Just let me lie here on the tile

[x-posted to vividcon]

At Vividcon, I VJ'ed the "Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Trade 'Em For Food" vidshow:

Showcasing funny vids about relationships - slash, het, multiple,
friendship, enmity or romance, anything goes as long as we can poke
affectionate fun at it.

This was my first Vividcon and my first vidshow ever, not just as a VJ, but the first time I ever experienced watching a whole bunch of vids on a big screen in a dark room full of people, rather than just me & my TV. It was a wonderful introduction to the con, and I'm grateful to everyone who showed up to watch.

I wrote short blurbs for the program book, worried that if I started to talk about why I love these vids, I'd take up way too much room, so I'm writing up more extensive notes for this post, instead.

I'd love to know what you think about these vids, and about the vidshow, if you were there. Also, if you download any of these and enjoy them, please do let the vidders know! Vidders get even less feedback than fanfic writers, and something as simple as an LJ comment saying "This was so much fun!" can make someone's day.



1. Title: Jolene
Artist: The White Stripes
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Vidder(s): Zoë Rayne
Summary: There's just no getting away from Jolene.
Download at: http://vaportraces.com/vids/
View Imeem version at: http://zoerayne.imeem.com/video/-cIjAmUG/sgajolene/

Notes: I'm so glad I decided to start the vidshow off with Jolene. Most of the audience had probably seen this vid before, but personally I can't watch it often enough, and it certainly got a wonderful reception, with lots of laughter and awwws. It was just a blast to see people respond to it.

I love the use of ghosting as a comedy device in this vid, which I don't think I've ever seen before, and all the hilarious clip choices - John's deeply befuddled look around 1:01, Jolene rising from the bed seductively at 1:32 (again and again, hee) and all the woobie-faced Rodney shots. In the end, I think it's Rodney's reactions that really sell the vid.

2. Title: Monster
Artist: Henry Rollins
Fandom: Monsters, Inc
Vidder(s): Laura Shapiro
Summary: Scary monsters and the little girls that love them.
Download at: http://www.laurasha.com/ (please email the vidder for a password)
View Imeem version at: http://laurasha.imeem.com/video/tYQvW9dk/monster/

Notes: Like Jolene, Monster is an official Lord King Bad Vid - but to me, Monster doesn't cross the line into over the top emotion/hilarity, the way Jolene does, and I wouldn't call it a LKBV myself. I talked to laurashapiro about this, and if I remember rightly, she said that the use of cartoony transitions and the emotional tone of it - which the audience reacted to with a lot of awwws - makes it a LKBV for her. YMMV!

Possibly my favorite moment in the vid is the monster turning around revealing the little girl clinging to his back on "from you I cannot hide". It just makes me grin every time. Or maybe it's the beautifully timed body-swing pivoting movement around 1:53, as the monster's putting the little girl to bed. (Er, yes, I have seen the movie, I just suck at names.) Lots of lovely timing and motion in general, and I just adore the whole thing.

3. Title: Strange Disease
Artist: Prozzäk
Fandom: Buffy/Angel
Vidder(s): Crazygrrl
Summary: This is what happens when you don't use protection.
Streaming Imeem version: http://crazygrrl.imeem.com/video/Bm4UMzP3/btvs_strangedisease/

Notes: There are a lot of really excellent, funny Buffy and/or Angel vids that fit the "Can't Live With 'Em" theme, so it was hard to choose, but in the end I went with Strange Disease because it has such a unique conceit: vampirism as an STD. Lots of great clip choices; I particularly like what the vidder did with 'walking up and down your street', and 'my libido's gone berserk', and I love the use of dorky Angel dancing on the 'wee-ooo, wee-ooo' near the end.

4. Title: Ode to a Bitchface (Song title: Mardy Bum)
Artist: Arctic Monkeys
Fandom: Supernatural
Vidder(s): Monkie
Summary: Sam's got that face on. Vidder's first vid!
Download at: http://monkiedude.livejournal.com/66351.html

Notes: The vid shown in the vidshow was actually the online version - the source quality was high enough that we could use it, and it really does look very shiny. My thanks to killabeez for recommending this vid! I'm not an SPN watcher, which means that I tend to like the more accessible, light-hearted SPN vids, and this is definitely one of those. The title pretty much says it all: it's an ode to Sam's bitchface. As the summary says, this is the vidder's first vid, and I just hope she keeps going. What makes this vid for me is the way it builds up Sam's bitchy moments and then ends with a perfect choice of final clip, to 'and you've got the face on'.

