I am a woman of a certain reputation.

New Vid: Ready Or Not (NCIS)

2009-12-15T21:32:14Z

Title: Ready Or Not
Song Artist: Aimee Mann
Video Artist: Fabella (wistful_fever)
Summary: ...my partner, my electricity... (Dinozzo/Mcgee)
Fandom: NCIS
Warning: Spoilers up to and including Season 7. Slash.
Disclaimer: I intend no copyright infringement with this video. It is remixed and a commentary on the source.
Video Size: 50mb, DivX

Notes: First video made with Sony Vegas 9. I didn't take advantage of the effects, but I sure did take advantage of the playback window. This video was more technically smooth than any video I've made. I'm still working on figuring out compression with Vegas, but, ah, well, that's an issue I might always have. If you have any tips to avoid ugly interlacing, do let me know.

The video itself is a more serious take on the Tony/Mcgee partnership and tension. It takes a lot from the new dynamic that I find so intriguing. This is another one of those songs that I've wanted to vid forever but could never figure out what for. It was finally time, I guess.

Download Video

Watch On-line @ youtube.

Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault

Commments make Santa happy.

ETA: I took the download down because there are issues with it, and I've decided I'm not satisfied with the quality of the source anyway. I will add another stream version of it until I return with a download. Sorry! SonyVegas plays tricks on me.

Vid Rec: Evil Has Never Loved You

2009-12-15T19:19:44Z

Watch. This. Video. Now.

Evil Has Never Loved You by Loki.

Supernatural, Sam, Dean. Amazing character video, with depth and visual beauty all at the same time. It is unique in a pile of SPN vids, I promise you.

What I said to the vidder: "I've figured out what I love so much about your vids: you combine the best of both worlds for me. You have the stunning visual beauty of youtube vidders, but the high-context, thoughtfulness of internet vidders. This, I think, is my favorite vid by you ever. It is so... perfect and unique. And maybe a little hopeful."

Vid Ho Ho

2009-12-12T18:15:18Z

Vidding NCIS is hard. I'd forgotten. I need to be working on my website for class, but I can't seem to back away from Tony's dreamland. I keep debating whether effects would help or hinder. I might need a second set of eyes on the plain vid, at least what I have of it so far. Any takers?

Question

2009-12-10T15:41:43Z

I'm a music junkie. What's your favorite song RIGHT THIS MOMENT? A link to a youtube of it where I could hear it would be wonderful, but I'm willing to search it out myself.

I'm really digging Miranda Lambert's, "White Liar". There's something about it that would make an excellent vid if I could figure out what I wanted to vid it to.

ETA: MAYBE A MERLIN VID? YES? MERLN'S A BIG FAT LIAR THAT ARTHUR LOVES?

I feel loved!

2009-12-09T14:26:31Z

Thank you, everyone, for the wonderful snowflake cookies! It makes my profile look seriously sexy, in a winter-cookie kind of way, if youknowwhatimeannudgenudge. Although, I am starting to think you all brought this blizzard down on my head, but hey, work was cancelled today, which means I can work on my website development homework... as long as the power doesn't go out... so I'm all good!

I, uh, might sneak in some video editing. I got my new computer! With a terabyte of hard drive space. I got up on Black Friday to get it for six hundred, and oh man, I never realized how painful my vidding experience was until I moved everything off of my dinky 70gig laptop, onto this computer, and hadn't even filled a tenth of the space.

Plus, I can run Sony Vegas on this one. I still have my EditStudio on here, just in case, but now that I can actually run Sony Vegas, I'm determined to learn it. Tutorials here we come! It already seems fairly simple. And one great thing about it is the preview monitor on it doesn't skip, so I can actually see what my video will most likely look like instead of having to render a whole video to see if I like it.

Seriously, I was a trooper to vid the way I did. I had no idea. I imagine classic vidders feel the same way, if not more smug. ;)

*pats self on back*

cannot be healthy

2009-12-05T19:18:19Z

I just stayed up for almost forty-eight hours to squeeze in finishing my final paper for my Global Issues class with my work schedule.

