Troy - No Bravery

[charmax]

Many thanks astartexx for your insightful beta'ing. :D

Feedback more than welcome.

 
Video Title: No Bravery
Song Title/Artist: No Bravery - James Blunt
Movie/Character: Troy - Ensemble
Summary: This is an overview of the film Troy. There are no heroes in war.
Length/Format: 4.04, (RMVB, Xvid)

Download AVI (Xvid)45MB 720x400
Download RMVB 38.5MB 640x352
stream at imeem


Please do not upload to Youtube or MySpace Thanks!


(Audio issues have been corrected 2.12.05)

Comments

[ooglymoogly.livejournal.com]

Oooh! *downloads* I've yet to see this film but I'm physically incapable of passing up one of your vids *g*. Plus, James Blunt! ^_^ I have to admit that this song really took on "meaning" for me in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I guess because I've been listening to the album literally everyday since I bought it I was bound to associate it, what I've been hearing, with what's been on my mind so much lately.

Anyway hopefully I'll get this downloaded before I have to leave tonight and, better yet, have time left to leave feedback. If not though I'll definitely be doing so tomorrow night :).

[charmax.livejournal.com]

From the first time I heard "No Bravery" I just knew I had to vid it. It is a very powerful song, the words, the tone in James' voice when he sings it. It really sends shivers down my spine. I think what makes it even more heart wrenching for me is that he wrote it coming from the perspective of being a serving soldier in Kosovo and seeing first hand the destruction that it causes. It's a painful song but very beautiful. I hope you like the video!

[ooglymoogly.livejournal.com]

*sniffs* Absolutely BEAUTIFUL in a reeeally depressing way and, gah, I've made a mental and literal note to think of this film next time I'm looking to rent something. Anyway, my real player actually filled me in on the fact that James had been a soldier but, really, in listening to the song now it just seems so obvious that it comes from such a personal place. You can actually hear the frustration and despair in his voice. He knows what he's talking about :(.

But back to the vid, I thought you did a wonderful job illustrating the song's message and, while admittedly it has on occasion been enough to make me tear up, combining it with such powerful imagery had the tears pouring down my face. Such an emotional ride. And as for the technical side of things, once again, you blew me away. Your use of overlays was absolutely BRILL. That's really the one "trick" I seriously wish WMM would allow. I think I would actually be content with the program and stop complaining so much about it if only it had that option. Anyway on top of that, the beautiful fades and, really, the movement and pace in general of this vid was fabulous. One of my fave parts in particular was the sequence starting around 2:32 with "A generation drenched in hate says 'He has been here'..." over the charging army and then that beautiful fade on the cymbal(?) to the aftermath with the littered battlefield and the bodies being picked up to "And I see no bravery...". Other faves moments are at 00:44, 1:20, 1:26, 1:30, 2:25, 2:36, 3:14, and 3:33 which are examples of either the previously mentioned overlays/fades or your lovely timing. Anyway, I'm getting rambly (AGAIN =P) so I'll wrap up by saying a simple "LOVE this!" and that I can't wait to see what you share next! ^_^

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks for such thorough feedback. :D The film is definitely worth renting. It is much better than the reviews would suggest. The song has been known to make me tear up too so it wasn't hard to make the vid powerful because the song is doing a lot of the work.

I deliberately kept the editing quite straightforward in this one so as not to get in the way of the emotional impact. I have to say overlays are one of the main reasons I ditched WMM (that and the constant crashing).

Thanks for getting back with such great feedback. It means a lot that you took the time to do it.

[astartexx.livejournal.com]

I already told you, how much I love this video, you really captured the 'There are no heroes in war!' theme perfectly and I adore the final changes you made, didn't thought it was possible, but the vid flows more effortless now and the adjustments in the colour is beautiful, especially bringing forward the red, the gold and blue nunaces. Gonna give you a review in two or three days, for now I just wanted to tell you, that I love this vid to pieces and frames! Wonderful statement against violence and sad truth about war, there is no victory and glory to gain... Just loss! *hugs*

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Astarte you are writing a review? *excited* You have said so much already! :D
Thank you. ♥

[astartexx.livejournal.com]

Oh, my beta gonna be part of the review, but I hope to make some points and emotions a bit clearer and adding some more technical blah blah... *grin*

[haltlos.livejournal.com]

He,
you made me really stunning with this piece of art! The song and the scenes fit perfectly. You caught the moments I really liked on Troy. But I still can't see Hector killing Patroklos and Achill taking revenge... These scenes were so impressive. Brad Pitt and Eric Bana acted so great while playing the broken heroes... *sighs*
I love the vid. It's just like Astarte said: A statement against war - what's left is loss and pain.

