New Vid! World Spins Madly On

[ash48]

Title: World Spins Madly On
Vidder: ash48
Song: by The Weepies
Category: Character study / S6 Dean (and Sam)
Length: 2.46m
Size: 29.8 mb
Summary: The world spins on for Dean, no matter what.

Links: You Tube | Sendspace (.dixv) | 4Shared



Thanks: *heffa hugs* as always to my fab beta _sharvie_. Thanks for the awesome picks up honey and the cheerleading. And special thanks to the lovely el1ie for helping me out when I was stuck in the beginning, for some awesome suggestions and for the lovely feedback.

Vid Notes

I first heard the song when deirdre_c posted it to her journal. The vid was an amazing animation. The song really grabbed me and I filed it away in the "must vid one day" folder. Initially I thought it would be wincest but as I started playing with it Dean grabbed hold and it became his song.

Every time I post a vid I want to indulge myself and write down my thought process for it. Which would be completely boring. So I will refrain. Instead, just briefly: It's season 6 Dean. It's not his whole story. I wanted to include Cas in here somewhere but it just wasn't working so I've focused on Dean's loss of Sam and the journey to getting his soul back. But it's more about Dean's tenacity and the way he keeps going, no matter how madly the world spins for him.

I also wanted a happy ending - or at least a feel good ending because I wanted to show that Dean made the right decision in going after Sam's soul. Dean endured a lot of losses during S6. He did, at least, gain Sam.

No money made but comments are gratefully accepted. :)

ETA: Fic written (inspired by the vid yay) by Novella). It's gorgeous. Mild wincest.

Comments

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

Hey.

So, finally, I'm here, been watching this on and off since you posted, trying to think of intelligent and thoughtful things to say.

AGGGH! I haven't come up with anything except to flail all over the awesome that this vid is and how it's changed and matured into something wonderful.

Love the echo of the beginning and end scene of the Impala - home. This version really tells the story and it compacts everything about season 6. A brave season, a hard one to watch, but an excellent season to look back on. Dean with Lisa is where it started and you capture his still broken soul beautifully - he was coping but he wasn't right without Sam, knowing what had happened, you still break my heart with that "make the world brand new" line and then Sam's back and Dean broke my heart right there by choosing to stay behind and I love how you tell that in just a few clips, that comes across so strongly, that it's Dean's choice but not a happy one, offering the keys, covering up the car as everything around him moves on and he's just standing still - gorgeous.

Then I love the little changes you've make over the next part, Sam on the phone, Dean leaves but Sam isn't Sam he's still trapped in the cage, love Cas looking for his soul in there, that part really works perfectly now and Dean remembers the vamp and wakes up in another new life, one where neither his brother or Lisa want him - I love how you show those little scenes together, show how hard that is for him, how alone he is and why he sets out getting Sam's soul back.

You've done the great set up then for Death and Sam's soul returning and I still love those little touches you add at the end showing them better off together and home.

Have I mentioned how much I love this vid? Stunning, it's just stunning, a whole season of Dean and his search for Sam in what? Under 3 minutes! *sigh* - and it's looks bloody beautiful too!

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! What an amazing comment. You'd know, as a fellow vidder, what lovely long comments like this means. Thank you so much. <3

It took a while to take shape and to be honest when I was stuck I really couldn't see a way forward. It was your ideas that spurred me on - I was able to start looking at in some new ways. So, thank you so much.

Both you and Steph mentioned needing to actually see Death so I had hoped that that inclusion helped that scene forward. I ended up being much happier with that section after those tweaks. :)

Steph mentioned a couple of things that resulted in a few additions and tweaks (and colour changes) - she never let me off easily that gal! (which of course I love)

Thanks again honey. (for the help and the feedback!) I will treasure this comment. I've already read it a couple of times over. *hearts* <33

[e0wyn.livejournal.com]

This is such a great video... I really like that you post the notes with every new video you publish, I love reading them.

I think you made the right choice focusing on S6!Dean and his relationship with Sam since it's a great chunk of what S6 was about, especially in the first part. But you're right, there's much more going on for Dean, namely his rapport with Cas... are you planning to vid that aspect too? I'd really love to see your take on it :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hi,

Thank you so much. tehe... re the notes. I almost posted an full deconstruction of the vid but I deleted it feeling it was too self indulgent. :)

The story for this vid snuck up on me and when I realised it was actually a S6 Dean vid I realised there was more to his story. I worried about the lack of Cas but just couldn't fit it into this song.

