Video: Suicide Note (REMASTERED)

[charmax]

Video Title: Suicide Note
Song Title/Artist: Suicide Note - Johnette Napolitano
Show: Angel
Summary: A reflective look at Illyria and Wesley's growing relationship and how it has come to mean more than expected.
Length/Format: 5.19, (WMV, Xvid)
Notes: When I originally made this the show had not long finished airing and so the only footage I had to work with had a huge WB logo and was not great quality. I always promised myself that I would remake it when I bought the DVDs and now eventually I have. Aside from the obvious improvement in picture quality I have made some clip changes to hopefully make things flow a bit better. I have also changed the transitions to get rid of the rather unsatisfactory white-outs and replaced them with something not as heavy handed. I have played with the colours this time too. I went for a muted blue/grey tone that hopefully reflects the mood of the video (and I was maybe just a smidge influenced by Supernatural).

Download Xvid (720x416 - 40MB)
Download WMV (480x272 - 19.9MB)
stream at imeem

Feedback is great.

Comments

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

YES! A vid from you whose fandom I actually know! Sorry for being AWOL from most of your recent vids - I get so self-conscious when I'm only commenting on the mechanics of a vid and blithely flutter over the thematic stuff. But I digress. I haven't seen the original, so I can't compare, but enough prefacing and onto the feedback.

God, if given this song I can't even conceive how to begin. The rhythm is so intense, but the mood is slow, and finding a balance between the two must be hard, but you did it perfectly by having all these movements on the beat to mark out the rhythm section, while never losing the flow of of the overall, sombre narrative. The movement at 0:57 is superb, as is the ensuing fall-into-arms at 0:58. I really liked his little twitch on 2:40; there are so many moments of internal motion but that one, for no apparent reason, just made me smile in appreciation.

The vibrato at 1:08!!! The way Angel flies away at 2:04! I'm just in awe of how you've moved beyond timing dramatic actions on drumbeats (although that's done superbly throughout as well) to timing much more subtle actions to the cadence of the vocals. 3:20 was also a cool moment for me, the way she *walked* to the sound of the music. So subtle and beautiful. And hey - is that little flare on the Window thingy intentional at 0:44? Goodness!

Love the voiceovers to mark narrative development. 2:28 - the connection between the eyes nearly made me cry. 2:38 - "falling to your knees" is such an internal thing, demonstrated only by the weary closing of his eyes, but there's such anguish behind that placid exterior. Loved that. Especially in conjunction with her opening the door again in the next scenes as he literally falls this time.

Really liked the overlay of the contract starting at 3:01, how it never comes into full opacity and how you never cut away from W's expression. Beautiful push-in there, too.

The reversing of clip toward the endgame there is so important. Illyria turning into Fred - shame they didn't have a morph in that scene in Not Fade Away! Vidders really need that. :D

W's development over the seasons has always been very chilling to me, so this was a perfect way to begin what is otherwise a very season 5-centric vid. It's also genius to have it from Illyria's POV. She watches, she doesn't understand, she watches and doesn't understand, and then suddenly she gets it, and that's beautifully portrayed. Overall I think in large part the tremendous success of the narrative depended on it not being W first-person. You're one level removed from the personal tragedy, but it actually makes the angst and terror all the most profound because we're watching with a sense of total inevitability.

Beautifully done! Brava! *claps*

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks for leaving such detailed feedback Nicky and don't feel obliged to comment on vids where you don't know the source. I always find that really difficult too I always feel that I am missing something vital in terms of context.

The rhythm vs sombre mood was the big challenge with this vid. In the original I opted to largely ignore the "heartbeat" sound and just cut to lyric. Since then I have learnt more about motion and I thought I was at the point where I could visually acknowledge the beat without breaking the mood.

Ah, you found me out! Yep, the Orlon Window has been retouched to make it stand out a bit more. I didn't think anyone would notice, I thought it was subtle enough to pass under the radar. It's not a bad thing that you noticed though, just shows how observant you are. *g*

This is the only vid I've ever done where I used voiceovers to help with the narrative. I know there are plenty of people who think it is a vidding "no-no" but sometimes I think a vid can really call for it. In this case it was to help carry the narrative and I liked the contrast between Wes talking about Fred's death and the visuals of happier times. I think it makes the impact of "She's gone" stronger.

The "falling to your knees" part is one of the bits I reworked. This time I went for comparing those two instance both of which are him falling as Illyria enters the room but as you say one of them is expressed entirely by a small facial expression.

Vidders definitely need to have Illyria morphing to Fred. Quite a lot of the final ep seems to happen off screen which might have been great for the WB's budget but is totally useless for vidding purposes.

I liked the idea of seeing Wes through Illyria's eyes. The song is quite matter of fact and that is just like Illyria.

Thanks again, you are so much better than me at this feedback lark!