Vid Rec: Don't Tell Me About Mercy

[beccatoria]

I AM FAIRLY CERTAIN WAR SHOULD NOT BE THIS MUCH FUN.

chaila43 has just posted the second in her three responses to my first VIDWAR: ROBOT APOCALYPSE salvo, and it is a pair of unusual ship vids based around Sarah, the first is Sarah/Cameron, the second Sarah/Ellison. The first is not a pairing I ship, the latter is, but both vids are fabulously edited and well worth your time.

Don't Tell Me About Mercy by chaila43.

I think the strength of both of these vids is their ability to draw on the way the show portrays these characters even when they are not romantically involved: these are not AU vids. It grounds them and creates fascinating levels of complexity.

Take the Sarah/Cameron vid, for instance. "Liar/Thief/Ghost" is electric in its opening sequences in the way it draws your attention to how physically aware of Cameron Sarah is at all times. It's an observation that's enough to set a ship on fire, but also provides fascinating insight into Sarah in general. This vid is all darkness and stolen glances and discomfort. The simplicity of the editing is betrayed in the tangle of clips, hands fumbling for John, for guns, but never for each other - except via proxies.

In contrast, "Mercy Street" shows both Sarah and Ellison in a haze of dreamlike imagery, both rhythmic and fluid at once. Their fever dreams of mercy are paralleled with beautiful twinned shots of their journeys throughout the show; again, enough to set a ship on fire, but noteworthy even without the slightest hint of romance.

Pretentious recs aside, go watch them, they're worth it.

(I think this is the part where I admire my opponent's strategy before taking her APART in my counterassault, right? RIGHT? :D)

Comments

[chaila.livejournal.com]

YAY VIDWAR!!! As I said in my comment but will expound upon more wordily here, I'm intrigued that you interpreted the various things (guns, doors, John, even chips) in the Sarah/Cameron vid as proxies they reach for instead of for each other, whereas I interpreted them more as barriers, as things that prevent them from reaching for each other. Or, perhaps, reasons why Sarah does not reach for Cameron, except when she has to, and wow does she hate that. And I'm really glad the simplicity of the editing didn't reduce it! I felt a bit lazy with the simple editing, so I'm glad the more complex imagery worked.

SARAH AND ELLISON ARE JUST VERY PRETTY. AND RELIGIOUSLY SIGNIFICANT. <3

I totally agree that they really aren't ship vids, so much as canon relationship studies. Though I can obviously totally find the shippiness in Mercy Street. :) On one hand I sort of feel bad for making vids mostly about Sarah and calling them ship vids, but SARAH.

I think this is the part where I admire my opponent's strategy before taking her APART in my counterassault, right? RIGHT?

Whatever you gotta tell yourself! MWAHAHAHA.