REVELcon 17 (2006) Vid Show Report

[amedia]

Way back when I wrote up my con report on REVELcon 2006, I didn't include a report on the vid show because I had actually kept a copy of the ballot and copied my comments over to it as I went along, and I meant to type it in separately, and didn't get around to it.

The recent request for me to post the vid show comments from this year's report separately so vidders could see it really made an impression on me, enough that I dug out the ballot copy and typed it in.

Notes: I tried to say something about every vid, as giving feedback is a way to thank the vidders for sharing their vids, although I wasn't always able to say much. I had recently rewatched some vids from the olden days before seeing this show, and I had mixed feelings about some vids simply because I'd seen the songs vidded before, but I tried to set that aside and watch them as if they were completely new to me. I also tried to add additional comments as I typed them in.

Here are my comments on the REVELcon 2006 Vid Show:

Song title	Fandom/Genre	Vidder	Comments
I Need a Hero	Hercules/Comedy	Mary Crawford	When I heard what the song was, I thought, "Oh, that's been done to death! But wow! This was totally fresh and unexpected and incredibly well-done - bravo! It's told from the perspective of the Widow Twanky.
Days Go By	Sentinel/Comedy	Recycled Media Station	Curious mix of comedy/action (great car stuff) and serious/relationship stuff - very unusual.
Holy Water	Witchblade/Drama	Recycled Media Station	I'm not familiar with the fandom, but the song appeared very well-chosen; has an impact even on a viewer who doesn't know the show.
When You Lie Next to Me	Multimedia/Slash drama	Recycled Media Station	Awww... very sweet.
How Far	Sentinel/Slash drama	Jamie	Some distracting slowing/speeding and some jerkiness/jumps. But I loved the *concept* - not a sweet all-positive view, but an exploring-difficulties approach.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams	Supernatural/Gen Drama	Wolfpup	I'm not familiar with the fandom and this one didn't grab me. The song is so repetitive; the vid didn't seem to go anywhere.
Devil's Party	Supernatural/Gen	Wolfpup	This one I liked despite not knowing the fandom; it seemed to blend creepy imagery with friendship themes well; fast-moving, well-timed.
Life is a Highway	Supernatural/Gen	Wolfpup	Three times in a row - my limit for a totally unknown fandom!
The Malfoys and Harry	Harry Potter/Slash	Evil Cat Productions	I'll admit up front that the vidder's wife is a closer personal friend of mine and I've read her fic, in which she always makes it clear that the characters are adults; the clips just don't exist for the story the vids want to tell.
Harry and Snape	Harry Potter/Slash	Evil Cat Productions	Good song choice (can't remember what it was!) and some excellent clip choices.
The Stroke	Harry Potter/Comedy	Evil Cat Productions	Good metaphors. :-) I've seen this vid several times and it's infectious; whenever I hear the song on the radio, I picture Dobby jumping around on Harry's bed like a trampoline when I hear the quasi-instrumental middle section - it's perfect!
Who Wants to Live Forever	Lord of the Rings/Gen Drama	Gil	Very pretty - very sad. Not sure it maintained its focus and early promise through to the end.
Gollum's Song	Lord of the Rings/Drama	Gil	I just don't like this kind of vid, where the song was already written for the source product. For me, a major component of the joy of watching a vid is seeing how the vidder matches up the fannish universe to the song, e.g., the way KF maps Scotty onto the Great Pumpkin in "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" or MC used the "detachable penis" as a metaphor for the Professionals' firearms.
I Need a Hero	Lord of the Rings/Drama	Gil	I had the same problem as I had with the previous "I Need a Hero," but this one won me over as well. Many excellent clip choices (*except* Aragon and Brego on "wildest fantasy" - eww!). I loved the orcs as the "rising odds" and the end was superb. What really won me over was the way it was told from Eowyn's POV.
Interplanet Janet	SG-1/Comedy	AudreyLynne	Adorable!
Double Feature	SG-1/Comedy	AudreyLynne	Very clever - I just re-watched GF & TS's Blakes 7 version, but this one was good too.
Up There	Real Ghostbusters/Gen Drama	AudreyLynne	Sort of reminded me of The Little Mermaid.