Unless something really jumps out to me, song wise, for the Dean and Cas story it's unlikely I will vid that. But..you never know. ;D

Thanks so much for watching and for your comment. :D
xx

(I have to ask...where is that icon from? As in where and when? A con maybe?)

[e0wyn.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's from a con (one of the Asylum Cons if I remember correctly) :) It was taken at a photo op I think, I saw the pic posted on Tumblr and made an icon out of it (I don't have the original pic anymore though, sorry :( ).

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, It looks like a photo op pic. :)

Thanks so much for letting me know.
xx

[geckoholic]

EEEH, I just saw this linked somewhere, and how did I miss it before?! So beautifully done, calm and sad, and yeah, hopeful in the end. Great job, hon! ♥

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hey! Thank bb. Oooh it was linked somewhere? Cool. :D

As yes. I had to leave Dean with some hope. I really felt a change in him when he got Sam back. He suffers such a lot, poor boy, but he knows how to do the right thing. <33

[secretlytodream.livejournal.com]

Huh I kind of completely missed this one? Oo I saw this vid took best POV over DPTM (CONGRATS! :DD) and the title was really familiar. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon this song, and the funny things is - when I heart it I immediately start to think abut J2, like, an AU-fic J2 and I was even planning to use this song in a trailer or something, so I was really curious abut how you played with it showing Dean's character.

I think the lyrics really fit and I love the way you portrayed Dean's "normal" life, flashbacks - his memories of Sam. Everything is very easy to follow and understand. Sometimes even better than in the show itself lol

Oh and hey - I'd love to take a peek at that "songs that I must vid one day" folder :DDDDD

[ash48.livejournal.com]

The song is so lovely and I could totally see it being to a J2 vid. :)

Hehe... my "must vid one day folder" has songs that I tuck away in the hope that I would get to it. One that I desperately want to do (and is actually on a timeline and started) is a vid to this music AND video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjOQac1vOEc). I want to edit these guys (who look remarkably similar to S&D) with shots of the boys fighting. But it's stalled atm.

And hey YOU! Congrats on all your shiny awards!! And rightly so!! :DD

[secretlytodream.livejournal.com]

I was THIS close to making a J2 trailer for it just a few weeks ago. I made a trailer for a fic I translated - it's a J2 non-AU story which I loved to pieces but I ended up choosing another song heh

UGH I actually have two folders - one with dropped videos and ideas, therefore - with dropped songs which I still would totally love to vid someday, and another folder with actual songs I don't know what to do with yet :P LOTSA A MUSIC I MUST SAY.

OH HEY those two brothers! I know them :) I think that would fantastic. You have this gift of vidding kind of old and you know familiar songs which honestly I'd never think would fit for a vid, but you make them WORK. So I'd totally love to see what you'll come up with :)

Thanks! ^__^ To be honest I was pretty surprised all the awards I got were for the videos for different fandoms, since SPN is my main one. It's like I make one video in a particular fandom and BAM. Really unexpected and VERY flattering :)

oh god i broke comment limit

[mythicbeast.livejournal.com]

I've been trying for a while to express all my feelings about this video without getting maudlin, but I can't seem to avoid that as far as these boys are concerned.

I like your video style, generally, because of its simplicity. Not that I don't think it takes a lot of work to get it the way it is, but I've always thought that it's a testament to how well-crafted something is when you can't see the seams where it's been put together! It's easy to get carried away with the variety of effects you can apply with different programs, but what really carries a video -- what makes it seem effortlessly executed and flowing perfectly -- is when its narrative is well-constructed and the little details are paid attention to. This video is a good example of that!

The song choice helps, since it's one of my favorites and because it's one of those songs that lends itself very well to narrating a story. I've always had a hard time getting into videos where it's a struggle to actually make out the lyrics, since it detracts from paying attention to visuals. More than that, though, it's a song whose lyrics are so dead-on for Dean that I'm flabbergasted I never realized it until I saw this video, and now I know I'll never be able to listen to it without thinking of Dean again.

