Vidding Meme!
Jul. 30th, 2009 07:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccatoriaGakked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chaila43, because yay talking about my vidses! ;)
1. Your software.
This isn't as easy an answer as you might think. For the vast majority of my vidding career I used Windows Movie Maker. I then moved very briefly (i.e. for one vid and an aborted attempt at another project) to Pinnacle Studio. I now use Corel VideoStudio 12 and am reasonably happy with it and don't intend to change any time soon, though I have yet to release an actual vid I've made with it. :/
I also use Pinnacle when I have to audio edit (because unlike video editing, it's quite good for that).
I don't use anything to clip because I am a lazy sod who HATES CLIPPING and refuses to do it.
2. Favourite Video.
Oy, surprisingly hard. I think I'm going to choose there's a war going on for your mind, laura. I almost went with Ghosts because I still love the idea behind that vid and think I pulled it off well, but war for your mind is, well, better and I probably rewatch it more and I think it's more interesting in terms of both editing and lyrical associations.
3. Least Favourite.
Fast Car. I mean, to be fair, it was my second vid ever and I don't hate it. There are still some lyrical associations I kind of enjoy but in general I just... The embarassing aspect ratio problems are the icing on a cake of "it's a shame I couldn't do a better job of that."
4. A video that got surprisingly good feedback, but you are not completely satisfied with it
Dolled-up in Straps. It probably ended up being my second most popular vid which confused the hell out of me. I mean, I'm grateful. I don't hate it or anything; in fact there are some sections I think work really, really well. But in general, I thought that my editing was sloppy in places, particularly in some of the middle sections where I was fumbling for footage and ended up using a bunch of really long clips.
I think also that it suffers somewhat subjectively when I watch it because when I made it I was struggling so much with my love/hate relationship with Gaius. How much I love him at times/as a character, how horrified I was by him in The Hub and how conflicted I was over his serial relationships with the Sixes. I suppose it's a vid about Gaius and his relationship with reality, but that's an area I still have confused feelings about and so...yeah. I dunno.
This vid man, I'm glad I made it; I mean, I had to cus it wouldn't leave me alone, but it confuses the hell outta me. :/
5. A video you like a lot that didn't get the good reaction you were expecting.
This is tough, right? Because it sets you up to sound like a feedback whore!
The most truthful answer I could give is probably Battlestar Redactica, though technically that's not a vid. Not actually because of the nature of the feedback I got there or the quantity or whatever, but just because I ended up inadvertantly upsetting a few people, which in turn made me sad because I didn't intend for it to come across as aggressive. Maybe more...determinedly cheerful? It was supposed to be about creating a space to remember all that was awesome about this show, right up until the very end, not sticking a middle-finger at anyone.
The last thing I want is for people to think I'm angry or something, though. In retrospect I can see I was being naive, even if I wish the whole world had been naive along with me. It's just...yeah, that's probably my biggest bit of "public reaction" angst?
6. Best song/video combo.
Probably this is actually there's a war going on for your mind, laura again, but so as not to give that answer to EVERY SINGLE QUESTION (because technically it's probably also the one that I had the hardest time editing to because of the quick cuts AND the one I had most fun with AND the one with the best sequences, but that would not be a fun meme to read, so just take it as read that most of these categories are about the runners up...) I shall instead choose:
Televangelism. I'm still really happy with the way the somewhat serious yet self-aware religious rap mixes with BSG 4.0's mix of broadcast technology and various religions used for various positive and negative ends. Plus Baltar as a televangelist will never not be awesome.
Also while it drives me up the wall, I do love vidding rap and I think it inspires me to push the boundaries of my attention to timing and rhythm and stuff, so I think this has some of my best editing in it (so far, I hope!)
