Jeamland

Another happiness -

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:59:57 GMT

My copy of The True Meaning of Smekday arrived today, along with some last-minute gifts. \o/

\o/ \o/ \o/

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:23:30 GMT

HOLY SHIT YULETIDE IS DONE.

That was the story that would not die. I will not reveal just how big it was, but it was several times larger than it needed to be.

*flops*

Now I have four hours to pack all my clothes, wrap gifts, load up my iPod, and try and catch some zzzz's before Dad arrives.

*sob*

Augh. It's apparently that time of year again. /o\

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:25:27 GMT

HELP HELP IT'S TWO DAYS TIL YULETIDE HELP HELP.

(I'm at two thousand words and the story shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Send help.)

Edit: 2700 and counting, and I reckon I'm about 2/3 of the way through. Which means, in reality, I'm probably about halfway through. :D

Which means I might actually have time to write a stocking stuffer or two, too!

White Collar thoughts

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:06:19 GMT

I just watched the last couple of episodes of White Collar before the end-of-year hiatus, and I think I'm just not on the same fanplanet as everyone else.

Most everything I've read, if it's not OT3, is talking about Peter and Neal like they have this ~special bond~ -- it's basically following the bromance model, with added romance for the non-gen fics.

But what I see on screen is not that relationship. Peter does not trust Neal and is quite ready to believe the worst of Neal on every occasion. In almost every episode there's an incident where Neal has an opportunity to steal or run, and Peter _always_ assumes he'll do it (and if anything happens that's not in the plan, Peter assumes that Neal has stolen and/or run) - which is quite right and sensible for an FBI agent dealing with a convicted (and very smart, manipulative) criminal on a 'good behaviour' release.

Look at the most recent episode: Neal is framed by another FBI agent, and Peter is quite willing to believe that Neal did it. Even when Neal asserts that he was framed, Peter makes the easy assumption that Neal's lying, and willingly arrests him.

Which is, you know, probably fair enough given their respective situations. But this is not the show that fandom's trying to sell me: fandom's painting these guys as a team who like, respect and trust each other. Like? On some level, certainly. Respect, definitely. Trust? Not based on anything the show has given us.

(Also, show, NEAL IS NOT A KLEPTOMANIAC. Peter keeps talking about Neal like his desire to steal is an overriding urge, which it's not -- Neal is a smart, gifted white-collar criminal who must have excellent self control or they'd have caught him far sooner and convicted him of far more. The whole released-with-an-anklet thing was Neal's idea in the first place; if he wanted out just to run he'd have done it while Peter was in Belize for a week at the end of the first episode, or he'd have just escaped from prison again without bothering with this whole deal. Neal is smart and cunning, and is not going to throw away whatever his plan is for a few shinies that probably pale in comparison to whatever he's got stashed away anyway.)

My icon makes me sad, because that image is everything the show isn't, and that I wish it were.

White Collar and why it's not what I wanted.

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:39:45 GMT

I've been dutifully watching White Collar like a good little fangirl, since it's the Flavour of the Month and since I was very enthused when I heard about it, but I've found that it just hasn't grabbed me like I expected.

I mean, I do enjoy it; I like the cast (although Natalie Morales is woefully underused), and I like the snark and banter. But I'm not hanging out for each new episode, I'm not thinking fannishly about it, I'm not searching out fic and fanworks, and I couldn't work out what was wrong. Why didn't White Collar ring my bells?

And then I realised: it's totally not what I was expecting. I was expecting a caper/heist/con show - both from the way the show had been pimped to me, and from its inclusion as a fandom at thebigstore. Instead, what I got was a buddy cop show. It's cut from the same cloth as Castle, The Mentalist, Bones, and so on - it's a show where the quirky civilian with specialist expertise teams up with a by-the-book cop partner to Fight Crime. Sure, Neil pulls some (very) short cons, but no more than any competent undercover agent, and we never get to really see him do his thing.

And it's good enough in the Quirky Civilian + Straight Cop genre to be enjoyable, but I have other options to fill that niche (specifically Castle, which I love), and it's not what I wanted from White Collar.

So, I'll go on watching, but I'm going to unsubscribe from the fic comms I joined; I've given up waiting for White Collar to push the buttons I was hoping for, because that's not the kind of show it is.

Dear Festividder...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:01:34 GMT

First of all, I'm sorry this letter is so late! I have been rather under the weather lately, and thinking intelligently was a bit beyond me. I hope this is better late than never. And now - on with the show!

Thankyou so much for vidding for me! I'm really looking forward to seeing what you produce. :) Everything I list below is completely optional; the most important thing to me is that you create what you're inspired to create -- that said, I know guidance is helpful in gift exchanges, so here's some feedback about what I really love:

Music Choices

Obviously, the 'appropriate' songs are going to vary by fandom and by the atmosphere you're going for, but if you're looking for music that will appeal to me: I have very eclectic tastes. I love everything from big-band swing, and show tunes, through to industrial and hardcore techno. My least favourite genres, if I have them, would be country (although I like bluegrass), alternative male solo singers, and reggae.

I'm not too picky about lyrics; if you're going for atmosphere rather than literal scene-by-scene vidding, that's fine by me. Very often I don't hear the lyrics of a song clearly until I've listened to it over and over, so if it's a song that's new to me, I probably won't get any literal references straight away anyway. That said, if you want to do a literal scenes-to-words vid, that's fine - just be kind and give me a link to the lyrics! ;-)

You are by no means obliged to use music from any of the following, but just to give you an idea: my favourite musical acts of all time are Depeche Mode, The Tea Party, A Perfect Circle, Our Lady Peace, Massive Attack, Juno Reactor, Goldfrapp, Tool, Anthrax, Duncan Sheik, David Usher, Portishead, Sarah McLeod, Faith No More, House of Pain, Jet Set Satellite, KMFDM, Rammstein, VNV Nation, Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Mac, Pink and Puscifer. I also ADORE mashups, and I quite like college a cappella covers, too.

