![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccatoriaFor ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
such_heights!
This was a different experience than I was expecting. The thing is, I love Star Wars, epically. Even if I'm embarrassingly behind on the comics and latest novels just now. But dudes, Star Wars. Problem is, I was not hugely fond of the new movies, and a big reason for that - aside from the more usually cited, and just as true, and probably narratively more egregious instance of Anakin Skywalker turning out to be a creepy, creepy, child murdering stalker - is Padme. I was totally expecting her to be awesome. And...in theory a lot of the stuff is there in the first two movies. She's a ruler, a diplomat, an action girl in places. She's wise and strong and powerful. But...making this kind of reminded me how perfunctory this all is. I don't just mean because she had nothing to do but die of babies in the final movie, but because of the cinematography, because of the film. It's in how little of her we see compared to how much we're supposed to infer.
I had...ideas for this vid. The song wasn't one I initially knew what to do with, but I eventually settled on focusing primarily on Padme, with links forward to her daughter and backward to her mother-in-law to fulfill the remit ofsuch_heights' prompt. I wanted something thoughtful and lonely. A sense of Padme as a single person in the midst of an enormous web, considering the pieces, the parts she is responsible for and those she cannot explain. A sense of her power and powerlessness simultaneously.
Honestly, I think only small parts of this come through and this is frustrating because some of it, I'm sure, is my own speed of vidding and/or unfamiliarity with the prequels to the degree I am familiar with the other movies, but another part of it is... I don't know there's much space in these movies for even more melancholy and perhaps deliberately passive pictures of the character.
Which isn't to say I didn't in many ways enjoy the prompt. It was interesting because it took me longer to work out where I wanted to go with it than usual, but the satisfaction when I did was greater. I am, of course, slightly disappointed that I don't think I succeeded in realising MAH VISION but the fact it gave me a chance to consider Padme's character - a character I was hugely invested in before she ever stepped on screen, and who was slowly eroded once she arrived there - in a way I have not in a long time, was also more interesting than I would have expected.
In sum, it was actually one of the most intriguing and rewarding prompts I had, but I'm not sure it's one of the better vidlets, if that makes sense. And for that, I apologise, but here, take a look anyway. ;)
Title: This Chain of Days
Video: Star Wars
Audio: At Last // Neko Case
Summary: Padme, Shmi, Leia, (Anakin), death.
Direct download available here. 9 megs approx. RightClickSaveAs.
Password: vidses
I will index and crosspost all vidlets at the end of November or when I've done all the prompts if I decide to keep going to finish them.
such_heights!This was a different experience than I was expecting. The thing is, I love Star Wars, epically. Even if I'm embarrassingly behind on the comics and latest novels just now. But dudes, Star Wars. Problem is, I was not hugely fond of the new movies, and a big reason for that - aside from the more usually cited, and just as true, and probably narratively more egregious instance of Anakin Skywalker turning out to be a creepy, creepy, child murdering stalker - is Padme. I was totally expecting her to be awesome. And...in theory a lot of the stuff is there in the first two movies. She's a ruler, a diplomat, an action girl in places. She's wise and strong and powerful. But...making this kind of reminded me how perfunctory this all is. I don't just mean because she had nothing to do but die of babies in the final movie, but because of the cinematography, because of the film. It's in how little of her we see compared to how much we're supposed to infer.
I had...ideas for this vid. The song wasn't one I initially knew what to do with, but I eventually settled on focusing primarily on Padme, with links forward to her daughter and backward to her mother-in-law to fulfill the remit of
such_heights' prompt. I wanted something thoughtful and lonely. A sense of Padme as a single person in the midst of an enormous web, considering the pieces, the parts she is responsible for and those she cannot explain. A sense of her power and powerlessness simultaneously. Honestly, I think only small parts of this come through and this is frustrating because some of it, I'm sure, is my own speed of vidding and/or unfamiliarity with the prequels to the degree I am familiar with the other movies, but another part of it is... I don't know there's much space in these movies for even more melancholy and perhaps deliberately passive pictures of the character.
