Other than the not insignificant Vidshow weekend (documentation delayed until... see below), I've been able to think of nothing since Friday except BSG's last season premiere. This is not hyperbole. Its magnificence does not bode well for my career or sanity; I'm now attempting to reorganize my life around the serious investment of time and energy that the show's endgame is apparently going to demand. I'm rusty at acute fannishness -- which means, for me, making stuff. And in the spirit of S3's vlog, said stuff is no longer always or even fanfic in the traditional sense. So now, for something a little different [SPOILERS for 4x01]:
BioCylon User Manual (an excerpt)
To improve HCI, BioCylons are equipped with an algorithm ("Slash Goggles") which establishes, based on visual data, the variant sexual preferences of human subjects. |
That was always Project A. Project B is just as compelling to me, but far too ambitious to have undertaken on my own. However, it turns out that
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beccatoria has some time and generosity of spirit on her hands. I could tell you a whole flaily tale about how we got connected, but the point is, Becka is one of the smartest and most talented fans I know who's nonetheless relatively indifferent to what I'll call the BSG "scene." Here's how it went down:
- I gesticulated wildly in her direction about this cockamamie idea I've had about vidding to audio fragments sourced from the Prelinger Collection, a remarkable public domain archive of mid-century promotional and educational films.
- At her invitation, I storyboarded a 30-second vid as an annotated list of time-stamped clips.
- BECKA DID MAGIC. As editor and artist, she figured out how to transform my blind text into moving pictures with style and technique and rhythm. I think she enjoyed the puzzle of it? To illustrate her brilliance, here's a snippet of her commentary on the vidding process: "I've decided to go with a lot of long cross-fades in an attempt to get that 1950s vaseline-on-the-lens, shiny future, faux-perfect feel. That and the fact that it's got a slow *beat* with a lot of very fast *notes* and I'm working with more amorphous scene breaks is making it...interesting regarding timing." Keep in mind that she's doing this in WMM, you guys.
- I sent back detailed notes on the first draft, which were just as much notes for myself since now I could SEE where my plan wasn't working, and she revised accordingly.
- When we'd reached consensus, I
did some cosmetic tweaking in iMovie designed credits -- and the long and the short of it is: we made a vidlet together!
The collaborative process was both breathtaking (marveling as my nebulous fantasy materialized in technicolor splendor) and terrifying (being responsible for an artwork that's not fully under my control). It has certainly taught me a TON, already, about vidding -- not the technical aspects, which are still far beyond me, but certainly the possibilities and limitations that come into play between the vision in one's head and the image that can appear onscreen.
One of the limitations is that she's not really set up for shiny; you can [DL] but I actually think streaming is the more appropriate viewing experience in this case. Think of the lower quality as part of the archival conceit! NEW: now with
MOAR SHINY! we're learning...
Tomorrow -20: What kind of world?
Battlestar Galactica 4.01, "He That Believeth in Me"
first in an "archive of 30-second deadly serious crack vids that will catalogue the season against the backdrop of our own technological history"While it remains to be seen whether this is possible or advisable, the Plan is that these projects will continue in weekly episodic installments at
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thearchive2; watch there if you're interested, because I won't be constantly crossposting.
Finally, a quick heads up that the video version of my
Swarthmore talk on vidding is
posted! It's an extended edition that includes audience questions/comments.
2. There's a BSG scene?! I must have missed it... It's like being in high school again! ;)
3. YOU FLATTER ME MORE! *is vaguely embarassed but pleased you think highly of her*
4. In case any vidders are reading: I'm basically making this up as I go along *vaguely self-conscious*
5. Yes, I am very much enjoying the puzzle of this, and collaborating on a creative product is...really interesting. So vastly different from writing-to-order, or even a rigorous beta. In some ways I figure perhaps this is like a producer/director type thing? With you being head writer & director and me being the editor/artist/actor-type part of that equation? Either way, it's fascinating. Plus I can squee at you.
6. I WORKED OUT HOW TO MAKE IT ABOUT THREE TIMES AS SHINY! Great timing I know, since we just published it, but I figured you'd like to see, so an email is winging its way to you as soon as its finished uploading.
7. I already told you over at
8. MOAR SHINY! (You'll overcome my Amish tendencies and turn me into a Shiny!Whore yet) :D
9. Tragically I have no icon for "MOAR SHINY" so you can have the Operative instead. Because he's very pretty and once met Kayleigh, who says "Shiny" a lot.