I have an especial fondness for Vids That Shouldn't Work But Do. The Star Trek Reboot vid to 'Circus' by Britney Spears a few months back is a perfect example here. I also have an inordinate love of vids with energetic music, although that's far from a pre-requisite.

Fandom Specifics
I'm mostly going to repaste my prompts here because I rambled at length in the signup email, but if I think of anything else, I'll add it here too.

(Most of my music requests were 'Vidder's choice!' which is unhelpful, I know, but I didn't want to be prescriptive.)

Also please note that I'm really quite happy with gen vids, ensemble vids or character studies. That said, shippy/slashy vids are fine too if you're inspired that way. I also love action scenes, though I know they can be hard to vid.

1. Wall-E

Oh, this is such a lovely movie. I love Wall-E's wide-eyed idealism and sweetness, and the way he changes the lives of everyone he touches. I'd be happy with a vid about Wall-E and Eve's relationship, or anything about Wall-E and his interactions with the world.

I'd add to this by noting that the world Wall-E's set in is really interesting - because it's animated, it might be hard to work external source in, but I'd also be happy with a vid about how the world got to be in such a state, as well as what I mentioned above.

Also, note that this was my 'safety' fandom - but everything I requested was movie source, except Castle, so if you're stumped for Wall-E, one of the others might be easier to familiarise yourself with.

2. Castle

I'd prefer something focusing on the sparkle and happiness of the series, rather than something gloomy, but if you're inspired for an angsty work of art, I certainly won't say no! I love Beckett and Castle together, in any permutation of their relationship, but I'd also be happy with something focusing on one of the secondary characters.

I love the absolute sense of fun that surrounds this whole series - while they deal with gruesome things every day, none of the characters are hardened or (excessively) angst-ridden, and they're all warm and loving and human. I'm quite OTPish about Castle and Beckett but I'd be just as happy with gen vids (or, heck, I'm sure Ryan & Esposito have plenty of vid fodder in their screentime!). Castle's family relationships fill me with joy, too, especially Alexis, and I'd also love a look at the way Kate integrates into those relationships.

3. Appleseed series

I don't mind whether you focus on Appleseed only, or Ex Machina, or both of them. (I'm particularly fond of the artistic look of Ex Machina, but Appleseed has some really great footage in it too.) I love Deunan and Briareos both together and separately, and I think Tereus is a really interesting character, especially as a reflection of Briareos. I'd also be happy with something bigger in scope, maybe reflections on Olympian society and the infrastructure that makes it work - the bioroids in particular.

This has snuck up, over the years, as one of my favourite anime series ever - it's got gorgeous animation, good characterisation, a great soundtrack and some interesting philosophical underpinnings to boot. Oh, and good fight scenes - can't forget those. \o/

4. Johnny Mnemonic

It's a bit of a cheesy movie, and it bore little resemblance to the story that spawned it, but it's got some classic cyberpunk themes, and I'd love to see a vidder's take on it. I'm particularly interested in the cyberpunk themes of the movie; the struggle between corporate dominance and individual rights, and the decay of society, but if you're inspired for something more personal and character-centric that's cool too.

I didn't mention it in my signup, but there's some crossover potential with The Matrix here - at the very least, The Matrix series could provide some useful external footage, as in a way they're an extrapolation of the premise of Johnny Mnemonic.

Also, I have to admit it: I find Keanu Reeves shamefully, shamefully hot. Unf. Totally shallow "look at the pretty" vids are fine by me. :-)

5. Fifth Element

This is such a lavish, stylish movie I'd love to see how it looks as vid source. I don't have any specific 'details' here, I'd just love any vid of this source.

I admit it, darling vidder: I have no clue what to vid to Fifth Element. It's so gorgeous and it so deserves lots of shiny pretty vids made about it, but I have always lacked inspiration. Which is why I signed it up as one of my fandoms in the hopes that someone else would have some! So seriously, anything you give me in 5E will be loved and cuddled and squee'd over.

6. Up

Up has so much in it; the story of Carl & Ellie, or Carl and his friendship with Russell - the whole movie is very touching, and I'd be happy with whatever you're inspired for, whether it's about relationships or adventure, or bigger themes.

Heartbreaking Movie Is Heartbreaking. I bawled like a baby throughout the first wordless montage of this, and then the last third as well. *sniffle* There's a lot to look at here, happy or sad or bittersweet, and I'm sure there are stories of Russell and his absent father, Carl and his loss of Ellie, Carl and Ellie together - anything. ♥

7. Ocean's Eleven series - 2001-2007

I'm really not picky here; I love the Oceans movies in all their timeless glory. I love the effortless competence of the characters, the banter and wit and the way nothing's ever said outright, and I love the glamour of the places they play.

The music request was "vidder's choice, but I'd love something with that retro flair to it, like the source" - but please feel free to ignore that if you've got great inspiration for something totally modern.

One thing I love about these movies, which I mentioned in the prompt: the whole series is Scenery Porn. It's incredibly lavish-looking and I have a real weakness for the classy Rat Pack casino lifestyle, so something that's glamorous would be extra-specially appreciated.

AO3!

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:41:04 GMT

So, AO3 has finally hit open beta (YAY!) and I've got an invite to share. Ping me here if you're interested - I've only got one for now, but I'll have more.

Edit: That invite's gone, but I'm sure there will be others. :)

Dear Yuletide Writer!

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:06:05 GMT

Dear Yuletide Writer,

First, and most importantly, thankyou very much for signing up to write a story in one of the fandoms I love so much. I hope that you enjoy writing the story as much as I'll enjoy reading it!

If you're looking to get a general idea of what pushes my buttons, you can read my fandom journal here; my main day-to-day journal is ladyjestyr. But this wouldn't be a Dear Yuletide Writer letter without some specifics, so here goes!