7. Vid you had the most fun with.
That's tough. I have fun with most of my vids, but I think what I've learned is I get a lot out of working with other people and making stuff for other people (as well as for myself). The collaboration is often hilarious and usually good fun. So I'm gonna pick TWO because I think to say which one I had more fun with would be unfair. So - either, The Ladies' Choice because that entire vid is (to me at least) still HILARIOUS, and PSA: The Enemy Within because a) it scares normal people and b) even I can recognise how hilarious it must have been to watch me going all wavey-handed and embarassed because THEY MADE ME VID GAY PORN.
8. Video you had trouble editing because of the song.
Um, probably not quite in the way the question means, but I think I'm going to pick Tricks.
I was SO UPSET when I realised that the song wanted time toggles. In Windows Freaking Movie Maker, I had to manage TIME TOGGLES. You guys, it was tough. But I think it turned out pretty nicely in the end.
9. A video you'd like to remaster.
Jesus Walks. Hands down. I really think that vid is good even though it's one of my older ones and dammit, but the quality is awful. But also to be perfectly honest, I don't know if I'd have the attention to remaster something? It sounds so...repetetive. So alas it'll probably never get done.
10. Most inspired sequence you made.
Again, I have real trouble with this. I think because generally my favourite things about my vids are moments - this scene choice to go with that lyric, that piece of timing, this time toggle - rather than extended sequences. But there are a few I really like.
Probably I ought to pick the flashback to the mini series bridge in Tricks because it's such a simple idea but so effective in context and really sprung from a "huh, you know what?" type of inspiration.
But I'm going to pick the ending montage in Ghosts because I really think I managed to explode the narrative and start drawing together a lot of threads in a messy but compelling way, with limited footage. Because I really love this vid a lot and it deserves to be in the meme somehow! I also think that the simple opening with the fades to black is really nice.
Also, honourable mention to Devils & Dust which is another vid that I look at and wish I'd been a better vidder at the time because the first minute is horribly boring, but stuck in the middle somewhere are some really nice sequences that I think mark the start of me developing significantly as a vidder.
SO THERE. WATCH AS I REFUSE TO PLAY BY THE RULES!
11. Movie/show you have most enjoyed using for a video.
Well since my vids are overwhelmingly BSG-based, I obviously have to say BSG. Although I would add that vidding Farscape at the moment means that I really miss the moving cameras, which was also something I enjoyed when I briefly vidded Hancock in a crossover vid. So yeah, I think that there's a reason I like BSG footage. I love the movement. It's so messy and useful.
Though I will say that the steadier camera means for funner jump cuts sometimes.
12. Pet Peeves.
Um...I don't know. I think my biggest pet peeve is horribly judgement and subjective, which is, I hate "tributes" rather than "vids". Blah blah blah, there's nothing wrong with the actual word, it's just that people who describe their vids as "tributes" rather than vids (usually on YouTube) are usually...well they're not good. And then they're there on YouTube being all...what everyone who doesn't know anything about vidding FINDS if they look for it and I want to be like, No! Most of us don't just throw any old scene onto the timeline as a place holder until we can get to that one really big crescendo where we'll suddenly worry a tiny bit about rhythm and make our woobie hero and his angsty girl SNOG because its EPIC LURVE. Or something. *stabby*
Also people deciding they can't vid before they've tried it. If they don't want to try it, then that's absolutely fine. If they've tried it and hated it, or just didn't love it enough to go through the nosebleed of learning the program, that's also fine! But I guess I get a little peeved at people believing the myth that vidding is this secret club that only tech-enabled elite people can gain entry to. Because really, I'm not tech-enabled and I wouldn't know what to do with lagarith (that's a lossless and probably mispelled codec for ripping ubergood source...I think) if it bit me in the face. All you need are episodes, songs and WMM to get started.
Then, one day, you can teach me why I ought to care about lossless ripping. ;)
chaila43, because yay talking about my vidses! ;) 1. Your software.
This isn't as easy an answer as you might think. For the vast majority of my vidding career I used Windows Movie Maker. I then moved very briefly (i.e. for one vid and an aborted attempt at another project) to Pinnacle Studio. I now use Corel VideoStudio 12 and am reasonably happy with it and don't intend to change any time soon, though I have yet to release an actual vid I've made with it. :/
I also use Pinnacle when I have to audio edit (because unlike video editing, it's quite good for that).
