New vid: "Burn the Mazes"

[frayadjacent]

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (S1-S6)
Characters: Willow & Warren
Song: Virgin State of Mind
Artist: K's Choice
Download: 45 mb mp4

Password: burn

"Burn The Mazes" (Watch on Vimeo)

A Willow character vid that also emphasizes similarities between her and Warren.  As in the series, I'm using Warren as a foil for Willow, not really as a character in his own right. 

It occurs to me that this vid comes off as pretty anti-Willow.  I have mixed feelings about her character.  My first time watching the series I had SO MUCH LOVE for this girl.  When Tara came into the picture (and I realized their relationship wasn't going to just be a short-term, subtexty ratings boost) I about died of happiness.  Then Willow started acting in all sorts of appalling ways, and her characterization was so well-done, and it all flowed so naturally from what came before, that I started re-interpreting everything I'd loved or sympathized with about her before.  Suddenly her cuteness became just another way for her to hide her insecurity.  And that insecurity itself was colored by the ways she would come to manipulate people instead of just dealing with her problems.  Even the excitement of watching her grow into a powerful character was diminished by knowing how she'd use that power against her loved ones, and by reflecting on what exactly motivates her to become powerful in the first place.  I've come back around and have made peace with Willow -- there's still a lot to love -- but I'll never again adore her quite like I did at first. 

While I was excited about this vid when I started, it quickly became a side project I worked on alongside "Deeds That Have Made Me" and "Under Stars".  I'm OK with how the vid makes its point, but there is something a little, I dunno, lackluster? about it.  It comes down to song choice.  Intellectually this song is great for the point I'm trying to make, both in lyrics and music.  Whedon chose it for "Doppelgangland" for a reason.  But musically this song just doesn't push my bottons like other vid-music I've chosen, and that makes me less enthusiastic about vidding it.  I'd like to vid songs according to how well they fit the vid, not according to my personal taste, but at the same time I might have learned something about my vidding process from this experience.  I can't just intellectually know that "this song screams Willow, and not just cause Joss already said so!"  I have to feel it, too.

By the way, when I was almost finished with this vid I read some comments on vidpub that implied it was some kind of vidding no-no to use a song that's actually used in the fandom you're vidding.  I don't really get that, but I likely won't be doing this again anyway, so it doesn't matter too much.

Lyrics:
There's a chair in my head on which I used to sit
Took a pencil and I wrote the following on it

Now there's a key where my wonderful mouth used to be
Dig it up, throw it at me
Dig it up, throw it at me

Where can I run to, where can I hide
Who will I turn to now I'm in a virgin state of mind

Got a knife to disengage the voids that I can't bear
To cut out words I've got written on my chair

Like do you think I'm sexy
Do you think I really care

Can I burn the mazes I grow
Can I, I don't think so

Can I burn the mazes I grow
Can I, I don't think so

Where can I run to, where can I hide
Who will I turn to now I'm in a virgin state of mind
Virgin state of mind
Virgin state of mind
Virgin state of mind

Comments

[dragonyphoenix]

I thought this was amazing until Warren came into the picture, and then I mostly felt confused because I didn't get why he was there. I'm guesstimating that doing both a Willow character vid and also adding a comparison of Willow to Warren dissipated the focus of the vid. I think you probably would have been better off doing one or the other.

Having said that, now that I know to expect Warren, I'm enjoying the vid overall. I think the song is perfect. It's haunting music goes quite well with the darker Willow arc.

I don't do vids myself so I didn't know it was off limits to use songs from the show. That doesn't really make any sense to me.

[frayadjacent]

Hi there, thanks for watching and for the comment. I'm glad the vid more or less works for you.

I disagree that I should have made the vid about one or the other -- one of the main points of the vid was their similarities. Their insecurities, their aspirations, how they treat their partners. Warren was in many ways a foil for Willow, and this vid tried to bring that out.

That being said, it obviously has surprised many a viewer to have Warren introduced halfway through. If I made this vid now, I'd definitely introduce him much earlier. I can totally see how that throws viewers out of the vid.

Thanks again for stopping by!

[dragonyphoenix]

When I said "one or the other" I meant it should either have been about Willow's arc - since it starts long before Warren shows up - OR it should have been about the similarities between Willow and Warren. It seems to be that you were trying to do both her arc and the similarities between the two.