General thoughts:

Things I Love: banter, snark, UST, UST that gets resolved, first times, stoic pining, stoic pining that gets resolved, partnerships of equals, partners who know each other well enough not to need words, shenanigans and capers, snappy dialogue, lyrical prose, humour, happy endings, bittersweet endings, het, gen, slash (including femslash), love, loyalty, lust, hot sex, a total absence of hot sex, crack, AUs, crossovers, bodyswaps, genderfuck, anything wildly improbably that works anyway.

I also have a massive kink for competence; people being assured and good at things is just hot.

Things On Which I Am Generally Not Quite So Keen: unrelenting misery, heavy kink, character bashing, het-hate, LGBTQ-phobia, *ism, incest (although in some fandoms I buy it), men written like thirteen year old girls, humiliation, the fish-out-of-water trope. And I have a major embarrassment squick.

* I'm not really into slash-for-slash's sake. While I often get OTPish about some fandoms, those OTPs are just as likely to be het as slash pairings. But I'm not anti-slash - it's just about the characters for me, and who they have individual chemistry with.

* I love gen. Hot sex is great, of course, but if you're a bit iffy about the pairings I prefer, I really don't mind a gen piece - preferably something with a bit of plot, not just a character study. Canon gen stories are what our fandoms are often based on, after all, and I love the characters for much more than just having sex with each other in our minds.

* It's Yuletide, which I kind of feel is not entirely the time for really miserable angst or grinding despair - if it's going to be dark, give me some leavening touches of humour or hope, please! That said, I don't require all sweetness-and-light la la happy fun times fic either. I'm an adult, and adult conflicts and dilemmas are interesting. :) (However, if you are inspired for sweet fluff, far be it from me to say no thanks!)

* I have a huge embarrassment/humiliation squick. It makes me sad in my pants.

Now, onto the specifics!

Fandom thoughts:

1: Pamela Brown - Swish of the Curtain

My prompt:

I love Swish of the Curtain very much, and I always finished it wanting to know so much more about what happens next. It turns out there are actually sequels! (and I've now read two of them), but I don't mind whether your fic is sequel-compliant or not. I'd especially love fic set after the novel, when the Blue Doors are off at drama school or opening the theatre as a professional repertory, but I will basically just love anything in this fandom. I chose "Any" characters because I'd genuinely be happy to read about any of Our Heroes; an ensemble fic, or any pairings, or a focus on any of the Blue Doors, I don't mind. I'd prefer no sibling pairings for sex or romance, but other than that I'm very easy to please in this fandom!

This is an awesome book (series), and I'm surprised no-one's ever written it for Yuletide before. My absolute favourites are Sandra and Bulldog, but I love all the Blue Doors, and I'd love to read about them as an ensemble or individually. I'd love stories about what they do in London when they're training at stage school, or how Nigel copes with being the first one there (or how Maddy copes with being the last one left at home!). I'd love futurefic about their later careers, too. Basically, any more glimpses into their lives would be absolutely lovely.

There are four sequels: Maddy Alone and Golden Pavements (which are concurrent), Blue Door Venture and Maddy Again. I've read the first two, and if you want to write something referencing those stories I'd be A-OK with that! And if you've read the other sequels I'd be perfectly happy for fic set around their stories, provided you spell out any necessary details. :)

Please note that I think in many ways this fandom is ripe for a crossover with Noel Streatfeild's "Ballet Shoes" (and the other books in that 'verse), so if you want to go in that direction I'm totally cool with that.

2: Castle

My prompt:

Oh, show. I love a lot of things about Castle; I love the characters, I love the relationships, I /really/ love the banter. I must admit that I'm something of a Castle/Beckett shipper - but I'm quite happy with a gen fic or fic where one of them is paired with someone else, provided any other romances aren't Forever And Ever Amen. ;) I especially love Beckett and Castle's wry snarkery, Alexis and Martha and the Castle family's relationships, and Esposito and Ryan (who are so very married). I'd love a look at Beckett's history, or Castle's writing career, or Esposito and Ryan working a case (or each other!), or even a gen-centric banter fest like the canon episodes.

I asked for "Any" characters for this one - I would generally prefer a story with at least Castle or Beckett in it, or both, but I didn't want to specify that because if you're super-inspired to write The Adventures of Ryan And Esposito, or What Lanie Parrish Does On Her Day Off, I really don't want to dissuade you. :)

I love Beckett and Castle's working relationship, so an ordinary mystery story with Banter And Crimesolving would be fine by me, or a look at Castle's relationships with his family. I love the implications about all the other things Castle has done in the name of research; he has a lot of names on his speed dial, and I'm sure there are stories in that history!

If you decide to go the Castle/Beckett route, that's more than fine with me, as I do very much like them together. I'd prefer it to be them getting together, or taking steps towards it, rather than an established relationship, though.

3: Gordon Korman - The Bugs Potter series

My prompt:

These are such awesomely fun books, in which Bugs gets up to ridiculously awesome stunts while being totally oblivious to the chaos in his wake. In other words, it's vintage Gordon Korman. I don't mind whether you only know Who Is Bugs Potter? or Live At Nickaninny; the only common theme is Bugs (and his drums, obviously). I'd love more in the vein of the books, crazy situations Bugs gets into because of his single-minded devotion to percussion, or a look at Bugs as an adult - famous rockstar, session drummer to the famous rockstars, or even deadbeat with one last pair of drumsticks.

What can I say here that I didn't say in the prompt? This is really just an opportunity for more Kormaniferous shenanigans, and nobody does "oblivious awesomeness" like Bugs. I don't mind whether it's Who Is Bugs Potter?-era, or Live at Nickaninny-era, or some other (preferably future) period in Bugs' life. I'm also fine with crossovers with the Macdonald Hall series, or I Want To Go Home! Basically, as long as it's got hijinks and Bugs, I'll be happy. :)

4: The Fifth Element

My prompt:

This is possibly my favourite movie of all time, and I've always lamented that we only get to see the universe it's set in for a tiny slice of a very big story. I'd be happy with anything here. What did Leeloo do before the Mondoshawans crashed and she woke up in the reactor? What did Leeloo and Korben do afterwards? What else has Korben done in his rather full, exciting-sounding life? Het, slash, gen, it's all good.

