Vidding: Beaten to it?!

[beccatoria]

Damn damn damn damn!

Before I got all caught up in fan editing and other-fandom-vidding and angry!vidding and such, the next project I was going to do was a big, messy, epic Human/Cylon OTP vid to "Human," by The Killers.

To be honest I was kind of shocked no one else had done it yet, and now someone...kind of has? Except not?

If you go to galactica_vids, a few entries down someone has done something that's really more of a music video for a filk. Rewriting the song with new lyrics then filming themselves (in fabulously authentic costumes!) in greenscreen enabled galactica sets. Which, dude, I have to offer my deep respect to that level of geeky devotion; the whole thing is quite an achievement.

But I'm not sure about etiquette? Can I still make my vid eventually? Is that cheap? Should I? *waves hands*

DILEMMAS!!

*goes back to attempting to make Laura vs Gaius rap battle vid which is misbeheaving*

Comments

[laura47.livejournal.com]

if you have a different take on it, go for it! nothing wrong with waiting a bit. it's not like you are stealing their idea, it's a very obvious pairing anyway, i say go for it and make it your own.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think I will, having thought about it and read comments here.

It definitely is an obvious pairing. When I first thought of it I spent a while looking for other vids to it since I couldn't believe no one else had done it first! But...apparently not (at least that I've found...) :)

there are many copies

[metatxt.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes yes! Make the vid eventually! The transformative nature of vidding extends far beyond smushing audio and video together. Not to mention, the goals of your vid seem to be quite different from the goals of the other "Human" vid. In short, when it comes to vidding etiquette, I think the question should be less, "has this audio/vid combination been attempted before?" and more, "has the vid I have envisioned been attempted before, as I envision it?" and even then you can be snobby about execution ;)

also I think it's kind of weird that sometimes there is a sentiment of ownership about specific audio/video combinations since it seems to isolate source material as the dominant defining characteristics, to the exclusion of the reflexive narrative opportunities and thematic intent of the vidder. or with less clunky phrasing: it seems to be more about the audio and video as objects, rather than how the orchestration of audio and video changes reception.

Re: there are many copies

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Yeah, don't worry, having thought about it, I'm now definitely coming down on the side of making the vid. As you say, it's a pretty different idea.

I do get the sense of ownership a bit more than you do simply because it promotes comparisons and that's perhaps not necessarily something people want to do, or it can be seen as copying instead of coming up with something original. So unless the idea was very different I think I'd have to really be attached to a vid bunny to do it if someone else had done something pretty much identical with the same song. THAT SAID, I would do it if it was important to me, and I do get what you're talking about - the difference of orcehstration rather than the object of the source.

I think the other thing is, though, that most songs really lend themselves to one sort of vid or another? So for instance I vidded Devils & Dust by Bruce Springsteen, and then later, someone else also did that to BSG (I don't believe they knew I'd done it) and both vids dealt with very similar themes. (Though it was a while before I could bring myself to watch the other version - again from above, out of fear of comparison/feeling odd about seeing someone else's version, though I didn't fundamentally feel betrayed or anything.)

On the other hand, I inadvertantly vidded someone else's song with "Ghosts" - I didn't know, at the time, there was a K/L version of that song. But I don't feel that bad about that since a K/L shippy vid is extremely different from a Caprica Six kind of...anti-shippy vid? But I also think that it was a somewhat weird song choice and if I'd just been making another shippy vid to it, I'd've felt worse on finding out that I'd "copied"?

In summary: who the frak knows, and I'll totally make this vid eventually!

[sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com]

That... doesn't sound to me like it would be the same thing at all. Between filking and the rest, it's like a totally different genre of fan vid. But if you're really worried about it, ask the vidders if they mind, since yours won't in any way be like theirs?

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thanks - posters here and some time to consider it has me feeling more comfortable with the idea. As you say I can always email and would certainly do so if I was going to be posting in the next few days or so, but as this vid is likely still months away, I think I'll wait and see how I feel at the time.

I'm feeling okay about making it again though, which is the real point. Thanks!

[asta77.livejournal.com]

I stumbled across that the other day and forgot to ask you if you'd seen it. I can understand the song inspiring them to do what they did, but it's a very different project from yours. How many books are adapted for multiple film versions? If you want to email them and tell them what you are planning on doing that's fine, but I wouldn't worry about anyone feeling you stole their idea.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna go ahead and make it - it's a reasonably different concept. I think I'd email them if I was gonna release it any time soon, but as it's still a ways down the line, by the time I do release it I think enough time might have passed it won't be quite so...copycat rude seeming? I'll see how I feel when I actually start making it and if I feel I need to email them at that point?

But yeah, I think I've gottne over my initial worryfest and I'm okay with making it again. You know, if some actual person doesn't beat me to it now the song's been soundly introduced to fandom! ;)

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

I don't see any problem with vidding it. I also don't see a problem with using the same song as someone else because none of us own the music, so anyone can use it. Even to the same fandom.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm quite heartened by people's opinions. I do sometimes understand not revidding things in fandom, but honestly, I'm a hypocrit about it because usually that only applies if like...it's not meeeee and what I wanna vid and the vid I think is best! So yeah. I'll go ahead and make it, I think!

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

I say go for it!

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

I have nothing to say but:

Laura vs Gaius rap battle vid
I think I just died of joy.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Yay! :D

In all honesty, you deserve someone to make the awesomest Laura vs Gaius rap battle vid in the universe for you. But I do feel honour bound to warn you, while I have every intention of soon returning to making vids about this show that celebrate all the things that were awesome, this one is a little...angry.

It's kind of about how God in BSG should not be allowed to judge rap battles because he keeps picking Gaius Christ and turning Laura into Bill Adama's girlfriend even though, obviously, she has the better moves... So like, it's kind of played straight for the first two-thirds and then it turns into a feminist critique of LauraFail. You know, with Gaius as the somewhat oblivious pawn of God. ;)

Although at this rate, I'm not sure I'll ever even finish it. o_O So far I have an extensive 10 seconds...

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

Vid it! And angry Gaius vs. Laura vid has my complete support. :-)