New Heroes vid - The Wreckoning

[charmax]

Video Title: The Wreckoning
Song Title/Artist: The Wreckoning - BoomKat
Fandom/Character: Heroes, Niki-Jessica
Summary: Jessica pov. It's all about the jekyll & Hyde, the love/hate, the sub/dom, the protector/protected relationship of Niki and Jessica.**swear words and possible spoilers**
Length/Format: 2.12 (Xvid)
Notes:
This is part 2 of the ongoing vid/let challenge with astartexx (part 1 was "Protege Moi".) Astarte gave me the song but didn't specify any show or character, Niki/Jessica just spoke to me. The major problem was how to get across the concept of Crazy Brain Twin. The video feels disjointed very much like the two characters. As the video was set as a challenge it gave me the opportunity to experiment a lot more with effects and come out of my comfort zone a bit. Some of these are more subtle and some are in your face. For those who haven't seen the show Jessica's the psycho with the tattoo but honestly that won't help much because even when she's not on screen she's still sort of there. It's probably the one time where pov confusion is actually intentional. lol

Feedback is loved.

Download Xvid (720x400 - 40MB)
Download Xvid (480x272 - 25MB)
Med stream at imeem

Comments

[sol-se.livejournal.com]

OMG! You made a Heroes video! I love this!

The video feels disjointed very much like the two characters.

This came across very well. Crazy Brain Twin!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And thanks for the rec!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_abulafia/]

You made a Heroes vid! I am so excited!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I hope you like it. :)

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

Oh my god. That was just insanely (har, har) cool. I loved all your effects work, the split screens, the radial blurs especially - what a fabulous way to communicate the fractured connection between the two characters. You + Heroes = Win. Yay!

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

Also a question, because when have I not had a question with a new vid of yours? :P How did you manage to get rid of the network watermark?

[naewinter.livejournal.com]

Very cool. =D
The POV confusion was perfect, it fits them so well.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[fahrbotdrusilla]

That was awesome! The switching back and forth worked really well to highlight the relationship.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Cheers! I hoped her fractured personality would come across. It's good to know it did.

[xandra-ptv.livejournal.com]

First off that was total kick ass! And i'm so glad i watch the show now!

Second is I wanna wish you a much belated birthday cause I am such a bad person i... well (Damn Sims 2!)... there is no excuse. I'm sorry. Happy Birthday.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Xandra. Heroes is my "must watch" show this season. I know everyone else worships at the alter of "Supernatural" but this is the show for me.

You being a bad person is news to nobody. ;D
But thanks for the birthday greetings. I'll call it my first one for next year.

[astartexx.livejournal.com]

*happy flail* You picked the song I hoped the most you would take on and you – you picked the character I find most intriguing at my awesome new show and then you started doing the kick ass split screens in surpassing Ocean’s 11 fashion and now I’m dead and in paradise! Okay, my brain is – BUT THIS ROCKS SO MUCH!

In-depth comment once I get some sleep, but your transitions through this babe are so unbelievable fucking amazing, I had to get that out!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I made you flail! The song turned out to be just right for the character. It's funny the split screens reminded you of "Ocean's 11" because I was actually influenced by "Spooks" add in "24" and those damn split screens are everywhere!

I look forward to your insight but for now I'm happy to settle for the flailing. *g*

[lysachan.livejournal.com]

Incredible. Your videos never cease to amaze me.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! :D

[lostandalone22.livejournal.com]

That was awesome. Very unique point of view, and the song was perfect for them. Nice job.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Cheers. The song really is great for Niki/Jessica, it even has demented laughter, how perfect is that?

[martoufmarty.livejournal.com]

Oooh! Tht was kick ass and I really love the split screen stuff. I've always found split screens to be so much fun to do and the ones you put in were awesome.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Steph! I can't say I enjoyed doing the split screens at first (fiddly little buggers) but once I got the hang of it they were a lot of fun to play with.

Oh and you must be slacking you weren't the first to comment this time. :D

[missyvortexdv.livejournal.com]

Ace.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[ashinae.livejournal.com]

This vid was really, really awesome. I loved the effects you used, and the song was fantastic. Whee! :D

[charmax.livejournal.com]

It's great to hear you enjoyed the vid. Thanks! :D

[millylicious.livejournal.com]

I love it! I especially liked your use of squares/rectangles, and the transition from looking in the mirror to the table (don't remember if it was in the source, but even if it was, it's a great use of it). Niki/Jessica are definitely one of my favorite things about this show, I just love the storyline and the amazing acting on Ali Larter's part - she's really switching from one to the other with amazing ease, you highlighted perfectly the way Jessica becoming more predominent impacts on Niki.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks for commenting Milly. There was already a pan shot (bed) in the source so it was the perfect opportunity to put in that transition pan from the mirror. I'm glad you liked it as well as the split screens and the vid generally. Niki/Jessica are such tough characters to get a hold on, intriguing. I guess that's why I like her/them so much. It will be interesting to see where they go in the run up to the final. The plot thickens...

[dualbunny.livejournal.com]

Oh *awesome*. I loved how every effect and transition you chose to use highlighted that split/fractured sensibility--and so slickly! And then how the cutting and pacing goes to more disoriented places here and there to add to the sense of confusion. Very cool. The song has such great attitude for the two of them and you just expounded on that wonderfully. :D

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I found it really difficult to get the chaos of Niki/Jessica's brain across visually - I mean, even on the show the whole concept is confusing as hell. So if I could get even a fraction of that to make sense then it's a job well done. Like your icon. ;)

You are always such a great feedbacker,(not a real word but it doesn't matter)bunny so thank you!

