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SO MANY VIDS
So there's that 20 Days of Vids meme going around? And I adore it, because it is giving me yet more vids to watch; I have only slowly and insidiously amassed fandoms that are frequently vidded, so it's only sometime in the last few months that I've become really addicted to watching vids, which means that I am now hoarding them with great delight and enthusiasm. I do have quite a few, but I'm not sure if I'm actually capable of doing the meme -- I mean, for one thing, it actually assumes some sort of variety to my vid-watching habits. And I can tell you right now that, for the most part, they can be divided into three fairly neat categories:
[1] WOMEN ARE EXCELLENT <3
[2] omg this ship
[3] wow I will never get tired of watching this character's awesome face
(Okay, there is also [4] I never noticed that about the show before and I want to HAVE THIS VID'S CLEVER BABIES but that makes me sound slightly less shallow somehow.)
This makes for joyous vid-watching, but it doesn't necessarily make for joyous meme-answering. Therefore, in lieu of the meme, I'm just going to give a boatload of enthusiastic vid recs.
BUFFYVERSE
Boulevard Of: 'Ware seizure-inducing flickering at the very beginning! This is not the most technically excellent of vids, but I will still watch it a million times. It's a bit Buffy/Faith, but more than that it hits exactly the chord the finale was trying for: Buffy isn't alone, because she's part of this long line of amazing women, and at the end they all come into their power together. This is one of those vids that, if my mood is right, will occasionally bring me to tears of joy.
Coin-Operated Boy: This is the best vid about Buffy's romantic relationships I have ever seen. I think I love it so much because it tells a story without having any shipping agenda that I can see, and since my own shipping agenda is Buffy/cookie dough, I am behind this 110%. Also, every single clip is absolutely perfect for the accompanying lyric, and I love the paralleling of Angel and Riley. (Spoiler: I am very easy for vids that do clever visual paralleling. This will probably come up a lot.)
Smile: This. This encapsulates exactly the stupid Whedon shows I want to watch all the time. Everyone is awkward and sad and dorky and wonderful! They fall down a lot! Giles walks into trees and Cordelia yells inappropriate things at parties and Angel dances stupid! This vid reminds me why I put up with the rubbish bits.
DOCTOR WHO
Change of Time: RORY. <3 To begin with, this vid is gorgeous; it's full of wonder, and beauty, and scope. It gives me shivers. And the vid is so obviously in love with Rory that it both reminds me how much I love him and convinces me that both the Doctor and Amy love him much more than I ever could. It's just -- mm.
Handlebars: I know you've all seen this. That doesn't mean I won't keep reccing it until I can no longer type. Besides, a Doctor distant, it becomes a really fascinating retrospective on Ten. He has no idea how to -- or doesn't want to -- contain his own joy and rage and grasping at godhood, and the great thing about this vid is that it both reminds me of all the things that made me want to stab Ten's era through the screen and reminds me of why I love Ten, in all his shouty arrogant ridiculous glory.
Lullaby for a Stormy Night: This song, on its own, regularly reduces me to tears. The Doctor holding young Amelia's hand also has some power to reduce me to tears. I'm still not sure if I've actually seen this whole vid, because I spend most of it crying with love, but -- I grew up -- We'll soon fix that -- and storytelling and the wonder of childhood are the heart of this vid; it's s5 in a nutshell, and explains why I love it so damn much.
Set My World Into Motion: Or: RIVER FUCKING SONG. It's very catchy, both the song itself and the way the vid's set up, full of all these dynamic split frames. It's not quite shippy, but it is about the Doctor and River learning to be partners in crime and so awesome I can hardly stand it. Also, if River gets any more amazing I might actually die.
Shut Up and Drive: Or: MARTHA FUCKING JONES. This is exactly the Martha I always want. She's a competent doctor! She is a huge dorkface! She does excellently in adversity! She moves like a goddamn cat burglar! She hangs out with Shakespeare! She walks the Earth for a year! And she's not going to wait forever. I love the motion of this, the energy, and above all the total clarity of just how awesome Martha is.