5. Title: Crush Story
Artist: Too Much Joy
Fandom: The Tick
Vidder(s): Rache & Sandy
Summary: Emo antennae spell love.
Download at: http://www.relative-obscurity.org/belles/cb.html
View Imeem version at: http://wickedwords.imeem.com/video/Uaihpkok/tick_crushstory/

Notes: I've never seen the show, don't know anything about it, but this vid tells me everything I need to know about these two unlikely superheroes and the way they feel about each other. I love the first 'smallest giant ever' around 00:27, where I think there could not possibly be a better way to illustrate that lyric than this shot of our poor little Guy In White Spandex sitting against the wall watching some bigger hero go by, and then that is topped by the moment around 00:31 where he hits a button and his SUPERHERO WINGS SHRINK INTO NOTHING. I just start flailing at that point, all the way until the bit near the end, where there is an anniversary cake. To me, this vid is a perfect example of how to make an obscure fandom accessible, adorable and engaging to just about anybody.

6. Title: She Hates Me
Artist: Richard Cheese
Fandom: Moonlighting
Vidder(s): Sisabet
Summary: Suuure. We believe you.
Download at: http://sisabet.livejournal.com/347023.html

Notes: A very fun vid, and probably the first sitcom vid I've ever seen, the second being Jarrow's Will and Grace vid that premiered in this year's Club Vivid, which is also a lot of fun. This vid made me very nostalgic for Moonlighting and David and Maddy's push-me-pull-you relationship, and the song could not work better for this fandom.

7. Title: Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
Artist: Cake
Fandom: Star Trek: TOS
Vidder(s): Killa
Summary: Vulcans are just terrible, terrible teases.
[Killa has taken her vids offline, and I'd rather not link to any streaming versions that have been uploaded by others against her wishes.]

Notes: I adove every TOS vid Killa has ever made, and Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps is relatively new and premiered online, which led me to hope that some of the vidhow audience might not have seen it yet, and it did get a great reaction from the crowd. Hilarious and adorable, this vid makes me want to draw little hearts around Kirk and Spock. I find it fascinating how much mileage Killa gets out of facial expressions: Spock's eyebrow raises, Kirk's determined jaw as he settles into his chair, and the like - the vid is almost entirely composed of character shots, including a lot of close-ups, but it never feels constricted, and it tells a crystal-clear story. I particulary love the chair-spinning at 1:20, and the Uhura eye-roll towards McCoy on 1:30, drawn out to match the music. The vid is about Spock leading Kirk on, or at least Kirk thinks so, and the vid itself teases you shamelessly.

8. Title: Beep Beep
Artist: Louis Prima
Fandom: Starship Troopers
Vidder(s): Jackie K
Summary: It's hard to keep a long-distance relationship alive.
Download at: http://www.triptychvids.com/ (please email the vidder for a password)

This vid premiered at Club Vivid last year, and I wish I could've been there to dance to it. I can't think of a better use for an overblown, faux-Heinlein movie than to set it to Louis Prima and turn it into a light-hearted, cheesetastic romantic comedy, where Our Heroine is 'screwing around with some space cat' and Our Hero can only communicate with her in beeps. I lose it every time when the horribly suggestive-looking, badly bluescreened alien shows up. Hee.

9. Title: Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)
Artist: Ethel Merman & Ray Middleton
Fandom: Xena: Warrior Princess
Vidder(s): Jen Stamey
Summary: The Ancient Greek art of competitiveness.
Download at: http://ausxip.com/multimedia/musicvideos/Jen_Stamey/index.html

Notes: Another vid I hoped not everyone would have seen before, and it's just a riot. There's a ton of Xena/Gabrielle vids out there, but I haven't seen any other vid focus on this particular, very real aspect of their relationship: competitiveness. I love the mix of literal and not-so-literal clips, particularly the vidder's choices for 'any note you can reach/I can sing higher' and 'any note you can sing/I can sing sweeter' which really takes advantage of some of the more cracktastic moments in Xena: Warrior Princess, some of which I didn't even know existed.

10. Title: Johnny, Are You Queer?
Artist: Josie Cotton
Fandom: Stargate
Vidder(s): Carol S
Summary: Why are you so weird, boy?
Download at: http://www.triptychvids.com/ (please email the vidder for a password)

Notes An old favorite of mine, which I think works perfectly if you've never seen any SG-1: every single clip pulls the story forward. (At this point I've seen about four episodes total, myself, and most of what I know about SG-1 I learned from vids and fanfic.) I love the use of Daniel's eyebrow raises as a kind of punctuation, and the 'dancing with them gay boys' bit around 00:30 always cracks me up (what are those aliens doing?). Not to mention Jack and the Asgard, OMG. If you've not seen one of Carol's other vids called Something To Talk About, then...you should. And then you should not hit me after.

