Lost Video Island

[Kdee]

Ok here it comes, i hope i'm posting this in the right section of the forums.
I really hope you guys can help me, i'll start from the beginning:

I have been watching vids since November 2004 and i started editing videos for school when 2007 began. So this month i decided to become a vidder myself since i enjoy vidding so much; my first vid was from LOST and it is actually here in LVI its called Superman's Dead, i was worried when i post it on how people would react, i mean would they like my vid, did i choose the right song, did i followed the vidding guides i read correctly. I'm really happy and amazed that some vidders really liked it, thank you so much for watching by the way.

Anyway my problem now is that i want to continue vidding but i'm unable to follow a certain story, i mean i don't want to be random and just cut some clips that i like how they go with the lyrics...i want to really tell a story like some awesome vidders here do when they make their AU vids or Character Study vids.
Do you guys make a draft of the video or imagine everything and write down the scenes you are going to use?. If you can help me, please do, i'm dying to make a nice vid that people can follow and that it actually create some emotion from the watcher.

English is not my first language, please tell me if i wasn't clear enough
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[wolffootball37]

First off your English was great, i could understand you 100%

I know what you mean, i have allot of trouble with that myself. Usually ill just listen through the song and get some idea of what i want to do. Maybe ill map parts out in my head, others ill just deal with when i get there. I then start from the beginning and work my way through. Sometimes ill get ideas that sometimes change the flow of the video. Luckly once i reach the end i have a clear ending in site. Its funny that you mention this now, because im currently at the end of my current vid, and don't have an ending. Anyway i rarely map out stories. I kind of tend to work my way as i go with a broad idea. Though im sure some of the more advanced AU'ers do map their vids out.

[Kdee]

Thank you wolf, you are a lifesaver
I'll try to improvise, as you said the ending is for me an extremely important part of the vid so i'll start my vid today...i hope it turns out as i'm planning it to. Anyway good luck with your ending, i'll send you good vibes.
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[SassyLostie2]

Hey Katie, welcome to the site and to the awesome world of vidding!! Just so ya know, I didn't notice anything wrong/hard to understand about your English, I didn't even realize that maybe it wasn't your first langyage. hehe So no worries! It's all good!

Personally, I always improvise. Usually, I'll listen to a song and just get an idea, either of a basic storyline, or just one crazy AU scene. Many times, I end up basing the whole vid around the inspiration I got for that one scene. lol Other times, I get the idea of a cool storyline first and then have to find the song, but mostly it's the other way around.

About 2/3's of the songs I listen to give me ideas for vids, and as I listen to them, I map out the vid in my head. I literally, see certain scenes and effects to the beat, in my head. lol It's lots of fun. Kind of like writing an outline, but in my memory. hehe I don't think I have EVER actually written an outline or anything like that, I usually listen to the song more and continue to get more and more ideas for new scenes/storylines, until the inspiration becomes too much and I have to start it. At times, I kind of think of the new manips as I go along and try to just fit it with the original storyline, and it's not all over the place. Half of the time, I think of my endings near the beginning of my vid, and other times, I don't have it until the last minute. As long as it fits and doesn't ruin the whole point of your vid, you'll be fine.

There's no right or wrong way to do it, really, just do what works for you. This is what works for me the best.
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[IamSoLostRightNow]

1) your english is fantastic!
2) I am so happy someone made a post like this here. I have always been curious about how other vidders go about the process.

3) I agree with Sassy that I get my idea from the song. Even if it's just a line or two that reminds me of a character or a certain aspect of the show, I'll try to build off of it. I'm pretty lyrical, but not cliche. If I'm interpreting something very literally, I'll usually mix it with something figurative.
Other times I have simply played songs along side scenes in the show. If I like the way they work together I'll build a video around it ( Over My Head , Boom Boom Ba ) sounds crazy but it worked.

"Boom Boom Ba" is actually a great example for the THEME I like having run through my video. I will constantly use the same or similar clips/effects repeatedly in my videos to establish tone.

Story wise I have indeed written out detailed scripts for my videos. I've once made a script with separate columns for audio (beat), lyrics, clip choice, and FX. I find that it helps me keep on track. I like knowing what scenes I want otherwise I feel overwhelmed.
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[Uruviel]

Hi Kdee! Welcome (again ) to LVI! Your English is great, no worries!

I agree with what the others said, I usually get the idea for a vid from a song. I actually keep lists of songs that could be used for each character or ship. I also print out the lyrics when I start on a vid and attempt to map out what scenes to use for each line of the song. That rarely ends up being the finished version of the vid however! I hardly ever have an ending planned until I'm getting close to actually doing the end. I think a strong ending is very important to a vid.