UGH.

Sleep felt good, but I still feel kinda icky.

NCIS: Tim/Tony musings

2009-12-01T16:05:19Z

The Tim/Tony relationship has seemed super-charged on NCIS these past two seasons. Each season more fuel seems to be added to that particular fire, and I've been asking myself why it seems so different. The conclusion that I've come to is that there is an imbalance in the relationship now.

Tim has come into his own. He's grown up. He's solid, more attractive than ever, and gives back as good as he gets. And within that imbalance, it's become clear that the level of attention given to Tim by Tony is not appropriate for their relationship. It feels like a spotlight has been shown on their interactions through the development of Tim's character, and under that spotlight, Tony's focus on Tim Mcgee is ten shades too much, even for his standards.

Before, I feel like his attention could be laughed off a little, even if I loved it and hungered for every crumb of Tim/Tony interaction, but that was when they Tony played alpha more often than not. The current trend, in those terms, makes Tony out more like a lovesick puppy. I kind of hope they keep it up. This imbalance and the sparks it's spotlighting.

I think all that I've mentioned can be captured in newkidfan's video: "Timmy," Tony says.

Good ol' Days

2009-11-18T08:17:52Z

I miss new Mckay/Sheppard interaction SO MUCH sometimes.

Vid Recs: Multiple & Various

2009-11-18T03:35:01Z

Without rhyme or reason, I present a set of recs of videos that fit no theme except for having been watched by me recently.

Creepin' Up On You by WafflesnBrains
Fandom: Heroes
Pairing: Mohinder/Sylar - Slashy

I'm recommending this video because it appeals to my guilty pleasure, which is creepy!love. It's a Sylar stalks Mohinder video, with more recent footage than is in a lot of better Mohinder/Sylar vids, to a song that I have a strange fascination with. It's not quite crack, so I won't describe it as such, but it does have element of like, a 1980's horror love story.

It's definitely a video that re-contextualizes the source (my favorite kind!), so leave most of what you know about the series at the door and you will have a blast, promise.

And the ending is my absolute favorite part. Once you see it, you'll know why.

Shake It by analeian
Fandom: The Big Bang Theory
Pairing: None, really.

The vidder says this was vidded to capture the emotion, "joy!" and I totally agree. I fall in and out of love with the Big Bang Theory, but this video captures everything I love about the show. Its high intensity, and seems like a longer video than it actually is. Some of the effects are a little distracting, but you know what, WHATEVER, everyone's mileage varies and all that. It's a good happy-making video.

Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking by Cursd818
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Morgan/Reid.

Morgan/Reid? Oh fuck yes, please. My newest attention stealer. So, the video does have some flaws admittedly, which are very very fixable and it's mostly about what might be distracting to you, me, someone (there is an overlay throughout that I don't understand the choice for, and the artists name is plasterd across the bottom of the video...something I've done myself by the way), but I don't think it takes away from the enjoyment of the video.

It has a really solid story idea that it follows, in which Derek Morgan has not quite realized how much power he has over Spencer Reid, but is beginning to understand. There is this undertone of threat to the video that pervades throughout. It's a really emotional video, and Reid's delicacy really comes through int his video. He's almost like a baby bird here, somehow, such potential contained in this easily damaged package. This video is Derek's struggle with that. I also think it has a really interesting style the video, a definite fingerprint of youtube, that might making it refreshing to some who are used to watching vids from one school of style.

When You Fly Too Close To The Ground by 404ing
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: None

A character study on Castiel. Gorgeous style and flow. With the first clip it caught my complete focus. There is this very brief, wrenching overlay at 00:38 that took my breath away with how perfect it was. This is not just a video about Castiel, it is a video that *feels* like Castiel. It has his conflicted heart in every clip. It examines his relationship with Dean, Anna, and Uriel. There are some beautiful transitions which morph Castiel into Dean, a beautiful metaphor for the videos theme of an Angel getting too close to humans. There is nothing I don't love about this video.

Oh and the coloring. I have a weakness for pretty visual effects. Just... let me be able to do that, please.