I don't use anything to clip because I am a lazy sod who HATES CLIPPING and refuses to do it.
2. Favourite Video.
Oy, surprisingly hard. I think I'm going to choose there's a war going on for your mind, laura. I almost went with Ghosts because I still love the idea behind that vid and think I pulled it off well, but war for your mind is, well, better and I probably rewatch it more and I think it's more interesting in terms of both editing and lyrical associations.
3. Least Favourite.
Fast Car. I mean, to be fair, it was my second vid ever and I don't hate it. There are still some lyrical associations I kind of enjoy but in general I just... The embarassing aspect ratio problems are the icing on a cake of "it's a shame I couldn't do a better job of that."
4. A video that got surprisingly good feedback, but you are not completely satisfied with it
Dolled-up in Straps. It probably ended up being my second most popular vid which confused the hell out of me. I mean, I'm grateful. I don't hate it or anything; in fact there are some sections I think work really, really well. But in general, I thought that my editing was sloppy in places, particularly in some of the middle sections where I was fumbling for footage and ended up using a bunch of really long clips.
I think also that it suffers somewhat subjectively when I watch it because when I made it I was struggling so much with my love/hate relationship with Gaius. How much I love him at times/as a character, how horrified I was by him in The Hub and how conflicted I was over his serial relationships with the Sixes. I suppose it's a vid about Gaius and his relationship with reality, but that's an area I still have confused feelings about and so...yeah. I dunno.
This vid man, I'm glad I made it; I mean, I had to cus it wouldn't leave me alone, but it confuses the hell outta me. :/
5. A video you like a lot that didn't get the good reaction you were expecting.
This is tough, right? Because it sets you up to sound like a feedback whore!
The most truthful answer I could give is probably Battlestar Redactica, though technically that's not a vid. Not actually because of the nature of the feedback I got there or the quantity or whatever, but just because I ended up inadvertantly upsetting a few people, which in turn made me sad because I didn't intend for it to come across as aggressive. Maybe more...determinedly cheerful? It was supposed to be about creating a space to remember all that was awesome about this show, right up until the very end, not sticking a middle-finger at anyone.
The last thing I want is for people to think I'm angry or something, though. In retrospect I can see I was being naive, even if I wish the whole world had been naive along with me. It's just...yeah, that's probably my biggest bit of "public reaction" angst?
6. Best song/video combo.
Probably this is actually there's a war going on for your mind, laura again, but so as not to give that answer to EVERY SINGLE QUESTION (because technically it's probably also the one that I had the hardest time editing to because of the quick cuts AND the one I had most fun with AND the one with the best sequences, but that would not be a fun meme to read, so just take it as read that most of these categories are about the runners up...) I shall instead choose:
Televangelism. I'm still really happy with the way the somewhat serious yet self-aware religious rap mixes with BSG 4.0's mix of broadcast technology and various religions used for various positive and negative ends. Plus Baltar as a televangelist will never not be awesome.
Also while it drives me up the wall, I do love vidding rap and I think it inspires me to push the boundaries of my attention to timing and rhythm and stuff, so I think this has some of my best editing in it (so far, I hope!)
7. Vid you had the most fun with.
That's tough. I have fun with most of my vids, but I think what I've learned is I get a lot out of working with other people and making stuff for other people (as well as for myself). The collaboration is often hilarious and usually good fun. So I'm gonna pick TWO because I think to say which one I had more fun with would be unfair. So - either, The Ladies' Choice because that entire vid is (to me at least) still HILARIOUS, and PSA: The Enemy Within because a) it scares normal people and b) even I can recognise how hilarious it must have been to watch me going all wavey-handed and embarassed because THEY MADE ME VID GAY PORN.
8. Video you had trouble editing because of the song.
Um, probably not quite in the way the question means, but I think I'm going to pick Tricks.
