Ok, first of all, I just, I can’t, I don’t even know how to start thanking you for the wonderful things you have said about this vid - thank you for all your comments, and for your recs, and just *flails incoherently*. As Crowley would say: NGK. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone respond this enthusiastically or in this level of wonderful detail to one of my vids before, and it’s so gratifying to see, on something I worked so hard on, and I am SO OVERWHELMED WITH JOY which is why it has taken me a while to get back to you /o\ So, um, I’m sorry for being faily at replying, and thank you so, so much for all of this <333 I keep re-reading your comments and melting inside. (I’m going to go and comment on your rec post too, because people there have said lovely things!)
To respond to some of the things in your glorious timestamped flailing:
0:10 — this is the moment where I knew this vid was going to be great and I was in safe hands, with Aziraphale bricking up the hole in the wall of Eden. And it also introduces the AMAZING USE you are going to make of Michael Sheen’s AMAZING FACE HIS FACE IS SO AMAZING, I CANNOT DEAL. 90% of this vid is trying to make interesting points and arguments, and 10% is just LOOK AT HIS FACE. I’m glad you like this clip! I was v pleased with it - I talked a bit more about it in a reply to Elisi, above: https://purplefringe.dreamwidth.org/23708.html?thread=368796#cmt368796
0.20 — “the minor fall, the major lift” — I feel like this is your stating your opening case for THIS SONG BELONGS TO “GOOD OMENS” NOW Oh I’m so glad! (Incidentally, please please don’t worry about your comment about this song being overused - I was not thinking of you at *all*! And I don’t really mind those comments, it’s actually quite flattering, it’s just also nice when people do like the song you’ve picked!) I am actually now feeling a bit weird about this moment, as I have an idea for how I could have done it slightly better, and the part of me that wants to obsessively tweak everything I make FOREVER is itching to change it. But I won’t. I do like how Eve closing her eyes as she bites into the apple is echoed in the shots of Aziraphale enjoying his food at 0:33.
0.25 — “the baffled king” with Aziraphale resurrecting the dove (and of course he taps its chest exactly on beat) — I LOVE this because it’s a change from the book I’m glad you like this! I was a bit worried about using it for exactly that reason - it’s supposed to be Crowley. But I reasoned that even if it is supposed to be Crowley, we know it’s a thing Aziraphale is *capable* of doing, so it seemed ok. And it was just too perfect a moment - him being a soft, gentle angel, using his miracles in the only way he knows how. (In my first draft, I used the clip of him tossing the dove in the air - one of my betas very sensibly pointed out I should focus more on the actual moment of resurrection, and she was totally right)
0:33 — his radiant face reacting to the food, and I love the idea that that’s holy, because it really is part of his profound love for the world YES. I was worried this might make people laugh…but this holy reverence for small earthly pleasures is such an important part of who Aziraphale is, and I hadn’t seen it explored seriously in any other vids.
1.01 — “you saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you” — these are the big money moments that get used in so many vids, but you tell the holy water story so deftly Thank you! This is Crowley being Vulnerable and Kind and I just feel like there’s such a strong through line between those three exchanges - the holy water request, the salvaged books, the thermos. It was VERY HARD not to use a longer shot of A’s beautiful face at the end of the church scene, because it’s just *so good* but I consoled myself that I had used basically all of it in my first Crowley/Aziraphale vid XD
1.12 - And it’s so perfect with the David-and-Bathsheba/Samson-and-Delilah lyrics, because those stories are traditionally about being tempted/seduced into sin, but the song reframes them in terms of succumbing to vulnerability, to being “human” and flawed and frail in a way which is itself holy I love the way you’ve put this. Thank you for being so much more articulate than I am! One of my other betas described this as ‘Aziraphale, letting Crowley turn him into something an angel shouldn't be - someone with agency and free will - but willingly’.
1.133 — and oh, the hallelujahs are getting very harsh and lonely now, his faaaaace I can’t bear it, being judged and rejected by Heaven as a consequence of all the “softening” he’s done This, and the first set of ‘Hallelujah’s, were the very first bits of the vid I put down, and they didn’t really change at all throughout the process.