School/Work/Play

2009-11-15T17:49:09Z

School is officially burning me out a little. I spend so much time thinking, then back-tracking, then writing, then re-writing, I sometimes forget what it is I was thinking about in the first place. I can't wait until the break between semesters. I'm gonna sleep a lot, I think. Wake me up in in 2010?

I have work today, and of course, being Saturday last night, I went to let off some steam at the club and may have gotten a little carried away with the Wild Grape Smirnoff malts. I'm regretting it some today knowing that I'll be standing for the next 8 hours (and hopefully sneaking in a little homework during the quiet moments).

Something I've been dying for is an epic-ally long, believable Sam/Castiel fic. Is there such a thing in existence? Would someone be willing to write this beautiful novel I see in my head wherein Sam is on his path to redemption, and he and Castiel somehow become entangled in one another? Bonus points to Castiel pining quietly, at least for a little while. I am such a sap. *facepalm*. I think I just need all the characters to love Sam as much as I do. *nods*

I might even be willing to trade a vid for it if I possibly can. We'll talk.

New Vid: A House Inside of You (Supernatural)

2009-11-14T14:16:16Z

A new video. The first in a year. I'm shocked, too.

Title: A House Inside of You
Song Artist: WolfParade
Video Artist: Fabella (wistful_fever)
Summary: Castiel sleeps under Sam Winchester's bed. It's all terribly romantic. Castiel, Sam/Castiel.
Fandom: Supernatural
Warning: Spoilers up to and including Season Five. Slashy content.
Disclaimer: I intend no copyright infringement with this video. It is remixed and a commentary on the source.
Video Size: 24mb, DivX

Download/Viewing Details

24mb @ megaupload

Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault

Notes

This video was going to be finished much later, but I lost all but thirty seconds of a four minute video I've been working on for six months for my sweetcharity project, and I freaked out a little bit and had to vid something that has been nearly done for a week or so. It gives me that sense of accomplishment that I lost on the other vid... which is so desperately late already I'm thinking of paying the person back for what they spent on me in the charity!

Originally, this was about 50 seconds longer, but I found that those fifty seconds distracted from what I was trying to do here, so I cut it ruthlessly down. I think the video benefits from its length, considering the amount of source available that is actually Sam/Castiel related.

I had fun coming up with the title sequence, which is basically all I had left to do besides tweaking frames and accepting the CW watermark when cropping didn't feel right. I kind of see Castiel as this 1950's radio broadcast on horribly right. Don't ask what that means from characterization, because I truly don't know.

What was most difficult about this video? Subtracting Dean from the equation. I did not what Sam/Dean or Dean/Castiel interaction on this, not a lot anyway, and he is EVERYWHERE. I love it, normally, but it made my job much more difficult here.

Coloring was fairly simple here. I applied a gray scale, and then the hue, and then did a matte, so that the color was washed out, but still there.

My favorite part of the video is where Castiel takes the amulet from Dean. YES.

Feedback is lovely.

Vid Rec: Crazy In Love

2009-11-10T18:02:01Z

I'm a vid addict lately. Vids of all types, shapes, and sizes intrigue me. I also keep finding a ton of gems on youtube, as crazy as that might sound. There are a lot of gems buried under the crappy stuff, and they have a unique flavor that must come from being primarily youtube-community as opposed to livejournal-community. There's more to that, but I'm sure it's already been meta'd all over the place.

So, vid rec! Er, again. You can probably expect a lot of these from me. I'm tip-toeing back into fandom it seems, and less as a creator, more as a fan.

Crazy In Love by sisabet and cappy.
Merlin, Merlin/Arthur.

Merlin as Beyonce, Arthur as Jay Z. Don't tell me you're shocked. If you need something to pick you up and dust you off after a long, dredge-filled day at work, or maybe you just got into a fight with your partner and you're wondering why you put up with him/her anymore... watch this video. For the first person, you'll relax and laugh. For the second, you'll realize that you don't put up with nearly as much as Merlin does and he still TOTALLY DIGS Arthur.

