purplefringe

FESTIVIDS REVEALS JUST HAPPENED AND I AM DOING A LOT OF YELLING RN.

I received TWO VIDS AGAIN THIS YEAR and I am so happy and grateful and overwhelmed /o\ I don't???? deserve???? such???? nice???? things?????

I received You Might Think, a beautiful and perfect Pushing Daisies vid by sisabet, which INSTANTLY filled me with an intense need to rewatch the show - it's a delighful, loving look at all the joy in Ned and Chuck's relationship, and all the creative ways they find to negotiate their . . . particular problem. It's beautifully cut with a wonderfully light touch, in a way that really highlights simultaneously the sweetness and the awkwardness of their life together. There's a line about Ned's 'fragile smile' paired with the perfect clip, that breaks me every time I watch it. (I love him so much, you guys. And I want to *be* Chuck. Argh.) I hadn't even considered that Pushing Daisies might be eligible for FV so this was a last-minute request, and I'm so glad I asked for it.

I ALSO received A Gorgeous Vid Moment, a QUEER EYE VID by cosmic_llin, who is the SNEAKIEST MOTHERFORKER IN THE WORLD, jfc. I am SO MAD AT HER :D :D :D We literally watched this together with our friends like three days ago and she kept COMPLETELY POKER FACED and I am so overjoyed and so mad at her, I have been yelling at her via whatsapp for the last hour :D :D

ANYWAY, this gem of a vid is set to YMCA and oh my GOD I'm so, so, thrilled it exists - it is warm, and wholesome, and heartfelt, and earnest, and kind, and captures everything I love about the show. ( . . . Honestly just from those adjectives I should have guessed cosmic_llin made it.) Please watch this vid, but only when you are emotionally ready because it WILL make you cry, in a good way. It uses this song to *perfection* to highlight one of the main themes of Queer Eye - not just personal transformation and learning to value yourself, but personal transformation through community, and through truly allowing yourself to connect with others and be valued. Come to think of it, this is also a theme in Pushing Daisies. And in The Good Place, which emotionally devastated me with its finale last night.

Anyway, please watch these vids <3

Some other Festivids I loved this year:

Be Brave and Children's Work - there were six Star Trek Discovery vids this year, all of them spectacular, but these two about Michael and Spock's relationships with each other and their parents, were my favourites. They are both very different, but there are so many layers and things to unpack in each of them <3

Hello My Old Heart and Let Me Go - two gorgeous, very moving Moana vids

Untitled Goose Vid - The Untitled Goose Game, what a total delight.

Body Talks - Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers films - wonderful dance vid

Try Everything - a lovely, uplifting vid for Gourmet Makes (also: Claire Saffitz's face) which gave me unexpected emotions

Personal Jesus - fantastic Fleabag vid starring the Hot Priest

What's To Come - completely lost my mind over this incredible Jesus Christ Superstar vid :D

D&D 101 and Can't Stop The Feeling - two fun, joyful Critical Role vids which I loved even though I don't go here.

Juice - hilarious and brilliant Vicar of Dibley vid about Geraldine Living Her Best Life

We're Here, But Should We Have Come? - Richard Ayoade living the opposite of his Best Life

Victorious - an utterly haunting vid for Moulin Rouge

Heroes (We Could Be) - absolutely need to watch Raising Dion. There is SO much love in this vid.

Higher Love - astonishingly coherent and phenomenally queery vid for Xanadu, the most batshit film I have ever seen

Mahna, Mahna - I have absorbed a love of My Brother, My Brother and Me vicariously via such_heights, and this vid made me laugh a lot

Renegades - I have never watched this incredibly 90s show (Roar) but this vid somehow gave me a lot of feelings anyway??

Our House - hilarious vid for Ghosts, a show about a perfectly normal couple who move in to a perfectly normal house and nothing unusual whatsoever happens

So, yes, Festivids <3333 my heart is VERY full. (And I'm still mad at you, cosmic_llin)

Hi friends!!

It is that time of year again*: I would like your vid recs! This year I'm running Vidukon's first ever singalong-a-vidshow \o/ I'm hoping it's going to be a fun bonding experience for everyone at the con. Singing along will not be mandatory, and will not be solo, but will be very much encouraged :-D

PLEASE REC ME THINGS! What vids can you never resist singing along to? What vids have people sung particularly enthusiastically along to at Wiscon, at Club Vivid, at your own vid parties? What vids do you see in your head as you belt out the song when it comes on the radio, or when you're doing karaoke, or when you're in the shower? Share your favourites with me! As always, self-recs are loved.

