2008: My Year in Fandom
Dec. 24th, 2008 09:55 am![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
laurashapiroLast year, I resolved to have more fun in fandom, and I definitely feel like I succeeded. Although I worked through the first part of the year on the vidding documentary for MIT, I didn't feel like I was drowning in meta, the way I did in 2007. The documentary was a lot of fun to put together, partly because I got to do new things as an editor, but mostly because, in reviewing the footage people sent in, I felt like I was getting to spend a lot of extra time hanging out with old friends -- and getting to know new ones. That was a blast.
And once it was done, I pretty much goofed off. I made vids that were fun, I watched shows that were fun, and I got in a couple of great visits with fannish friends. Last year, I was saying that 2008 was going to be my Year of Fluff. It was, in a way, but creatively I'd say the theme of the year was Back to Basics.
My Shows
Doctor Who continues to be my biggest source of fannish love, and I'm neck-deep in Who-squee with the vid I'm currently working on. I adore this show beyond all reason, and even though it occasionally disappoints me (oh Rose, oh Donna, you both deserved better), I can't seem to stay upset with it for long. I don't know how I'm going to survive on just a handful of episodes this year.
I abandoned Heroes without regret, felt my Battlestar Galactica love rekindled with Razor and the first half of S4, and enjoyed Torchwood a lot more than I thought I would.
As for new shows, Slings & Arrows was a big hit with P. and me this year, and while I enjoyed it thoroughly I'm not sure I feel fannish about it. I spent at least half the time cursing Paul Gross for STILL being the hottest thing ever, even with bad hair and a grubby trenchcoat, so it's not like I'm not ripe for fannish S&A squee.
Rewatching: Farscape, Firefly, and Six Feet Under, all of which I remain passionate about.
Still fannish about: XF, SN, WW, BtVS, AtS, QAF UK, DS.
On deck for 2009: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, finally! And![[livejournal.com profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cofax7 and I really should be getting to Miracles at some point. I'd like to check out Pushing Daisies, and lately I have a hankering to see Jeremiah again. Oh, and I've been informed that I will be exposed to Merlin this year, like it or not. (:
My Vids
What Is Vidding? documentary series (Okay, it's not exactly a vid, but...)
Sawatte Kawatte (Touch! Change!)
Shut Up and Drive
Queen Bitch
Half Acre
I'm so pleased I was able to make four vids this year. After doing just two last year (and one of them a total trip to hell), this feels much more like my preferred pace of work. Collaborating allowed me to squeak in the fourth vid this year, but I feel confident that without a documentary to edit, I could have done four or five on my own. By autumn I was feeling very full of ideas (acquisition of an iPod this year has been a major influence), and I just hope I'm able to keep going at this rate for a while, because I'm having a blast.
I also worked to prioritize vids about people of color, and I'm very pleased that I was able to achieve some diversity in my offerings this year. Although the documentary was not very racially diverse, I vidded a relationship between two Japanese men and did a portrait of a black woman. I also vidded an interracial family (though admittedly the white people are foregrounded, in both the show and the vid). Adding to the IDIC: pansexuals, drag queens, and aliens!
I kept my promise to myself to stay in a shiny happy place, even considering that Queen Bitch is about anger and jealousy, and Half Acre is...well, it's shiny and happy, too, but it's more bittersweet. But all of these vids were much more grounded in emotion than intellect; they were not Big Idea vids like I've made in previous years, and that felt very familiar and comfortable, like a return to where I started as a vidder. I went back to basics.
I made a straightforward slash vid, a snappy dance vid, a hard-rocking glamfest, and a mellow ensemble vid. What all of them have in common is that they are simple: a simple idea, simply executed. With the exception of Sawatte Kawatte, none of them involved complicated effects. And all of them can be summarized with a basic elevator pitch; I don't need half an hour to explain what they're about. They all rely on hard cuts, straightforward storytelling, and the emotional power of the music, movement, and facial expressions to get the job done. I had a blast with all of them, and that may be due to my essential laziness. (: They were all so comparatively easy!
Collaborating withjarrow was one of the highlights of my year. It was such a treat to work with someone whose vids are so exceptional, and whose approach is so different from mine. I felt like we complemented each other beautifully, and the result is a vid that I love, a vid that is pretty much exactly what I'd imagined when I first told jarrow about it a year ago, and I hardly had to do any work to make it happen! I also got to see what AviSynth is like, to poke around with Premiere, and to try out a new collaboration tool. If you're considering working remotely with another vidder, I highly recommend trying out one of those shared-screen applications. GoToMeeting worked great for us.
2008 Vidding Meme
My favorite video this year (of my own): Half Acre. Because it's exactly what I had in my head. I think this is the first time I've ever been able to realize my vision so perfectly.