Stuck to You: This is the Eleven/Amy/Rory vid of my HEART. The whole vid is like a dance, sort of beautiful but also completely hilarious; they're all gangling about, skidding down corridors and climbing over tables and flailing with brooms and skipping round the console room. They're also eyefucking all the time, how did I miss any of that while watching the show? Basically, this vid is made of sheer loving joy.
DUE SOUTH
Better Off: Oh my god. This vid. This vid is one of the most genuinely terrifying things I've ever seen, and I love it all the more for it because the poor vidder, if you read her notes, very obviously intended it to be about how Fraser and Kowalski's relationship is awesome and made of warm fuzzy things. That is not what this vid is. This vid is about how Fraser is very dangerous, both physically and ideologically, and about how Ray slowly loses himself. That's not the show I watch, but, well, it's made entirely of clips from that show and none of them are really that far out of context. I love it because it's such an amazing remix.
Goody Two Shoes: This, on the other hand, is just adorable, and a lot closer to what the show intended us to read from Fraser. Yes, the really queer part too, that was intentional. I would be fond of this vid even if its only merit was that the vidders actually managed to light the MotB kiss, which is something approximating a miracle, but I love it for every prim, absurd, eye-rolling, joy-filled second.
In the Mirror: When I want to get back into Ray Kowalski's head in order to write him, rather than watching episode clips, I watch this vid. It's gorgeous; it's made entirely of Kowalski's twitchy, beautiful movements, and within thirty seconds I find myself doing them too, the head-tilts and hand gestures and cocky grins. Also, oh my god, Callum Keith Rennie is so pretty it hurts.
You Can Call Me: This is my ultimate pick-me-up vid. This is also the OT3 vid of my heart, and the one I watched at least twice every day while I was writing Magnetic. The lyrics are stunningly perfect for all three of them. And I love how they mean something different each time; if you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost pal is, for the Rays, an agreement with Fraser that they're partners and the best of friends; but when it's Fraser's turn, he opens it outward and makes it about everyone in Chicago he's ever helped or loved. Oh, and every time the vid reaches angels in the architecture I tear up, without fail.
HIGHLANDER
All These Things That I've Done: This is, in fact, the vid of the show that I want to be watching. Probably that's because it manages to take away a great deal of the cheesiness and over-the-top action sequences, and leaves a Duncan MacLeod who has an ordered, coherent character arc. By the time it gets to Liam O'Rourke holding a sword to Duncan's neck in the last episode, I was actually bouncing a little with joy and going, "Oh, I SEE!" There is just something really grounded and loving and respectful in the narrative of this vid.
Commercial for Levi: I call this one the Theory of Methos' Boyfriends. The theory of Methos' boyfriends is that Methos is drawn to Immortals who live life with a passion he doesn't think he can afford, and he hangs around them vicariously until he reaches saturation point and buys into whatever it is they're passionate about, and even when he's pulled himself out again, he can't quite bear to let go. I'm fairly sure I'm not giving the vid too much credit when I say it demonstrates this. I knew it was great from the moment with the Mary Shelley-Cassandra parallel, but it also suddenly convinced me that maybe Methos was trying to save MacLeod and Kronos as well as Byron, and that last shot of Duncan -- ouch, and yes, exactly.
Don't Fear the Reaper: Or: Duncan can do anything that Methos can do. Without the horse. Apparently this vid came into being because the vidders were tired of hearing that Methos was cool because he was Death on a horse and Duncan was just a boring Boy Scout, so they went and found a bunch of clips, all of them in context (no Dark Quickening here) of Mac doing his beheading thing. They managed to make something that is, in fact, pretty fucking terrifying. Don't offend Mac's moral sensibilities, guys. You will die.
I'm Too Sexy: Look. I wish every fandom had this vid. I would, possibly literally, never stop laughing. I think the moral of this vid is that Duncan is a doofus (who, in fact, made exactly the same face I did after the clip of Richie and Amanda almost making out), Methos is wildly attractive at all times, and, goddamn, Amanda is a fox. Oh, plus the show has some really excellent hats.
