TSCC Vid: Raise It Up

[beccatoria]

JUDG(E)MENT* DAY. THE FINAL BATTLE. beccatoria VS chaila43. ONE SONG. ONE SHOW. TWO VIDS. NO MERCY. (*winner gets to decide the spelling.)

Title: Raise It Up
Video: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Audio: Rabbit Heart // Florence + The Machine
Summary: Child, soldier, child soldier.
Editor's Notes: With thanks to kiki_miserychic!

Direct download available here. 38 megs approx.

Password: vidses

Watch on Vimeo

chaila43's TSCC vid to the same song can be found here.

We finished, guys. I'm not sure if everyone won, or if we carpet bombed ourselves into oblivion, but it was fucking awesome.


* * *


You can find all relevant VIDWAR posts at our tags here and here.

Cross-posted to vidding and scc_vids.

Other vids available here.

Comments

[chaila.livejournal.com]

So much love for this! I'm so glad we resisted my the urge to share, because it's so amazing seeing how similar and how different they are. I'm really fascinated by the different interpretation the song takes on from the kids' perspective, as things are done to them which they cannot control. Especially the way you've drawn in other kids, like the girl who insane Derek uses as bait and Danny Dyson; the kids who are still kids but will have to be soldiers, and the kids like Lauren and John and Riley who are barely kids at all, and already soldiers. And I love the rotating "Midases", as every adult in their lives has, well, an agenda towards them. And that it's not Sarah until the very, very end, when it focuses on Sarah and John and condenses her weaponization of her son and breaks my little heart.

The editing is wonderful throughout this, but some of my favorite bits are wee Kyle at the beginning, and all of Riley's first section, especially her and her lighter. The first chorus is GUH, with kids running and falling and attempting to kill themselves and getting hurt. The motion there is edited wonderfully, especially with John simultaneously losing his grip on Savannah and Riley. <3

I love that John isn't in this until towards the end, putting him amongst the group of child soldiers, instead of the focus of the vid. And I ADORE Savannah's section; she's really part of the whole robot war and she has *no* idea--SKIPPING as John flees from Cromartie omgs--which is phenomenally sad.

I LOVE IT AND YOU LIKE WHOA.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Awww, you're the best - it's been so long since I released a vid you HADN'T already seen, it's so awesome to see your thoughts now. I'm so happy the weaponisation of kids comes through and that it works to hold out on John until the very end. And I'm still thrilled you noticed the parallel grip-losses between Savannah and Riley, as well as skipping Savannah and fleeing John later on.

I LOVE IT AND YOU LIKE WHOA.

BACK AT YOUR VID AND YOU, SWEETIE.

[fig-aruna.livejournal.com]

YES YES YES TO ALL OF THIS. CUZ OMGGGGG?! John is not the only one! (I'm talking especially to you, ff.net denizens!)

And massive weepery! Because this vid makes me that much more full of woe about the lack of an S3. Being able to see the backstories/futures of those child soldiers would have been too cool... :'((((

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Aww, thanks. I'm really glad th act of placing John into this landscape of children is working for you too. So much was made - in the parts of fandom and public media reviews that I saw - about John "becoming a man" that it seemed dissonant that there really was never much discussion about the fact that clearly implied he wasn't one yet.

And I'm right with you on the tragic lack of S3. :(

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

Oh god, that last shot. Breathless-making.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thank you! <3

[emmiere.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is amazing. I love the tension between these kids who will and are shaping the future and who should never have to become this. That last shot breaks my heart.

ETA: I really love how Allison fits in here, especially with that shot of Jesse and Riley. That may be the most heartbreaking section of the vid to me, right along with Savannah's innocence as she's moved around by others in this.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and that you noticed Allison! I kind of thought she'd probably slip by in there because there's so little footage, but along with Riley, she's dies and she's just a kid. I'm really pleased that someone noticed her.

[goodbyebird]

Wow. Just shows how Terminators and the Impending Judgment Day infects and eats away at everyone it touches. When you focus in on the kids, it's just extra creepy. Excellent timing and strong narrative throughout. One of my favorites of yours ♥

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you - I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and especially that you felt the narrative was strong - with such limited footage I was quite concerned about that. I'm really thrilled that it's one of your favourites as it's one of mine too.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_omnivore_/]

this is all kinds of awesome!

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

[sol-se.livejournal.com]

Wow!! That was fantastic!!

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! :D

[frolicndetour.livejournal.com]

This is amazing.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D

[pellucid.livejournal.com]

I love this SOOOO MUCH!!!!!! It's got just the right mix of triumph and profound creepiness that is so inherent in the theme you've picked and in the show itself. Like Chaila said, I love the way you've focused on all of these children--from Savannah and young Marty Bedell who are still so innocent, to Riley and Lauren and older Martin, who should still be children and aren't anymore. And always John, but not only John, and I love that about this vid. One of the most insidious (and fascinating) things about the entire premise of this franchise is the way it co-opts the children: innocence and choice taken away with the promise of future greatness. Don't worry, it will all be worth it in the end. It's terrifying, yet there's no way around it, either, and I love how you capture that dynamic. So much love!!!