What the prompt says! :) Basically I love this setting so much; it's so richly-drawn and there's so much detail, and I'm fascinated by the whole world and all the people in it, especially Korben and Leeloo. I'm sorry this prompt isn't more helpful, but honestly, I will truly be happy with anything in this fandom.

If you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:30:44 GMT

Yuletide signups are open! Augh, what to pick, what to pick!

*bounce*

Festivids thinking

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:33:51 GMT

Like Yuletide, Festivids is having a nominations phase before its signups. I spent a while thinking today about what I wanted to nominate - although vids are my primary fanworks these days, I find inspiration harder to come by, so I wanted to be sure I was nominating only sources that I'd be really happy to either receive, or vid for.

My noms list, finally, looks like this:

Appleseed (movie/anime)
Fifth Element (movie)
Galaxy Quest (movie)
Tomb Raider (movie)
Ocean's Eleven series (movie)
Pirates of the Caribbean series (movie)
Wall-E (movie)

I was amazed by the fact that there were no TV series in the list - but I think the series for which I have good source are pretty mainstream, and nothing really leapt out at me from the stuff I have on the computer.

Pimping!

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:00:28 GMT

For the vidders out there: festivids is a rare-fandom vid exchange fest; it's very much like yuletide for vids. It looks like a lot of fun, and one vid isn't too much to put together within the next couple of months - give it a whirl :)

Do I dare?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:58:07 GMT

I have just had the most ridiculous Trek vid idea. It makes me cackle to imagine. I'm not sure if I can pull it off, but I'm damn sure I'm going to try. :)

This entry was originally posted at http://eleanorjane.dreamwidth.org/16085.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Trying NCIS:LA again.

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:27:22 GMT

So, I'm a long-time viewer of NCIS; I started watching in season 3 and promptly mainlined the first two seasons, and despite a number of frustrations with the show, I love it a ridiculous amount. I really enjoyed the two NCIS episodes based in Los Angeles last season, which were set up to serve as a backdoor pilot for a potential spin-off show, and I was very much looking forward to NCIS:LA's launch this season.

And then the first episode kind of let me down. I liked the basic storyline well enough, but something about the episode didn't sit right to me. Some of it, I know, was the whole 'new show settling in' thing; doing the backstory exposition thing to give us all a sense of these strange new characters.

Part of it, I think, is that the show seems less interested in the procedural side of things than the original NCIS; it seems light on investigation and actual detective work, and heavier on guesswork and assumptions. Part of it is that I really hate the main set (not the building as such, though it seems ridiculously impractical for a law enforcement office, but the darkened 'op center' room in which they have their briefings and meetings). Part of it is that the show seems less team-oriented than the original NCIS; it's much more The Sam-And-G-Show With Some Other Folks Too. Part of it is that I really liked the Gibbs-equivalent in the backdoor pilot, lead agent Lara Macy, and she got cut when the new show was launched.

Part of it is that Nate looks eerily like an old friend of mine, in a distracting way. But that's not really the show's fault. :)

And maybe part of it is just that I'm comparing it to something I have liked a lot for a long time, and of course the new contender can't compete with that. I think if I stop thinking of this show as NCIS, and just consider it as a new cop show with some crossovers to something I like, then it'll seem a lot better than it does now. That's certainly a fairer way of assessing it, I think.

So, I shall go on from here with this in mind, and see what I think.

This entry was originally posted at http://eleanorjane.dreamwidth.org/15771.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:27:46 GMT

Yuletide nominations open later today!

\o/

...oh shit, I've lost my List Of Fandoms What I Want To Request Or Write For Yuletide. Augh.

Wait, no, there it is.

The Middleman
Glee (maybe)
Korman-verse
Leverage (probably too big this year though :/)
Castle
Constantine
Ballet Shoes
The Mummy
Dark Angel

Um. Am I missing anything?

Edit: Wait, that's eight, and I seem to recall you can only nominate six. Okay, I think I'd knock off Glee (since I expect it to be well-furnished with fic this year anyway), Leverage (as it's probably too big anyway) and... erk. Probably Ballet Shoes, as I'm not sure there's enough in it to really talk about.

ARGH, except now I want to write/read Swish of the Curtain, too.

Okay! Revised list:

Castle
Constantine
The Mummy
Swish of the Curtain
and two contenders from Korman-verse. I wrote No Coins, Please for Yuletide last year, so I might nominate Macdonald Hall and Bugs Potter this year. (I am, uh, suddenly inspired for Bugs Potter. Weird.)

your moves are so raw

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:17:22 GMT

Dear god, there is some truly terrible fic out there.

Now I remember why I don't read unrecced stuff directly off communities. Especially not when it's a twenty-chapter epic in response to a kink meme prompt.

This entry was originally posted at http://eleanorjane.dreamwidth.org/15314.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Leverage Vid - Mystery Man

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:01:35 GMT

Leverage - Mystery Man
Music: "Ain't No Mystery" by Smash Mouth
Content: Gen, Nate-centric.
Footage: Leverage season 1, season 2 up to episode 2.09.

Nathan Ford is James Bond – well, almost.

Download: MP4 file (46.7 MB) or Zipped AVI (45.7 MB).
Streaming: here.