What really caught me up with this video was how unapologetically fun it was. I love to find that true joy in a video, where you can tell the vidder had a blast making it. There's also some creative syncing action going on there, where through actions or lip-service, the characters are the mouthpieces of the song. I adore that trick, because it brings a musical-esque quality to a video.

Watch, have fun, and don't be afraid to leave feedback, even if it's just a quick, "You're awesome!"... because it's true, isn't it?

Vid Rec: Rebellion (Lies, lies)

2009-11-10T04:13:28Z

Time to rec a video that made me gasp, actually gasp, when certain visual cues fell into place. Epic work, spanning four seasons of Supernatural.

Rebellion (Lies, lies) by mithborien.
"I just know we're all we've got." Every time you close your eyes. (Sam/Dean)

The vidder says of it, "To me, this is a vid about Sam and Dean's relationship. I still don't know myself whether I consider it canon or fanon but it's certainly one way of looking at things."

I say, "It's a damned awesome way of looking at things. Great eye for scenes that look like they've fit together all along."

My Vid Rec + Your Vid Rec = Vid Sex Fest WTF?

2009-11-04T05:16:38Z

I've been watching a boat load of videos in the past week. I may have ignored an assignment or two until the last minute in favor of vid-watching, actually, but who cares, onto the glory! I was thinking tonight that often videos take the high road when they focus on a ship, the romantic road, the 'this is why they are in love' road. But what about those videos where they just, you know, have sexual tension and fuck and stuff, pardon the speech? Sure, they can be in love, and they probably are, but what about the videos that focus on the sexual tension? You gotta love those. PWPs in vid form.

So I pose a rec-fest of sexy relationship videos. Het, Slash, RPF, Harry Potter/Broom, whatever your interest. I have to admit, I have a particular interest in Sam/Dean (SPN) right now, because I'm falling in love with them all over again, so I'll give you extra cookies if you rec a sexy Sam/Dean video, but I want all you've got!

My Rec: Give it up for me, please by proofpudding. Sam/Dean (wincesty). Hot, awesome, and lots of eye-fucking. The sexual tension in this video is crazy.

YOUR TURN.

It does strike!

2009-10-29T02:57:29Z

I'm vidding again. WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN? I don't know how it happened, either. Any desire to vid vanished a year ago... or I should not say "the desire vanished", as that would be inaccurate, because I always desire to vid. I should say: any ability to "vid as a verb" vanished. I'm shocked at myself. If you can't already tell.

Maybe it was mid-terms that drove me to it?

wistful_fever @ 2009-06-15T05:23:00

2009-06-15T09:25:35Z

Hate. My. Life.

On top of everything that's happened this week that I won't go into, kicked off the iheart communities for inactivity. Like that wasn't my lifesblood for vidding. This world sucks for me mostly every day lately.

from the void, a voice

2009-06-11T04:09:59Z

School. is. kicking. my. butt.

I do, however, have a 4.0 so far. This is of the good.

Still, I feel very guilty fannishly. It's almost impossible for me to do anything but work and go to school right now. I still have a Sweet Charity video to do. And I can't find time to even edit ten seconds here and there.

*sigh*

Miss you all. Talk later.

Wow, it's been a while! also - COPYRIGHT QUESTION

2009-03-15T15:40:44Z

Hey, guys. Dudes. Dudettes?

I have been so busy! I went back to school when all your backs were turned and quietly snuck away from fandom. It's rare that I have a spare moment, but I'm gonna be closer to my job soon because I'm finally moving back to the little vermont city, and that'll eek out about an hour and a half of travel time every day. FREE TIME WHEE! Full time school and full time job? I have never worked so hard in my life. But it's worth it. I feel great, and happy, and also, my ex and I kissed and made up and we're having another go at it... and we're very solid. We've both learned to appreciate each other in the two months that we were apart, and it's all very... happy bunnies. I sound like a hallmark card, but I'm just very happy. I do wish I had more free time, but I figure I have less free time now so that I can have more free time later? Maybe. Anyway, I'll have a month off of school in May.