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

EEEE! Awesome feedback - thank you so much. I'm really thrilled that you liked it and more that you picked up on the tension between the horror and the joy. Because there really is an element of triumph (and sometimes ironic joy in the innocence of the children who do not yet understand what they are learning) - because how else can you fight the future but with it? But also...you're turning children into soldiers. It's horrifying.

Anyway, thanks so much for your kind words about it and I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

who is the lamb and who is the knife?

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

You already know how much I adore this vid and all it means. The editing is awesome and I love the concept.

OMG, all the lil kid faces. MY HEART HURTS. Savannah is going to be a hardcore resistance BAMF. They all will be, unless they die first.

The concept is one that makes me think and makes me feel for the characters on a new level. The ending is so solid and it really brings out the amazing song choice and how it ties so tragically into the show.

Re: who is the lamb and who is the knife?

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much - LITTLE KID FACES! I'm so fantastically glad someone else thinks this was as awesome a concept as I do, and shares my tragic heartbreak that we will never see Savannah Weaver grow up into the BAMF she truly is. <3

[bofoddity.livejournal.com]

This broke my heart to pieces. Contrast between the happy shots of Savannah and the pain in the rest of the vid was probably the most striking part for me, although the Riley-parts (oh, Riley!) come close second. Great job.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it and the contrasts worked. I'm so sad we'll never get to find out what they had in store for Savannah. And also, yes, poor Riley. :(

Thanks again for the feedback!

[not-sally.livejournal.com]

Another amazing vid. I love how you used the same song and fandom and yet created two entirely different yet completely awesome vids focusing on completely different aspects of the show.
I honestly couldn't love it more.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! It really was amazing fun to make two vids like this and then see the similarities and differences, especially since usually we beta for each other but on this occasion we didn't show each other what we'd done until we released them so it was super exciting for me too.

Thanks again for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it!

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

I love this. Parenting a la TSCC ... and so much more!

I have some serious vidding to catch up on.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Laaaaaate reply! :) Worst parenting evar y/n? ;)

Vidding is awesome but there's no hurry. *hugs you*

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

I love all your vids but I can't watch them at work. Then I get home and forget or am being pestered. I have missed so so very much! :(

Hm. Any chance you could put some of your favourites on a DVD for me?

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

For you? Of course! :) Any preferences by fandom or anything? I can probably fit most of my more recent ones on a DVD. I might wait til I've finished my current crazy vidlet project, then I'll drop you a line. *hugs*

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

TSCC and BSG and Farscape definitely. But if there are other shows you've done that you think I might like, I'd be happy to watch!

<3

[impatient-dream.livejournal.com]

So, this is my favorite of all the ones I've seen. It touches on something that I think a lot of people miss. Sarah Connor is an awesome, kickass woman, but the future is John's. It's Lauren's and Danny's and Martin's. It's the children of now that will grow up to lead, to live through J Day. It was one of the things that caught my attention as I watched the show, that younger characters almost always carried over into the future flashforwards, that in the post-J Day world, there didn't really seem to be elderly people or even older people. So, it was the characters and the pacing and the song that added up to that last glorious scene with the singer's almost strident 'This is a gift'. Because training John really is Sarah's gift to the world, to him.

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thank you so much. I'm really glad it comes across that in many ways, John is the same as those other children, in that they all belong to the future. It's such a perverse gift, but it is, undeniably, the only gift Sarah has to give him. Thanks very much for the comment.

[rose-griffes.livejournal.com]

Trying to persuade someone on my f'list to watch SCC led me back here. Aaaaaah, I love this so much! And it made me tear up watching it, seeing what's coming (or already happened) to these children, and how Sarah's horrifying gift is, in fact, the best/worst present John could have.

[rosaxx50.livejournal.com]

Here on a rec from streussal, and I just, this is AMAZING. I knew I would love it from the moment Riley showed up on screen, but I had no idea how much!

Just, the cutting between tenderness and war, between the kids and then their fate, the fate of everyone, the bloodshed, between Sarah and children and Weaver and Savannah. The last but as Savanna hopped around innocently, while people fought and bled and died because this is what children will become slayed me. And John. John moving out from Sarah's direct influence but already a weapon, already made into a soldier. That hurt.

[raincitygirl]

This is awesome. SO well done. And i love the tag line of "Child. Soldier. Child soldier." That just sums up the vid so tersely and effectively.

And now I'm off to watch the other vid set to the same song, because I'm curious.