Moving on to the editing and the clip choice, guh. I could rant on forever about what I felt were some of the most brilliant moments in this clip, but I'll try to keep to a bullet point list:

- How you handled the intro. If you didn't know better, the clips that play before the lyrics start would lull you into a false sense of security about what the vid was going to be about.
- The lines "woke up and wish that I was dead." With the clips from the cemetery and having Dean jolt out of a nightmare, then having him wake up when the last thing he saw was Robo!Sam smiling and (eventually) realizing it wasn't just a nightmare, but something that actually happened. The repetition of the song works so well with the contrast of these two sequences, because even if it's the same verse, it tells a different story.
- The sequence of Dean's life with Ben and Lisa. Essentially the show already does a montage of that, but you've cut the clips so that the action matches the strumming rhythm of the song, and so the overall impression is completely different. The montage in the show focuses on the parallels between life with Sam and Dean as a 'civvie' pretty heavy-handedly (emphasizing just how much Sam is on his mind) but the way you've cut it is almost more effective. You'd only know what was missing if you knew Dean and Sam, and it really fits the "whole world is moving and I'm standing still" concept. It's a little thing, but it made a big impression on me the first time I watched this.
- On the subject of repeated lyrics, you do something quietly brilliant every time "the world spins madly on" comes up, and exhaustively going through them would take a while, but
- "always say goodbye," when Sam leaves again-- not gonna lie, I teared up a little at that, because it's very much true. How many times has Sam left Dean behind (or vice versa) by now?
- "and then he's here" with Cas digging into Robo!Sam-- followed up by "where you've gone" with the shot of Sam in the Cage-- two moments where I felt that the lyrics and the visuals combined to really punch me in the gut.

And the end of the video feels mostly like an affirmation-- whatever else happens, they're still brothers, and they're together, and that's what matters the most.

To conclude, this video is beautiful and gorgeous and I cannot stop watching it again and again to try and catch whatever I missed the first time around.

Two quick links/recs, if you haven't seen them:
a neat animated video set to this same song, which was actually where I first heard it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBk3ynRbtsw) it's what I used to think of when I heard it, but now it's been thoroughly usurped by this one.
in the dark (http://twoskeletons.livejournal.com/173733.html), a fan-made Supernatural-inspired song from Dean's POV. If I was a vidder, I would want to vid this song. *G* This vid reminded me of it only for having a similar narrative premise (ie. Dean at the beginning of S6).

Re: oh god i broke comment limit

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Wow. I am blown away by the length (and depth) of your comment. There is nothing more rewarding than receiving this type of feedback. Thank you so very much.

I'll start at the end of your comment and say it was that very vid (the animated one) that inspired this vid. I loved it when I first saw it and knew that I wanted to vid the song some day. I kept listening to the lyrics and it spoke "Dean" to me.

Thank you so much for mentioning all those moments from the vid. I always hope my intentions translate so it's great to hear when they actually...do.

Your comment has really made my day. Thank you so much for taking to time to leave such a detailed response to my vid.

(and I will take a look at the other vid you linked...thank you..)

xx

[mythicbeast.livejournal.com]

As someone who writes/draws, I have a great appreciation for feedback, so I do my best to leave it where I think it's deserved (even if it's been a while since it was posted)! Supernatural is actually a very recent fandom for me -- I only started watching through the seasons last October -- so I've been spending a lot of time trying to play catch-up with the fandom. It makes me a little sad whenever I run into dead links/deleted journals/vids taken down. It's only natural, I guess, since people inevitably move on a show that's been going for seven seasons, but it's a little disheartening for someone just getting into it. So it's wonderful to come across a fan-portfolio like yours, which has so much for me to look through, across all the seasons.

As I mentioned, drawing/ficcing is really more my thing, so frankly a well-made vid is like ... magic to me. And this really hit me hard, so I thought it deserved a little love, and I thought you might like to know that even all this time later, someone's still discovering and enjoying your work for the first time. I'm really looking forward to whatever you come up with next!

(Oh to clarify, the second link isn't a video, just a link to a post with the lyrics + download link to a song! Sorry if that wasn't clear.)