Question for those in the know, about Copyright law, because I'm doing my oral presentation in a humanities course and using it to try to convince people of the artistry of arts that ride the back of other arts... like, say... vidding.

Is there a good place to find examples of cases won in favor of Fair Use? With details, and etc.? I figure my peers would actually be the best place to turn for stuff like this.

New Vid: Elemental (Merlin, Merlin/Arthur)

2008-12-29T03:26:33Z

I just spent half a day trying to get this uploaded with my internet cap. OH MY GOD, I HATE HUGHES NET!! er, I mean. Enjoy.

Video Details

Title: Elemental
Song: "Stay" by Michelle Featherstone
Video Artist: Fabella (wistful_fever)
Summary: Merlin is of nature, Arthur of man. Enter conflict. Merlin, Arthur, Merlin/Arthur.
Fandom: Merlin (Series One)
Warning: Slash, M/M
Length: 3:21
Format: xvid/divx avi

Download Details
61.14mb @ megaupload
61.14mb @ mediafire
Watch On-Line @ imeem
Watch On-Line @ youtube

Quality is directly related to size. If you have problems playing it, try the VLC Media Player. It's free, fast, and awesome.

Links Last Updated: 12/28/08

Vidding Notes:

I can't count the hours put into this. I don't think I really want to, because I think it gave me a gray hair. I'll just say it was a lengthy process and leave it there. I mentioned it once as this sort of too-involved-with-itself pretentious artsy video. AND I LOVE IT AS IT IS. The thing about Merlin, is that it is not a source all by itself. There is such a wealth of history to the legends, so many interpretations, that it's almost impossible not to tie that in with the canon they're giving us. And the most striking legend, to me, is that of Merlin as a man of the forest. That concept caught me. I knew I had to vid it. When it comes down to it, I made this video for the end clip, the money shot if you will. Merlin, as a tree. And maybe, maybe not (depending on your interpretation), Arthur is actually culpable, in a allowing it to come to pass kind of way, of entrapping Merlin in the tree. You can't touch a butterfly with your fingertips without risking its death. A fairly dark concept for me, of late.

This video incorporates a lot of outside source, which isn't something I've done too much of since Hemorrhage. There's far more of it here. I couldn't get enough of outside source with this one. I did manage to cut myself off when I felt I was distancing the audience from the heart of the story, but you never know how well that works until you get your reaction from the public.

Color work was fairly limited. I enhanced the greens and yellows, and added a brightening filter, but that was it.

What I did most, here, was matteing. Layering visuals. In a few places, there are as much as five different images/clips on top of one another. Some more noticeable than others. I'm usually more of a sparse, open-space type of editor than that, so five clips is quite the change for me. I'm really getting into using a graphics program with my video software. Hopefully that will lead somewhere interesting down the road.

I softened my cuts quite a bit with this video. The music seemed to call for a style more wistful than my usual hard cuts. It wanted transitions and fades, images streaming into one another. In the past, I've used soft cuts only once or twice in videos (well, in the videos I count anyways), and mostly to illustrate a point. Time passing, or the comparison of clips, the secret meaning behind one clip is the clip it transitions into so on and so forth. In this, the transitions are all about the feel, the mood, and the sound.

This *will* be my last Merlin video for a while. I have other projects to focus on, and to be honest, I think this video drained me dry creatively for these characters... at least until there is more source. Even if I want to make a video for this show, I'm not going to let myself! You heard it here first, folks! No more Merlin vids for me for a long time!... unless I really really have to. ;)

Credit:
Brushes: http://azurylipfesstock.deviantart.com/
Stock Footage: istockphoto.com
Other non-Merlin clips come from various documentaries, the majority from Planet In Peril.

Feedback is always appreciated.

Boredom

2008-12-12T11:48:21Z

I've been wanting to write lately, really bad. Every now and then I take a swing at it again, but I never seem to finish anything. But I have this fic all plotted out, Merlin of course, because that show has inspired all kinds of fannish activity in me, and half written, and.
That's it. That's where I've stopped. I wish it would finish itself. I want to write, but I have absolutely no follow-through.

