Firefly vid - Candleburn (remastered)

[charmax]

Video Title: Candleburn
Song Title/Artist: Candleburn - Dishwalla
Show: Firefly
Summary: Mal always feels the presence of Inara.
Length/Format: 4.07, (WMV, Xvid)
Notes: The original vid was made October 04. This was part of my remastering project because I still loved the song and concept of the vid but found the transitions I used in the original video were a bit distracting. So the main changes here are softening those transitions to make them less jarring with the tone of the song. As usual with these remasters the picture quality is much improved and the aspect ratio corrected. There are a few minor clip changes which I feel add to the video.

ETA:
Lim asked me to write a breakdown of the transitions I applied in my video “Candleburn” so here we are with some brief explanatory notes.

Firstly there are 3 types of transitions used, one is a soft gradient wipe then there are cross fades and fade to black. I used the gradient wipe to show Inara whispering in and out of Mal’s view. Specific time stamps for those are: 0.49, 0.51, 0.57, 1.33, 2.47-2.50, 2.55, 3.00, 3.07, 3.13 and 3.15. The default gradient mask in Premiere is hard and blocky. I used the gradient wipe in after-effects which allows you to get a much softer effect by using one clip as the mask for the other. On other occasions I have made a soft gradient mask within Photoshop and then applied it within Premiere as a gradient transition to get a similar effect. The key to making Inara appear to be ghostly was in me finding *exactly* the same shot without her in it, even if it was only for a couple of frames. Sometimes I had to slow the scene down by 10%. On one occasion 3.05 where Inara is pointing the gun, the background in the original scene was very plain and blue and so I was able to key it out and fade her in without the background.

The dips to black are fairly self explanatory and were very handy for setting the tone of the introduction. The cross fades were done by manually overlaying one clip and fading it into the next rather than using Premiere Pro’s cross fade transition. By doing this I was able to key frame the cross fade to look as soft and smooth as possible. I often find that the default cross fade transition in Premiere Pro can make the image drop out making the transition look a bit ragged.

The clip of Inara coming through the static 3.19 was done on a separate sequence then applied to the cut-out screen which I made using an alpha mask in Photoshop.

I think that pretty much covers the effects and transitions. There was some colouring done to the dancing clips to make them fit with the inter-cut scenes better but that’s pretty much it.

The idea was to create an ethereal version of Inara that Mal glimpses but cannot quite reach. Although she is a tougher character than this in the show I really wanted the vid to be filled with longing and regret at missed opportunities. Inara’s space is always red and gold and Mal is lost in a world of grey and blue without her.

I think that pretty much sums it up... I hope it's been helpful.

Download Xvid (720x400 - 50MB)
stream at imeem

Feedback is always fantastic.

Comments

[martoufmarty.livejournal.com]

Just right before I go to bed!

I'll watch it tomorrow and tell you what I think. I'm sure it's awesome :)

[soliloquygirl.livejournal.com]

Well, I could spam this post by babbling about how amazing this video is.

I was sitting in my dorm room trying to read John Milton's Comus, and my roommate makes sure to distract me by saying she had found a new Mal/Inara video. Hoping for the best, I watch. And am blown away.

The clips are all so crisp, and the transitions are flawless. Nothing seemed pieced together. It looked like it had been made that way (the clips from OOG in the beginning in specific).

Then we got to the portion of the vid which had all of the fading in of Inara. I was blown away.

A puddle of fangirl by the end, I was wondering how on earth something so splendid could come along at this exact moment as I was being bored to tears previously.

At last the credits roll, and I see your name. It all becomes clear. I have always been a fan of your work, but always seemed to be a little too late in replying before it was a year later. So, now I am making up for all the praise that I have been storing up.

Thank you so very much for making my night. Continue being so damn loverly. ^^

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

Oh man. it's no secret that I never liked any of Firefly's canon ships, but this vid just completely drew me in and actually made Mal/Inara make sense to me, which - believe me - was no mean feat. I loved the movement in this piece, the shots that you chose and how they flowed into each other.