I was SO UPSET when I realised that the song wanted time toggles. In Windows Freaking Movie Maker, I had to manage TIME TOGGLES. You guys, it was tough. But I think it turned out pretty nicely in the end.
9. A video you'd like to remaster.
Jesus Walks. Hands down. I really think that vid is good even though it's one of my older ones and dammit, but the quality is awful. But also to be perfectly honest, I don't know if I'd have the attention to remaster something? It sounds so...repetetive. So alas it'll probably never get done.
10. Most inspired sequence you made.
Again, I have real trouble with this. I think because generally my favourite things about my vids are moments - this scene choice to go with that lyric, that piece of timing, this time toggle - rather than extended sequences. But there are a few I really like.
Probably I ought to pick the flashback to the mini series bridge in Tricks because it's such a simple idea but so effective in context and really sprung from a "huh, you know what?" type of inspiration.
But I'm going to pick the ending montage in Ghosts because I really think I managed to explode the narrative and start drawing together a lot of threads in a messy but compelling way, with limited footage. Because I really love this vid a lot and it deserves to be in the meme somehow! I also think that the simple opening with the fades to black is really nice.
Also, honourable mention to Devils & Dust which is another vid that I look at and wish I'd been a better vidder at the time because the first minute is horribly boring, but stuck in the middle somewhere are some really nice sequences that I think mark the start of me developing significantly as a vidder.
SO THERE. WATCH AS I REFUSE TO PLAY BY THE RULES!
11. Movie/show you have most enjoyed using for a video.
Well since my vids are overwhelmingly BSG-based, I obviously have to say BSG. Although I would add that vidding Farscape at the moment means that I really miss the moving cameras, which was also something I enjoyed when I briefly vidded Hancock in a crossover vid. So yeah, I think that there's a reason I like BSG footage. I love the movement. It's so messy and useful.
Though I will say that the steadier camera means for funner jump cuts sometimes.
12. Pet Peeves.
Um...I don't know. I think my biggest pet peeve is horribly judgement and subjective, which is, I hate "tributes" rather than "vids". Blah blah blah, there's nothing wrong with the actual word, it's just that people who describe their vids as "tributes" rather than vids (usually on YouTube) are usually...well they're not good. And then they're there on YouTube being all...what everyone who doesn't know anything about vidding FINDS if they look for it and I want to be like, No! Most of us don't just throw any old scene onto the timeline as a place holder until we can get to that one really big crescendo where we'll suddenly worry a tiny bit about rhythm and make our woobie hero and his angsty girl SNOG because its EPIC LURVE. Or something. *stabby*
Also people deciding they can't vid before they've tried it. If they don't want to try it, then that's absolutely fine. If they've tried it and hated it, or just didn't love it enough to go through the nosebleed of learning the program, that's also fine! But I guess I get a little peeved at people believing the myth that vidding is this secret club that only tech-enabled elite people can gain entry to. Because really, I'm not tech-enabled and I wouldn't know what to do with lagarith (that's a lossless and probably mispelled codec for ripping ubergood source...I think) if it bit me in the face. All you need are episodes, songs and WMM to get started.
Then, one day, you can teach me why I ought to care about lossless ripping. ;)
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-30 09:04 pm (UTC)3. Aw, I like a lot of the lyrical associations, too. All the "speed so fast" ones, for starters. I think that's a really tough song to work with, since it tells such a specific story.
4. I remember starting to comment on that one, reading the other comments and thinking Oh, THAT'S what she meant? ;) And then watching again. But I actually think the ambiguity works really well.
5. but just because I ended up inadvertantly upsetting a few people
*eyerolls forever*
Aha, I had noticed that about "tributes" too. Not that it's a universal rule, but. TBH, though, the people watching on Youtube are probably so impressed that someone made the talky pictures go along to the music that they don't think to look more critically than that. Not that I would know. *cough*
no subject
Date: 2009-07-31 01:13 pm (UTC)3. \o/ It's nice to know people still enjoy it at least. I think you're right about the story though. The "feel" of it - the whole hollow, lost, travelling, nothing to lose because you've already spent a lifetime losing it feel is nice for the show, I think, if you want to talk about the endlessness of their situation. But yeah, that vid is basically just a collection of clips rather than telling an actual story. Which, like, *glances at vids like war for your mind* works really well sometimes. But maybe not here so much.