New Vid: Make U Smile (Real Person, Colin/Bradley)

2008-12-11T23:50:47Z

Once more, I'm working on some angsty layered stuff in the background, but fun crack occupies the front of my brain. I do have some surprises up my sleeve for a Merlin vid once the season finishes out, something I'm looking forward to finishing, and a Supernatural video that is kicking my ass, but actually feels like something I haven't said before, so AWESOME.

Until, then.

CRACK. Crack that ATE MY LIFE.

Video Details

Title: Make *U* Smile
Song: "Calling You" by Blue October and surprise guest
Video Artist: Fabella (wistful_fever)
Summary: Colin/Bradley Real Person Slash. Bradley tries to catch himself his very own Irish beauty. A little cracky, but all about the joy.
Fandom: Merlin RPS, minor spoilers for eps. 1 through 11.
Warning: Slash, M/M
Length: 1:53
Format: xvid/divx avi

Disclaimer: None of this is true, nor do I believe it to be.

Download Details
48.5mb @ megaupload
48.5mb @ mediafire
Watch On-Line @ imeem

Quality is directly related to size. If you have problems playing it, try the VLC Media Player. It's free, fast, and awesome.

Links Last Updated: 12/11/08

Vidding Notes:

This was truly a joy to make. I spent hours upon hours on it believe it or not. From the moment I got home from work most nights, until I forced myself to go to sleep. It might not look like it, but a lot of work went into this Ass Baby Crack Child, hours upon hours. I really wanted to bring out Bradley's public persona in this (I wanted his characterization to shine from every aspect, even the title), the joyous creature he's presented himself as, and throw maybe a little of my own personality into the vid as well. I have a little meta I want to write up, about how vidding has become more of a conversation between myself and my idea and less about myself and the media, but that's for another time.

I love this video so much I actually went to my boss's house to upload it.

LONG STORY. She's wicked cool, though.

I tried uploading the video to youtube, but they rejected it with their audio fingerprinting, so sorry to those of you who usually turn their to watch videos. It's not in the cards for this one.

CREDITS:

This most likely doesn't cover all the brushes used, but it's my attempt to gather those responsible, because I believe in crediting the gifts these artists share with us. If you see a brush you made used within the video, PLEASE let me know and I will include you in the list.

http://fbrushes.com/category/nature/
http://www.createblog.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t147913.html
http://adina-mpj.livejournal.com/9310.html?view=181854
http://fbi-woman.livejournal.com/tag/brushes
http://www.webresourcesdepot.com/64-beautiful-and-free-nature-brush-sets-and-vectors-giant-design-pack/
http://www.lemonbirdy.net/downloads.php
http://community.livejournal.com/carbon_paper/13445.html
http://community.livejournal.com/brushaddicts/1421154.html

VIDDERS SAVE ME

2008-12-10T03:28:38Z

I've once again put away everything serious to vid complete crack. In my defense, I made awesome headway on the two serious vids (Nicky, the artsy one I talked to you about is coming along swimmingly).

But. BUT. I've spent a week on this crack-ass vid that a part of me wants to keep all to myself because I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH. I'm enamored of my own vid, even though it's terrible. It's a great feeling. I just know about three people are going to watch it, and everyone else is going to roll their eyes, and I do not even care, because I adore it.

I don't know when I'll get to share it. It's not even done yet, but I'm already worried about this terrible internet connection. I WANT TO SHOW YOU MY VID DAMMIT.

Music Request

2008-12-09T23:57:28Z

Er, does anyone have a copy of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" they can megaupload to me?

Don't ask. Really.

weird moment

2008-12-04T23:59:19Z

I just got a friend request on myspace. From a, "Rodney".

Yeah, my brain immediately went there.

For just an instant I wondered how he was getting internet access from Atlantis. I'm not even kidding. Oh, me. You lose so much sometimes.

BLARGH.

Keeping my options open?

2008-12-03T04:44:59Z

wink.wink.

Nabbed this from ras_elased. Ship me, Slash me.

i ship it.