Nancy Boy: I, um. I have a very similar relationship to this vid as I do to a lieutenant colonel is being beaten (which you can find down in the SGA section!), namely that I will watch it dozens of times, smirking all the while, satisfied that fandom has fulfilled its sacred duty to make filthy porn using only relatively innocent clips from the show. Although in this case it also has clips of Peter Wingfield from other shows. Naked. Did I mention that I like to watch this one a lot? (Also, goddamn, Quickenings are never going to be even remotely nonsexual ever again.)
Temptation: This is what I'm talking about when I say Highlander is my id show; I confess that I am very easy for anything that has many clips of Kronos hovering over Methos' shoulder and shadowing him, because that is exactly the narrative I am looking for. It also told me things I hadn't previously noticed, namely that Methos is strangely more honest about his viciousness in the post-Horsemen episodes. The point, of course, is that Kronos isn't the temptation after all, and yes, this, this. The parallel clips make me flail a bit with joy. And the music cue when Kronos knifes Methos in the chest is perfect every time.
Unbelievable: A variation on Don't Fear the Reaper, almost, except in that one, Duncan's an avenging angel and kind of awesome; in this one, he's a hypocrite. I'd say it's a bit hard on MacLeod, but I'm not really sure it is -- because, yes, he does lecture and patronize and judge Methos, and yes, he does go around hacking people's heads off and throwing them out of windows and 174 confirmed kills. The lyrics are perfect, although you may have to look them up to understand them, and Methos' reaction shots are priceless.
MISC FANDOM [ie fandoms for which I only have one vid, so I grouped them together]
Circus (Fight Club): Alas, this is the only vid I'm reccing that I can't find a download for; it terrifies me that I can only find it on YouTube, because that means one day it'll definitely be gone, and it's way too damn good to vanish into the depths of the internet. Anyway, Tyler Durden is a put-on-a-show kind of girl. There is something so deliciously ironic in a Fight Club vid set to Britney Spears, and it's used to great effect. This has the best visual timing of any vid possibly ever, and I can't stop watching it; I am probably responsible for at least a good fraction of the hit counts.
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes): This vid is something close to a miracle, because it makes me desperately want to watch A2A. I don't know if it's the beautiful paralleling of Sam and Alex (I am, I think I mentioned, a huge sucker for good visual paralleling?) or if because I see that Alex elbows Gene in the face which makes her instantly my best friend, but either way, goddamn. This vid is full of so much energy and beauty, and then the last third, with Gene and the montages, gives me chills. Um, caveats for watching this vid will spoil the hell out of you for both shows.
I'll Be There For You (Black Books): Were I ever to try convincing someone to watch Black Books, I'm fairly sure that I'd only have to show them this vid. It is full of all the joy and cuteness and total absurdity of the show, and more than that, the ridiculous love. I love every second of it, and also Bernard's faaaace; my very favourite part, though, is the perfect timing of the clip where Manny is playing the piano from beneath it while Bernard and Fran piano-synch up above.
The Test (Star Trek IX/TOS): Is there a single thing about this vid that I do not unconditionally adore? Just -- this vid. The visuals alone would almost be enough, but the song tells the story perfectly. Every movement and clip is right, and gorgeous, which I appreciate, both because, wow, I would never have thought of TOS as especially visually pleasing, and because it makes me actually appreciate JJ Abrams' lens-flare obsession. I constantly forget that this vid isn't canon -- it's obviously why Kirk is making those faces! -- and the story it tells is, basically, every single one of my Trek fic kinks told neatly in four minutes. Also, speaking of Kirk's face, let me mention Spock's face! I am so glad this vid is around to validate my conviction that Spock spends significant portions of the film watching Kirk as though he's planning out the best logical strategy for holding Kirk down and fucking him senseless. (I r srs fan with srs thoughts.) And the final overlapping shot of the two Enterprise crews makes me flail with joy. In short, if this vid proposed, I would probably marry it.
