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vidding_livejournal_ark22010-03-09 05:44 pm
colls) wrote in vidding_livejournal_ark22010-03-09 05:44 pm
Entry tags:
Vidding, the creative process
So, I'm a relative newcomer to vidding and have been vidding for approximately one year. In that time, I've gone through a lot of experimentation and hair-pulling, but feel like I've finally got a relatively good handle on the how-to's, at least technically speaking.
With each new vid, I end up going about the creative and editing aspects a bit differently, usually letting the theme, material or (in most cases) the song dictate the starting points. This has had varied results and there's more than one vid that should've been scrapped. It seems I've rarely used the same method twice, but I'm beginning to suspect a theme (at least in my own vidding).
TANGENT:*
A couple months ago I participated infestivids and kinda stumbled through it. It wasn't my first vid-exchange or vid-challenge, but it was unique. After I had committed, I began to see what a wealth of talented and long-time vidders we had in that comm and I have to admit to being somewhat intimidated, which mentally froze me for a short time. Vidders, of course, are such a lovely bunch of people that it was all for naught - it was such an amazing experience and I had such a wonderful time!! The experience has made me look deeper into the world of vidding, seeing it beyond a mere fannish delight and as an outlet for creative transformative storytelling.
But I digress. My point in bringing up the experience was that it was going to be the first time I had to a) make a vid for a stranger, b) in a fandom I'd not vidded in before, c) with a character request that I didn't dislike, but had no strong feelings towards. After agonizing over it for several days, I scrapped all my initial ideas and just focused on finding a song to fit the general material. Then it happened in the car, I heard THE song and viola! I got a vid (or at least, several scenes mapped out in my head before I reached home). This was the first time this step of the process was in any way difficult. What I seem to struggle with is the next step.
The arduous clipping process, composing my scenes and finally editing the vid. Well, duh. This is the blood, sweat and tears part of vidding. I get that. :D It's just that I seem to be so terribly disorganized about it.
*sorry for the tangent, but it's kinda what has prompted this post :)
Somewhat like fanfic writers, I'm assuming that vidders have wildly different approaches to the creative process of vidding. In all my browsing of meta and random posts made by vidders I admire and by vidders I've never heard of, I'm sure I've only touched the surface (yes, I lurk).
1) So, how do you get your perfect song and vid idea from inside your head and onto our screens? Like me, do you have vague visions of it in your head and simply dive into clipping and editing? Or do you have a more methodical approach?
2) I've noticed my best vids (personal favorites, at least) are ones in which I had a more complete scene-to-song ratio in my head before I even began clipping. So, a process I'm thinking of trying on my next vid is using a storyboard, in hopes that I will never again attempt an entire vid because I had a vision of one scene from one show for one phrase... Anyway, have you ever used storyboards? Any advice? Yay? Nay?
3) What serious ideas (versus the random one you have listening to muzak in the elevator - admit it, we all have these) have you had for vids that you either couldn't complete or wouldn't come out as expected? What made the execution of your idea different than what you had envisioned?
4) I think one of my biggest weaknesses in vidding is impatience. Something I hope storyboarding may help me with. What are yours? How have you dealt with them?
5) Vidding beta? Apparently in the fanfic world, it's taboo not to have a beta. What are your thoughts about beta'ing in vidding?
I realize some discussion may differ slightly based on the tools a vidder uses, but I think the creative process itself obviously transcends the technology we use to make it happen.
With each new vid, I end up going about the creative and editing aspects a bit differently, usually letting the theme, material or (in most cases) the song dictate the starting points. This has had varied results and there's more than one vid that should've been scrapped. It seems I've rarely used the same method twice, but I'm beginning to suspect a theme (at least in my own vidding).
TANGENT:*
A couple months ago I participated in
festivids and kinda stumbled through it. It wasn't my first vid-exchange or vid-challenge, but it was unique. After I had committed, I began to see what a wealth of talented and long-time vidders we had in that comm and I have to admit to being somewhat intimidated, which mentally froze me for a short time. Vidders, of course, are such a lovely bunch of people that it was all for naught - it was such an amazing experience and I had such a wonderful time!! The experience has made me look deeper into the world of vidding, seeing it beyond a mere fannish delight and as an outlet for creative transformative storytelling.But I digress. My point in bringing up the experience was that it was going to be the first time I had to a) make a vid for a stranger, b) in a fandom I'd not vidded in before, c) with a character request that I didn't dislike, but had no strong feelings towards. After agonizing over it for several days, I scrapped all my initial ideas and just focused on finding a song to fit the general material. Then it happened in the car, I heard THE song and viola! I got a vid (or at least, several scenes mapped out in my head before I reached home). This was the first time this step of the process was in any way difficult. What I seem to struggle with is the next step.
The arduous clipping process, composing my scenes and finally editing the vid. Well, duh. This is the blood, sweat and tears part of vidding. I get that. :D It's just that I seem to be so terribly disorganized about it.
*sorry for the tangent, but it's kinda what has prompted this post :)
Somewhat like fanfic writers, I'm assuming that vidders have wildly different approaches to the creative process of vidding. In all my browsing of meta and random posts made by vidders I admire and by vidders I've never heard of, I'm sure I've only touched the surface (yes, I lurk).
1) So, how do you get your perfect song and vid idea from inside your head and onto our screens? Like me, do you have vague visions of it in your head and simply dive into clipping and editing? Or do you have a more methodical approach?
2) I've noticed my best vids (personal favorites, at least) are ones in which I had a more complete scene-to-song ratio in my head before I even began clipping. So, a process I'm thinking of trying on my next vid is using a storyboard, in hopes that I will never again attempt an entire vid because I had a vision of one scene from one show for one phrase... Anyway, have you ever used storyboards? Any advice? Yay? Nay?
3) What serious ideas (versus the random one you have listening to muzak in the elevator - admit it, we all have these) have you had for vids that you either couldn't complete or wouldn't come out as expected? What made the execution of your idea different than what you had envisioned?
4) I think one of my biggest weaknesses in vidding is impatience. Something I hope storyboarding may help me with. What are yours? How have you dealt with them?
5) Vidding beta? Apparently in the fanfic world, it's taboo not to have a beta. What are your thoughts about beta'ing in vidding?
I realize some discussion may differ slightly based on the tools a vidder uses, but I think the creative process itself obviously transcends the technology we use to make it happen.