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One of the articles I'm working on right now is based on the presentation that I gave at the 2009 IP/Gender Symposium, in which I suggested some ways that narrative theory can help us think about vids as fair use of copyrighted material.
In the article, I mention Francesca Coppa's now well-known definition of a vid as "a visual essay that stages an argument." One of the advantages of this definition is that, to the extent that a given vid is an argument, it can be defended on the grounds of fair use—the same kind of fair use that allows me to quote from a novel when I write a review of it or an essay about it.
Now, I happen to think it's true that all vids are arguments, if only in the most basic sense. (For years, the textbook in my first-year composition class was Everything's An Argument.) But here's the thing: some vids are obviously arguments (vids like
luminosity's "Vogue" and
sisabet and
luminosity's "Women's Work" come immediately to mind), and some vids are not so obvious. This is what Sarah Trombley's getting at in "Visions and Revisions" when she comments that "A fanvid which merely recapitulates the plot of a work or the development of a relationship between previously-existing characters is perhaps the least transformative use [of copyrighted material]" (665). And there are a lot of vids that seem to fall into this category of "mere recapitulation."
So one of the things I want to do in this article is talk about a couple of examples of vids that, although we might make a case for them as arguments, are not primarily or obviously argument-driven, and to talk about how those vids are nevertheless transformative works. The type of vid that immediately comes to mind for me is the celebratory vid, the vid that exists primarily to say "OMG MY SHOW" or "I LOVE THIS CHARACTER SO MUCH." (Celebratory vids tend to have a certain capslock quality to them.) The most recent example that comes to mind for me is
fan_eunice's "Walking on Sunshine": I actually think that vid is making quite a few arguments about the new incarnation of the Doctor, the past and future direction of the show, etc. etc. etc., but when I watch it the overwhelming effect is, as
fan_eunice puts it, "SQUEE in vid form."
I love celebratory vids—they make me happy, which is exactly what they're supposed to do—and so I have some possibilities in mind already. But I'm sure there are some I need to be reminded of, not to mention many that I've never seen in the first place, and I would love to expand my range of options! So please, tell me:
What are your favorite celebratory vids?
...or, really, your favorite vids that aren't primarily arguments—episodic vids, maybe, or a vid that, as Trombley says, "recapitulates the plot of a work or the development of a [canonical] relationship between previously-existing characters." Tell me about your own vids, other people's vids, whatever you want.
...now I want to watch "Walking on Sunshine" again.
In the article, I mention Francesca Coppa's now well-known definition of a vid as "a visual essay that stages an argument." One of the advantages of this definition is that, to the extent that a given vid is an argument, it can be defended on the grounds of fair use—the same kind of fair use that allows me to quote from a novel when I write a review of it or an essay about it.
Now, I happen to think it's true that all vids are arguments, if only in the most basic sense. (For years, the textbook in my first-year composition class was Everything's An Argument.) But here's the thing: some vids are obviously arguments (vids like
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So one of the things I want to do in this article is talk about a couple of examples of vids that, although we might make a case for them as arguments, are not primarily or obviously argument-driven, and to talk about how those vids are nevertheless transformative works. The type of vid that immediately comes to mind for me is the celebratory vid, the vid that exists primarily to say "OMG MY SHOW" or "I LOVE THIS CHARACTER SO MUCH." (Celebratory vids tend to have a certain capslock quality to them.) The most recent example that comes to mind for me is
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I love celebratory vids—they make me happy, which is exactly what they're supposed to do—and so I have some possibilities in mind already. But I'm sure there are some I need to be reminded of, not to mention many that I've never seen in the first place, and I would love to expand my range of options! So please, tell me:
What are your favorite celebratory vids?
...or, really, your favorite vids that aren't primarily arguments—episodic vids, maybe, or a vid that, as Trombley says, "recapitulates the plot of a work or the development of a [canonical] relationship between previously-existing characters." Tell me about your own vids, other people's vids, whatever you want.
...now I want to watch "Walking on Sunshine" again.
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Date: 2010-04-29 03:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 03:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 03:16 pm (UTC)It also occurs to me that my unfinished Eric/Tami vid fits this bill -- it is primarily about my unending love for that canonical relationship and the characters who inhabit it -- and that that may be part of why I've never finished the vid: because it doesn't feel to me like it says enough. (Well, that and I don't think I can add S4 footage without the color palette feeling all wrong...)
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Date: 2010-04-29 08:45 pm (UTC)There is, oh, there is!
And I have to chime in that I think "Mothership" actually works better than TDK for argument-free DW squee.