MULTIFANDOM
A Little Less Conversation: Ridiculous story: this vid got me to watch Highlander. I downloaded it for the due South bits, and ended up rewatching it in fascination because I wanted to know more about the strangely attractive gangly guy in a trench coat who apparently spent his time shooting his friends, slamming them against cars, taking their cookies, and either dramatically holding up swords wrapped in tartan or getting swords dramatically knocked from his hands. (Imagine my disappointment when I discovered the other one was the main character.) But I love pretty much everything about this vid. I love that it has Kaylee/Inara; I love that it has at least three pairs of cop partners gesturing expressively while they ride around in cars; I love the massive amounts of Star Trek; and I love how I made the same frustrated face as Mulder after Scully didn't kiss him like a billion times in a row. This is one of my comfort vids.
Metaphor: Giles explaining things! Merlin and the unicorn! Kirk's stupid face! Jack Harkness! Lots of guns! The glass! Fireworks exploding behind Clark! The Double Quickening! That bit with spirit animals from the Sentinel that puzzled the hell out of me until someone kindly explained it, at which point I couldn't stop laughing for five minutes! The cheese man! Fraser in drag! Atlantis rising! Amy spinning in her little cage! I love it all so much! I have to confess, though, the animated llamas still scare the crap out of me.
One Girl Revolution: I am not even sure I can express how much I love this one. I love it because, yes, we have our women kicking ass and taking names as action heroines; but we have villainesses, older women, children, scientists, political leaders, criminals, high schoolers, ordinary extraordinary people. I love it because they hug each other and don't go into battle alone. I think my heart was truly lost right around the bit where there were clips of Eowyn, Lucy Pevensie, and Martha Jones in quick succession, although I might have been doomed to love it from the second Delenn appeared. Like Boulevard Of, this is one of those vids that, if my mood is right, will occasionally bring me to tears of joy.
STARGATE ATLANTIS
a lieutenant colonel is being beaten: For a long time I couldn't articulate why John Sheppard was my favourite SGA character. Then I saw this vid. I have watched it so many times that it's probably a good thing vids aren't on VHS anymore. I love the black-and-white to color transition; I love the clips from Doppelganger of John fighting himself; I love all the clips of John on his knees, and also love watching his face and wondering what the fuck Joe Flanigan thought he was doing besides, obviously, making excellent footage for a vid like this one. I am given to understand that this was thingswithwings' first vid. I may hate her a little. (<3)
Poker Face: Look, I LOVE WATCHING JOHN SHEPPARD'S FACE. That is all it really comes down to. I also think that Poker Face is a hilariously appropriate song for him, both on the "wow Joe Flanigan makes ridiculous faces" level and the "John, honey, you are the queerest and most inarticulate little military leader" level. This is also my favourite John/Rodney vid, because it is all about how they race cars and hit each other and are generally giant dorkfaces who kind of deserve each other. That, and anything that ends with the pier scene from The Shrine automatically has a special place in my heart.
Say My Name: Back in the days of yore (or: 2006) when Rodney McKay had not yet said Colonel Sheppard's given name on screen, it used to drive me totally batshit when I came across any fic that had Rodney calling him John without damn good reason. Now that I have things like The Shrine to bask in, it doesn't throw me out of fic anymore, but this vid is, for me, a relic of that time, and about how Names Are Important. I mean, mostly it's just a hilarious vid, full of John Sheppard's great face-making, but -- look, planets metaphorically explode when Rodney says John's name. I am doomed to love it.
WHITE COLLAR
Bathwater: I am having extra affection for this vid now that we just had a great Mozzie episode. MOZ. <3 I love the timing of this vid, and I adore the little triptych panels; it's just so visually fun. My favourite bits are probably that one shot of Peter over "Love to think that you couldn't love another" and the very last shot, of Mozzie in the limo, when it looks like he's actually conducting the song with his chopsticks.
Footloose: This is the ensemble vid of my heart! I love how it has a bit of everyone; I love how damn well the lyrics fit; I unconditionally adore the bit where Peter stops being serious business and starts flailing around and being an awesome dorkface. I am also given to believe that this was china_shop's first vid, so I may hate her a bit too. (<3)
Let's Misbehave: Peter! Neal! Elizabeth! I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH. This vid, technically, takes place in a constructed reality that more closely matches the OT3 fic than the show, but ... it did not take too much construction. My favourite part is the segment where Neal takes three cups and rearranges them on the Burkes' dining room table while Peter and El watch with interest. It's just -- such a clever visual. THEM.