Which isn't to say I didn't in many ways enjoy the prompt. It was interesting because it took me longer to work out where I wanted to go with it than usual, but the satisfaction when I did was greater. I am, of course, slightly disappointed that I don't think I succeeded in realising MAH VISION but the fact it gave me a chance to consider Padme's character - a character I was hugely invested in before she ever stepped on screen, and who was slowly eroded once she arrived there - in a way I have not in a long time, was also more interesting than I would have expected.
In sum, it was actually one of the most intriguing and rewarding prompts I had, but I'm not sure it's one of the better vidlets, if that makes sense. And for that, I apologise, but here, take a look anyway. ;)
Title: This Chain of Days
Video: Star Wars
Audio: At Last // Neko Case
Summary: Padme, Shmi, Leia, (Anakin), death.
Direct download available here. 9 megs approx. RightClickSaveAs.
Password: vidses
I will index and crosspost all vidlets at the end of November or when I've done all the prompts if I decide to keep going to finish them.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-11-18 10:30 pm (UTC)*waits impatiently to get home from work and watch vid*
no subject
Date: 2010-11-20 08:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-19 01:02 am (UTC)I apologise for the tricksy prompt, but I'm not too sorry giving the vid and notes it produced. *g*
I am behind on feedbacking your other vids, though I am squeeing over many! But this is so so cool, for it is a vague notion of a vid I've been carrying out for a long time, and now it exists and is perfect. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-11-20 08:14 pm (UTC)I'm actually enormously happy you liked the final shot because that's actually a shot I did a lot of futzing with. I'm not usually one for colour correction or masking shots, etc., but I did actually do that there. I wanted to at least make the shot seem as though it were part of the sequence of Vader's body burning, but the colouring and background were all wrong, so I did actually do some colour correction to bring out the orange glow and mask in some "firey" background bits. In the end result I think it's a bit too dark to really see that all that well, but in itself that probably helps it not look too clunky. Anyway, I think the net effect is it looks smoother and it's not something I usually try to do, so I'm super happy you liked it and stuff. YAY! :D
As to other vids and feedback, there's absolutely no hurry, I assure you. They're not going anywhere and this LJ operates a guilt-free commenting policy. Plus late feedback is the best. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-11-19 03:12 am (UTC)The cinematography in the first Star Wars (A New Hope) was very lonely!
no subject
Date: 2010-11-20 08:30 pm (UTC)It's really interesting to see Shmi and Leia together, you're right there's a lot of resemblance there. The cinematography in ANH is actually quite lonely, you're right. From the opening shots of the space ships, so huge and slow. It's a movie shot with a lot of care. Really different to the prequels where I think Lucas got distracted by all the CGI. :/
no subject
Date: 2010-11-28 04:51 am (UTC)This is wonderful, I love seeing a SW vid about the women, thanks for making this. I had trouble downloading it but will try again later.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 12:29 am (UTC)As to Neko Case, I'm ashamed to admit I'm not very familiar with her but her voice and lyrics are wonderful in what I've heard. If you want more vids to her, I am at least familiar with one other - a episodic vidlet made by
A Widow's Toast (http://chaila43.livejournal.com/38804.html). I think that the streaming is no longer working, but the download link still does.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 12:50 am (UTC)Thank you for the vid rec, I am dling that right now! Neko Case is TEH HAWT. She is so amazing. Right now my favorite song of hers is "Red Tide".
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 01:08 am (UTC)I'll definitely check out Red Tide.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 01:17 am (UTC)Red Tide (http://www.mediafire.com/?1kb7a09rumm4h4n) at mediafire, just a sample, buy the album...
no subject
Date: 2010-11-28 10:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-29 12:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-01 09:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-02 01:16 pm (UTC)