(no subject)

[fan_eunice]

Icon used ironically.

So today is the day I spam, not yesterday (I did mostly sleep last night, yay). But, okay, I see this a lot. Often enough that I want to say something. This being people saying 'I wish I could vid' or 'I can't vid but this song is perfect' or the combo 'If I could vid I'd vid this'.

Lemme borrow for a sec from my man Obama to say this. Yes. You. Can. If you are seeing scenes in your head when you listen to that song, or you wish you could see your show to this music? You already are.

There are actually two parts to vidding. The making of, and the sharing of, and I think we vidders do a bit of a disservice when talking about the first in mostly discussing the frustration and woes of that part, whether technical or artistic. Because what gets lost to someone who hasn't done it is that moment when you first lay a clip and see your show to your music on the timeline. Doesn't matter if that clip is wrong thematically and you have to change it later or there is talky face or if the aspect ratio is off. I mean, it does in the long term, but in that moment there is a pure giddy glee that can't be replicated in anything else. And I want you to have that!

The vid does not have to come out perfect, or even very good really, to get the joy of making a vid out of the experience. That part is private. It's for you. And while I would certainly encourage anyone who wants to be serious about it as a craft and art to invest in learning an NLE and to dig into editing and theory and all that jazz, there is NOTHING WRONG with dumping some clips into WMM or iMovie and seeing how they look to that song you heard on the radio that is just perfect for X.

Do it. Decide later if it's something you want to post on the big wide internets (and why...'this made me giddily happy to make, come see!' is a perfectly valid reason to share), or if it's a skill you want to hone, but just do it. You are a fan, odds are you have an episode of something and a song you like for that show on your computer right now. Toss them into the default editor that came with your computer right now and lay a clip. I dare you.

Beginners guide to Windows Movie Maker
Vista specific (the layouts between the two look the same to me, but in case there are additional features)
iMovie tutorial


http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech3/index.html -- An invaluable comprehensive guide on the various tech aspects of vidding with both theory and guides. Includes a download package and instruction for useful tools and codecs, including avisynth and virtualdub. Created for AMVs but is good for all vidders.

Comments

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

See, I do not think that is what Eunice is saying at all, and please understand that if you are reading it as "you can do it, you're just not trying hard enough" this is probably more your issue than hers, right?

Also, do not even get me started on the entire vidding on an ancient and ill-equipped computer because I do believe I might have that game, lock and match. Or set. I am sorry, I totally don't understand tennis or sports terms but wanted to sound snappy there :)

Until October of 09, I was vidding on a Dell I purchased in 01 (and that was budget and older model even then) with RAM I upgraded from 256 to 500 mb. And I made a lot of vids I am still proud of to this day. But even more important - I tried and I found tremendous worth in that creative process. It was totally FOR me, even with the huge frustrations and limitations of my physical machine (which were real and valid). The vids of my heart were made on that creaky old dude.

But again, it was for me - this process. It does not have to be FOR you - there is nothing at all wrong with that. I've played around with imovie on my macbook and you are right - it is frustrating. I don't find it any more frustrating than any other aspect of vidding (which is a headache in and of itself and it says something about me that I have this as a hobby) but there are workarounds when you HAVE TO SEE SOMETHING. So the headaches are worth it for me but not you. This is A-Okay, my friend.

In the end, we all have issues. Loads of them. Please don't feel insulted because Eunice wants to encourage people to explore.

-sisabet

[pocketmouse]

I totally believe that she didn't mean to, and it may be my issue, but it's still something I read very heavily in the text. I don't know. I've had a lot of bad experience with the vidding crowd being unhelpful and unsharing.

And I'm not insulted. I just want to make it clear that this isn't a thing for everyone, and the obstacles she mentions in her post are things that some people really can't work past, or don't even get as far as coming up against.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

I've had a lot of bad experience with the vidding crowd being unhelpful and unsharing.

But... that isn't want Eunice is doing here at all, is it? At least I read her post as encouraging and positive and "Come on in, the water is FINE!" which is kind of how I basically read Eunice so forgive me if I come off as dismissive of you and your history.