1.39 — this close-up shot of Aziraphale losing his faith in heaven is one of the most impressive bits of acting in the show, and you place it perfectly in the vid and earn the space it holds <33 omg I completely agree about the acting here. This moment was inspired by this twitter thread: https://twitter.com/CharCubed/status/1141531169839886337?s=20
1.52 — the voice change and the POV change, I SCREAM[…] you give Crowley such a power entrance with that little jump cut, I’m sure he’d appreciate that Ahahahaha, I hope so! HE IS SO EXTRA, I LOVE HIM.
2.09 — “I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch” — YOU USED THE CRUCIFIXION FOOTAGE YES GO THERE, AND THE ARK YES, two moments when Crowley is horrified at God/Heaven’s violence, and Aziraphale is trying desperately to justify them, when it’s clear he secretly agrees with Crowley. ‘Your flag’ is both Heaven’s and Aziraphale’s, here.
2.12 — “and love is not a victory march”, with the two contrasting wall slams, and there’s a really interesting segue from the kind of performative-but-not-actually-scary violence of Crowley’s wall slam (which is nonetheless throwing “nice” back in Aziraphale’s face) to the real violence of the "bad angels" and the emotional nastiness of Gabriel’s little mock gut-punches I really, *really* wanted to contrast those two moments. I wanted to get more of Aziraphale’s reactions to both of them - his fear when faced with the angels, and his total chill when it’s Crowley. But alas, the footage didn’t work. This is…the violence of God’s love, and the violence Her followers enact in Her name, and the general hypocrisy of Heaven.
2.22 — all the little eye raises to heaven I hope this moment breaks people as much as it broke me when I made it /o\
2.24 — the softening “hallelujah”, and the chains fall away WHAT A GREAT METAPHOR, THANK YOU SHOW
2.28 — all the glances, you’re so good with glances, Aziraphale silently flirting his way into “Hamlet” being a hit, the paint being blown away is in every damn vid but again you earn it Ahahahaha, like ALL my vids can be broken down into either ‘shots of people gazing at each other’ or ’shots of people’s hands’. That is all I vid. Oops. But yes - I wanted these Hallelujahs to be Crowley’s gentle demonic miracles for Aziraphale - the chains, Hamlet, the paint, and finally the church. As a nice contrast to the angelic violence of the previous clips.
2.40 — Az looking up as the bomb comes down, another unused moment, that’s someone watching his world about to come crashing down around them It’s that, and also supposed to echo all the eye-raises at 2:22 - except this time, he’s looking heavenwards because of *Crowley*, rather than because of God - Crowley, who actually comes to his aid, unlike God.
2.42 — “how to shoot somebody who outdrew you” — all Crowley ever learned of love is rejection and abandonment and taking out your traumas on your houseplants, and yet he manages to love so deeply and so kindly anyway At one point I actually had the shot of Crowley holding up the empty plant pot, which was DEEPLY SYMBOLIC and had some great motion…but also was just a bit too ridiculous and made my betas laugh, so I took it out (always listen to your betas)
3.28 — Aziraphale getting sucked into the globe and then Crowley throwing his arms up to stop time as the music SWELLS, fuck yeah, and into the revelation of their wings I loooooove that wing clip. I love that Aziraphale has almost the same expression of reverence as he unfurls his wings as he does with the sushi! And Aziraphale going into the globe and Crowley stopping time - these are their big, Dramatic moments of Defiance, and I like putting them together.
3.53 — Aziraphale reaching to grab the scrap of paper with the “choose your faces wisely” prophecy as Eve reaches for the apple, lovely More defiance! Eve and Aziraphale both make their choices wisely, to break free of what has been holding them back, and choose to truly *understand* the difference between Good and Evil. Which - ironically! - it turns out that NEITHER Heaven nor Hell understands. (They have no idea about the bodyswap - literally can’t tell ‘good’ or ‘evil’ when it’s tied up in front of them) (This is the other moment I am itching to tweak; I know how to do it better, but am RESISTING /o\)
4.05 — the slow wing beats as the song settles and the narrative resolves and everything falls into place, the Ritz (and the piano echoing the wing covering) and the final callback to the wing covering on the walls of Eden I love that shot at the Ritz, because it’s Aziraphale taking delight once more in earthly pleasures, and also in CROWLEY - look how he doesn’t take his eyes off him! (In the next frame he starts to blink, so I cut before that). And ended with that shot of the wing covering because it’s Aziraphale’s second act of rebellion/compassion, after giving away the sword. (Well, perhaps his third act of rebellion if you count LYING TO GOD as a separate act) - this potential was always in him.
