Sweet Charity Video: Still Breathing (Spike, BtVs, AtS)

[charmax]

Video Title: Still Breathing
Song Title/Artist: Still Breathing - Duran Duran
Character/Fandom: Spike, BtVs, AtS
Summary:Spike's redemption song
Length/Format: 4.06 (Xvid)
Notes: What it says on the tin image, commissioned as part of the Sweet Charity Auction, RAINN 2.0.

This is very much a character study of remorse and redemption. The parallels are to show where he's been, how far he's come and how far he still has to go in a geographical sense but more in a personal journey towards becoming a hero. It's also about how he can't escape his past because the same situations keep arising but this time he reacts differently. It's about never going back to his old self or repeating the same mistakes.

My buyer is happy so that makes me happy. :)

Thank you so much xandra_ptv, messyjessie58 & giandujakiss for your helpful beta comments. Sorry if it was you that missed out on the beta process, in total I had 6 opinions on this (which is way more than I usually have) and I had to draw the line somewhere.

Download Xvid (720x400 - 50MB)
Download Xvid (480x272 - 27MB)
stream @ imeem

Feedback is extremely welcome.

Comments

[bananainpyjamas.livejournal.com]

Oh this was gorgeous. I've never seen Buffy so I was totally without context, but even on the level of composition and movement this was such a treat to watch. I really do admire vidders who can get so much of out slow, subtle songs like this one.

The connections throughout were absolutely fantastic. I'm sure I missed some, but the ones I noticed really helped tie the narrative together and make it more transparent to a clueless viewer like myself. :) And the continued use of beautiful, haunting imagery ensured that the vid was a delight even when I wasn't 100% sure of what was going on. Awesome, awesome work!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Dragonchic. I'm relieved that it works without context because for ages I was convinced it looked like a bunch of random Spike clips.

Trying to incorporate fight scenes into a slow song was one of the bigger challenges of the vid.

I'm pleased you enjoyed it so much, I'm honoured.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Great vid. An ambrosia for a Spike fan. :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks you. "Ambrosia for a Spike fan". I certainly hope so.

[ruuger]

Oh wow, that was beautiful. Made me fall in love with Spike all over again :)

(Sorry, it's 2 a.m. so I don't really have the brain functions to give detailed feedback)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. Ah that 2am feeling I know it well.

[littleheaven70.livejournal.com]

Eeeee! Two of my favourite things together - Duran Duran and BTVS/ATS. Loved the editing, the freeze frame flashes, the nice eerie feel of the vid. And at the end, Spike making the ultimate sacrifice, twice. *loves*

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. It was nice to finally return to BtVS/AtS and rediscover my love for the show. Only in the buffyverse would someone be required to make the ultimate sacrifice twice. :D

[bionic.livejournal.com]

what a beautiful video. Very moving :D I'm kind of speechless!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Speechless is good!

[elisi]

Loved it. Great choice of clips and wonderful intercutting, linking together themes I hadn't previously considered and throwing new light on Spike (I love vids that are full of meta).

Oh and I don't think I ever told you, but I also *adore* 'Your Woman' and 'Why I Am Here'! At least those are my favourites of yours! It's hard to choose... :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

That was the idea, to have a slightly different take on a Spike character vid. It's good to know that you enjoyed it! :D

Thanks also for your kind words about "Your Woman" and "Why I'm Here" it's always nice to find them appreciated after all this time.

I see you've also given this vid a rec, cheers for that.

[jamalov29.livejournal.com]

This was gorgeously done ! A wonderful tribute to the unforgettable character who is Spike.
I loved the ending when you blend together his last moment in the Hellmouth and in the alley.