It occurs to me also that I am posting these right before VividCon kicks off. Quite a few of my friends will be at VVC. (I am a wee bit jealous and am starting to plot going next year.) Have fun, guys! :D
[1] WOMEN ARE EXCELLENT <3
[2] omg this ship
[3] wow I will never get tired of watching this character's awesome face
(Okay, there is also [4] I never noticed that about the show before and I want to HAVE THIS VID'S CLEVER BABIES but that makes me sound slightly less shallow somehow.)
This makes for joyous vid-watching, but it doesn't necessarily make for joyous meme-answering. Therefore, in lieu of the meme, I'm just going to give a boatload of enthusiastic vid recs.
BUFFYVERSE
Boulevard Of: 'Ware seizure-inducing flickering at the very beginning! This is not the most technically excellent of vids, but I will still watch it a million times. It's a bit Buffy/Faith, but more than that it hits exactly the chord the finale was trying for: Buffy isn't alone, because she's part of this long line of amazing women, and at the end they all come into their power together. This is one of those vids that, if my mood is right, will occasionally bring me to tears of joy.
Coin-Operated Boy: This is the best vid about Buffy's romantic relationships I have ever seen. I think I love it so much because it tells a story without having any shipping agenda that I can see, and since my own shipping agenda is Buffy/cookie dough, I am behind this 110%. Also, every single clip is absolutely perfect for the accompanying lyric, and I love the paralleling of Angel and Riley. (Spoiler: I am very easy for vids that do clever visual paralleling. This will probably come up a lot.)
Smile: This. This encapsulates exactly the stupid Whedon shows I want to watch all the time. Everyone is awkward and sad and dorky and wonderful! They fall down a lot! Giles walks into trees and Cordelia yells inappropriate things at parties and Angel dances stupid! This vid reminds me why I put up with the rubbish bits.
DOCTOR WHO
Change of Time: RORY. <3 To begin with, this vid is gorgeous; it's full of wonder, and beauty, and scope. It gives me shivers. And the vid is so obviously in love with Rory that it both reminds me how much I love him and convinces me that both the Doctor and Amy love him much more than I ever could. It's just -- mm.
Handlebars: I know you've all seen this. That doesn't mean I won't keep reccing it until I can no longer type. Besides, a Doctor distant, it becomes a really fascinating retrospective on Ten. He has no idea how to -- or doesn't want to -- contain his own joy and rage and grasping at godhood, and the great thing about this vid is that it both reminds me of all the things that made me want to stab Ten's era through the screen and reminds me of why I love Ten, in all his shouty arrogant ridiculous glory.
Lullaby for a Stormy Night: This song, on its own, regularly reduces me to tears. The Doctor holding young Amelia's hand also has some power to reduce me to tears. I'm still not sure if I've actually seen this whole vid, because I spend most of it crying with love, but -- I grew up -- We'll soon fix that -- and storytelling and the wonder of childhood are the heart of this vid; it's s5 in a nutshell, and explains why I love it so damn much.
Set My World Into Motion: Or: RIVER FUCKING SONG. It's very catchy, both the song itself and the way the vid's set up, full of all these dynamic split frames. It's not quite shippy, but it is about the Doctor and River learning to be partners in crime and so awesome I can hardly stand it. Also, if River gets any more amazing I might actually die.
Shut Up and Drive: Or: MARTHA FUCKING JONES. This is exactly the Martha I always want. She's a competent doctor! She is a huge dorkface! She does excellently in adversity! She moves like a goddamn cat burglar! She hangs out with Shakespeare! She walks the Earth for a year! And she's not going to wait forever. I love the motion of this, the energy, and above all the total clarity of just how awesome Martha is.
Stuck to You: This is the Eleven/Amy/Rory vid of my HEART. The whole vid is like a dance, sort of beautiful but also completely hilarious; they're all gangling about, skidding down corridors and climbing over tables and flailing with brooms and skipping round the console room. They're also eyefucking all the time, how did I miss any of that while watching the show? Basically, this vid is made of sheer loving joy.