My least favourite video this year: Oh, probably Sawatte Kawatte. I do like it very much, but I was never able to get where I wanted to go with the transitions from the comics to live action. I tried about twelve things, but those effects never looked how I'd envisioned, and in the end I ran out of time and had to settle. Still mildly cranky about that. It doesn't help that I feel entirely uncharitable to the show itself now.
Most successful video: Shut Up and Drive, no question.
Video most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Queen Bitch. Which is about what I expected, given the relative obscurity of the film. It premiered at VidUKon, which on reflection was not the smartest move ever, since I don't think the film got much play in Britain or in Europe generally. It was also meant to show at BASCon, but technical difficulties prevented that.
Interestingly, Hedwig does have a pretty substantial fandom, but it's more in the style of Rocky Horror fandom than what we think of as typical media fandom. I wish more Hed-heads had come out of the woodwork to see Queen Bitch, because I love the vid and I love Yitzhak and so should everyone else, dammit.
Most fun video: Shut Up and Drive. Club Vivid vids are always the most fun, aren't they?
Video with single sexiest moment: Depends on how you like your sexy. It's either Martha's moue in Shut Up and Drive (00:58), or Hedwig humping Yitzhak in Queen Bitch (02:14). My personal favorite sexy moment, though, will probably always be Hedwig's "car wash" (02:45).
Biggest vid fail: Let's just not talk about the first few words of Shut Up and Drive, shall we? ::facepalm::
Hardest video to make: Sawatte Kawatte, due to the aforementioned effects issues. I also kept trying things for the credits that didn't work. A lot. And I really bumped up hard against that deadline, too.
Most unintentionally telling video: I...am not totally sure what this means. I'm really an open book -- my vids are all "telling". But I guess probably Queen Bitch, since both Hedwig and Bowie have such huge significance to me.
The things I've learned this year: There's nothing wrong with shallow, Club Vivid vids can (indeed, should) be over the top, vids to obscure sources can still sometimes get big responses, and sometimes you can make people cry when they've never seen a single episode of the show. \o/
For 2009: More collaborations, more squee, a mood vid, some constructed reality (I hope I hope), and some scary effects with Motion, now that I've started to figure out how it works. I want to try for a balance between Big Idea vids and Big Emotion vids, a balance between heavy effects and straight cutting, a balance between new fandoms and old. And I hope to continue to make vids about PoC, although given my current to-vid list, I'm not totally optimistic about that. Meanwhile, Wonder of Birds is long overdue for remastering, and I should put out a DVD this year. At this rate, it might even be a two-disk set!
And once it was done, I pretty much goofed off. I made vids that were fun, I watched shows that were fun, and I got in a couple of great visits with fannish friends. Last year, I was saying that 2008 was going to be my Year of Fluff. It was, in a way, but creatively I'd say the theme of the year was Back to Basics.
My Shows
Doctor Who continues to be my biggest source of fannish love, and I'm neck-deep in Who-squee with the vid I'm currently working on. I adore this show beyond all reason, and even though it occasionally disappoints me (oh Rose, oh Donna, you both deserved better), I can't seem to stay upset with it for long. I don't know how I'm going to survive on just a handful of episodes this year.
I abandoned Heroes without regret, felt my Battlestar Galactica love rekindled with Razor and the first half of S4, and enjoyed Torchwood a lot more than I thought I would.
As for new shows, Slings & Arrows was a big hit with P. and me this year, and while I enjoyed it thoroughly I'm not sure I feel fannish about it. I spent at least half the time cursing Paul Gross for STILL being the hottest thing ever, even with bad hair and a grubby trenchcoat, so it's not like I'm not ripe for fannish S&A squee.
Rewatching: Farscape, Firefly, and Six Feet Under, all of which I remain passionate about.
Still fannish about: XF, SN, WW, BtVS, AtS, QAF UK, DS.
On deck for 2009: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, finally! And
cofax7 and I really should be getting to Miracles at some point. I'd like to check out Pushing Daisies, and lately I have a hankering to see Jeremiah again. Oh, and I've been informed that I will be exposed to Merlin this year, like it or not. (:My Vids
What Is Vidding? documentary series (Okay, it's not exactly a vid, but...)
Sawatte Kawatte (Touch! Change!)
Shut Up and Drive
Queen Bitch
Half Acre
I'm so pleased I was able to make four vids this year. After doing just two last year (and one of them a total trip to hell), this feels much more like my preferred pace of work. Collaborating allowed me to squeak in the fourth vid this year, but I feel confident that without a documentary to edit, I could have done four or five on my own. By autumn I was feeling very full of ideas (acquisition of an iPod this year has been a major influence), and I just hope I'm able to keep going at this rate for a while, because I'm having a blast.