If the vids already have subtitled versions, so much the better, but don't worry if not - I really ought to know how to subtitle already, and this is my kick-up-the-arse to actually learn to do it.

So - recs please and thank you! (Also - come to Vidukon! We have singing now!)

*I'm pretty sure that the last few years I have made this post it has not been SNOWING in LONDON in MID-MARCH WTF /o\

HI VIDDING TYPES! *waves*

It is SPRING here in London, and, as ever, that means I've recently passed several important annual milestones: I have eaten and rejoiced in my first creme egg of the year (a sacred moment); I have listened to Paul Simon’s Graceland (the greatest album ever) whilst walking in the sunshine and smiling inanely to myself at how warm it is; and…I’ve had a vidshow approved for this year’s Vidukon!

This year, what with the fact that Everything In The World Is On Fire, I thought we could all do with a short break from the unrelenting misery of the impending apocalypse. SO to that end, I’m planning a COMEDY vidshow :-) I thought a nicely cathartic release of oxytocin could be extremely helpful. Working title is either ‘Tragedy Tomorrow – Comedy Tonight’, from the wonderful Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, or 'Make 'Em Laugh', from Singing In The Rain - but alternative title suggestions are welcome.

So: rec me vids, please! Any vid that makes you laugh out loud, or at least grin wildly and flail your hands around in uncontrolled glee – that's what I want! I’m interested in any and all genres – from hugely popular TV shows to niche indie films to RPF to literally anything else. Character studies, crack!vids, dance vids, multifandom tropey extravaganzas…anything that makes you laugh. Watching vids en masse is often a very different experience from watching them alone, so if you remember any funny vids that have had a particularly great reaction at other conventions, do share.

There’s endless ways vids can wring humour from a source – perhaps it’s a funny show in the first place, and the vid makes the most of the characters’ physicality and ridiculous facial expressions, with exquisite comic timing. Perhaps it’s a more serious show, vidded from a new and unexpected angle to get humour from incongruity. Perhaps it’s just pure crack. Ideally, I’d like to end up with a mixture. I aim to make everyone’s sides hurt by the end of the show. :-D

Self-recs are, as always, highly encouraged! And premieres are very welcome. I'm not sure when the deadline is, but if you think you might have a premiere in the works, let me know and I'll investigate.

(Also - come to Vidukon! It's awesome.)

Wow, never have lyrics from the vid I'm working on been SO RELEVANT to the act of working on the vid.

So, er, I started this one in February /o\ And to be fair, I did make fully two thirds of it in less than a week. It was just the remaining third that took, um, six months. I think that's a new record. (My last Clara vid was a mere two months late.) Most of that time was spent opening FinalCut, shuddering, and closing it again, so perhaps it only really took one month, spread over six months. ANYWAY, it was not supposed to be posted a mere 3 weeks before Series 9, but I'm too excited about it being A MERE THREE WEEKS UNTIL SERIES NINE to care much.

Pompeii
edited by purplefringe
fandom: Doctor Who (Season 8 with bits of Season 7)
characters: Clara, the Doctor
music: Pompeii. by Bastille
summary: does it almost feel like you've been here before?
content notes: Contains some fast cutting, and also spoilers for Season 8



download: 98MB @ mediafire

As usual, thanks go to the lovely such_heights for watching a millionty drafts of this, and making soothing noises at me when I complained at her about it. (I'm sorry I do that so much <3) And also for providing the last-minute technical support I still need, despite this being my 31st vid. Oops.

(Speaking of which - if anyone knows how to deal with those FUCKING SQUARE PIXELS that are marring their beautiful faces, please let me know. I don't know why they're there, I've never had this problem before, I want to throw my laptop out the window /o\)

ALSO on this occasion, huge thanks to the amazing elisi, without whom I would definitely never have finished this stupid vid. She went waaaaaay above and beyond the call of vid-beta-ly duty, and sent the most *incredible*, detailed, encouraging, thoughtful, analytical emails, in response to my somewhat pathetic call for help. She also helped me to clarify just what I was actually trying to say - there are one or two parts of this vid that were constructed clip-by-clip with her, via email. I hope you really did enjoy the process as much as you said you did. <3 This vid is for you! :-)

( Ramble ramble )

Lyrics ( here )

