The weirdness of my brain
Oct. 3rd, 2003 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thebratqueenSo this is how sad I am. Now that I'm finally getting around to vidding, I've not only plotted out at least 5 vids to do but one of them is for source that doesn't even exist yet. THAT is the level of my vidding dorkitude. Also my spoiler whoreishness. (For you spoiler whores playing the home game, it's Angel episode 5.7. For what will amount to a one lyric shot. Am I sad or what?)
Also, I state here and now that by God I will find a way to vid "Inside" by Sting. I'm not exactly sure of the specifics yet but it's got to be done. I'll figure out something. Considering that I've already got two other vids in the works for this album (one of which uses that 5.7 shot) I may just end up turning the damn thing into Angel: The Musical. But hey - no actual singing by the cast. Other than Andy, where's the loss?
I'm finding the whole meta-aspect of vidding to be fascinating. For example, it's interesting as a vidder to deal with the paint on the nose problem.
Some backstory:
Over in the Highlander fandom there's a shot where Duncan, the lead, playfully whaps some paint on the nose of Methos, the guy we all know he's fucking offscreen. It's a highly slashy moment. It's also, considering that Methos was on the show for what, if you total up all his scenes over the years, amounts to the length of a medium-sized sneeze, about two thirds of the boy's screentime.
In other words this shot is used a lot.
All the Highlander vids have it. It doesn't matter if it's a vid that's trying to ship Richie/Joe, I can promise you the paint on the nose shot is in it. It just is. Trust me. Even if the vidder didn't intend to, Premiere apparently inserts the clip after you hit "save". This is why many Highlander vidders attempted to thwart the system by entitling their vids "The Adventures of Blair and Jim" but unfortunately the upgrade for Premiere 6.5 figured out how to adjust for that. I'm told 7.0 will weed out any attempts to pretend that the vids are of Smallville.
Anyway, point being that the shot is, in every sense of the word, a cliche. Because here's the thing - it's an overused shot to be certain, but it is a good shot. So what's a vidder to do? How do you adjust for the fact that on the one hand you've got this great canon material but on the other it's the same canon material that has been seen approximately six billion times already?
It's a kicker.
It gets even more interesting in fandoms where you have more to work with. Because every fandom has its paint on the nose shots. Even Queer As Folk, the US version, which has as of this date three years worth of onscreen, naked, sweating man-on-man action, still has it (eg Brian dancing with Justin at the prom or Brian's car screeching to a halt with the word "FAGGOT" spraypainted on the side). It's not because there's a lack of material to work with, it's because these shots speak to us for a reason. They punctuate a point in a way that no other shot can.
So here I am now trying to vid Angel. Do I have paint on the nose shots in this fandom? Let me put it another way: Did Wes get his throat slit? Did Angel jump on him while naked? Did the boys hug twice? Did Angel go into another dimension while - you get the idea. "Boy howdy" is the answer we're going for here. Possibly even "Whoo yeah."
You can seee the challenge.
Which really, when you get right down to it, is the same challenge writers face. All plotlines have been done before. It's not a matter of getting an original plot, it's a matter of handling that plot originally. You need to figure out a way to present your argument so that your audience isn't going to tune you out. Shots that have been used before can turn the audience's brain off, so if you are using them you need to use them in what you hope are creative and original ways.
My fingers are crossed for myself here.
Next time on TBQ talks vids I'll discuss the problem of picking music in a little piece that I've titled TBQ and Sisabet breathe a sigh of relief now that Wolfling has promised not to do a vid to any song by Evanescence.
In the meanwhile said wolf is going to relearn me some vid techniques. Specifically the technique of actually making vids. Catch y'all later.
Also, I state here and now that by God I will find a way to vid "Inside" by Sting. I'm not exactly sure of the specifics yet but it's got to be done. I'll figure out something. Considering that I've already got two other vids in the works for this album (one of which uses that 5.7 shot) I may just end up turning the damn thing into Angel: The Musical. But hey - no actual singing by the cast. Other than Andy, where's the loss?
I'm finding the whole meta-aspect of vidding to be fascinating. For example, it's interesting as a vidder to deal with the paint on the nose problem.
Some backstory:
Over in the Highlander fandom there's a shot where Duncan, the lead, playfully whaps some paint on the nose of Methos, the guy we all know he's fucking offscreen. It's a highly slashy moment. It's also, considering that Methos was on the show for what, if you total up all his scenes over the years, amounts to the length of a medium-sized sneeze, about two thirds of the boy's screentime.
In other words this shot is used a lot.
All the Highlander vids have it. It doesn't matter if it's a vid that's trying to ship Richie/Joe, I can promise you the paint on the nose shot is in it. It just is. Trust me. Even if the vidder didn't intend to, Premiere apparently inserts the clip after you hit "save". This is why many Highlander vidders attempted to thwart the system by entitling their vids "The Adventures of Blair and Jim" but unfortunately the upgrade for Premiere 6.5 figured out how to adjust for that. I'm told 7.0 will weed out any attempts to pretend that the vids are of Smallville.
Anyway, point being that the shot is, in every sense of the word, a cliche. Because here's the thing - it's an overused shot to be certain, but it is a good shot. So what's a vidder to do? How do you adjust for the fact that on the one hand you've got this great canon material but on the other it's the same canon material that has been seen approximately six billion times already?
It's a kicker.
It gets even more interesting in fandoms where you have more to work with. Because every fandom has its paint on the nose shots. Even Queer As Folk, the US version, which has as of this date three years worth of onscreen, naked, sweating man-on-man action, still has it (eg Brian dancing with Justin at the prom or Brian's car screeching to a halt with the word "FAGGOT" spraypainted on the side). It's not because there's a lack of material to work with, it's because these shots speak to us for a reason. They punctuate a point in a way that no other shot can.
So here I am now trying to vid Angel. Do I have paint on the nose shots in this fandom? Let me put it another way: Did Wes get his throat slit? Did Angel jump on him while naked? Did the boys hug twice? Did Angel go into another dimension while - you get the idea. "Boy howdy" is the answer we're going for here. Possibly even "Whoo yeah."
You can seee the challenge.
Which really, when you get right down to it, is the same challenge writers face. All plotlines have been done before. It's not a matter of getting an original plot, it's a matter of handling that plot originally. You need to figure out a way to present your argument so that your audience isn't going to tune you out. Shots that have been used before can turn the audience's brain off, so if you are using them you need to use them in what you hope are creative and original ways.
My fingers are crossed for myself here.
Next time on TBQ talks vids I'll discuss the problem of picking music in a little piece that I've titled TBQ and Sisabet breathe a sigh of relief now that Wolfling has promised not to do a vid to any song by Evanescence.
In the meanwhile said wolf is going to relearn me some vid techniques. Specifically the technique of actually making vids. Catch y'all later.
