Vidukon Premiere: Starkville (Xena)

[frayadjacent]

Title: Starkville
Song: "Starkville" by the Indigo Girls
Source: Xena: Warrior Princess
Characters: Gabrielle, Xena (Gabrielle character study)
Content notes: Bright flashes. Institutional and relationship violence (as depicted on the show). Spoilers throughout the series.
Summary: "I chose the way of friendship"
Captions are available on the youtube and vimeo streams. They are also included in the downloadable zip file. If you don't want captions, just delete the .srt file.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you want more specific information about warnings/content notes.

Remastered for 720p (ish -- it's still 4:3) in 2020. 

Download | Vimeo | Youtube

 

Watch on YouTube

If you were here in Starkville
the townie boys would love the way you stare
If you were here in Starkville, the local girls
they wouldn't have a prayer
I spent a reckless night inside the wonder
of your everlasting charm
now I'm haunted by geography
and the flora and the fauna of your heart

At the dawning of some road worn day
I called you on a whim just to say-
The morning birds are singing
but I could not do them justice
so I hung up and fell back to sleep

I'm in love with my mobility
but sometimes this life can be a drag
like when I noticed your nobility
and how my leaving only held you back
I remember one occasion when you were drinking
and you asked me to the coast
but I was hell bent on agony back then
so I missed the boat

At the dawning of some road worn day
I called you a whim just to say
My regrets become distractions
but I can not do them justice
then I hung up and fell back to sleep

When I was down in Starkville
I was hiding out inside some Comfort Inn
from a local gang of troubadors
when the homecoming queen -she come riding in
I slipped out of my room into the rain
and I went running for my health
I watched the headlights turn to moonlight and finally
 I was running by myself

Now it's the dawning of some road worn day
I call you a whim just to say
The morning birds are singing

Comments

[sanguinity]

Water and fire.

I'm gonna have to watch that lots more times, because you've packed a lot in there, coding-wise (an excellent use of the medium!) and I'm still unpacking it as I watch. But I love this epic arc for Gabrielle, where she began as a counter-influence for Xena -- Gabrielle's water to Xena's fire -- and their association shaped Gabrielle every bit as much as it shaped Xena. (The montage about Xena's charm? Oh, that's poignant, given where this vid goes: Gabrielle seeing the laughter instead of the sword.) And I especially love how you drew out the ongoing theme of blood-innocence: the virginity that matters in this show is whether or not you're taken a life. The sequence with the bloody knives, calling out to different points in Gabrielle's arc... Mm. That's real nice, there.

And that opening pair of shots, casting Gabrielle as the river? Beautiful.

This is real nice work.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you!! I'm so happy that the water/fire stuff came through clearly!

The montage about Xena's charm? Oh, that's poignant, given where this vid goes: Gabrielle seeing the laughter instead of the sword.

YES. When I was clipping for this, I was struck by how, at the beginning of the series, Gab was not a pacifist at all. She wanted to go on adventures and become just like Xena! Then she realized "shit -- this is not as awesome as I thought." And yet by the end of the show, she does become a lot like Xena. And I think she loses some of herself in the process, even as she gains so much as well. And it's a choice she makes, in the end, with her eyes open, because she knows that if she wants to live her life with Xena, she's going to have to become someone she doesn't entirely want to be.

Ugh, my feelings.

I especially love how you drew out the ongoing theme of blood-innocence: the virginity that matters in this show is whether or not you're taken a life

Eeeee, I was thinking specifically of you, and some of our converstations about Xena a while back, when I worked on those parts. So glad it worked for you!! :D :D

[sanguinity]

Well, I am pleased, to hear that I was part of the thought-process for this!

I've been feeling some hankering to go back to the beginning and remind myself of who Gabrielle was back then; she changed so much over the course of the show. And yes, those were eyes-wide-open choices that she made, but from among a slate of non-ideal choices. She can make those choices, and feel no "I should have chosen otherwise regret," but still grieve the outcome of those choices. It really is a marvelous Gabrielle vid.

[frayadjacent]

She can make those choices, and feel no "I should have chosen otherwise regret," but still grieve the outcome of those choices.

EXACTLY. Gah I feel you have summed up a good chunk of my vid so well.

If you do rewatch some episodes, I'd be very interested to know what you think.

[chaila]

This is really lovely! I feel I'm missing so many layers of your Xena vids since I've still seen so little of the show, but due to your clip choices the overall narrative arc still seems to come across clearly. The progression of them shaping each other, and Gabrielle choosing Xena in the end, over (along with?) all the conflicting principles were at stake, was very nicely done.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you! It's really great to know that it comes through even if you don't know much about the show. I'm still never sure where to strike that balance in a vid, between legibility to non-fans vs telling a more dense interpretation that relies on source knowledge. With the Xena vids I'm leaning more toward the latter than I've tried to in the past, but I'm really really glad to know that it can still come through at least to some extent.

Over/along with is a good way to put it. Gabrielle loves Xena not just for Xena herself, but because she does good in the world. But Gabrielle also questions Xena's methods a lot, and I think she also fears what kind of person she will become when she lives walking Xena's path. I find it to be an incredibly fascinating and compelling internal moral conflict, and it adds so much depth to their love story, IMO.

[bradcpu]

Beautiful. Really lovely use of motion, overlays, coloring. Such a clear narrative journey but you tell it in such a poetic way. It really feels like it came from the heart.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you!! I've been using some of your vids as examples to try and figure out how to do overlays better, I'm really glad you liked them.

Yes, I have so much <3 for Gabrielle's character arc. Which is funny, cause I usually hate when shows try to take on pacifism.

[china_shop]

This is gorgeous!