Ok, so I should have done this on Golive day like everyone else, but I was too overwhelmed with squee. Is that an ok excuse? I received TWO amazing and wonderful vids this year, and I am THRILLED and DELIGHTED by both :-D \o/ I really love the way the treats culture seems to be growing every year in Festivids. It's such a warm, generous exchange. So, without further ado, I received:

Always 1895 by dkwilliams

This is a beautiful, nostalgic, layered look at Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in the Granada TV series. I say 'layered', because not only does it make lovely use of the Granada series footage - Jeremy Brett's breathtaking physicality, the subtle, tender looks and gestures passed between Holmes and Watson, the alternately quiet and chaotic moments of their lives together in Baker Street - but it it is set to a recording of Basil Rathbone reading Vincent Starret's famous poem, over the top of the music from the Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. In addition to which - as if that wasn't enough - I started to notice on multiple repeat viewings that a lot of the chosen clips are moments when the series deliberately recreates the original illustrations by Sydney Paget - see for example the moment in the train carriage which recreates this illustration from The Adventure of Silver Blaze. The vid also uses some perfect clips to represent the more evocative moments in the poem - the yellow fog, Holmes' mischievous reveal of the papers at 'England is England yet', the 'view-halloo' out on the moors. I especially love Watson's faint on 'Only those things the heart believes are true.' (Like he never really believed in his heart that Holmes was gone. Like the fans didn't.)

But as well as the multiple versions of Holmes and Watson that are conjured in this vid, the use of external footage from real-world recordings of the First World War adds a whole additional layer of pathos. The vid summary is 'No matter what changes occur in the real world, for Sherlock Holmes and his Watson(s), it is always 1895' which reflects the message of the poem - and the inspired use of the real world footage really *does* give Holmes and Watson the very timeless quality that the poem talks about. And at the same time, it seems to insinuate them even further into the real fabric of our world. If that makes sense? It's not at all jarring to see Holmes and Watson juxtaposed with back and white images of the WW1 battlefields. It just makes them seem more real. I don't know, I'm not being very coherent here. What even are words. Just watch the vid. In conclusion, I love this. It is everything I love about the enduring mythos of Holmes and Watson <3

***

I also received a treat in the form of Flash Bang Wallop by the very sneaky and wonderful cosmic_llin.

......

......

*flails incoherently*

......

WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY. THIS IS A VID ABOUT MICHAEL PALIN AND HIS FACE AND IT'S UTTERLY PERFECT AND I LOVE HIM AND I LOVE THIS VID AND I LOVE cosmic_llin. The song choice is amazing - absolutely full of JOY and and a very British kind of wry humour. Ideal for the lovely Mr Palin and his Pole to Pole adventures, particularly as the whole song is about recording awkward moments on camera. But more than that - the vid just dances along, showcasing all the adorable, gentlemanly dorkiness that I love about Michael Palin (my first ever celebrity crush, age 12). I particularly love the shot of him casually strolling amongst the camels, and the kissing shot over 'When Juliet fell for Romeo'. I love him veiled in a mosquito net ('in a wedding group'), dressed up as a Roman ('in a Shakespeare play') and covered in mud and jumping naked off a boat and all the other clever lyrical matches. I love his face. I love his dancing. I love his reactions to everything, and his friendliness to everyone. I love the people he meets on his journey all befriending him and watching him interact with the world with some combination of delight, fondness and perplexity. I love his game expressions as he bravely submits to whatever indignities he has signed himself up for next, all the while filmed by his crew. Have I mentioned that I love his face?

I actually can't watch this without a huge, ridiculous grin. I will watch it every time I am sad, and I suggest everybody else does likewise <3

THANK YOU LOVELY FESTIVIDDERS \o/

SO in an exciting turn of events, I'm going to be VJ-ing a show at this year's Vidukon! (For those of you know haven't heard of it - it's a super awesome vidding con, hosted in Cardiff in June, and if you are a vidder / vid fan who does not make vids but enjoys watching them, you should totally come! If anyone needs convincing, I'm more than happy to flail about it at you.)

My show is going to be on the theme of Constructed Realities - I'm thinking AU vids, fake trailers that cast actual shows in a whole new light, fake trailers for entirely non-existent shows, vids for books/podcasts with no canon visual source, crossover vids, vids for fic, vids that use a lot of manips, crack-tastic vids that use the source to tell an entirely different story, etc etc. You get the idea. Anything where the vidder has used the footage in a way that somehow transcends the original source.

I have a few vids in mind already, but would really love to hear any recs from other people! Thoughts?

festivids reveals time! Abracadabra.

