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Vidding
*looks at the list of things to write in LJ*
*chooses one randomly, or maybe not that randomly, but still*
Okay, vidding. What to say about vidding? I like doing it :) It drives me crazy sometimes (actually, most of the time), but crazy in a *good* way.
No one ever taught me how to vid. I just sat down one day, installed Premiere, and started playing with it. Oh, I read a lot first, read![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bonibaru’s essay on vidding, files on the vidder group and a whole bunch of other stuff. I also watched a *lot* of songvids (but not nearly enough yet). But other than that, there was no real "tutorial". Just people pointing me towards the right software and a bunny hopping around in my head :) And the real shocking thing is, something actually came out.
All this is just to say that I have *no* idea whether this is the "right" way to vid (if there is such a thing). This is just *my* way (and now I have Frank Sinatra in my head...)
I start off with the song choice, and really, that’s the most difficult part. Finding a good song to vid. I don’t work well with repetitive, monotonous songs, or with songs with a chorus (okay, the chorus part I can deal with, somewhat, but it actually demands more of you in terms of keeping some sort of pattern). I love songs that have *no* chorus, *no* repetitions, and a changing rhythm that gives me different moods to work with. I also have a special place in my heart for the instrumental parts in a song. They give me wings and let me do whatever I feel like (keeping to the mood, of course), while the lyrics part sometimes contradict the mood of the instrumentals, and makes it extremely hard to find something to fit.
The next part, the part where you actually *vid* is, to me, kind of fuzzy. Some people, more organized than me (and also more *patient*) take the time to plot out the entire vid. Some even write down the lengths of each section of the music, then the length of each clip they intend to use. I applaud them, and I’d give my left arm (not the right one, that one I use to move the mouse ;) ) to be like them. That’s professional. That’s organized. But that’s just not me.
Me, I don’t plot. Sure, I have a general idea of what I want to do with the vid. I sometimes even know what clips I’m going to use where. For example, in Bohemian Rhapsody, I kind of knew what I wanted to do with the very beginning, the opera part, and the instrumental parts in the very end. But that’s about all the planning I do. Those were the parts that drew themselves in my brain the moment the darn bunny started hopping around. Other than that general idea, though, I usually don’t plan. At all.
I’m an intuitive type. I’m the kind of person who answers questions with "I just *knew*" or "I had this feeling". I once toldbonibaru that I "sensed some sort of style in her vidding", but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was (and boy, she must be *so* frustrated with that comment ;) ). It takes me a long time to rationalize things that to me come instinctively. So when I sit down to vid, it somehow just comes out. Maybe after I’ve madne 30+ vids I’ll be able to explain exactly *how* I do it. Right now, it’s just a big blur. I sit down and "feel" the song, and "feel" what clips work for it, and just put it together. Like magic! But not *g*
Seriously, though. The vids that I rationalized were all shelved. I thought they sucked big time. So yeah, I guess I just have to accept my "method" and move on *g*
Obviously, there comes a moment in the process where I have to rely on more than my intuition. So I rely on betas ;) In my case,bonibaru is usually the person I run to when I get stuck (and even when I’m not stuck). She knows how to deal with my insecurity and my desperation :) I feel I must give her more credit than just beta’ing, though, because in many ways, she makes the vid *with* me.
Take Bohemian Rhapsody, for instance. After I put down the parts that I’d imagined, I sent it over to Boni (and practically went crazy with expectation afterwards... First vid, people!) Of a 5 minute song, I had vidded less than half of it. Boni gave me these amazing ideas to work with in the blank spots, and also corrected a few "beginning vidder" mistakes (like POV and other stuff). I sometimes wonder if that’s cheating. Or if that’s what people call "collaborative vidding". Either way, I feel that Boni should have a bigger credit, especially where this particular vid is concerned. Or is that what beta’s usually do? I dunno.
So yeah, betas are my salvation. There were very few vids that I made without any help ("Good Riddance" and "Basket Case", basically). I should probably send Boni roses or something ;)
[Aside: I have *no* writing method, do I? Damn. I write like I vid, whatever pops into my head and seems to fit. It’s a wonder that anyone actually gets it. My writing *and* my vidding :-P]
What else? I don’t use transitions much. Sometimes they feel right, most of the times they don’t. I don’t remember ever using anything other than fades and dissolves, but that’s probably because I’m a wuss and won’t risk anything else. Actually, I just love hard cuts. They seem to work well with the songs I choose to vid, marking the rhythm and the changes.
There are so many things I want to work on in the future. I want to make more *art*. Be braver and bolder. Less technical. Use the "slow" feature to bring out specific clips in the songs (instead of just using it so that the clip fits a specific part of the song), using different effects, stuff like that. Keeping a color theme or a camera theme *on purpose*, instead of unintentionally. The thing is, I’m too afraid of making a mistake, of people not liking something I made (and my very rational mind is now reminding me that this has probably already happened, but still).
I’m a strange person. I don’t like taking chances. I don’t like losing, erring, making a fool or myself. Most shy people are like that, I think. Shyness is just a way of not letting yourself be open to criticism. I practically *cried* the first time Social Services took my baby in The Sims. I just don’t like people (even virtual people, like the Social Services lady in The Sims) telling me that I haven’t done a good job. It’s scary being like this, *knowing* that I’m like this, and at the same time not being especially able to change it.
Then again, I *am* changing it, in a way. By writing here, and posting my vids. See? Fandom makes you grow as a person! :)
*chooses one randomly, or maybe not that randomly, but still*
Okay, vidding. What to say about vidding? I like doing it :) It drives me crazy sometimes (actually, most of the time), but crazy in a *good* way.