[frayadjacent]

Thank you!! <3

[beccatoria]

Dude, this vid is just so fantastic. I think it might actually have been my favourite premiere. I adore lyricism in vids and you use the complicated depth provided so well. One of the most striking moments is Xena's "charm" and your perfect capture of her violent joyful ease. You understand then, it's not the violence that attracts Gabrielle, it's that devilish grin, that freedom. The way the water imagery becomes more forceful and violent, with bloody hands and violent waterfall-fallen impacts and Xena islanded in chains in a lake. Water is powerful and deep, and capable of both defeating fire and causing far more devastation and employing more force. But it's also more thoughtful, more changeable; less simple joy and quick decisions. It's a more complex element capable of many states.

I love how it frames this as Gabrielle's choice. The flames over her at the end, what she's chosen to embrace, but still so much more complicated than either a simple tragedy or an improvement.

It really is an extraordinarily well-constructed vid. And it may just be my perception, but I feel that lyrically dense vids are getting rarer, and I love them so, and this one is so good.

Thank you so much for making it.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you so much for this comment!

it's not the violence that attracts Gabrielle, it's that devilish grin, that freedom.

YES. Ugh Gabrielle, I love her arc so much.

I love your reading of the water stuff. I had been thinking of it mainly along the lines of representing peaceful stillness and life-giving/affirming at first, but then bringing its own chaos and violence. But your addition that "it's also more thoughtful, more changeable; less simple joy and quick decisions. It's a more complex element capable of many states" is incredibly apt for Gabrielle, especially circa S5 & S6 (after she abandons pacifism and chooses life with Xena and all it entails).

[cosmic_llin]

Oh, Gaby! Sorry I was incoherent at Premieres - what I wanted to say is that this is perfect - everything from that first shot of Gabrielle with the flowers, her longing for adventure, everything she learns about the reality of it, everything she goes through and becomes... and then ending on that heartbreaking shot. Ow, my heart.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you! I really do find Gabrielle's character arc to be quite well done, something the show doesn't get enough credit for, IMO. I'm so glad this vid worked for you! <3

[laurashapiro]

Every time you vid Xena, I think 'I've really gotta watch that show.' This time is no exception. You make it look new here, with a great focus on saturated color and speedy cuts on actions, it's got a freshness quite different to other Xena vids I've seen. I sure wish I had the context, though.

Oh, and how great is that blur transition? I've never thought of doing that, but I suspect I will be stealing it.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you! It's great to know you can enjoy the vid without knowing the source. And if you ever want a recommendation of episodes to watch, I'm happy to provide them.

I totally got that transition from rhoboat! We were talking about Gaussian blurs in vidding chat about 4 or 5 months ago, and she mentioned having used it in a transition and showed us the example. I was making "Become You" at the time and LOVED it but it didn't work in that vid. In her case the two clips also had fast camera pans which made it even more awesome. Unfortunately I'm on my phone so I can't find the vid right now, but I remember the transition involved BSG's Six and maybe Olivia Dunham? Anyway there is a small chance I'm misremembering but I'm pretty sure it was Rho.

[laurashapiro]

Oh, cool! I just saw Rho yesterday but we didn't talk about transitions. I'll have to mention it to her. Sidebar: I should hang out in vidding chat sometime. Stupid RSIs.

Anyway! Yes, your vid is lovely.

[frayadjacent]

RSIs are so stupid. D: Though things I can do on my phone (like vidding chat) work better than typing for me.

[laurashapiro]

I am so slow at thumb-typing I suspect it wouldn't wouldn't work, but it's a thought!

[colls]

Oh... wow. You really did a fabulous job with the narrative in this and it flows so nicely.

[frayadjacent]

Thanks so much! I'm glad the narrative and flow can work even if it's been ages since you've seen the show. :D

[alwaystheocean]

Just wanted to say I just re-watched this and it's still incredible. I'll only be echoing what others said above but yeah, the 'charm' thing really jumped out at me this time, likewise the water/fire stuff, and the focus on blood innocence. It's...well, it's just such a good Gabrielle vid, and about the choices she makes and how deliberately she makes them. Ugh, show. <3

[frayadjacent]

Aw, thanks so much for the kind comment!! I think this is still my favorite vid I ever made? It, Everywhere, and Tightrope are the ones I rewatch the most. :D

[endeni]

Oh, wow. Terrific vid! *_*

[frayadjacent]

Thank you!

[thirdblindmouse]

This vid has poetic, flowing visuals in a clear, compelling narrative of Gabrielle's relationship with violence and Xena. I was stunned when I first saw it, but I wanted to write it the comment it deserved, which is a great way to spend six years rewatching a vid without leaving any comment at all.

I love the water motif, the landscape with Gabrielle's life as a river. The serene flowers and fields until Xena comes splashing through, fascinating to Gabrielle.

"The local girls wouldn't have a prayer", Gabrielle taking her first punch, and retreating behind the wall.

"I spent a reckless night inside the wonder" -- Gabrielle splashing through the water, experiencing Xena's life, "your everlasting charm" -- can't watch this and not be a little in love with Xena, and Gabrielle imitating her, though nervous.

The repeated intercutting of Gabrielle's lost direction in the woods, and shaking Xena off.

"In love with my mobility", traveling the world with Xena but drifting behind.

The drum beat and "one occasion when you were drinking" tugging at Xena's arm and Xena shaking her off hits hard.

The branching path, the flowers, the map. And Eli and Najara as Gabrielle tries to decide what is right.

Color returning as her will to protect Xena drives her to discard pacifism.

Just... such a great vid.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you so much for this -- I'm still proud of this vid and it's gratifying to see this commentary. Oh Gab, I love her arc so much.