Who is the man, making the scene, flashing the green
Livin’ it up and living up to his name,
Who wants some lovers gold, silver tone
Givin’ it up is his claim to fame

I’m a mystery man, doin’ what I can
With a continental international plan
So!
Come on now, it’s all now
This player’s here to stay now
Let me break it down, make you understand
Don’t you know your history
I’m feelin’, I’m leanin’
This player’s here to stay
You’re a woman, I’m your man
It ain’t no mystery

Who is the guy, lookin’ bad
I mean bad
Makin’ it up as he goes and he knows
There’s you, come around
Turn that frown upside down
Breakin’ it up before he gets too old

I’m a mystery man, doin’ what I can
With a continental international plan
So!
Come on now, it’s all now
This player’s here to stay now
Let me break it down, make you understand
Don’t you know your history
I’m feelin’, I’m leanin’
This player’s here to stay
You’re a woman, I’m your man
It ain’t no mystery

Bikini’s, cars, cigars and danger
Martini hangover, he ain’t no stranger to
London, Paris, New York and Japan
I’m bringing home the bacon in a frying pan
L.A., Rio and Chinatown
If you’re down then I’m your…

Mystery man, doin’ what I can
With a continental international plan
So!
Come on now, it’s all now
This player’s here to stay now
Let me break it down, make you understand
Don’t you know your history
I’m feelin’, I’m leanin’
This player’s here to stay
You’re a woman, I’m your man
It ain’t no mystery

This entry was originally posted at http://eleanorjane.dreamwidth.org/14811.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Vidding hosts - BlipTV

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:05:47 GMT

I've been poking around looking for a decent host for my vids, since I want to be able to embed a copy of the vid if I'm posting to a community (since a text-only link attracts very few viewers). I've been looking at BlipTV most recently, and I have to say although some of their documentation is lacking, their overall tone and focus is really good. They're aimed at people producing web shows, rather than vidders, and this page on 'how to export your show to be uploaded' is a really good, simple guide to the process.

I mean, it's nothing fancy - non-vidders wouldn't be interested, and vidders would already know most of it - but in terms of their target audience, I think they're providing a good service.

...Now to see whether the vid quality is decent or not. Oh Vimeo, how I wish you had a vidding-friendly equivalent.

This entry was originally posted at http://eleanorjane.dreamwidth.org/14358.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Glee.

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:43:44 GMT

After watching this week's episode, the one thing stuck in my head was "Wow, Finn really can't dance, can he?"

(Mind you, I have to admit, I fast-forward through large chunks of the show: anything to do with Terri's ridiculous fake pregnancy, most of anything to do with Quinn's real one, anything to do with How Rachel Berry Is The Specialest Snowflake Ever, anything with Will being inappropriate around Emma or Emma awkwardly pining over Will, and really basically anything that isn't a musical number or a scene with Jane Lynch. So there's that.)

This entry was originally posted at http://eleanorjane.dreamwidth.org/14196.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Just can't help it...

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:21:29 GMT

Hard on the heels of finishing my last vid, I hit upon an idea for another - so I set to, and was struck by a dilemma. I really want to migrate to a more advanced video editing program, either Premiere or Final Cut Pro, largely because the fine-detail editing options of iMovie are a bit lacking. (Plus although I haven't found myself wanting to use effects yet, I suspect my vids would be better if I had the option.)

Unfortunately, I have already imported the entirety of Leverage into iMovie, ready for vidding from. Picking up a new software package would necessitate re-clipping the entire series and importing again, and the clipping progress is quite frankly sucky and tedious. Urgh.

So I kind of feel tied to iMovie for Leverage vids, and all the work to set myself up in one of the other packages just is not appealing. At all.

Hmph.

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Hooray for ratings season!

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:26:59 GMT

Oh TV, how I've missed you. *hugs* I mean, I hate the Leverage and Burn Notice hiatus, but it's so good to have Castle and NCIS back.

Thoughts! (Cut for spoilers.)

Leverage 2.09: I really liked this episode. I find it hard to get all worked up about Sophie's fate when we all know Gina Bellman's just off having a baby, but Parker's concern was adorable.

I talked about the episode earlier but one other thing occurred to me: I really like the fact that the first role we see Tara Cole playing is a buttoned-up lawyer; she's attractive, but not vamping anyone.

Although Sophie's meant to be a talented grifter, almost all we ever see her do is play the sex symbol; her role as a business consultant or athlete or whatever is almost always secondary to her bedroom eyes and flirty schmoozing of the bad guy or bad guy's trusted minion. This has bugged me for a while, and I like the fact that they broke that mold with Tara.

*

Castle 2.01: I have missed this show SO MUCH. It rides entirely on Nathan Fillion's smirk, charm and banter; thankfully he's got plenty of all of them, plus plenty of chemistry with Stana Katic (who, oh my god, looks damn good this season).

One big thing rang false for me -- Beckett just didn't seem that pissed at Castle. I mean, she seemed upset about him breaking her trust, but when she wasn't actively thinking about it, she still interacted with him in the same ways. From a Doylist standpoint, it makes sense; there's no way you could credibly resume the partnership for the rest of the season if she was so boiling mad she wouldn't talk to him. From a Watsonian perspective it rings a little false; if it's that big a deal to her, why is she not more angry at him? I fanwanked it away as kind of implying that she's not actually furious at him; she's mad that he broke his word and her trust, but she's sticking to her guns mostly because she's damn stubborn when it comes to Castle (and she knows that, as Harriet Vane once said about Peter Wimsey, "if I once gave way to Peter, I should go up like straw" - and ahahaha, holy shit, Castle & Beckett are Vane and Wimsey for the modern era, they so are).

That said, I did like the scene where he gets it; where he understands exactly what he did wrong and stops trying to justify it. He is, after all, a good guy, albeit one with all the restraint and dignity of a Labrador puppy. And although it surprised me at the time, I can see why Beckett takes him back after that; she _wants_ to work with him again, she clearly enjoys it, and I think to a certain extent cutting off their partnership was as much a matter of standing on principle as being furious with him, and his unreserved apology gives her the ability to accept it and move on.

Also, Esposito and Ryan are so married.