DUE SOUTH
Better Off: Oh my god. This vid. This vid is one of the most genuinely terrifying things I've ever seen, and I love it all the more for it because the poor vidder, if you read her notes, very obviously intended it to be about how Fraser and Kowalski's relationship is awesome and made of warm fuzzy things. That is not what this vid is. This vid is about how Fraser is very dangerous, both physically and ideologically, and about how Ray slowly loses himself. That's not the show I watch, but, well, it's made entirely of clips from that show and none of them are really that far out of context. I love it because it's such an amazing remix.
Goody Two Shoes: This, on the other hand, is just adorable, and a lot closer to what the show intended us to read from Fraser. Yes, the really queer part too, that was intentional. I would be fond of this vid even if its only merit was that the vidders actually managed to light the MotB kiss, which is something approximating a miracle, but I love it for every prim, absurd, eye-rolling, joy-filled second.
In the Mirror: When I want to get back into Ray Kowalski's head in order to write him, rather than watching episode clips, I watch this vid. It's gorgeous; it's made entirely of Kowalski's twitchy, beautiful movements, and within thirty seconds I find myself doing them too, the head-tilts and hand gestures and cocky grins. Also, oh my god, Callum Keith Rennie is so pretty it hurts.
You Can Call Me: This is my ultimate pick-me-up vid. This is also the OT3 vid of my heart, and the one I watched at least twice every day while I was writing Magnetic. The lyrics are stunningly perfect for all three of them. And I love how they mean something different each time; if you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost pal is, for the Rays, an agreement with Fraser that they're partners and the best of friends; but when it's Fraser's turn, he opens it outward and makes it about everyone in Chicago he's ever helped or loved. Oh, and every time the vid reaches angels in the architecture I tear up, without fail.
HIGHLANDER
All These Things That I've Done: This is, in fact, the vid of the show that I want to be watching. Probably that's because it manages to take away a great deal of the cheesiness and over-the-top action sequences, and leaves a Duncan MacLeod who has an ordered, coherent character arc. By the time it gets to Liam O'Rourke holding a sword to Duncan's neck in the last episode, I was actually bouncing a little with joy and going, "Oh, I SEE!" There is just something really grounded and loving and respectful in the narrative of this vid.
Commercial for Levi: I call this one the Theory of Methos' Boyfriends. The theory of Methos' boyfriends is that Methos is drawn to Immortals who live life with a passion he doesn't think he can afford, and he hangs around them vicariously until he reaches saturation point and buys into whatever it is they're passionate about, and even when he's pulled himself out again, he can't quite bear to let go. I'm fairly sure I'm not giving the vid too much credit when I say it demonstrates this. I knew it was great from the moment with the Mary Shelley-Cassandra parallel, but it also suddenly convinced me that maybe Methos was trying to save MacLeod and Kronos as well as Byron, and that last shot of Duncan -- ouch, and yes, exactly.
Don't Fear the Reaper: Or: Duncan can do anything that Methos can do. Without the horse. Apparently this vid came into being because the vidders were tired of hearing that Methos was cool because he was Death on a horse and Duncan was just a boring Boy Scout, so they went and found a bunch of clips, all of them in context (no Dark Quickening here) of Mac doing his beheading thing. They managed to make something that is, in fact, pretty fucking terrifying. Don't offend Mac's moral sensibilities, guys. You will die.
I'm Too Sexy: Look. I wish every fandom had this vid. I would, possibly literally, never stop laughing. I think the moral of this vid is that Duncan is a doofus (who, in fact, made exactly the same face I did after the clip of Richie and Amanda almost making out), Methos is wildly attractive at all times, and, goddamn, Amanda is a fox. Oh, plus the show has some really excellent hats.
Nancy Boy: I, um. I have a very similar relationship to this vid as I do to a lieutenant colonel is being beaten (which you can find down in the SGA section!), namely that I will watch it dozens of times, smirking all the while, satisfied that fandom has fulfilled its sacred duty to make filthy porn using only relatively innocent clips from the show. Although in this case it also has clips of Peter Wingfield from other shows. Naked. Did I mention that I like to watch this one a lot? (Also, goddamn, Quickenings are never going to be even remotely nonsexual ever again.)