Thank you very much for this. :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

It's really nice to hear that you found this a fitting tribute. It's quite context heavy so I wasn't sure how accessible it would be, thanks for putting my mind at ease. Thanks also for the rec! Recs are the equivalent of gold on lj. :)

[marvelgirl-art.livejournal.com]

amazing video! similarity between btvs and ats universes is such a great idea and montage is flawless as always!

you know, every time I watch your video works I wish I could make videos myself. maybe some day I’ll find courage at least to start learning))

[charmax.livejournal.com]

This is a huge compliment coming from you, your art is truly stunning.

I'm sure if you ever did get into vidding you'll be be just as capable as you are with the graphics.

Thanks very much for commenting!

[marvelgirl-art.livejournal.com]

thanks for the kind words about my art))
and i hope you don’t mind, but i recommended this video in one russian buffy related community, i linked my rec to this very page.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

I sure don't mind you rec'ing the vid, it's great to have more viewers! Thank you so much.

[countessmary.livejournal.com]

Sweet Bloody Moses! That was awesome. I've never seen quite ... um wow. I'm not a huge Spike fan so much anymore but you got me all nostalgic for him. :) The parallels you drew for this were... just amazing!!!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Haha! What a brilliant reaction. I definitely rediscovered my Spike love with this. Thank God for slo-mo fights. :D

[mrs-underhill.livejournal.com]

What a treat of a video! Thank you for this unique look at Spike's journey.
Loved the flashbacks to Buffy in his monastery cell of an apartment: they were heartbreaking. No, not going there again, but still dreaming about it. Loved the "words" part, and how's he's never going back there again, in the end: to Sunnydale, to W&H, to a vampire monster inside.
And the flashback to Angel and Buffy in "Chosen" after he raises his hand - loved it. It's not even about Buffy: it's about an amulet: Angel brought an amulet which killed him, but he still volonteers first when Angel asks yet of another sacrifice. Beautiful.
Change from the Tower to Fred's eye glazing over - vow. And the end, the sky - I loved how after he shoots the beam of light into the sky Angel looks up too. And Gunn gets up after Spike starts to burn, just like Buffy got up. Wonderful.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

It's great that you were able to get so much out of the vid. You've picked up on all the key points I wanted to get across. I wasn't sure they were clear to anyone outside my head. I'm thrilled you can "read" the vid.

Thank you so much for commenting!

[countessmary.livejournal.com]

I'm random as all get out... but Lily The Pink just came on my iPod and I started cracking up laughing thinking about your video to it. :) My friend and I actually sang that song in the middle of a poetry night one time. :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Wow that's a blast from the past and that must've been a raucous poetry night. Sounds like the beer was really flowing. At least you didn't do a rendition of "Four and Twenty Virgins" or "The Good Ship Venus" lmao.

[thatotherperv.livejournal.com]

you know, I fangirl your vids just a lil bit. or...more than a little :) you have such a great sense of timing...the clips become *part* of the music in a way I rarely see achieved. and then you go and lend new meaning to old canon and...yup. see me, fangirling you.

always a joy to watch. thanks.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Heee what a lovely comment! I am thrilled to hear you enjoyed this vid so much and my other vids too, *blush*. Anyway, thank you and I hope you'll enjoy my future works.

[kellykcmom.livejournal.com]

Hi ~ That was amazing! I loved all the newer clips from Angel mixed in with the ones from Buffy! It was crisp and clear and a pleasure to watch! :) Ahhhh but when is Spike NOT a pleasure to watch huh? Really wonderful work!! Thanks for making it available to download! ~ Kelly *I would like to add you as a friend so I can watch for more videos! If you would consider me as a friend that would be fabulous!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the lovely feedback and for the friend! It's not going to be a regular occurrence that I have Spike/James vids so if you change your mind about the friend bit then that's ok. :)

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

This is a gorgeous vid Charmax. I love your colour work and the clip choice is wonderful and full of connection. I love that he is both trying so hard to get to being a hero but also feeling as though he's perpetually running in circles. The parallel of Buffy and Fred, in particular, I thought was very strong and emotional. Wonderful stuff!

