Vid: Unnatural Selection - Battlestar Galactica/Terminator: Sarah Connor

[charmax]

kiki_miserychic & zombiep0rn were the inspiration behind the vid.


Video Title: Unnatural Selection
Song Title/Artist: Pussycats Gone To Heaven (Pixies vs Pussycat Dolls) - DJ Lobsterdust
Shows/Source: Battlestar Galactica, Terminator: Sarah Connor, Terminator movies.
Summary: That body was made to look like a person. We were made in God's image.
***Images of apocalypse and violence that some may find disturbing.***
Length/Format: 3.36, (Xvid, Stream)
Notes:
OK so first off this is so far outside my comfort zone as to be in another continent. This vid is one big experiment designed to help me evolve (geddit?) as a Vidder. Everything from the song (first time using a mashup) to the physical editing process (storyboarded in Premiere but mostly edited in AE) to the tone and themes (my dark side, let me show you it.)

The inspiration for the vid came from the fact that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of "The Origin of Species" and the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth. I've always been struck by the similarities between T:SCC and BSG and I tried to show some of that here. As humanity teeters on the edge of extinction they slide down the evolutionary tree of life whilst the machines evolve into better beings.

kiki_miserychic has written an insightful commentary for this vid over at vid_commentary. A little more of my choices is discussed in the comments.

Unnatural Selection - Battlestar Galactica/Terminator: Sarah Connor - Charmax

Links: Download Xvid (720x400 - 40MB) | Download Xvid (416x240 - 20MB) | Stream@Imeem | Stream@Youtube

Comments

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's always great to know a vid has rewatch value. I tried but I just couldn't bring myself to uglify the source so I settled for pretty, shiny apocalypses.

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

whoa! i love both bsg and scc, and to see them being brought together in such perfect synch is truly amazing. i have to watch this a bunch more times to get all the nuances.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I consider this my second "meta" vid whereas previous works have been much more fannish. It's good to work on a grander scale now and again.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Ouch, sounds painful but in a good way. So very happy that you felt it.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this comment, the rec and the people you've brought along with it. :D

And for this to be your new favourite of mine? Awesome!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it!

[pollyrepeat.livejournal.com]

That's absolutely gorgeous. Wonderful song choice and editing. I'm often a little dubious of speech overlaid over the audio, but it really added to the experience, here. Well done!

[sache8.livejournal.com]

Vids like this make me never want to have the audacity to vid again... haha.

If you watch the vid in a certain way, it almost plays as the events of SCC being the ancient Earth-based history of Galactica. I don't know if that was your intention or not, but whether you choose to watch it with that mindset or just as a compare/contrast of two stories with a similar premise, it's still pretty mind-blowing. Thanks for sharing. :-)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you felt I got the balance right. I was a bit concerned that BSG might overwhelm the vid because there's just so much more footage to choose from.

Thanks for commenting.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

:D Cheers!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Haha, where would an evolution vid be without tortoises? The fact that they're ickle baby ones so much the better. The ending is one of my favourite scenes from BSG as well it carries so much meaning and I just love that it is sad and yet uplifting.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Adding dialogue is always a risky thing in a vid. I'm so happy that that (and the other elements) worked for you.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Wow! That is such a lovely thing to say. Thank you!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

You're too kind. I've just seen your rec as well and I'm speechless. It's just so fantastic to know that it has struck a chord.

[txlsplash.livejournal.com]

This is amazing! Great work!

[obsessive-a101.livejournal.com]

That vid was just brilliantly good.

Re: then god is seven

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

I can't listen to enough mashups and remixes. Likely there's many places to get my fill on the internet like MashupTown (http://www.mashuptown.com/). I'll gladly take the blame for making people listen to them. :)

I watched the movies when I was super young and I barely remember much beyond the playground scene with the "no fate" table and the kitchen scene where the person was sliced through a cartoon of milk. Random memories are random.

I love the skulls motif. It slides right in with the sources perfectly.

And Starbuck totally works. Whatever she is, she's something special and different. I have no idea what though. Maybe she's the cylon god.

The "god is seven" bit is so freaking perfect and creepy with a side of freaky.

Robots, blood, body parts, and death are a few of my favorite things.

[anexiana.livejournal.com]

Here via coffeejunkii's rec.

And zomg! Darwin. I'm was just writing a paper about him and took a break...and found this. Freaky. But very cool video. I love the music and the text you had in some places? Loved it. The whole thing was a disturbing invitation to think a little. xD

[auroraprimavera.livejournal.com]

This was just great. Wow. Really does make you think. The religious aspect mixed in with everything else was brilliant. And the song perfect. Thank you for sharing!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I hope you find the rewatching rewarding.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Well, it was certainly meant to be disturbing, hopefully not too scary though. *g*

I love the description of it as the bastard child of those shows adapting into something else. I wish I'd thought of that for my summary.

Thanks for commenting.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Never say no to vid drugs they're the best kind.