No one ever taught me how to vid. I just sat down one day, installed Premiere, and started playing with it. Oh, I read a lot first, read
bonibaru’s essay on vidding, files on the vidder group and a whole bunch of other stuff. I also watched a *lot* of songvids (but not nearly enough yet). But other than that, there was no real "tutorial". Just people pointing me towards the right software and a bunny hopping around in my head :) And the real shocking thing is, something actually came out.All this is just to say that I have *no* idea whether this is the "right" way to vid (if there is such a thing). This is just *my* way (and now I have Frank Sinatra in my head...)
I start off with the song choice, and really, that’s the most difficult part. Finding a good song to vid. I don’t work well with repetitive, monotonous songs, or with songs with a chorus (okay, the chorus part I can deal with, somewhat, but it actually demands more of you in terms of keeping some sort of pattern). I love songs that have *no* chorus, *no* repetitions, and a changing rhythm that gives me different moods to work with. I also have a special place in my heart for the instrumental parts in a song. They give me wings and let me do whatever I feel like (keeping to the mood, of course), while the lyrics part sometimes contradict the mood of the instrumentals, and makes it extremely hard to find something to fit.
The next part, the part where you actually *vid* is, to me, kind of fuzzy. Some people, more organized than me (and also more *patient*) take the time to plot out the entire vid. Some even write down the lengths of each section of the music, then the length of each clip they intend to use. I applaud them, and I’d give my left arm (not the right one, that one I use to move the mouse ;) ) to be like them. That’s professional. That’s organized. But that’s just not me.
Me, I don’t plot. Sure, I have a general idea of what I want to do with the vid. I sometimes even know what clips I’m going to use where. For example, in Bohemian Rhapsody, I kind of knew what I wanted to do with the very beginning, the opera part, and the instrumental parts in the very end. But that’s about all the planning I do. Those were the parts that drew themselves in my brain the moment the darn bunny started hopping around. Other than that general idea, though, I usually don’t plan. At all.
I’m an intuitive type. I’m the kind of person who answers questions with "I just *knew*" or "I had this feeling". I once told
bonibaru that I "sensed some sort of style in her vidding", but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was (and boy, she must be *so* frustrated with that comment ;) ). It takes me a long time to rationalize things that to me come instinctively. So when I sit down to vid, it somehow just comes out. Maybe after I’ve madne 30+ vids I’ll be able to explain exactly *how* I do it. Right now, it’s just a big blur. I sit down and "feel" the song, and "feel" what clips work for it, and just put it together. Like magic! But not *g*Seriously, though. The vids that I rationalized were all shelved. I thought they sucked big time. So yeah, I guess I just have to accept my "method" and move on *g*
Obviously, there comes a moment in the process where I have to rely on more than my intuition. So I rely on betas ;) In my case,
bonibaru is usually the person I run to when I get stuck (and even when I’m not stuck). She knows how to deal with my insecurity and my desperation :) I feel I must give her more credit than just beta’ing, though, because in many ways, she makes the vid *with* me.Take Bohemian Rhapsody, for instance. After I put down the parts that I’d imagined, I sent it over to Boni (and practically went crazy with expectation afterwards... First vid, people!) Of a 5 minute song, I had vidded less than half of it. Boni gave me these amazing ideas to work with in the blank spots, and also corrected a few "beginning vidder" mistakes (like POV and other stuff). I sometimes wonder if that’s cheating. Or if that’s what people call "collaborative vidding". Either way, I feel that Boni should have a bigger credit, especially where this particular vid is concerned. Or is that what beta’s usually do? I dunno.
So yeah, betas are my salvation. There were very few vids that I made without any help ("Good Riddance" and "Basket Case", basically). I should probably send Boni roses or something ;)
[Aside: I have *no* writing method, do I? Damn. I write like I vid, whatever pops into my head and seems to fit. It’s a wonder that anyone actually gets it. My writing *and* my vidding :-P]
What else? I don’t use transitions much. Sometimes they feel right, most of the times they don’t. I don’t remember ever using anything other than fades and dissolves, but that’s probably because I’m a wuss and won’t risk anything else. Actually, I just love hard cuts. They seem to work well with the songs I choose to vid, marking the rhythm and the changes.
There are so many things I want to work on in the future. I want to make more *art*. Be braver and bolder. Less technical. Use the "slow" feature to bring out specific clips in the songs (instead of just using it so that the clip fits a specific part of the song), using different effects, stuff like that. Keeping a color theme or a camera theme *on purpose*, instead of unintentionally. The thing is, I’m too afraid of making a mistake, of people not liking something I made (and my very rational mind is now reminding me that this has probably already happened, but still).
I’m a strange person. I don’t like taking chances. I don’t like losing, erring, making a fool or myself. Most shy people are like that, I think. Shyness is just a way of not letting yourself be open to criticism. I practically *cried* the first time Social Services took my baby in The Sims. I just don’t like people (even virtual people, like the Social Services lady in The Sims) telling me that I haven’t done a good job. It’s scary being like this, *knowing* that I’m like this, and at the same time not being especially able to change it.
Then again, I *am* changing it, in a way. By writing here, and posting my vids. See? Fandom makes you grow as a person! :)
no subject
It's strange, because I'm a rather shy person, too, but I've been taking a lot of risks with vidding and writing as well, like, here it is, like it or not, it's what I felt like doing. Maybe it's the whole anonymity aspect of netdom. Interesting stuff to think about. Great entry!
no subject
And yes, I *do* think it's in part the anonymity of netdom... There's also the fact that people don't usually have a preconcieved notion of your personality. You start off with a clean slate and build from there, whereas in real life, people start judging you the moment they put their eyes on you. I don't know... Just thinking out loud here, and probably incoherently :)