(no subject)

[noorie.livejournal.com]

newbie here, hello everyone!
this is the first vid i actually finished and i would be most grateful for any comments (especially constructive criticism) that anyone can give me. i know it's an obscure fandom and a large file, but please give it a chance? i think i succeeded in getting the mood of the story and the song right, but i'm not sure about some transitions (*hate* WMM!) and i really want to learn and get better. plus, some scenes in the vid are to die for :)

link to vid: ex-factor (yousendit.com link)
fandom: ordinary miracle (russian fairytale movie from the 70s)
music: ex-factor by lauryn hill
genre: m/m slash, constructed reality, angst-o-rama
pairing(s): main pairing is bear/magician, secondary is bear/princess ("bear" is a man, i'm not *that* kinky!!)
why i made this vid: the UST between the bear and the magician in the movie SCREAMED to me. if you'll watch the vid, you'll find it hard to believe they're not actually lovers in the movie itself. i wanted to see if i could re-tell the original story, so i gave vidding a shot. i haven't finished the first vid i started (to sinead's jealousy), but i managed to finish this, and i think it turned out alright (more or less).
the gist of it: you love him. he's wild, crazy. this love is tearing both of you apart. you have to make him let go, but can *you* let go?
program used: windows movie maker 2.0 (very basic, i don't have access to anything fancier, i'm afraid)
technical details: WMV, 22.6MB

Comments

[melys-cerys.livejournal.com]

I really like your icon btw :-)

[noorie.livejournal.com]

aww, thanks! it was from the period i got into icon making, i get these crazes every now and then, and now it's vidding :)

[griva-x.livejournal.com]

Hey!
Well, i was f***ing AMAZED when I saw someone mentioning this Russian 70s movie. OK, Im a Russian and I have seen it about... 10 times? Because it's a good popular *oldie* over here. Where have YOU seen it?

Then... the bear/magician slash... you've nailed to most angsty/touchy moments between the magician and his *creation*, and I have to rub my eyes to check if indeed I saw what I saw in their interaction. Amazing! Did I repeat myself?

Now, let me be honest, IMHO this is not the song to go with this vid. Your editing is seamless, but the background lull of LHill's voice just didn't get to me. Maybe something angstier or tender would have stressed the pairing? Anyway, this didn't reduce my liking of the vid. I will go rewatch it again.

[noorie.livejournal.com]

oh my god, i didn't think anyone else would know this movie!! :) where have i seen it? it's a bit of a long story... i have a few russian friends and one of them had a huge crush on aleksandr abdulov and the first part of this movie was on when i visited her one day and i was *rivetted*! i made her tape the 2nd part for me and i made another friend of mine watch it with me and explain what was going on (i only understand a little bit of russian).
oh, i'm so glad you liked it! and since you've seen the movie you get how "constructed" it is. heh. i have a couple more bear/magician vids that need some finishing touches, maybe you'd like them too? one of them is set to queen's "i want to break free", which possibly is a more fitting song... i also tried vidding them with alanis's "hands clean" but only got as far as a minute into the song.
it's funny, i was more worried about the editing than the song. maybe you're right about her voice, but guh, the lyrics! they fit my perved version of the story, da?
<333! thank you for taking the time to DL and comment!

[marycrawford.livejournal.com]

Wow, what an unusual source for your vid! That's very cool. I've never seen this movie, but your vid certainly piqued my interest. And you've got such beautiful source quality! Kudos.

Here are my comments. Please keep in mind that I'm a newbie vidder too, and may not know what the heck I'm talking about - I'm just giving you my reactions as best I can. :-)

- I thought the opening shot of the papers floating down was really well chosen, it fits the tinkly music and it sets up a dreamy atmosphere that seems just right.

- I noticed the DivX watermarks - here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/sol_se/16943.html) is a neat tutorial to remove them from future clips/vids in one go. :-)

- There is a sort of fade/wipe at 1:40 that really worked for me, because it seemed to move the POV from the bear (the wounded-looking prince, yes?) to the magician, and with them both in the forest, the effect felt very soft, somehow magical. If that makes sense. I'm afraid the other special effects transitions didn't work as well for me; they took me out of the story you were telling.

- that clip with the prince aiming a gun at the magician and then turning it on himself...wow. Very intense. I'm hooked.

- directly after that, alas, there is a page-peel transition to a shot with the beautiful prince - in a cowboy hat. A dorky looking cowboy hat. This gave me the giggles. And it's a pity, because the scene after that, with the hair-pulling, is very intense again.

- *love* the balloon ship and the final shot of the magician standing in front of the fire, with the camera slowly moving back and then fade out. I felt that he was all alone and watching everybody walk out of his life.

I was intrigued by the vid, and I wanted more of the story between the prince (well, he looks like a prince *g*) and the magician. The vid makes me feel that they have a passionate love/hate relationship, but I wanted a bit more context for it.

Also, I do think that Lauryn Hill's song was too slow, too static for this vid. It just doesn't *do* much, and since the shots aren't very dynamic, with people walking slowly or staring intensely, the combination risked losing my attention. Some faster cuts or more dynamic music (which doesn't mean heavy metal or anything, just something that rings the changes more) might help with that and still keep the dreamy/magical/passionate mood.

Mary, intrigued

[noorie.livejournal.com]

wow, thank you so much for these detailed comments! i'll look into this divX thing in future vids i make :)
- re the forest cut, i sort of had to change brightness for the magician clip as it was during daytime, and wasn't sure about it. so, i'm glad it worked for you.
- re the dorky cowboy hat - i know, heh, but that's the dorky hat he wore a lot of the time. he had this cowboy look with chaps (!) going on. is the page-turning transition itself lame? 'cos i can probably change that.
- re the song - hmm, maybe you're both right. i did make another bear/magician (sort of) vid to queen's "i want to break free", but i hesitate about posting it since it's got a couple of scenes where the slo-mo's a bit overdone (i deleted the original movie avi files so i can't fix it anytime soon).
- heh, i see you also have fallen for the charms of aleksandr abdulov ;)
- the relationship : in the movie, the bear is the magician's creation. as far as i could figure out, he made him into a man through magic and called him from the woods to his home. he obviously loves him or at least cares for him, but he tries to dominate him too much, and he doesn't feel that the bear should be involved with the princess. in fact, it upsets him v. much. the bear is wild and while he accepts the magician's power over him he tends to rebel. the hoyay interpretation in the vid is all mine, but you could see the SHEER INTENSITY between them, and that's in the movie itself...
- so loving you right now :)