OH WOW!!! How on earth did you do those transitions? They are so flawless and gorgeous!!! Especially with the subtle colour changes. Wow, I'm in awe. My favourite is 3:01 - the background changes on her before she disappears out of it. So cool. And then that look is echoed in the later sequences.

3:19 - I love the perspective of the shot of her there, it really looks like she's on the screen. And I love how she faded in and out of the static like that.

3:54 - loved the subtle flares on the drums there, and how the thrusters fade as the music fades.

Gorgeous colour schemes. I also thought it was interesting how, when it turns bluer and bluer toward the end, it seems to signify the blue colours of Serenity, acknowledging that the story doesn't end here and doesn't necessarily end unhappily, even though it's by nature a melancholy colour. I may be reading too much into that, but I like this explanation because you get a happier ending. :D

(And you know, the mere fact that I even think that is pretty disturbing. For me, Mal should end happily with River or Simon, never Inara. And yet you have brainwashed me with this vid, you evil wench.)

I love your titles too. Mind if I pick your brain on how that's done? :D

Ahhhh, just an amazing vid all around. Flawlessly carried out!

[messyjessie58.livejournal.com]

wow charmax, this is a great video. i realllly love the bit where she is on the platform and disapears as mal is watching. i just think it looks awesome and the concept is neat :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the feedback. :) I'm not sure I'm prepared to take responsibility for your lack of studying though! lol

It's also nice to hear that you have liked some of my other stuff. Feedback is always good no matter how delayed.

Anyway I'm pleased that you liked the vid.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks Nicky. It's good to know that the vid works on someone who should be immune to the charms of Mal/Inara. Personally I preferred the Inara/Kaylee subtext and the Mal/Zoe comrades in arms thing but they will have to wait for other vids. I do have a soft spot for Mal/Inara though.

As for the transitions they are soft gradient wipes. I think they turned out rather well. The titles were made using the "shine" plug-in and keyframing the movement. I'm not sure how you would simulate that using premiere's own effects but there are definitely other light ray type plug ins that would do the same job.

As for the colours. the abundance of blue in the movie is precisely the reason I choose not to include any footage from it in this video. Inara's space is rich red and gold and Mal's is more subdued blue and brown. It is no wonder they could never get together.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much Jessie! :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I hope you like it Steph. :)

[martoufmarty.livejournal.com]

You know me, I'm not much for slow shippy vids.

But I really liked this one. As always, you picked perfect scenes.

I really loved the fading you did to make it look like they were appearing and disappearing. Very, very nice.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I know this style/song isn't generally your thing so I'm glad you gave the vid a chance and liked it enough to comment. It's much appreciated. :)

[colour-me-sassy.livejournal.com]

One of my favourite of your vid's first time round, I really enjoyed the updates. Lovely music and editing. A really beautiful vid :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you liked the vid so much! That is great to hear. Thanks very much Sassy.

[astartexx.livejournal.com]

Okay, despite the obvious differences in style and execution this vid somehow reminded me of your ‚Strange and Beautiful’ Xander/Buffy vid. Of course in all the right ways to make my little black heart ache hard. You really worked out superb the longing angle and no escape from his emotions Mal must feel in Inara’s space. Serenity is his ship and still he lost her comfort to his yearning for a woman he knows, isn’t in his league or even galaxy.

The way you interwoven the three main characters – yes, inanimated objects are since recently considered value characters – is beautiful. Inara doesn’t torture him on purpose and still her being a companion stings on so many levels for this no-nonsense and devoted man which have all to do with his heart’s desire and you still paint such an exquisite view of her in his eyes. It’s like Xander’s view of Buffy in ‘Strange and Beautiful’ – Mal also sees Inara’s flaws and weaknesses and he loves her not in spite, but because of them and he comes unhinge with all his care and longing and she with the knowledge that he couldn’t accept her profession.

Her fading in and out on him isn’t just her haunting him, but also their separate worlds and it just adds to his loneliness in ‘Candleburn’ without being sappy or overly dramtic. I think you utterly captured a big part – if not the biggest - of Mal’s character in this vid, that his devotion once regained, is almost impossible to shake and how it kills him slowly, if he can’t freely express his commitment to an idea, a woman or his love. Wonderful character study and terrific vid that burns your heart slowly and then just leaves ashes in its wake.