Temptation: This is what I'm talking about when I say Highlander is my id show; I confess that I am very easy for anything that has many clips of Kronos hovering over Methos' shoulder and shadowing him, because that is exactly the narrative I am looking for. It also told me things I hadn't previously noticed, namely that Methos is strangely more honest about his viciousness in the post-Horsemen episodes. The point, of course, is that Kronos isn't the temptation after all, and yes, this, this. The parallel clips make me flail a bit with joy. And the music cue when Kronos knifes Methos in the chest is perfect every time.
Unbelievable: A variation on Don't Fear the Reaper, almost, except in that one, Duncan's an avenging angel and kind of awesome; in this one, he's a hypocrite. I'd say it's a bit hard on MacLeod, but I'm not really sure it is -- because, yes, he does lecture and patronize and judge Methos, and yes, he does go around hacking people's heads off and throwing them out of windows and 174 confirmed kills. The lyrics are perfect, although you may have to look them up to understand them, and Methos' reaction shots are priceless.
MISC FANDOM [ie fandoms for which I only have one vid, so I grouped them together]
Circus (Fight Club): Alas, this is the only vid I'm reccing that I can't find a download for; it terrifies me that I can only find it on YouTube, because that means one day it'll definitely be gone, and it's way too damn good to vanish into the depths of the internet. Anyway, Tyler Durden is a put-on-a-show kind of girl. There is something so deliciously ironic in a Fight Club vid set to Britney Spears, and it's used to great effect. This has the best visual timing of any vid possibly ever, and I can't stop watching it; I am probably responsible for at least a good fraction of the hit counts.
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes): This vid is something close to a miracle, because it makes me desperately want to watch A2A. I don't know if it's the beautiful paralleling of Sam and Alex (I am, I think I mentioned, a huge sucker for good visual paralleling?) or if because I see that Alex elbows Gene in the face which makes her instantly my best friend, but either way, goddamn. This vid is full of so much energy and beauty, and then the last third, with Gene and the montages, gives me chills. Um, caveats for watching this vid will spoil the hell out of you for both shows.
I'll Be There For You (Black Books): Were I ever to try convincing someone to watch Black Books, I'm fairly sure that I'd only have to show them this vid. It is full of all the joy and cuteness and total absurdity of the show, and more than that, the ridiculous love. I love every second of it, and also Bernard's faaaace; my very favourite part, though, is the perfect timing of the clip where Manny is playing the piano from beneath it while Bernard and Fran piano-synch up above.
The Test (Star Trek IX/TOS): Is there a single thing about this vid that I do not unconditionally adore? Just -- this vid. The visuals alone would almost be enough, but the song tells the story perfectly. Every movement and clip is right, and gorgeous, which I appreciate, both because, wow, I would never have thought of TOS as especially visually pleasing, and because it makes me actually appreciate JJ Abrams' lens-flare obsession. I constantly forget that this vid isn't canon -- it's obviously why Kirk is making those faces! -- and the story it tells is, basically, every single one of my Trek fic kinks told neatly in four minutes. Also, speaking of Kirk's face, let me mention Spock's face! I am so glad this vid is around to validate my conviction that Spock spends significant portions of the film watching Kirk as though he's planning out the best logical strategy for holding Kirk down and fucking him senseless. (I r srs fan with srs thoughts.) And the final overlapping shot of the two Enterprise crews makes me flail with joy. In short, if this vid proposed, I would probably marry it.
MULTIFANDOM
A Little Less Conversation: Ridiculous story: this vid got me to watch Highlander. I downloaded it for the due South bits, and ended up rewatching it in fascination because I wanted to know more about the strangely attractive gangly guy in a trench coat who apparently spent his time shooting his friends, slamming them against cars, taking their cookies, and either dramatically holding up swords wrapped in tartan or getting swords dramatically knocked from his hands. (Imagine my disappointment when I discovered the other one was the main character.) But I love pretty much everything about this vid. I love that it has Kaylee/Inara; I love that it has at least three pairs of cop partners gesturing expressively while they ride around in cars; I love the massive amounts of Star Trek; and I love how I made the same frustrated face as Mulder after Scully didn't kiss him like a billion times in a row. This is one of my comfort vids.