I gonna watch it again, even if I'm getting kinda soppy. *g*
*hugs*
Jule

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks Jules. :D The broken heroes aspect was my favourite part of the film too. I just loved Eric Bana in this film. I can almost forgive him for the Hulk! lol

[haltlos.livejournal.com]

Me too. *lol*
Hulk was just like: OMG how could he do that?!
And in Troy I was sighing with little tears in my eyes. I just loved Hector and his wife. These two actors fitted perfectly.

[colour-me-sassy.livejournal.com]

This brought tears to my eyes. Beautifully done. Sends a strong message beyond the the video itself. hugs x

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks hun. ♥

[dualbunny.livejournal.com]

I watched this right after you posted it, but somehow I let commenting slip by. This is gorgeous. And very moving. The song is perfect, and I adore how you flash the different men in and out of the havoc they're wreaking. It's pretty much the perfect Troy vid. :]

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks for commenting dualbunny. I am pretty pleased with this one particularly now I've managed to fix the annoying clicks on the audio. Unfortunately everything I've tried to vid recently has turned to total crap either because I can't get my head round it or because premiere is behaving like a sullen teenager and refusing to cooperate. I did put "inspiration" on my list to santa but then I've not been such a good girl so it will probably be bubble bath again this year

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

Charmax,

I left a brief comment at vidding when you premiered this vid, but it really wasn't until recently that I started rewatching this vid a lot and realising just what a masterpiece it is. The editing is so subtle that it took me a while to appreciate the layers of complexity in your input as a vidder. And I just realise now that your journal title is oddly appropriate here also, hehe.

The marriage between the visuals and music is perfect, and I think you imbued much more emotion into the vid than I ever felt from the movie itself. The editing is beautifully understated, and is so well done that it just blends into the vid, letting the emotion wash over you and drive the whole thing along without making the viewer unduly conscious of the vidder's input. You caught all the subtle shifts in dynamic with extremely well-placed clips and internal motion, and the overlays are gorgeous and meaningful.

I particularly liked:
- the slow cross-fades on the cymbal shimmers, that seemed very appropriate visually.
- The clip at 1:29. That was such a beautiful clip choice.
- The way he landed on the beat at 1:46, it was so well done and heart-wrenching because of the slow-mo shot, and also the ensuing stab at 1:51, again landing on the beat to beautiful dramatic effect.
- 2:29, with the moment of death coming exactly on the beat there, again very subtle but incredibly evocative.
- I LOVE that clip choice at 2:36, overlaying the more epic shot of attack. It's uplifting and chilling at the same time and just perfectly done.
- The moment of contrast at 3:14 is gorgeous, especially as it was reaching that high point in the music and it really brought out the desolation in everything. And the horse starting at 3:16! That is genius. It's so symbolic and is such a beautiful shot. It was an unexpected clip choice for the drum fill there, but ended up being achingly perfect.

My favourite part, though, has to be the Hector's death sequence. There are some fabulous moments of internal motion, such as 3:28 with her sitting down on the beat, the sword landing at 3:29, the knees at 3:30, the killing blow at 3:33, and my absolute personal favourite, the decisive and abrupt way he withdraws that sword at 3:34 on the very crisp beat. Lots and lots of chills! I love that that was the sequence you chose for the emotional climax of the music, it really couldn't have been more fitting or more beautiful.

This is one of the most touching, elegant vids I've ever had the pleasure of watching, and this is feedback long overdue. Thank you for making and sharing it!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you for leaving such detailed feedback. Of my own vids, No Bravery is the video I feel most passionately about. That is probably because it is the one where I managed to get the emotion and the motion right. So often I feel I succeed with one at the cost of the other.

Funnily enough it took me a while to appreciate this vid. I remember having a crisis that I had left out the "sweeping epic battle" stuff in favour of "head shots of misery". I also fretted about the cyclical rather than linear narrative making it seem random. Now I am so glad that astartexx's feedback on my draft version convinced me not to restructure it.

Again, thank you so much for such thorough feedback. It means a great deal to know others are enjoying what I have done with this!

[monniesgirl-65.livejournal.com]

Got here by way of cupidsbow"s rec and had to tell you how beautiful this vid is. The song especially left me with tears in my eyes, I don't know what else to say except it really moved me. Thank you.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you for commenting. I think it is a very powerful song and I let that to do most of the emotional work. I'm glad you found the video moving.

[moosesal.livejournal.com]

Beautiful and achy.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!