*

NCIS 7.01: And then there was NCIS!

I like the storytelling premise of this episode, via flashbacks in the interrogation process, but I have to say it felt a bit "recappy for the new viewer" - but I guess every show has to do that to a certain extent, and I remember hearing they wanted to make this season more accessible to new/casual viewers.

I liked the scenes of interviewing new team members, but honestly, if Tony really acted that way he'd have so many sexual harrassment charges he'd be drummed out of the job. Still, I like his gradual decline as he finds it harder and harder to deal with Ziva's absence.

I do think it's a shame that McGee had nothing to do other than lie on the ground and look dead for most of the episode, but I'm glad to see he's looking healthier and fitter this season, and I liked his flashback scenes - he makes a nice dignified, sensible foil for Tony's various eccentricities.

I'll be interested to see where Ziva goes from here. They haven't resolved the issue yet of where she's actually going to be; just because NCIS rescued her doesn't mean she's going to be working for or with them again (although let's face it, it does, because she's on the show) and she's clearly fairly messed up emotionally (as one would be, after that).

All in all, a good season opener.

*

Next in the viewing pile - NCIS:LA. (I am disappointed to see all the promo images seem to be LL Cool J + Chris O'Donnell, rather than team-centric, but I haven't seen the actual ep yet, so.)

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Leverage Vid - Crime Spree

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:06:32 GMT

I'd intended to do this in Final Cut, but after much shilly-shallying I decided I just wanted to get the idea out there, not spend time learning new software. Next time, Gadget.

Leverage - Crime Spree
Music: “Crime Spree” by MC Frontalot
Pairing: Gen
Footage: Leverage season 1, season 2 up to episode 2.08.

"All right! Time for a crime spree!" - the team, doing what they do best. A fun vid celebrating the Leverage crew's effortless competence.

Download: zipped AVI file (41.1 MB)
Streaming: here.

MC Frontalot - Crime Spree

MC Frontalot: the arch criminal for some reason not
sought by authorities, though I been running wild for days.
They’s surely going to track me down.
I’m the #1 menace for miles around,
with the littering, the loitering, the mattress tags,
all the piratated mp3s I grabs [arrrr],
all the cable I stole, certain bathroom wall I wrote on.
I’m so cruel & cold, you put a coat on.
I even cheat on my tax!
“From this life of crime there could be no turning back.”
Riding all around on my bike with no helmet.
Commit mail fraud whenever I see a mailman.
Got a jaywalking ticket. I crumpled it up!
Still bump the bootleg cause I’m hanging tough [we’re ruff!].

Crime spree that I’m on,
breaking the law until the break of the dawn,
then I’ll break it again, then I’ll break it some more.
(MC Frontalot, you’re so hardcore!)
Crime spree that I’m on,
breaking the law until the break of the dawn;
yo, it seems like I break it all the time.
(This MC led a life of crime.)

Harder than a criminal’s supposed to be. Most of the
FBI heard of this MC.
Called them up just to check, “this here’s the Frontalot and I expect
that y’all are tracking me down, cat n’ the mouse,
gearing it up for some chasing around.
I mean, you name it I done it:
slandering, pandering, a couple hundred
uncleared samples I rock per track.”
FBI’s like “we’re busy, we’ll call you back.”
Yeah, if you can find me! Leave a trail violated statutes behind me,
winding in an impossible wake, ‘cause hard as I am
I don’t think I could take
prison for even a day. “In that case you should live lawfully.”
Too late!

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By the way...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:59:35 GMT

...do any of you folks use Twitter? I'm trying to get back in the habit. I tweet as Eleanor for RL/media/fandom stuff, and as Siha for WoW stuff. (I'd like a separate fandom twitter, but unfortunately someone else already nabbed EleanorJane as a name. Grph.)

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Glee!

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:24:35 GMT

I have just had the best Leverage vid idea ever.

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FlashForward Premiere - My Thoughts

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:30:54 GMT

Thanks to a headsup from helens78 I discovered that the premiere of FlashForward would be available today on ABC Insider, the ABC network's special fanclub dealio. Turns out their location checking is a little below-par, and it was accessible to us furriners - so, as I was interested in Flashforward anyway, based on the premise and the cast, I thought I'd check it out.

The premise: at the same moment, everyone on the planet blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds. During this period, everyone experiences visions of the future - exactly the same point in the future, April 29th 2010 (well, in the LA time zone; it's appropriately timed in other timezones). These visions corroborate - if Person A has a vision involving Person B, Person B will have seen the same vision, just from their PoV.

The show focuses on Mark Benford, an FBI agent in LA, whose vision showed him conducting an investigation into the cause of the phenomenon (completely with appropriately conspiracy-theory-esque opposition and threats to his life), so at the behest of his superior he promptly launches the investigation, trying to remember as many of the leads from his vision as possible.

The cast looks interesting: Joseph Fiennes plays Benford; John Cho plays his partner Demetri. Jack Davenport is also in it, which was what first got me interested. :)

And now the spoilery bits: a quick recap of the premiere, and my thoughts:

The pre-credits leadin shows us a bunch of disoriented, confused people staggering around with a bunch of vehicles smashed in the background; everyone's coming to and trying to make sense of what happened. A tanker explodes; people are generally battered and confused, and it's all incredibly reminiscent of the opening of Lost.

The show proper opens with Mark Benford (who was one of the disoriented confused people in the lead-in) kissing his wife Olivia (a surgeon) and daughter Charlie goodbye as he leaves for work in the morning. As he leaves, Olivia calls her colleague Bryce and leaves a message on his voicemail reaming him out for not coming to work the previous day. It's pretty clear that all the stuff in the lead-in hasn't happened... yet.

We cut to Bryce, who's on the shorefront; he's pulled out a gun and is about to do away with himself. Cut back to Benford, who's at an AA meeting listening to a speech given by his sponsor Aaron Stark about how the death of Stark's daughter in Iraq caused him to start drinking. Clearly these are all characters with issues.