[mranderson71.livejournal.com]

I love this song & I love the fast paced nature of this video - it definately suits the Niki/Jessica character to a T....shes a human wrecking machine!

Have to agree the comic book style panels added another dimension to this video which I thought was a clever way to get more of her into the vid all at the same time.

Top stuff!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks Mr. A. The split screens certainly helped with cramming more footage in, plus split personality it was a no brainer really. Thanks again. I'm pleased you liked it.

[tulzdavampslaya.livejournal.com]

awesome. downloading!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I hope you like it. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Excellent job! The crazy brain twin totally comes through, in my opinion. Nice use of the different voices in the song to be the voices of Nikki and Jessica.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting me know you liked it. It's good to hear that it made sense.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

That was an excellent video. The song is perfect for Niki/Jessica, especially the Jessica personality. The clips fitted nicely and perfectly with the lyrics. Interesting way of going from Jessica's POV, and it worked incredibly well.

Nicely done. I loved it! ~ ♥

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much. The Jessica personality is such fun to work with. The song really conveys the way I feel like she must think.

It's good to know you enjoyed it.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Great vid! I don't even like Nikki or Jessica that much, but the pacing of this vid was fantastic, the effects really suited them and conveyed the relationship clearly, and it was so so slick.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I hadn't realised how many people weren't that keen on the Niki-Jessica character(s). I really like them myself. The split screens and fractured style was the only way I could think to get that multiple personality thing across.

I'm glad you liked it and that you took the time to tell me so. :D

[bananainpyjamas.livejournal.com]

*slaps forehead* No idea why I missed this on my f-list, but fortunately I found it while doing my weekly round-up of Heroes vids.

You know I've heard this song used before, but this is the first vid that I think really lived up to its potential. I loved the brisk pace and the effects you used, especially the 'box-y' one that often looked quite comic book. ;)

Niki's story was one of my favorites when the show first started, but I kind of lost interest as it progressed. The is a great overview of what makes her and Jessica so interesting. Will definitely be looking at this storyline with renewed interest when Heroes comes back from hiatus. Fantastic work, as usual. :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks. A weekly round up of heroes vids sounds like quite a lot of work I'm glad mine didn't slip through the net. :D

I think the song is just right for the character and you're right I suppose the boxes do have a comic book feel at times. It was a device that served me well in terms of cramming the stuff I wanted into a couple of minutes worth of vid.

I have to agree that Niki's story has kind of lagged behind all the others for a while now. There was the big reveal of the split personality early on and since then it's all been fairly predictable. I still have faith that it will all come good in the end.

[shyira-pheonix.livejournal.com]

Hi. I really like what you did with the video. The effects and the split screen.. it was just great and the song was perfect for a niki and jessica video.This is definately the best one I have seen so far. I was wondering if you could help me out. What did you use to edit it? and also do you know where I can get clips of episode 15 run?

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Hey, thank you for your feedback. The main bulk of my editing is done in Adobe Premiere Pro but I also use Adobe After Effects & Adobe Photoshop, if something specific is needed. As for episode clips, I would suggest you check out mininova for episode torrents (search mininova on google). I'm afraid I won't be linking you because this is a public post.

[sextagteam.livejournal.com]

So far I've only been watching Heroes sporadically but this vid, among others, makes me think it will shortly become yet another of my unhealthy obsessions primary viewing commitments. In short, I don't know a lot of the canon but I really enjoyed this vid, great song and a really cool exploration the dynamic in this unusual relationship.

Favorite Moments:
:07 - :10 - Love this clip, especially the way you slow it down on "veins."
:26 - :30 - The timing in this section really works for me.
:49 - I love all the split screens but I especially like how you use the gunsight here.
1:04 - 1:07 - I really like how viscerally you can feel the interactions here, you really get a sense of the interplay between these two people.
1:42 - 1:46 - This whole sequence just kicks ass, pure and simple.

Anyway, I really liked this, thanks for posting!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

You should definitely start watching Heroes. There are some good vids out there now, after a bit of a slow start.

It's great that you enjoyed the vid and thanks for giving me specifics in the form of timestamps, it's always interesting to find out which sections work best for people.

Thank you for commenting.

[projectjulie.livejournal.com]

SQUEE!

this is a gorgeous and mind-bending vid.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank You! *g*

The Wreckoning

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Finally had a chance to watch this -- OMG LOVE! This is extraordinarily slick. I adore the way you used the split screens and masking; that was a very sophisticated treatment, and of course it plays perfectly into the Jessica/Niki split. I also really like the way you used the bridge.

Really unexpected song choice, to use a breakup song to show this fractured relationship between the two selves (or are they?).

Just NIFTY.

Re: The Wreckoning

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Laura. The song just sounded like Jessica to me and I loved using it to convey her bitterness at Niki's "ingratitude". A very twisted breakup song for a very peculiar relationship. *g*

Although I love them in the finished product the split screens drove me nuts during editing. Any slightly clumsy keyframing caused much whackiness on screen. Grr.

[cherryice.livejournal.com]

I thought I'd commented on this before, but it seems I forgot.

I rather adore this vid -- it grabs you and whirls all over the place. It felt incredibly polished throughout, even when the cutting fractured to match the personalities. I think the split/comics design worked incredibly well, on both a purely visual level, and to match Jessica/Niki's personality.

In summary: this is incredibly shiny.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the feedback. I think the splits and comic style boxes definitely help with trying to convey the fractured nature of Jessica/Niki. I'm glad you enjoyed it.