make the bridge a breather with slower, more introspective sequences, for instance. One thing I loved was lowering the music volume during the bridge and putting in spoken lines, in part because voice work was a major thing I played around in the video. As someone said upthread, skipping/shortening is totally valid as well--most songs have to be edited down for vids anyway in my experience.

[nyctanthes]

I've been meaning to reply to these comments and am finally doing so...six weeks later! Better late than never?

I really like this idea of using the bridge as a counterpoint. Fast vs slow, adding in spoken lines. (I know that dialogue in vids generates strong feelings, but I don't mind it, esp. if the vid is set to a source few people are familiar with.) To date, I've used bridges literally - they're a way to get the viewer from one part of the story to the next. It's interesting to think how they might serve less literal, more thematic purposes.

[dirty_diana]

I think I'm coming at this slightly differently, because I'm not likely to be found working in music genres where the bridge is instrumental. It's more likely to be an intense lyrical bit or Left Eye rapping or something. In which case there's a good chance the bridge is my favourite part of the song! and I am not short on things to say about it. I get more concerned about trying to not overdo it, honestly, since the pop/r&b bridge is basically designed as an invitation to cheese. I am also a vote for, if it isn't helpfully adding to your narrative then cut it out with no regrets. That also goes for verses and choruses and long fiddly intros. If you don't need it then you don't need it.

[maristu]

My vids are actually going well! Except for the part where I'm stuck. Actually I know what I want to do and I know how to do it but it's just SO HARD. I'm doing an action vid for the first time. Well, not the first time I've vidded action sequences, but the first time I'm doing it in a non-narrative setting. And I want to match action shots from different characters with similar movements and MAN, THAT IS HARD. I've watched so many vids and I think it's so cool but finding scenes that match well in 20 different movies (Marvel) is crazy. But I'll get there eventually. Even if I have to watch everything again. Which is no hardship, I'll admit :)

As for what got me into vidding, it was so long ago I don't actually remember :) I know that Smallville was what made me discover that fandom existed in the first place (I'm in Brazil so we get things slightly later here), and somewhere in my internet searches I discovered an SV vid and just fell in love. I immediately knew that I wanted to do that and what I wanted my first vid to be (Lex vidded to Bohemian Rhapsody, because I'm a Go Big or Go Home kind of girl), and I somehow found bonibaru, and she introduced me to LJ and held my hand during the vidding process and rec'ed all my vids and sent me tons of other recs for fanfic and such, and thus my fannish life began! That was back in 2002. Wow, it's been a while.

[colls]

Having an ambitious project is fun, but I get the feeling of being stuck by it sometimes. I haven’t done anything horribly ambitious in ages.
I hope you enjoy rewatching?, ;)

That’s awesome that you found a bidder early on.

[ljwrites]

Ah yes, finding parallel/blended action is a bitch. It was hard even for one show and a vid focused on two characters. I ended up having to rewatch most of Avatar: The Last Airbender to find enough clips, which was, as in your case, no hardship.

[ljwrites]

I've been thinking forever about starting a Catradora video, but didn't get past processing Episode 1 footage for testing purposes and editing the song to the desired length (Total Eclipse of the Heart, because if that isn't the most extra song for this most extra of ships...). I just need to buckle down and give it my attention, and hope to start this week.

My very first video was a Disney's Brother Bear fanvid that is, in retrospect, of appalling quality. I didn't know anything about vidding, encoding, compression etc. and used a fricking Divx rip even though I had the DVD and could have ripped it at high quality lol. The vid still had some good ideas behind it, but the execution was embarrassing. Fortunately I've learned a lot more since then and my newer vids are light-years better, but I'll always remember that first earnest, fumbling attempt with cringing fondness.

[maristu]

I just finished remastering my first videos and it's taken all my strength to not "fix" them. Some of them are just SO BAD! But there's a story there, and a learning curve, so I left them as is and should be posting them soon!

[colls]

Last year I looked at a couple of my early vids and felt much the same - the *idea* was good, but.... :/
In any case, hopefully it's the love of the subject that shines greater than any technical flaws or self-criticism when you revisit your early vids. :)

For my own purposes, I decided to never again vid with cam footage. (LOL - yes I did that! and I'm not even ashamed anymore)

[dirty_diana]

I really loved this Battlestar Galactica vid that is no longer online that I can tell, and I think it was the first time a vid matched up with my id enough to not seem like weird alchemy but something I could possibly do. I made a terrible SGA vid on Movie Maker, then didn't try again for 10 years. (I partly just didn't have the right hardware for quite a bit.)

I have not been vidding as much as planned, but there is a tiny bit of forward progress.

[maristu]

Yay someone else with a ten year hiatus! :) Glad you didn't give up.

[dirty_diana]

Ha, same to you! High five for trying again.

[colls]

I remember a couple good BSG vids from before I started vidding and thought they were pretty epic. Maybe we saw the same one? - LOL

I've not had enough vidding time myself lately either - hopefully it changes for us both soon!

[morgandawn]

My gateway vid (the one that made me want to vid more than anything else) was GayleF's "Data's Dream'. A decade later I got a chance to help her remaster the vid so we could put it online.
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Data%27s_Dream

[colls]

That's a fantastic gateway-to-vidding journey and sounds like it was such a great project to work on.

[cupidsbow]

That's such a great story! *goes to watch*

[cupidsbow]

Darn, I can't find it. It's years since I've seen it, and I really wanted to watch it again after your excellent spruiking. Now I'm sad.

[morgandawn]

links on the Fanlore page:

" To view a streaming version of the vid, please register an account on AO3 and go here; to obtain a download version of the vid, please contact Morgan Dawn here."

[cupidsbow]

Thanks so much for this. Unfortunately, I'm so burnt out on marking that I can't read the page enough to find the link. Another time.

[morgandawn]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14777537

[cupidsbow]

Thank you. I'd forgotten what a feat of vidding that was. So many sources! Beautifully done.

[cupidsbow]

I can't remember what the first vid made me want to vid. I saw a lot of really awesome ones before I decided I wanted to try myself. Stuff on VHS by the Media Cannibals and that kind of thing.

It might have been Urban Ragnarok, which I still adore. Such an incredible vid. https://youtu.be/5LtGJzJrNEk

I've still never made a vid that good. One day!