Um. So. That’s the vid commentary you didn’t ask for! *hides*
Re: SCREAMING WITH TIME-STAMPS
To respond to some of the things in your glorious timestamped flailing:
0:10 — this is the moment where I knew this vid was going to be great and I was in safe hands, with Aziraphale bricking up the hole in the wall of Eden. And it also introduces the AMAZING USE you are going to make of Michael Sheen’s AMAZING FACE
HIS FACE IS SO AMAZING, I CANNOT DEAL. 90% of this vid is trying to make interesting points and arguments, and 10% is just LOOK AT HIS FACE. I’m glad you like this clip! I was v pleased with it - I talked a bit more about it in a reply to Elisi, above: https://purplefringe.dreamwidth.org/23708.html?thread=368796#cmt368796
0.20 — “the minor fall, the major lift” — I feel like this is your stating your opening case for THIS SONG BELONGS TO “GOOD OMENS” NOW
Oh I’m so glad! (Incidentally, please please don’t worry about your comment about this song being overused - I was not thinking of you at *all*! And I don’t really mind those comments, it’s actually quite flattering, it’s just also nice when people do like the song you’ve picked!) I am actually now feeling a bit weird about this moment, as I have an idea for how I could have done it slightly better, and the part of me that wants to obsessively tweak everything I make FOREVER is itching to change it. But I won’t. I do like how Eve closing her eyes as she bites into the apple is echoed in the shots of Aziraphale enjoying his food at 0:33.
0.25 — “the baffled king” with Aziraphale resurrecting the dove (and of course he taps its chest exactly on beat) — I LOVE this because it’s a change from the book
I’m glad you like this! I was a bit worried about using it for exactly that reason - it’s supposed to be Crowley. But I reasoned that even if it is supposed to be Crowley, we know it’s a thing Aziraphale is *capable* of doing, so it seemed ok. And it was just too perfect a moment - him being a soft, gentle angel, using his miracles in the only way he knows how. (In my first draft, I used the clip of him tossing the dove in the air - one of my betas very sensibly pointed out I should focus more on the actual moment of resurrection, and she was totally right)
0:33 — his radiant face reacting to the food, and I love the idea that that’s holy, because it really is part of his profound love for the world
YES. I was worried this might make people laugh…but this holy reverence for small earthly pleasures is such an important part of who Aziraphale is, and I hadn’t seen it explored seriously in any other vids.
1.01 — “you saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you” — these are the big money moments that get used in so many vids, but you tell the holy water story so deftly
Thank you! This is Crowley being Vulnerable and Kind and I just feel like there’s such a strong through line between those three exchanges - the holy water request, the salvaged books, the thermos. It was VERY HARD not to use a longer shot of A’s beautiful face at the end of the church scene, because it’s just *so good* but I consoled myself that I had used basically all of it in my first Crowley/Aziraphale vid XD
1.12 - And it’s so perfect with the David-and-Bathsheba/Samson-and-Delilah lyrics, because those stories are traditionally about being tempted/seduced into sin, but the song reframes them in terms of succumbing to vulnerability, to being “human” and flawed and frail in a way which is itself holy
I love the way you’ve put this. Thank you for being so much more articulate than I am! One of my other betas described this as ‘Aziraphale, letting Crowley turn him into something an angel shouldn't be - someone with agency and free will - but willingly’.
1.133 — and oh, the hallelujahs are getting very harsh and lonely now, his faaaaace I can’t bear it, being judged and rejected by Heaven as a consequence of all the “softening” he’s done
This, and the first set of ‘Hallelujah’s, were the very first bits of the vid I put down, and they didn’t really change at all throughout the process.
1.39 — this close-up shot of Aziraphale losing his faith in heaven is one of the most impressive bits of acting in the show, and you place it perfectly in the vid and earn the space it holds
<33 omg I completely agree about the acting here. This moment was inspired by this twitter thread: https://twitter.com/CharCubed/status/1141531169839886337?s=20
1.52 — the voice change and the POV change, I SCREAM[…] you give Crowley such a power entrance with that little jump cut, I’m sure he’d appreciate that
Ahahahaha, I hope so! HE IS SO EXTRA, I LOVE HIM.