Then a brief cut back to the Benford family home where Charlie's babysitter is having sex with her boyfriend, and then to Benford who's on stakeout with his partner Demetri Noh, who is talking about his upcoming marriage to Zoey. The stakeout targets start moving, and Benford, Noh and their backup team follow the bad guys in a high speed chase, conferring with office-based agent Janis Hawk.

We cut between all the characters who've been introduced so far, and then everything goes weird as we see Benford's vision - conspiracy board (complete with red string and thumbtacks connecting things), lots of shots of post-it notes with cryptic clues on them, then the masked death squad with assault rifles turns up. Then he wakes up in his overturned car.

Everyone else starts waking up too, except the ones who died in crashes and on the operating table and by drowning, et cetera. Barely-controlled chaos ensues, as civilians fairly reasonably start assuming it's the Rapture or Armageddon. Benford and Noh stop to arrest the remaining inhabitant of the SUV they were chasing (an Angry Blonde Lady), and then head to find their loved ones.

Bizarrely, Benford sees a small kangaroo or wallaby on a street. No, I don't know why either. (Perhaps it's this show's equivalent of the Lost polar bears.) The characters regroup and make contact with appropriate people, and it becomes clear that this was a global phenomenon. Olivia and her colleague Bryce save a pre-teen boy's life on the operating table.

The FBI agents start conferring about the possible causes of the phenomenon, and in a meeting they realise that a) they were having visions of the future, b) the visions were all on the same moment six months in the future, and c) that people who had a vision of each other shared the same vision. Noh claims he didn't have a vision, but seems kind of shifty about it.

Noh asks if their person of interest (Angry Blonde Lady) had something to do with it; Senior FBI Guy says he thinks it's a dead end. Noh looks upset or angry; the impression I got was that either he's really invested in seeing this chick go down for something major, or she was involved in his vision somehow.

Benford remembers that the investigation in his vision was called Mosaic, so that's what they call it; they decide to set up a website for people to post about their visions and cross-reference, so that they can piggyback off it and search all the visions for clues. The Senior FBI Guy assigns Benford, Noh and Hawk to run the investigation on the phenomenon, which Noh's not happy about.

Cut to Benford's office where they're setting up a pinboard with notes on the clues Benford remembers; in a nice touch, Demetri's handwritten notes are still visible in the six-months-later visions of the pinboard. It becomes clear that Benford remembers drinking from a hip flask in his vision, but he's not telling anyone about it. Noh says he's worried that he didn't see anything in a vision because he'd be dead in six months. He looks fairly convincingly upset.

Olivia and Bryce are talking about not being able to find the father of the boy they saved in the operation. Bryce admits that he was suicidal that morning, but knowing he'd be alive in six months turned his perspective around. He thinks the visions were a gift; Olivia disagrees, because hers showed her the end of her marriage.

Cut to Mark, who's admitting to his sponsor Stark that his vision showed him fully-fledged drinking again, and that Olivia would leave him if he did that. Stark on the other hand wants his vision to come true; his vision showed him his daughter Tracy alive and well again, and he's angry about feeling hopeful. Cut to Mark and Olivia in bed; he tells her about his vision (but leaves out the drinking). She doesn't want to talk about hers; he pushes her until she admits that her vision showed her with another man, and she's very upset because she'd never cheat on Mark. Mark tries to comfort her (and still doesn't mention the drinking).

Cut to the hospital, where we see the arriving father of the boy Olivia operated on. Bryce talks to him, and we see the father, Lloyd Simcoe (played by Jack Davenport yay!) is the same man from Olivia's vision. And then cut to Benford, who's comforting his daughter about the visions, and she gives him a friendship bracelet she made for him - the same one he noted in his vision. Cue him looking all pensive and upset (as if that's the thing that makes him start drinking...)

And cut back to the FBI office; Noh's talking to his fiancé, but evades the issue of "the future". Then Hawk calls him over and shows him surveillance footage from all over the world showing people dropping like flies at the same moment... until they find footage from a stadium in Detroit and a lone indistinguishable figure is awake and walking stealthily through the crowd. GOOSEBUMPS.

***

So! That was the recap. Now, my thoughts.

I'm not actually that interested in the main characters, and I think that's mostly in self defense. I'll explain:

I have always hated the device in books where the author says "if only Bob had known he was about to make the worst mistake of his life"; it completely ruins the tension of the next part of the action for me, because now I know something bad is going to happen and I spend the whole time mentally yelling NO NO GOD DON'T DO THAT IT WON'T END WELL and being frustrated when the character does it anyway.

It's even worse when the _character_ knows it too because he has effectively heard the author saying "...Mark was about to make the worst mistake of his life, costing him his marriage and sanity and hard-won sobriety" and HE'S GOING TO START DRINKING ANYWAY. It leaches the actual events of their dramatic tension, and turns it into a frustrating exercise of thinking the character should know better. That kind of audience reaction might be avoidable with really clever writing, but I'm not taking anything on faith at this point.

So rather than get invested in Mark Benford, I've _already_ got this semi-hostile reaction to him, all "dude, you are going to do some really dumb shit that you already know you really don't want to do, and I am going to be pissed off about watching it and thinking you walked right into that".

But other than that, the show is interesting and thought-provoking, and here's some of my thoughts:

* The limitation of the flash forwards being six months in the future means this feels like a one-season deal, which reduces one's desire to get invested. I'm sure they can set stuff after the April 29th deadline, but that seems like the big plotline payoff, y'know?

* The cast looks really good, and I would frankly watch paint dry if Jack Davenport was involved, so that's a huge point in its favour.

* Mark Benford seems to have more than his fair share of Srs Manpain.

