Lost Video Island

[SuperKC]

Philosophy of Vidding

- If you'e reading this, you probably already know the "rules." Your aspect ratio is good, your clips aren't ten minutes long, and all of the shots you chose aren't of people talking. You find a good storyline, you follow the beat as well as you can and you don't ignore the lyrics. You're set. That's it, right? WRONG.


- There is no formula for a good video. There is only a formula for a well-made video - the basic rules of which I outlined in the bullet point above. But does "well-made" mean it's good? Does it mean it's memorable? NO. If you think there's some kind of set guidelines that you can follow exactly and come out with a great vid every time, you're wrong.


- Keep the rules in mind, but don't live or die by them. You know all those rules I just mentioned? Forget them. If you try to box in some formulaic idea of what a video should be, two things are going to happen. First, you're not going to have fun making it. Second, no one is going to have fun watching it. Don't lose your art in the method.


- Stop giving me epileptic fits. Aside from needing a surgeon general's warning, a well-made high energy video with a barrage of quick cuts and flashes can sometimes be just as boring as a slow video with one continuous shot - despite having a good theme and storyline. Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about.

"Fast beats" is a term we like to use around here often. Some of us are good at it. Some of us aren't. (That'd be me.) But you don't want your video so watered down with it that you lose your audience. What makes these types of videos effective is meaning. What does it MEAN? If it doesn't mean anything then it's not going to have any effect. Another thing that can kill the effect of this type of vid is the song itself, which brings me to my next point.


- Your song choice can make or break your vid, so choose wisely. I am a firm believer that you can take virtually any song and make a great video out of it. You can turn any song on its proverbial head. If you have a wonderful idea for a song, any song, don't hesitate to go for it. That's what we do, really. Waiting for one more "wonderful idea" to hit us. You don't have to choose something that fits. This is what we do. We manipulate these scenes to fit our songs. That's our job as vidders.

That being said, sometimes a song can be your savoir or be your downfall. A song that has a few prominent intense moments is far more effective than a song that is an intense amalgam of sounds for the full three minutes. It just depends on the subject of your video. I say, go for epic, go for something that crescendos, something that makes you ache when you listen to it, it alone, without images to carry it along. Choose something that you could fit inside your character's head. Choose something that makes a mark, whether humorous or dramatic. Music is important in film. It directs your audience where to go emotionally. Remember that when you choose your music.


- Force the muse. Vidder's block. It happens to us all. Trust me. I know. There are days when you're torn between wanting so badly to vid and your fear of not being able to pull it off due to lack of ideas or just lack of motivation. On those days, I want you to do something for me. It's simple. Import your song into your editing program and drag it to the timeline. Just do it. Then, stick ONE clip into your timeline and preview it, just one. Something will come to you. I promise. They say you can't force the muse. But I say you can. You can smoke her out. But the only one who can seek out your reluctant muse is you. Nobody else will do it for you.


- Accolades, you might get 'em... and you might not. I could tell you to vid for yourself, but that would be overlooking the obvious. We don't just make these vids for ourselves. Sure, we do get a kind of personal satisfaction out of it - even if our vids never see the light of day. It fulfills our need for a creative outlet. It makes us proud. And hopefully we're producing something what we ourselves enjoy watching after the fact.

But the bottom line? We make these vids because we want other people to watch them. We want them to watch and to comment. I have at least one vid on here that has exactly zero comments. That's never fun, but it happens. It's hard not to lose perspective when a video we worked so hard on doesn't get any feeback at all.

A good way to get comments is to ask for them. You may only get one response. But it's a start. PM someone, ask them to review your vid. It can't hurt. Another, better, way is to become active in the community. Comment on other people's videos! (You get and you give?) If someone feels vested in you as a person, they'll be more likely to comment on your vid and leave their honest opinions. It's just a fact. It's how these things work. And at the end of the day if you still don't get that feedback or that CP that you were hoping for, you have to wager whether or not you learned something, if you had fun, if you enjoyed your finished product. Because if you answer yes to any of those questions, then I'd call that a good day.


- Take it easy. I wasn't going to mention Council Picks, or CPs as we call them, in detail because they're site specific and don't have much to do with vidding in general. But it is something that we all here are striving for. If you don't get a CP. It doesn't mean your video sucks. The standards have been slowly but surely rising as this site has progressed. Why do you think LOST videos are of some of the highest quality fan videos on the net? I'll wager it has a lot to do with this website!

If you don't get a CP, ask someone why! Ask a Council Member or another seasoned vidder here. Ask them to review your vid. Don't be afraid of constructive criticism. Take the information and use it. We have here at this site something very special: the vast pool of knowledge that lies within our member's brains, council member or otherwise. Don't take that for granted. And finally, don't let your CP status taint your view of your work. Be proud of what you have accomplished.


- Watch videos! And watch a lot of them. You can learn from them. The best way to learn is by doing, that is not disputed. But when you enter any writing class, the first thing your professor is going to tell you about becoming a better writer is to READ MORE. So I'm going to tell you the same thing. Watch gallons and buckets and heaps of videos! (Don't forget to comment!)


- When in doubt, seek help. A lot of people feel like vidding is some super secretive process. But a lot of us here are chatting behind the scenes - in PMs, MSN, e-mail, etc. - about our ongoing projects. We're seeking advice from one another, sharing ideas and getting pre-feedback. It's a beautiful thing. Get a beta! For those of you that don't know, beta is a word that is used to mean a "trial" of something - a rough draft, if you will. A beta reader or beta watcher is someone who reviews your unfinished work and gives editorial advice. Hook up with another vidder here, more than one even. Ask them to review your video before you call it your final product. Ask for honest opinions and you'll get them.








NOTE - I've been asked quite a few questions by some fellow vidders lately, which inspired me to create this little article. None of this is gospel, it is just one vidder's opinion. I hope it helps.

[Aislynn]

Very, very cool! You covered a ton of great points! I really liked how you mentioned watching vids as a method of learning to be a better vidder yourself. That is SO true! And also the thing with asking for betas and being willing to take their advice. I mean, at the end of the day, yes, the vid should be your own creation and if you really think something needs to be a certain way, then by all means do it that way. But it's a wise vidder who listens to honest criticism. If they tell you that something's not clear or that something might look a little better if presented a different way, then you've got to have a good reason to ignore that.

I linked this thread in with the Text Guides, hope you don't mind?

[SuperKC]

No, I don't mind. Thanks Aislynn.

[Borislava]

That's really very useful,SuperKC!!!There are some really important points that all should know
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[IntoTheVoid]

aha I laughed at 'Stop giving me epileptic fits.' ! I'm guilty of that.

This is very useful, especially for those who are shy or whatever about the quality of their videos. Hopefully they will remember some of the stuff you posted and learn from it.

Super Stuff
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[SuperKC]

Thanks guys.

I was also thinking of creating a "what the **** is wrong with this video?" thread in self help. A place where people can post their vids and not expect any nice comments. Just because I think that it IS hard not to sugarcoat your responses at least a little bit. You don't want to hurt someone's feelings but at the same time you want to be honest about their work. So if maybe there was a place where it was UNDERSTOOD that there would be no feelings spared. If that makes sense. Haha. I still don't know how good of an idea that would be. And I don't want to be "in charge" of it. I don't want to be the only one blasting vids. People would hate me lol. Not that I'm very good at blasting though.

[mistojen]

[Hobbes]

I just saw this. Excellent guide that I can agree with in all areas you rule KC!

[SuperKC]

Thanks again Warren!