2.09 — “I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch” — YOU USED THE CRUCIFIXION FOOTAGE YES GO THERE, AND THE ARK
YES, two moments when Crowley is horrified at God/Heaven’s violence, and Aziraphale is trying desperately to justify them, when it’s clear he secretly agrees with Crowley. ‘Your flag’ is both Heaven’s and Aziraphale’s, here.
2.12 — “and love is not a victory march”, with the two contrasting wall slams, and there’s a really interesting segue from the kind of performative-but-not-actually-scary violence of Crowley’s wall slam (which is nonetheless throwing “nice” back in Aziraphale’s face) to the real violence of the "bad angels" and the emotional nastiness of Gabriel’s little mock gut-punches
I really, *really* wanted to contrast those two moments. I wanted to get more of Aziraphale’s reactions to both of them - his fear when faced with the angels, and his total chill when it’s Crowley. But alas, the footage didn’t work. This is…the violence of God’s love, and the violence Her followers enact in Her name, and the general hypocrisy of Heaven.
2.22 — all the little eye raises to heaven
I hope this moment breaks people as much as it broke me when I made it /o\
2.24 — the softening “hallelujah”, and the chains fall away
WHAT A GREAT METAPHOR, THANK YOU SHOW
2.28 — all the glances, you’re so good with glances, Aziraphale silently flirting his way into “Hamlet” being a hit, the paint being blown away is in every damn vid but again you earn it
Ahahahaha, like ALL my vids can be broken down into either ‘shots of people gazing at each other’ or ’shots of people’s hands’. That is all I vid. Oops. But yes - I wanted these Hallelujahs to be Crowley’s gentle demonic miracles for Aziraphale - the chains, Hamlet, the paint, and finally the church. As a nice contrast to the angelic violence of the previous clips.
2.40 — Az looking up as the bomb comes down, another unused moment, that’s someone watching his world about to come crashing down around them
It’s that, and also supposed to echo all the eye-raises at 2:22 - except this time, he’s looking heavenwards because of *Crowley*, rather than because of God - Crowley, who actually comes to his aid, unlike God.
2.42 — “how to shoot somebody who outdrew you” — all Crowley ever learned of love is rejection and abandonment and taking out your traumas on your houseplants, and yet he manages to love so deeply and so kindly anyway
At one point I actually had the shot of Crowley holding up the empty plant pot, which was DEEPLY SYMBOLIC and had some great motion…but also was just a bit too ridiculous and made my betas laugh, so I took it out (always listen to your betas)
3.28 — Aziraphale getting sucked into the globe and then Crowley throwing his arms up to stop time as the music SWELLS, fuck yeah, and into the revelation of their wings
I loooooove that wing clip. I love that Aziraphale has almost the same expression of reverence as he unfurls his wings as he does with the sushi! And Aziraphale going into the globe and Crowley stopping time - these are their big, Dramatic moments of Defiance, and I like putting them together.
3.53 — Aziraphale reaching to grab the scrap of paper with the “choose your faces wisely” prophecy as Eve reaches for the apple, lovely
More defiance! Eve and Aziraphale both make their choices wisely, to break free of what has been holding them back, and choose to truly *understand* the difference between Good and Evil. Which - ironically! - it turns out that NEITHER Heaven nor Hell understands. (They have no idea about the bodyswap - literally can’t tell ‘good’ or ‘evil’ when it’s tied up in front of them) (This is the other moment I am itching to tweak; I know how to do it better, but am RESISTING /o\)
4.05 — the slow wing beats as the song settles and the narrative resolves and everything falls into place, the Ritz (and the piano echoing the wing covering) and the final callback to the wing covering on the walls of Eden
I love that shot at the Ritz, because it’s Aziraphale taking delight once more in earthly pleasures, and also in CROWLEY - look how he doesn’t take his eyes off him! (In the next frame he starts to blink, so I cut before that). And ended with that shot of the wing covering because it’s Aziraphale’s second act of rebellion/compassion, after giving away the sword. (Well, perhaps his third act of rebellion if you count LYING TO GOD as a separate act) - this potential was always in him.
Um. So. That’s the vid commentary you didn’t ask for! *hides*