I had the best time ever making L.O.V.E for turquoisetumult, (who, incidentally, made me my amazing Amelie vid last year). She requested a vid focusing on Beatrice and Benedick (aka Fred and Wesley from Angel) and their comedic shenanigans. This song just sort of popped into my head whilst I was thinking about the film one day, and - in an almost unprecedented feat of speediness - I got the first draft done in a single weekend. It was just THAT MUCH FUN to make. Of course, I then spent the next two months tweaking it and fiddling with it, and I'm very grateful to both usuallyhats and raven for their enthusiasm and beta comments <3

Once again, such_heights and I decided to make life harder/more entertaining for ourselves by making our festivids in secret. This year we had the added bonus of our lovely flatmate K, who was our Secret Keeper and knew everything. I am very proud to say that I managed to work out BOTH of such_heights vids on my first guess, and you should definitely go and watch them because they are amazing and glorious.

Anyway, without further ado:

L.O.V.E.
edited by purplefringe
fandom: Much Ado About Nothing
characters: Beatrice/Benedick
music: L.O.V.E. by Nat King Cole
summary: Love is more than just a game for two
content notes: Contains shenanigans, high jinks and pratfalls. Also a couple of really terrible faces.

download: 40MB @ mediafire

password: merry war

stream:

L.O.V.E from Phoebe on Vimeo.

Lyrics ( here )

festivids reveeeeeeeeeals!

First and foremost: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to turquoisetumult for making me the most beautiful vid! Amelie is one of my very favourite films EVER, and I have wanted to *be* Amelie for most of my life. Beauty in the Breakdown completely captures the magic, the fragility and the emotion of both the film and the character. I love it to bits. And I am in awe of her talent....go watch it and then go watch the film again and then go do something small and lovely for someone.

Second: I made a thing! In fact...I made TWO THINGS *shock horror*

The first was Devils, a Gormenghast vid which I made for caramarie. It's been several years since I read the original books, but I thoroughly enjoyed rewatching the tv series, marvelling at the truly astounding number of amazing British actors involved (many of whom tragically did not make it into the vid) and generally rediscovering the magnificent character that is Steerpike. He is just *so evil*. I wanted to make something dark and creepy about Steerpike's rise to power, and the poison at the heart of Gormenghast - both Steerpike himself, and the Law of the castle.

As such_heights and I now reside under the same roof, and there was a small chance we would be assigned each other, we decided to vid in SECRET. This has led to much hilarity, and even a little 'secret vidding' song (sung to the tune of 'Secret Tunnel', for those of you who are A:TLA fans). Consequently, I couldn't rely on my usual beta extraordinaire - so many, MANY thanks are due to Arj, who stepped in valiantly and sent several very interesting and extremely helpful beta-emails. :-)

(Incidentally, both such_heights and I guessed each other's vid on our first guess. I....yeah.)

download: 78MB @ mediafire (sorry it's so huge! I'm not quite sure why it is...)

password: steerpike

stream:

Devils from Phoebe on Vimeo.

Lyrics ( here )

So, festivids reveals are up! Woop! I've had SO much fun participating in my very first exchange - as usual, such_heights is to blame for dragging me (inevitably) ever deeper into the swirling ocean of fandom. Perhaps dragging is the wrong word. Enticing? Cajoling? Luring? Anyway, I've had an awesome time and shall most definitely be participating again this year! :-D

BEAUCOUP de gratitude due to winterevanesce, who made me a beautiful and moving vid for the French film Love Me If You Dare (Jeux d'Enfants in French) - it's not very well known over here, but it's romantic and twisted and stunning and Find Your Way is definitely perfect advert for it! Go watch it, people.

Meanwhile, I got to make a Moulin Rouge vid for gigglemonster, which completely intimidated me when I first got my assignment, because she is responsible for one of my very *favourite* John/Rodney vids! But once I'd got over that, I had a great time vidding an extremely shiny source I would otherwise never have thought of playing with. :-D

Et voila:

Ooh La La!
edited by purplefringe
fandom: Moulin Rouge
characters: Christian/Satine
music: Ooh La La - Goldfrapp
summary: switch me up, turn me on -- the tale of the penniless writer and the sparkling diamond.

download: 36MB @ mediafire

And streaming:

Ooh La la! from Phoebe on Vimeo.

Password: glitter

Thanks to such_heights for the beta and for suggesting Goldfrapp!

Lyrics ( here )