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Date: 2010-04-29 11:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 11:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 11:03 pm (UTC)The subjectivity of argument is something that's come up several times in the comments to this post, which I think is instructive: we do have to know something about the source in order to measure the distance between the source and the vid, and that space is where argument happens. It is therefore especially important that we have definitions of vids and legal defenses of vids that don't rely solely on the presumption of argument: we need to be able to explain vids to non-fans, and there are many, many, many vids that a fans would see as arguments but that non-fans will not be able to perceive as such.
...that may be part of why I've never finished the vid: because it doesn't feel to me like it says enough.
And this is the other reason that it's important to me that our working definition of vids be broad enough to encompass vids that are not primarily about argument. I think it's one thing to be frustrated because you can't figure out how to get a vid to say everything you want to say, and it's another to feel that it's not saying enough. Some of the vids I most love are celebratory vids; they're vids that fill me with a sense of joy and community, and it would break my heart if vidders stopped making them because they didn't feel these vids were saying enough! They're saying something different, certainly, but to my mind they're saying exactly what that sort of vid is supposed to say. :)
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Date: 2010-04-29 03:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 11:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 11:10 pm (UTC)I'm not really into the comics (or the show, that much, for that matter), so mostly I just go - shiny!!
As I said to
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Date: 2010-04-29 04:30 pm (UTC)There is also
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Date: 2010-04-29 11:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 04:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 11:16 pm (UTC)It's been way too long since I last watched "Puttin' on the Ritz." I should go fix that.
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Date: 2010-04-29 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 11:19 pm (UTC)"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is a good reminder that squee and argument are not mutually exclusive, but I do tend to think of that one as being rather pointedly argument-driven. :)
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Date: 2010-04-30 12:25 am (UTC)And yes, squee CAN be the argument. Several of my other fave squee multi vids were ones that were too clearly arguments: Us, I'm Your Man, One Night Fandoms, Uncommercial Song, ...
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Date: 2010-04-29 08:10 pm (UTC)It doesn't seem to be online anymore -- their site was any-time-soon. I can try to find my copy or contact
The other BtVS overview that I really enjoy is
Both of these vids are basically saying "Remember when this happened? And that? And wasn't it awesome?"
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Date: 2010-04-29 11:29 pm (UTC)I'm the same way, so it's been interesting to see other people in this comment thread mentioning vids for shows that they don't know well. I suppose I've had a couple of those over the years, but for me the joy of celebratory vids is that they distill something I already love into a single pure hit of unadulterated happiness.
I dimly remember Silence, although I'm not sure I still have a copy. BtVS: Abridged I know I still have; it's one of my favorites too.
Both of these vids are basically saying "Remember when this happened? And that? And wasn't it awesome?"
You're making me think about the different ways that vids can be celebratory, or things that they can celebrate; "Walking On Sunshine" is all about the excitement of new directions, a new season starting, new possibilities, but like you I find that many of my favorites are partly about nostalgia—meaning not just that they make me nostalgic for the show (although that too!) but that they were always nostalgic: they're about celebrating the whole run of a show.
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Date: 2010-04-29 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 11:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-01 02:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-30 12:38 am (UTC)... that seems to be my answer to most vid-related questions (unless the question is something like "which vids worked best to CRUSH YOUR SOUL" or something.)
Destina's "Did You" (SG-1), with its OMG TEAMness for SG fans of all persuasions.
Killa's "Magic Carpet Ride" (Firefly)
Charmax's Pushing Daisies vids, but especially "Modern Nature," a vid that recaps Ned/Chuck relationship in a fashion so perfectly in tune with the quirky sensibility of the show that it's a bit uncanny.
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Date: 2010-05-01 02:39 pm (UTC)"Did You" is another interesting one for me; at the time that I saw it, I'd only ever seen 'ship vids for SG-1, and in that context a vid that said "Actually, they're all important" had a certain argumentative element. I don't know whether Destina intended it that way, but it was one of the things that I liked about the vid.
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Date: 2010-04-30 04:44 am (UTC)I also second the rec for "Here it goes back again" (Back to the future, Festivid).
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Date: 2010-05-01 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-01 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 03:15 pm (UTC)I also love The Long Spear by jmtorres, niqaeli, et al. (Star Trek), which makes more of an argument than "Here It Goes..." but is still essentially a celebration of the long history of Trek and Trek fandom.
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Date: 2010-04-30 05:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-30 07:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 07:45 pm (UTC)Also in DW/TW: Love is all you need (http://such-heights.livejournal.com/116091.html) by
Also, kind of an angsty, slow, guilty, id-stroking squee, but this Smallville one: Because I knew you (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVNIjNGldQw) by littlehollyleaf.