And to mention one more time the fading, it’s marvellous and just works for several motives and purposes. Excellent work, my love!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks Astarte!

I hadn't really thought of it before but this is quite a lot like "Strange and Beautiful" in theme. I know that the ship does feel like a character in the show and so in some ways this is a weird love triangle. Ultimately Mal won't abandon his ship but memories of Inara and longing for what might have been mean that he can't find peace.

I always felt that Inara was slightly otherworldly and so to have her fading in and out makes sense to me even if it doesn't to anyone else. She is always there in the corner of Mal's mind, lingering in his peripheral vision.

While we are on the subject of vids I just thought I'd let you know that I am finishing up the second draft of the Spike video this weekend then I'll be getting on with clipping for the vidlets - I couldn't decide between Wincest or Sinchronicity so I'll be doing both. Curse you and your vid bunnies! lol

[astartexx.livejournal.com]

Heh, I didn’t want to use the term love triangle, but now that you brought it up, it was exactly what was running through my head, when I watched it on repeat views. Not obvious, but Mal is torn between his two loves. Inara’s otherworldliness is also something that your vid captured wonderfully, she is too exquisite to really belong on Serenity and yet she left traces of herself all over this old spaceship. She became part of it by choice and so her fading in and out makes absolute sense and not only for you. Believe me and I only watched Firefly once completely.

And yay for the vidlets, I hoped you would pick these two and take care of my starving vid bunnies for me. They are now in loving hands, so I don’t have to worry about them anymore… Besides it quite possible that I do all three, because Logan and Lauren sounds both like fun and without encoding anymore its so easy to access footage, which reminds me, I still need to abduct Alias Season 3!

[last-archangel.livejournal.com]

This was so beautiful. I'm nothing but completely impressed. It was haunting and sad, but unforgettable.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[bradcpu.livejournal.com]

That was incredibly beautiful, Charmax.

Some awesome composition work and clip connections, and I loved the dance as a metaphor for their relationship. Everything you did to the footage fit so gently into the theme, and the flow of the editing was wonderful.

Really lovely work.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much Brad. I'm glad you mentioned the flow because that was the main reason for the remaster - trying to get the thing to feel like a whole rather than a series of set pieces.

Cheers! *g*

[xenacryst.livejournal.com]

Beautiful, beautiful vid! It took a little to draw me in, but by halfway through I was enraptured, and then you started in with the disappearing Inara and I was blown away. I like how the opening short fade in/fade out echoes the mood of Inara's fades later in the vid. There has always been so much more said between those two with their eyes than with their words, and you chose clips that bring that out.

And, of course, Mal with his love for the ship -- I'll have to echo what was said above about the three of them. I really liked the shot of Mal keeping the ship company as it gets cold, static on the viewscreen (I could just hear that static in the back of my head), and then, just faintly, Inara's face through the static.

And, of course, the technical excellence. Somehow crisp pictures and good use of color are things I associate with Firefly, despite its gritty story and characters, and I love a vid that keeps that going.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for commenting. I am pleased that the mood comes across and that Mal's love for his ship is still apparent even though the main focus is his relationship with Inara. It was important to me that it wasn't just a shippy vid.

[carmen-sandiego.livejournal.com]

This was absolutely beautiful!
A truly excellent capture of Mal and Inara and their emotional undercurrents, and such a beautiful musical selection. Brava!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! *g*

[ohvienna.livejournal.com]

Just got lead over here via a post at mal_inara, and couldn't leave without saying that was a gorgeous vid, and certainly one of the best mal/inara's I've seen. I remembered seeing your name on Buffy vids I watched back in the day, and shall now go searching out more of your work. :) Thanks for this.

[fourteenlines.livejournal.com]

Oh, whoa. This is absolutely breathtaking. I love the small things you focus on - the bit where the music picks up and there's the shot if Inara kneeling - just her torso and legs - I don't know why that got me but it just struck me as a fantastic detail. And then of course your effects, which are both heartbreaking and - actually - kind of chilling.

And the quality of this is just...beautiful. Lovely, thank you for sharing.