4. Yeah! I noticed that too! Except it was even MORE confusing for me because most of the different interpretations at least touched on some of what I meant? Oy!
5. Aww, thanks.
Though like I said, my main reaction to it is just to want to run at people with cookies and MAKE IT BETTER!!!
Also, it's not like it was a lot of folks with flaming pitchforks. ;) In general people have been entirely lovely.
12. YES. JOIN ME ON THE YOUTRIBUTE HATE TRAIN! MWAHAHAHAHAA!
...Why no, I, um, don't find my elite judgmentalism re: shitty youtube vids to be at odds with my hatred of vidders as elite and judgemental! *facepalm*
no subject
Date: 2009-07-31 02:34 am (UTC)THEY MADE ME VID GAY PORN.
HEE! *looks worried*
:D
I think you know that I love Ghosts, and I really, really love the ending sequence. It's a vid that I immediately loved, yet find more in all the time and consequently always love it more than I did before. It took me a few views to really grasp the ending sequence but it was sort of a revelation when I did, like Caprica's grasping for something tangible, in Gauis, Tigh, Head!Gaius, D'Anna, the non-corporeal opera house and it keeps slipping away, like smoke. Guh. That vid, Becka, for real, I lovez it and it's one that's really rewarding to watch multiple times (I mean, all your vids are, really but this is my fave). Just so you know. Hey look, I made this comment about Ghosts. Go me.
I guess I get a little peeved at people believing the myth that vidding is this secret club that only tech-enabled elite people can gain entry to.
W.O.R.D.
ETA: I forgot to mention how much your attitude towards vidding makes me giggle. Like, hell no, I won't clip! Why the hell should I clip? When I was young, we did it all with Windows Movie Maker, uphill both ways in the snow. You coddled youngsters, with your "clipping" and your "lossless ripping." (Not that I even know what the latter is, heh).
no subject
Date: 2009-07-31 01:41 pm (UTC)HEE! *looks worried*
To be fair, I think what actually happened was
(I mean, the actual idea in its final form with all the aesthetics and formats and narratives and stuff was extremely collaborative, but as far as I recall I was the one who first said, "So, how are we going to make a vid about robot lesbian zombies?!" because I misunderstood
And awww! I love how much you love Ghosts. Especially since I spent a lot of time on the structure of it, trying to get exactly that sense of Caprica reaching and grabbing for some kind of tangible connection and just...never, ever managing it. Don't ever apologise for making comments all about Ghosts.
I forgot to mention how much your attitude towards vidding makes me giggle. Like, hell no, I won't clip! Why the hell should I clip? When I was young, we did it all with Windows Movie Maker, uphill both ways in the snow. You coddled youngsters, with your "clipping" and your "lossless ripping." (Not that I even know what the latter is, heh).
AHAHAHA! I love that you think of me as old and cranky. I'm soooo not oldskool. Plus I think oldskool vidders (at least those who work on computers not with VCRs!) clipped too. I think some people even do it with WMM because then they don't have to scrub through an entire episode to find their clips and don't like having so many in the same folder/file. I think that's just me being...cranky and going uphill, in the snow, both ways!
As to lossless ripping, I'm not entirely sure either but basically I think it means no loss of quality from the original source. You can rip lossless copies of DVD footage for instance but if you don't encode it it's gigabytes and gigabytes in size. Codecs like divx or xvid or whatever encode to give you a good quality image at a fraction of the size. But they're not lossless, there is some loss of quality. There are, however, codecs out there that will minimize or outright prevent that loss of quality (though the files, while not as huge as an unencoded file, are still bigger).
Um, and there's that!