* It's very reminiscent of Lost, in terms of the general 'modern possibly-quasi-supernatural mystery' and ... I don't know, it's 11am and I've been up since yesterday, so insightful critical analysis is probably off the agenda at this point. Let's just say that it reminded me strongly of lost.

* I admit it: I'm hooked on the mystery, and I want to know what the hell is going on.

* It's kind of hard to tell how big the ensemble cast is. IMDB doesn't list everybody, but based on who got attention during the pilot, I think we can assume: Mark and Olivia Benford, Noh, his fiancee Zoey (who we haven't seen yet), Lloyd Simcoe, possibly the kids (ie Charlie Benford and Jr. Simcoe), Janis Hawk, Senior FBI Guy, Olivia's colleague Bryce, Mark's sponsor Aaron (and possibly his daughter Tracy), the babysitter Nicole, and apparently Dominic Monaghan is also a regular cast member whose character we've not yet met. That is a HUGE cast, guys. Please please let them avoid Heroes Syndrome!

I really, really want to like this show. I have some reservations (see above), but I'm kind of hooked on the plot, and I want more Jack Davenport on my TV.

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The Lost Heir Job

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:42:31 GMT

Boo for hiatuses; I hate the American TV system and its bizarre "woo, a TV show's just gotten really rolling? let's pull it off air for four months!" ways.

I liked Jeri Ryan's role a lot. I'd been spoilt for the fact that she was a Sophie-replacement already, so I was kind of watching for it from the start, and I thought the setup was nicely clever - the initial interview, where she's playing 'the other side's ally' to both sides, was really well framed. I'm not sure about her actual character (as opposed to the faux-lawyer she was introduced as); she seemed a trifle abrasive in her last scene. It's a shame this came just before the hiatus, because it would have been nice to roll right into her operating as part of the team next week, whereas with the break I think it'll seem weirder when we do get back to it.

I like the references to Sophie, too, both the scene with her at the start, and the callbacks to her throughout the episode. Continuity ftw. (Presumably this means that unlike last season they're actually showing these episodes in the correct order, too.)

One of the things I've always liked about Leverage is the fact that they give enough clues to guess the twist if you're really on the ball. Tonight was a good example of that - reference to the client being colorblind at the start, and reference to Gigi being colorblind during one of Hardison's expositions, and colorblindness being fairly rare in women, et cetera. One doesn't always pick up the clues on first watching, since Leverage is a pretty data-dense show, but I like the fact that they're there.

Disappointments: kinda low on the banter quotient, TBH. I've loved the team-bonding bits of this season in particular (favourite so far has to be Eliot and Hardison teasing Parker about conspiracy theories) and this ep didn't seem to feature much like that. Too much A-plot! ;-)

And now, something else I like: John Rogers (the Leverage showrunner) is pretty benevolent about fanworks.

From this post, in response to a pretty hostile question about fanfic:

1.) I think fanfic is the sign of a healthy show. Here's what it boils down to: you're telling me that in today's crowded media space, our show made someone love it so much they take time out of their own life to talk about it? Holy. Crap.

To be fair, I have a somewhat different attitude toward media/fans than most people. I think what TV/corporate media had wrong for a long time was how they understood the idea of a "water cooler show." They saw it as making the audience talk about their show, on their terms. So any fan-created media is them losing control of their material. I see this more as the natural evolution of culture in a shared digital age. I will be blunt -- other than the satisfaction of our own creative urges (and all that entails: the quest for perfection, artistry, craft, etc), our job in media is to give you stuff to talk about in your conversations, to integrate into your social circle in whatever way you see fit. I doubt that's TNT's official stance, btw, but they are much cooler about this stuff than most companies.

2.) As far as "borrowing" our characters -- to paraphrase Alan Moore, they didn't go anywhere. There they are, sitting right up on the shelf. Waiting for us to let them loose again. Besides, how many people read a fanfic story? A couple hundred, tops? We have, on average 3.5 million viewers, well into the 4 million range when you get the DVR numbers in. I just don't see someone taking control of our Ideaspace through sheer force of Slashfic.

Sure, a lot of fanfic is crap. Of course it's crap. It's written by people who are not professional writers. If I paint, what I paint is crap. Does that mean I should give up painting and displaying stuff in my neighborhood art show?

3.) Is fanfic flattery? Again, depends on how you define flattery. If someone's writing fanfic with intention of currying favor for some ... er, frankly unguessable benefit, then they're really engaged in an exercise in futility. If you mean flattery as in: it's flattering to think someone is so entertained by our work that it inspires them to talk about it and create around it, then aces.

4.) Most writers and actors don't feel this way. Some, including writers I both like personally and greatly admire, hate the idea of fanfic.

Look, end of day, you should always be trying to create your own material. But fanfic, etc, is a different process than original creation -- which I think is the source of a lot of the controversy.

People who do original creations assume the fan is taking some sort of unearned ownership, somehow implying their act is the same/as difficult as the original act of creation. Which, of course, tees them off (doesn't tee me off, but I'm a very relaxed and often drunk guy).

And some fanfic humans are under the impression that creating fanfic is the same creative process as creating original material -- and are sometimes frustrated that they're not accorded the same respect as the original creators. That's also wrong. Fanfic to me is spiritually much closer to the fan-created music videos.

The basic rule I follow here is one I learned in stand-up comedy: Always punch UP. I am a relatively successful typing human whose words are physically produced using millions of dollars and is distributed nationally by a massive billion dollar corporation to millions of people. Exactly how is a free web page with a 1000 word story about Eliot and Hardison fighting a trans-dimensional incursion of Elves hurting my brand, exactly?

Tell you what -- if some fanfic writer is so good they manage to amass a million-person audience with their web-distributed free stories using my characters, I am going to consider that evolution in action and hire that bastard. Or, at the very least, urge them to go create their own show. But odds are it ain't gonna happen. And that's okay. We write for different reasons.

Also, now I want to read about Eliot and Hardison fighting a trans-dimensional incursion of elves.

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