Metaphor: Giles explaining things! Merlin and the unicorn! Kirk's stupid face! Jack Harkness! Lots of guns! The glass! Fireworks exploding behind Clark! The Double Quickening! That bit with spirit animals from the Sentinel that puzzled the hell out of me until someone kindly explained it, at which point I couldn't stop laughing for five minutes! The cheese man! Fraser in drag! Atlantis rising! Amy spinning in her little cage! I love it all so much! I have to confess, though, the animated llamas still scare the crap out of me.
One Girl Revolution: I am not even sure I can express how much I love this one. I love it because, yes, we have our women kicking ass and taking names as action heroines; but we have villainesses, older women, children, scientists, political leaders, criminals, high schoolers, ordinary extraordinary people. I love it because they hug each other and don't go into battle alone. I think my heart was truly lost right around the bit where there were clips of Eowyn, Lucy Pevensie, and Martha Jones in quick succession, although I might have been doomed to love it from the second Delenn appeared. Like Boulevard Of, this is one of those vids that, if my mood is right, will occasionally bring me to tears of joy.
STARGATE ATLANTIS
a lieutenant colonel is being beaten: For a long time I couldn't articulate why John Sheppard was my favourite SGA character. Then I saw this vid. I have watched it so many times that it's probably a good thing vids aren't on VHS anymore. I love the black-and-white to color transition; I love the clips from Doppelganger of John fighting himself; I love all the clips of John on his knees, and also love watching his face and wondering what the fuck Joe Flanigan thought he was doing besides, obviously, making excellent footage for a vid like this one. I am given to understand that this was thingswithwings' first vid. I may hate her a little. (<3)
Poker Face: Look, I LOVE WATCHING JOHN SHEPPARD'S FACE. That is all it really comes down to. I also think that Poker Face is a hilariously appropriate song for him, both on the "wow Joe Flanigan makes ridiculous faces" level and the "John, honey, you are the queerest and most inarticulate little military leader" level. This is also my favourite John/Rodney vid, because it is all about how they race cars and hit each other and are generally giant dorkfaces who kind of deserve each other. That, and anything that ends with the pier scene from The Shrine automatically has a special place in my heart.
Say My Name: Back in the days of yore (or: 2006) when Rodney McKay had not yet said Colonel Sheppard's given name on screen, it used to drive me totally batshit when I came across any fic that had Rodney calling him John without damn good reason. Now that I have things like The Shrine to bask in, it doesn't throw me out of fic anymore, but this vid is, for me, a relic of that time, and about how Names Are Important. I mean, mostly it's just a hilarious vid, full of John Sheppard's great face-making, but -- look, planets metaphorically explode when Rodney says John's name. I am doomed to love it.
WHITE COLLAR
Bathwater: I am having extra affection for this vid now that we just had a great Mozzie episode. MOZ. <3 I love the timing of this vid, and I adore the little triptych panels; it's just so visually fun. My favourite bits are probably that one shot of Peter over "Love to think that you couldn't love another" and the very last shot, of Mozzie in the limo, when it looks like he's actually conducting the song with his chopsticks.
Footloose: This is the ensemble vid of my heart! I love how it has a bit of everyone; I love how damn well the lyrics fit; I unconditionally adore the bit where Peter stops being serious business and starts flailing around and being an awesome dorkface. I am also given to believe that this was china_shop's first vid, so I may hate her a bit too. (<3)
Let's Misbehave: Peter! Neal! Elizabeth! I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH. This vid, technically, takes place in a constructed reality that more closely matches the OT3 fic than the show, but ... it did not take too much construction. My favourite part is the segment where Neal takes three cups and rearranges them on the Burkes' dining room table while Peter and El watch with interest. It's just -- such a clever visual. THEM.
It occurs to me also that I am posting these right before VividCon kicks off. Quite a few of my friends will be at VVC. (I am a wee bit jealous and am starting to plot going next year.) Have fun, guys! :D
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