I write fanfic, but of course this is a new media class, and I came into it wanting to learn to make fan vids (not academic, or in fanspeak, meta vids). (I found a secondary interest in what I'd consider variants of e-poetry!). I have some idea for m/m slash vids, but wanted to develop this women-centered vid (which reflects some of my fanfiction scholarship and interest in writing female characters in fanfiction).
Myy audience is a fan audience, primarily media fans, primarily women (my area of fandom is largely women), but specifically women who are interested in women characters. There are segments of media fandom who disdain the women characters in the shows/films (and/or the women romantically involved with the actors, band members, celebrities)--those would not be my audience--women in those parts of fandom often express hostility and hatred toward women characters and women involved with celebrities).
My interest for some years has been how women characters have been constructed in sf/f (ten years of feminist scholarship plus the recent encyclopedia!). That academic interest is not a major part of all fandom audience expectations, and I'm not sure if the 'academic' focus shows in the vid (but then I see lots of similarities between my academic work/processes and my creative work/processes, not to mention all the overlap).
My focus in this vid is mostly sf but not entirely) over the decades (the focus of a good deal of scholarship that I am familiar with) has been limited--but even in earlier decades, resistant and proto-feminist readings were possible. The women characters in my vid are ones I have been and are drawn to to, often women who in my reading are more independent, less heternormative, and are often constructed as "other" in various ways by the dominant culture. I am interested in queering the source material (thus my choice of songs by Etheridge and Lang, both out as lesbians), and my remixed title ("I'm the one constantly craving"). The passion and love I have for the characters is an important part of fandom culture and discourse.
Fan audiences and expectations: a fan audience expects source material from the fandom or fandoms (my vid is multi-fandom). I've chosen still pictures rather than excerpts ripped from television or film (partly my level of expertise, partly my attempt to downplay the context of the specific show/film). A fan audience expects a song, or songs, one that relates to the theme/message of the vid. I've chosen two songs for a remix effect, a dialogic effect. A vidding fan audience would expect a much higher level of technical capability than I have: my first efforts are rough. I am still very much in the learner mode, and I would expect to receive commentary about technical issues (the handling of music, timing of images and music). From my friendslist, which contains people on a spectrum from expert vidders to people who do not make vids but may watch them, I'd expect supportive comments as well.
My composing process: the idea for my project comes as do my ideas for fiction, poetry, and scholarship: an "image," a flash. After inspiration hits, I'm often left scrambing with how to embody that vision (and I never feel I quite suceed). I work alone: while I can collaborate very well with some people on essays-non-fiction projects, I've never been interested in collaborating on creative projects (and I now realize I feel that this vid is very much creative rather than argumentative.). There are too many voices in my head to try to work with somebody else.
I am very much a revision driven writer--I don't tend to the nice neat pre-writing, outlining, drafting, or even audience analysis like this one--ahead of time. I tend to get the inspiration then leap in: although, an alternative version is that I'm always processing/composing. I've been in online media fandom since 2003; I learned photoshop to do icons; I started seeing vids, and reading about vidding, and started thinking it would be cool to do a vid (a year or so ago), especially in the context of visual rhetorics (which were part of a new media class I taught, and then the e-poetry unit in my online creative writing poetry class).
My composition process for this version of the vid, and earlier ones, has been very similar to my poetic writing process--intuitive, driven by emotion, working off feeling rather than "rational" analysis (choosing the images, choosing the songs--the songs and artists are all long time favorites of mine; the images of the women characters are all ones I've been a fan of, in some cases going back decades). Synching image and music (still very rough, still not what I want) is a case of trying one effect, then trying another (I am still not completely integrated with the programs, so I'm learning as I'm doing).
The revising I did within moviemaker was not dissimlar to rough drafts (cutting stuff that didn't work, putting in new stuff); however, there will be an addictional level now that I've formatted the project as a movie (meaning, i'll need to start from scratch and try to integrate the stuff I've learned in a new version (or maybe I'll try another Etheridge song and another sequence of images....)
First Draft: "I'm the one constantly craving"
Im the only one constantly craving - robin reid
Attack of 50 foot woman
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,2017185
Emma Peel
Emma Peel w Gun http://www.geocities.com/~jbenz/mye
Emma Peel 2 http://images.google.com/imgres?img
Emma Peel withi car
http://images.google.com/imgres?img
Eowyn's tears
Found: http://arcticfox42.phpwebhosting.com/tf
Eowyn Challenges Fell beast TORN
Eowyn Sunset TORN http://www.theonering.net/scrapbook/mov
Eowyn at Meduseld TORN http://www.theonering.net/scrapbook/mov
Sigourney Weaver Alien 1 Prison Planet
http://www.moviesandlife.net/images/sig
2 First film
http://9queens.org/wp-content/uploads/1
3
http://images.allmoviephoto.com/1979_Al
Uhura Match with Sig Weav 3 COMM
http://www.debbieohi.com/trek/pics/04uh
Sigorney Weaver and Winona last flm
http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/im
Galaxy Quest
Sigourney Weaver GQ 1 http://datacore.sciflicks.com/galaxy_qu
Star Trek Salt Vampirehttp://www.jeffpidgeon.com/label
Star Trek Ilia http://media.photobucket.com/image/wome
Star Trek Tasha Yar
http://www.pinkraygun.com/2007/09/11/to
Star Trek Kira on Bajor
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/mediav
Star Trek Chief Eingineer Be'elanna Torres
http://www.vidiot.com/st-voy/Cast/RD.ht
Star Trek Janeay and Seven of nine
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/mediav
Borg Queen
http://images.google.com/imgres?im
Firefly
Can't take the Sky: A FireFly Site
http://still-flying.net/index.php
Unofficial
Kaylee Fireflyfans Net wallpapers
River Tam Firelflyfans net
http://www.fireflyfans.net/feature.a
Kaylee Sunshade Still Flying
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
Inara and Kaylee Scene Still flying
1
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
2
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
3
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
4
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
5
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
6
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
7
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
Inara Flying Still Flying Site
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
Inara and Gun Still Flyign
http://still-flying.net/images/trash/in
?image=trash480.jpg
Zoe Stil Flying Deleted Scene
http://still-flying.net/images/deleted_
Zoe First Ep Still Flying
http://still-flying.net/images/ser
Inara and Woman customer 1 Still Flyig
http://still-flying.net/images/warstori
2
http://still-flying.net/images/warstori
3
http://still-flying.net/images/warstori
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Comments
I would say there is a third audience (or that the audience as a whole is a contiuum) of women for whom (most) female characters are basically neutral, neither sought out nor actively despised. That's pretty much where I fall. I don't generally find the female characters to be personally compelling, but bashing on them is totally out of line.
Highlighting the female characters in new ways can definitely catch my attention, and I liked that aspect of your vid very much.
Thank you!