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Cheers, Nicky. I found it quite difficult to do something with Spike that I hadn't seen before. The song was a great asset in that respect and really forced me to think. "Perpetually running in circles" is a very good way to describe it. His determination that he is "never going back there again" is constantly challenged.

Thanks for commenting and good luck with your VividCon projects I'm sure they'll be awesome.

[muccamukk]

This is really amazing. I'm just getting into this fandom, so I can't pick up on about 70% of the subtleties, but even to a newbie it's really gorgeous. Your editing is perfect, I think.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It's great to know the fandom is still picking up new recruits.

[oxoniensis.livejournal.com]

That was gorgeous, and heartbreaking too. I kept getting the sense of how hard his decisions were, how much he had to fight himself to get where he wanted to be.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much. Vidding this aspect of Spike was quite a challenge so it's good to have it described as heartbreaking.

[bradcpu.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to tell you this for ages, charmax, but I just *adore* this. It just aches with this slow burn, and you feel it in every pulse of the music. Maybe the best expression of Spike's...well... existence that I've ever seen in a vid. Feels quite timeless.

On a more technical level, there's beautiful pacing, and I love your use of cool blue and firelight yellow throughout. It reminds me a little of Candleburn in how well you've mastered the connection between color and emotion here.

Also, *terrific* song choice. The lyrics - and the way you show them off - are just absolutely perfect. Got a chill at "I'm just waiting for a good day."

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Hey, Brad.

I wish I could take credit for the song but the sweet charity vidder gave it to me with the brief of it being Spike leaving Sunnydale or LA. I combined it with an idea I'd had for a while about comparing Spike in AtS with Spike in the later seasons of BtVS and this was the result. I am very pleased with how it turned out so I'm ridiculously pleased when anyone shows it some love but particularly when it's someone I know loves the source.

Thank you very much.

[hunenka.livejournal.com]

This is the greatest Spike vid I've ever seen. I love the parallels... It's so perfectly made, it's a PLEASURE to watch it. I totally love it. I think you're a genius. Thanks for making this vid!

[dualbunny.livejournal.com]

Can you tell I'm catching up on vids tonight? ;D Well, comments anyway. Hard to resist watching new vids from you immediately, even if I don't have time to squee. ;]

First off--I *love* how this starts with the amulet imagery. The opening of the song *sounds* crystalline to me, so that was just genius. And the visual parallels work so beautifully. But beyond the visual matches, the mood parallels and contrasts are just spot on. There is so much respect and care for the source in this. And as someone who has vidded Spike and watched a lot of Spike vids, you've managed, again, to make me feel like I'm seeing something new. It's introspective, but keeps such a nice edge with bitterness and hope constantly at odds.

And towards the end at 3:35--with the clouds. Gah, gorgeous.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Yep, I gathered it was feedback night for you.

I really do feel proud of this one so I will gladly take any love it gets, but especially from someone who really knows how to vid Spike. Trying to get a fresh angle on Spike wasn't easy but I got there in the end. No more Spike vids for me though (at least not in the foreseeable future)

I think the clouds are pretty too. :D

[beerbad.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to note that this is on my list of favorite vids of 2007 (http://beerbad.livejournal.com/214348.html)! :)

[charmax.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! That's an impressive list of vids you have there and I've not seen them all. I'll have to check them out.

[leviathan101.livejournal.com]

bradcpu and sabaceanbabe both recommended this video and I have to say that it's absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful clarity of clips and pacing. I also loved the parallels you drew and similar scenes you put back to back. I've never heard the song (wow, duran duran!) but the lyrics are perfect. Awesome work throughout.

[charmax.livejournal.com]

The song is all thanks to yourlibrarian. She was the awesome person that bought me for Sweet Charity. Without her I might not have revisited the fandom I love. I enjoyed working out the parallels and doing something I hadn't seen in a Spike vid before. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it. I know you're a new convert to the show and I find myself hoping desperately that you will come up with a vid from a refreshing new perspective.