So that's how I vid! I'm sure everyone here has pretty different ways of vidding. Judging from the vid you submitted, you are definitely working in the right direction!
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Heather

[fabri086]

Hey Kdee! I haven t got the chance to talk to you, yet, so.. welcome to LVI! I hope to see new vids from you soon, cause your first one was really good! Don't worry for your English, it's great, much better than mine (I'm from Italy, )

As everyone already said, there's no specific rule you must follow to make a good vid, especially if you re thinking of an AU! I usually get the idea from a song, I listen to it twice or more until I get the whole story clear in my mind! or sometimes I just think of one scene and I start vidding from it, then the rest comes from itself! I ve ever written a plot\storyline, though.. but when I m bored or I m doing something boring, I vid in my head, that is I think which clip\manip scene could fit with a line of the song I ve chosen, etc.. *sounds stupid, but it isn't , heheh* .
Anyway, I think each vidder has his own way of vidding, so don't be afraid of taking risks and don't forget to have fun!
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Two and a Half Men Forum

[Belxf]

Hi! Wellcome to LVI!!
So, I guess I'll just repeat what everyone else said, but anyway...
For me, making an AU vid is pretty different than making any other kind of vid. When I'm making an AU vid I either get the idea from a song, or I have the idea and then I look for the song. Then I listen to the song about a thousand times, and get ideas for scenes and manipulations in certain parts. I always know how I want it to end from the beging, cause that's part of the storyline I was thinking, but i don't usually make an script or smth, though I have printed the lyrics of the song once, and then written there what I wanted to happen in which parts of the song. Just the basics, so I wouldn't get lost.
When I'm making a vid that's not AU, I get the idea from the song, listen to it about a thousand times, but I have no idea how it's going to end. I just know a few scenes I'm using on certain parts of the songs. The rest, I just improvise
As everyone said, that's how I do it, but you have to find your own way. As Heather said, judging from your vid, you're definitely in the right way!
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_bel_

[nikkimonique]

Great post! I think every vidder has a different editing process. For me I always have a basic idea in my head and I usually know how I will end it but the middle is always a little unsure and I usually come up with it as I go...like Sassy...I like to improvise...I find that I come up with some of my best ideas that way. I also like to vid really fast b/c if I sit too long on one vid I loose inspiration for it. So I'd say if you are not 100% sure on the entire story just start vidding and see what happens. I'm gonna go check out your vid now
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[Kdee]

Everyone (LOL!): Ok first of all thank you so much, you guys have been amazing. I started my vid improvising (BTW thanks again Wolf) and it is going great, althought all your advise has been awesome and i'm sure it will come in handy for my next vids.
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[Charmed_Charlee]

Hey, your english was fine

*joins on the bandwagon*

I think this is great, well I usually don't have any ideas in my head I just find a song I like or think I can work with and then I start with the lyrics and then put clips to them that I think could work (in notepad lmao) and then start putting clips into the video to then see what it looks like And when it comes to AU's I listen to the song and then begin to see what clips I can manip and then after doing that listen to the song again and see where it can fit in with the whole video.

[Aislynn]

*sees the bandwagon, decides to jump on before it passes by*

That's a great question, Katie! And you asked it very well, no problem in being understood.

I think I've tried about every method that's been mentioned so far, lol! I've tried writing out my story idea, figuring out which clips should go with what line in the song, and all of that but it didn't work as well for me as I wish it would have. I almost always get my ideas from the song, usually I'll sort of "see" a clip with a certain line in my head when I'm listening to the song and think, "Hey, this would make a good vid for [whomever]!" Then I listen to the song over and over again about a thousand times like Bel mentioned and try to work out what the story would be.

The ending is definitely one of the most important parts, if not THE most important part, in my opinion. I sometimes know what the ending will be before I even start the vid but most of the time I just have a vague idea and the ending kind of develops as I'm working on the vid. I try to figure out what it's going to be as soon as I can, though, so I'll know what I'm "working towards" and support it with my clip choices as best I can.

Like if you want to end with Jack so distraught that he jumps off the bridge at the end, then you'll want to show him getting more and more upset or depressed as you go along so that that final shot of him jumping off the bridge makes sense and is a sort of natural conclusion from all of the things that happened in the vid before the end. I hope that makes sense!

I think the best thing to do is just try a few different things and see what works best for you. You're obviously on the right track because you're thinking about things like this AND you've already got a clear mastery of vidding basics like beat use and effective effects use and such. So I don't doubt at all that you'll be able to do any sort of story that you dream up and do it well, whether it's an AU or a canon story!