11. Title: Goody Two Shoes
Artist: Adam Ant
Fandom: Due South
Vidder(s): Pipsqueaky & Laura Shapiro
Summary: Can't live with him, can't trade him for pemmican.
Download at: http://pipsqueaky.livejournal.com/59587.html

Notes: I was waffling a bit on whether this vid fit the theme of the show, because it's a Fraser character portrait really, but on the other hand, most of the vid is about his interactions with Ray Vecchio and Ray Kowalski. Also, I admit it, I just wanted it in because I adore it so: it's a warm, funny, upbeat vid that leaves me nostalgic for Due South. "Goody Two Shoes" is a fantastic song for Fraser - "don't drink, don't smoke, what DO you do?" - and the vidders knock it out of the park. I love the way this vid moves smoothly back and forth between Vecchio and Kowalski, lots of continuing motion - here, it doesn't feel like the vidders were trying desperately for an equal opportunity Ray vid (not that there's anything wrong with that *g*); it feels more organic to me, because the vid's about Fraser and the way both Rays have to deal with his more exasperating habits. (I'm particularly fond of the bit where Fraser keeps handing over guns to 'don't drink, don't smoke'.)

12. Title: Code Monkey
Artist: Jonathan Coulton
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Vidder(s): Mouse & Snarkitty
Summary: Rodney's cubicle crush. Vidders' first vid!
View Imeem version at: http://mousewrites.imeem.com/video/KBZHsIwu/sga_code_monkey/

Notes: A first vid, again, so please encourage the vidders to make more. Adorable, cheerful and fun, and I love that they matched an interesting song to an unusual pairing (if there are other Rodney/Zelenka vids out there, I haven't seen any). Love the the 'secret heart' and the timing of Zelenka's hand on 'make you fat', and then there's 'a pretty girl like you' which is one of those lyrics that, especially in a slash vid, can throw your vid into disarray, but the vidders turned it into a punchline. Just a really fun vid, the kind I rewatch to cheer myself up.

13. Title: You've Got A Friend In Me
Artist: Randy Newman
Fandom: Highlander
Vidder(s): Melina
Summary: Maybe it's not such a bad thing that there can be only one. Remastered for this show, yay!
Download at: http://www.triptychvids.com/ (please email the vidder for a password)
View Imeem version at: http://melina123.imeem.com/video/FlDOrpgz/hl_youvegotafriendinmeremaster/

Notes: I felt incredibly lucky that Melina was willing to remaster the vid for this show, and it does look gorgeous. I have seen some of Highlander, but I don't remember ever coming across Hugh Fitzcairn (did I spell that right?), and now I really want to, because obviously he is a great foil for Duncan, and a wonderful character in his own right. The drunken declaration that starts around 1:27 is one of my favorite scenes, and I think it's a good example of using a longer clip without cutting, to build to comic effect.

14. Title: Detachable Penis
Artist: King Missile
Fandom: The Professionals
Vidder(s): Sandy, Alex, Gwyneth, Tina & Rache
Summary: A touching drama of love and loss.
Download at: http://www.thecircuitarchive.com/tca/archive/vids/DetachablePenis.php
View Imeem version at: http://gwyneth.imeem.com/video/VIxnfqTo/pros_detachablepenis/

Notes: You can't tell me that this isn't a relationship vid. Hee. A surreal, witty vid about Men and Their Phallic Objects, and one of the many Pros vids that justacat did such a stunning job of remastering. This vid was shown at VVC last year too, with an unfortunate audio delay problem, so I'm happy to report that the vid played perfectly in this vidshow and got great reactions (and you could tell who had watched the vid before, as they started giggling at the very first shots, particularly that...bomb dismantling? Is that what they're doing?)

I don't know when the vid was made, but it hasn't aged a day: beautiful clip choices and timing, and can be watched completely context-free. I don't want to oversell it, but this really is a classic, and if you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to download it right away.

15. Title: Moving Right Along
Artist: The Muppets
Fandom: Farscape
Vidder(s): SDWolfpup
Summary: John and D'Argo and lots of awwwwwww.
Download at: http://www.wolfpupserenade.com/fsvids.html

Notes: John and D 'Argo will never be friends! Or will they? There's a kind of poetic justice in using a Muppets song for Farscape. I have no context for this vid whatsoever, but it still never fails to cheer me up, and I thought it would be a good vid to end the vidshow on. ("Should it be snowing?" "No, I don't think so." hee hee hee). I really like the way the end credits are mixed into the vid, ending on that lovely high-five. Yay!