I also worked to prioritize vids about people of color, and I'm very pleased that I was able to achieve some diversity in my offerings this year. Although the documentary was not very racially diverse, I vidded a relationship between two Japanese men and did a portrait of a black woman. I also vidded an interracial family (though admittedly the white people are foregrounded, in both the show and the vid). Adding to the IDIC: pansexuals, drag queens, and aliens!
I kept my promise to myself to stay in a shiny happy place, even considering that Queen Bitch is about anger and jealousy, and Half Acre is...well, it's shiny and happy, too, but it's more bittersweet. But all of these vids were much more grounded in emotion than intellect; they were not Big Idea vids like I've made in previous years, and that felt very familiar and comfortable, like a return to where I started as a vidder. I went back to basics.
I made a straightforward slash vid, a snappy dance vid, a hard-rocking glamfest, and a mellow ensemble vid. What all of them have in common is that they are simple: a simple idea, simply executed. With the exception of Sawatte Kawatte, none of them involved complicated effects. And all of them can be summarized with a basic elevator pitch; I don't need half an hour to explain what they're about. They all rely on hard cuts, straightforward storytelling, and the emotional power of the music, movement, and facial expressions to get the job done. I had a blast with all of them, and that may be due to my essential laziness. (: They were all so comparatively easy!
Collaborating with
jarrow was one of the highlights of my year. It was such a treat to work with someone whose vids are so exceptional, and whose approach is so different from mine. I felt like we complemented each other beautifully, and the result is a vid that I love, a vid that is pretty much exactly what I'd imagined when I first told jarrow about it a year ago, and I hardly had to do any work to make it happen! I also got to see what AviSynth is like, to poke around with Premiere, and to try out a new collaboration tool. If you're considering working remotely with another vidder, I highly recommend trying out one of those shared-screen applications. GoToMeeting worked great for us. 2008 Vidding Meme
My favorite video this year (of my own): Half Acre. Because it's exactly what I had in my head. I think this is the first time I've ever been able to realize my vision so perfectly.
My least favourite video this year: Oh, probably Sawatte Kawatte. I do like it very much, but I was never able to get where I wanted to go with the transitions from the comics to live action. I tried about twelve things, but those effects never looked how I'd envisioned, and in the end I ran out of time and had to settle. Still mildly cranky about that. It doesn't help that I feel entirely uncharitable to the show itself now.
Most successful video: Shut Up and Drive, no question.
Video most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Queen Bitch. Which is about what I expected, given the relative obscurity of the film. It premiered at VidUKon, which on reflection was not the smartest move ever, since I don't think the film got much play in Britain or in Europe generally. It was also meant to show at BASCon, but technical difficulties prevented that.
Interestingly, Hedwig does have a pretty substantial fandom, but it's more in the style of Rocky Horror fandom than what we think of as typical media fandom. I wish more Hed-heads had come out of the woodwork to see Queen Bitch, because I love the vid and I love Yitzhak and so should everyone else, dammit.
Most fun video: Shut Up and Drive. Club Vivid vids are always the most fun, aren't they?
Video with single sexiest moment: Depends on how you like your sexy. It's either Martha's moue in Shut Up and Drive (00:58), or Hedwig humping Yitzhak in Queen Bitch (02:14). My personal favorite sexy moment, though, will probably always be Hedwig's "car wash" (02:45).
Biggest vid fail: Let's just not talk about the first few words of Shut Up and Drive, shall we? ::facepalm::
Hardest video to make: Sawatte Kawatte, due to the aforementioned effects issues. I also kept trying things for the credits that didn't work. A lot. And I really bumped up hard against that deadline, too.
Most unintentionally telling video: I...am not totally sure what this means. I'm really an open book -- my vids are all "telling". But I guess probably Queen Bitch, since both Hedwig and Bowie have such huge significance to me.
The things I've learned this year: There's nothing wrong with shallow, Club Vivid vids can (indeed, should) be over the top, vids to obscure sources can still sometimes get big responses, and sometimes you can make people cry when they've never seen a single episode of the show. \o/
For 2009: More collaborations, more squee, a mood vid, some constructed reality (I hope I hope), and some scary effects with Motion, now that I've started to figure out how it works. I want to try for a balance between Big Idea vids and Big Emotion vids, a balance between heavy effects and straight cutting, a balance between new fandoms and old. And I hope to continue to make vids about PoC, although given my current to-vid list, I'm not totally optimistic about that. Meanwhile, Wonder of Birds is long overdue for remastering, and I should put out a DVD this year. At this rate, it might even be a two-disk set!