Vid: Citizen Erased

[meddow]

twelvecolonies held a vidding challenge and I entered, and the result is below.

Note to self: never, ever, ever try to vid a seven minute long song again.



Title: Citizen Erased
Vidder: meddow
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Music: 'Citizen Erased' by Muse
Spoilers: 4x00 Razor
Summary: Kendra Shaw has seen all she'll ever be.
Vidder's Notes: This is a slightly longer (4:14) version than the vid that appeared in the twelvecolonies challenge, as that was cut down to size so it wouldn't be disqualified.

Download links: Large (34 MB) Small (14 MB) Direct link to BAM vid vault.

Also, apologies for the audio. The original song is over seven minutes and I of course wanted to use both the beginning and the end and so had to cut it into six pieces, and, as I have discovered, editing music is very difficult.

Finally, since it's my second vid ever made, I'd really love some constructive feedback.

Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault

Comments

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Yay! I was hoping you'd post a DL link for this. I think you did a good job of capturing the feel of the different sections of the song.

Since you've asked for some constructive feedback, I'll try to offer some, but bear in mind that this was the first vid I chose to vote for in the challenge, while I ummed and aaahd for quite a while over what other two to pick.

My largest point is actually something that I don't imagine will be a regular issue for you, which is the way you've cut down the song. I understand that music editing is hard (cus I'm BAAAAD at it myself!) but it is fairly noticable here, although not so as to wreck my enjoyment of the vid, I do think that it's a shame the breaks are quite obvious.

The next point I have is a confusing mixture of high praise and slight criticism which is that you did a really good job of taking quite a short telemovie and making a 4 minute vid out of it without it getting repetetive or boring, however, at times, I did feel that you were stretching the vid out to fit the length of the song. It is, however, worth noting that this may very well be personal opinion as I usually err on the side of minimalism and that is not always the best choice. So...take that opinion with a grain of salt!

Your actual editing is, I think, strongest in the action sections. You have a good sense of timing with the explosions and hard cuts. I'm especially appreciative of this since vidding action isn't a strong suit of mine.

I think it's entirely appropriate for you to use a lot of fades in the rest of the vid as it fit with the music very well. Fades are also useful because they can fudge a lot of timing issues, but be careful, because there were a few moments where I felt the crossfade could be a bit better timed. Definitely not so as to be horrifyingly distracting or anything (see above, this was my fave vid in the challenge!) Fades are awesome because they mean things like this can look fine even if the timing is being tricky at us. But, since you asked for some concrit, I felt your sense of timing and cuts was a little better in the action sections.

The whole thing demonstrates a really nice selection of clip choice. Quite a few of the slower moments - drugged Kendra, betrayed Cain, and, of course, Kara at the end with the nuke reflected in her viper cockpit, really stayed with me.

My biggest piece of feedback, though, is keep vidding. I'd love to see more from you.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thank you! I was absolutely blown away by your Sam vid and admire your vids so much in general that you taking the time to give me such detailed feedback means a huge amount to me.

I started the whole project thinking to myself, 'how hard can music editing really be?' I think the biggest lesson I've taken out of this vid is that I have to be very careful when it comes to selecting music, at least while I am still trying to get my technical skills up to scratch. And I agree with you very much about minimalism. I got a bit carried away and I knew I was doing it, but at the same time, cutting it down was breaking my heart. Again, I think it song choice will, since it's hard to get carried away if the song's only so long, but in all other instances, I'm going to have to learn to reel myself in.

I do feel a lot more comfortable editing swift action sequences rather than slower emotional moments. The second verse and chorus were an utter nightmare for me, being the one of the softest and slowest bits of the song and also the trickiest subject matter wise as trying to find that balance of getting Cain's perspective across while at the same time trying my best to not excuse her actions was difficult. I will certainly pay extra attention to my cross fading next time.

My plan for my next vid is to pick something a bit less ambitious and work on my timing and cutting. Either that or BSG: Just the explosions ;)

Thank you again so much for the feedback! It's immensely useful.

[colls]

I can't believe this is only your 2nd vid! Wow!

I think you did a great job with the action sequences and I especially like your opening and closing scenes, they nicely bookend your 'tale'.

I didn't know the song, but your explanation of having to cut it now makes sense. It seems like a horrible complex song to vid given the various tempos and moods. I had wanted to use a song that was around 6 minutes long for the challenge and scrapped it because I couldn't seem to get the editing down - like you I wanted the opening and closing sequences. So, I appreciate that this must've been enormously difficult.

I look forward to watching your next vid!

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I have to say, I'm really thankful to whoever came up with the idea of the knife openning to Razor, since it was wonderful material to vid with.

I feel for you with the six minute song. I found the editing of the music quite heartbreaking and almost scraped the project a couple of time over it. I'm actually glad I didn't know how difficult it would have been to edit the song when I got the idea for the vid, otherwise I wouldn't have gone through with it.

And with the wonderful feedback I feel emboldened to continue vidding. So if windows movie maker continues to cooperate, I will make more vids in the future.