It is just, I get what you are saying. But it also comes across as almost censoring Eunice of being squeeful and happy about her hobby. I don't think at any point she says everyone should vid. She says if maybe you feel you want to do this? Try it. Which is how every single person I know who vids who is not my baby sister has started. And I am sorry you have found certain vidders or factions of the community to be unhelpful or unsharing -- in this instance, I feel the poster is trying to be the *opposite* of that and yet...

Okay, I have been very unsharing and unhelpful as a member of the vidding community and I own that. It boils down to a lot of things, but damn sometimes I feel like I reach out or I *try* to help people and I get my fingers bit. So, I am much less a part of the community and I have made this choice and it is my own (also, my personal life is full of stress - I do not need anymore and do not seek it out). Eunice, however, is active and welcoming and doesn't deserve our reactionary selves gloomy gussing her happy.

[pocketmouse]

This has nothing to do with Eunice personally. All I'm doing here is saying that this is the way I read her statement, so she could clarify and be aware of how a dissenting opinion might interpret this post. I'm not interested in getting into a big discussion about the ins and outs of vidding and personal philosophies.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

I don't see how she can clarify her post and it still convey her original message. I am also not interested in discussing the ins and outs of personal vidding philosophies other than to say I do not think there is anything wrong with telling people "Hey, you want to try this? You SO SHOULD TRY IT!!"

I suppose she could clarify it so it reads "Hey, you should try this, except maybe not?" Seriously, I am at a loss here. Should she also go around and tell small children they will never be president? Tell my dog he will never defeat the squirrel that taunts him? Tell Lex Luthor that Superman will never marry him? Tell the Coyote that the Road Runner is unstoppable? People need to dream, people thrive on encouragement and I am sorry your experience has not been positive. Don't fight the dream, though, man.

[pocketmouse]

I've already talked to Eunice, and she has replied to me. I don't know what you're even doing here, and I have no interest in talking with you about this.

[fan_eunice]

The thing is I am honestly confused as to what it is you object to, or how it could be clarified other than the tech issue. Should people not try because they might not like it? Or not continue because they aren't as technically skilled as others?

The whole point was to encourage people considering vidding, or who want to vid, and feel like they can't or shouldn't because they don't yet have experience or skill. And part of that is talking about the value of joy in a creative process. 'Try it! You might hate it!' is...not exactly encouraging.

[pocketmouse]

No, it largely is the technology issue. There's an assumption here that everyone reading your post has access to the fundamental things needed to vid -- software, a computer, source material, etc. And that's not always true. There's people whose computers really are too old and slow to handle this stuff, there's young teens who have to share the computer with the whole family, there's people whose only internet access is the public terminal at the library. And people might not always have access to high or even medium quality source material.

[fan_eunice]

I think, okay, I've been trying to put my finger on what's been bugging me about this because I do think there is a valid point that some people may not have, or have limited access.

But there also feels like there is an assumption on your part that vidding requires, and that people who vid, have access to a level of tech that they often don't, which was also kind of the point of my post...that a potential vidder doesn't need fancy software or a top of the line (or even a halfway decent computer), or high quality source, to lay some clips and see if it gives the sort of joy that is worth the headbanging frustration of tech work arounds and other 'vidding is hard!' aspects of it.

Because very few of the people I know who vid, including myself, had any of that starting out and many don't still. Headbanging tech frustration isn't an exception among vidders, it's kind of the rule. That it wasn't worth it for you is totally valid, if I didn't get that HIT RUSH OF JOY, god knows I wouldn't put up with it. It doesn't make it impossible though, it just makes it not worth the trade off, something that a potential vidder with images to songs in their heads won't know unless they dive in and find out.

I really sort of hate the assumption that Tech Must Be This High to Enter. And it really</> doesn't need to be just to try it out. Yes, there are people who will not have the basic minimum to start out, but the basic minimum is also a lot lower than what the perception of it is.