Club Vivid Premiere: Tightrope (BtVS)

[frayadjacent]

Title: Tightrope
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Song: "Tightrope" by Janelle Monae (edited)
Character: Buffy, Scoobies
Summary: I gotta keep my balance
Content Notes: Covers all 7 seasons, but no real plot spoilers.
Duration: 3:07

Thanks to violace and kiki_miserychic for excellent beta!

Premiered at Club Vivid 2013

Vimeo | Youtube | Download (78 Mb H264 MOV)

"Tightrope (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)" (Watch on Vimeo)

password: tightrope

 

Whoaaa
Another day
I take your pain away

Some people talk about ya
Like they know all about ya
When you get down they doubt ya
And when you tippin on the scene
Yeah they talkin' bout it
Cause they can't tip all on the scene with ya
Talk about it
T-t-t-talk bout it
When you get elevated,
They love it or they hate it
You dance up on them haters
Keep getting funky on the scene
While they jumpin' round ya
They trying to take all your dreams
But you can't allow it

Cause baby whether you're high or low
Whether you're high or low
You gotta tip on the tightrope
T-t-t-tip on the tightrope

Whether you're high or low
Baby whether you're high or low
You got to tip on the tightrope
Now let me see you do the tightrope
And I'm still tippin' on it

See I'm not walkin' on it
Or tryin to run around it
This ain't no acrobatics
You either follow or you lead, yeah
I'm talkin' bout you,
I'll keep on blaming the machine, yeah
I'm talkin' bout it,
T-t-t-talkin' bout it
I can't complain about it
I gotta keep my balance
And just keep dancin on it
We gettin funky on the scene
Yeah you know about it
Like a star on the screen
Watch me tip all on it

Then baby whether I'm high or low
Baby whether you're high or low
You gotta tip on the tightrope
Yeah, tip on the tightrope
Baby, baby, baby
Whether you're high or low
Baby whether you're high or low
Tip on the tightrope
Baby let me see you tight rope
And I'm still tippin' on it

Big Boi:

You gotta keep your balance or you fall into the gap
It's a challenge but I manage cause I'm cautious with the strap
Do damage to your canvas that a doctor cannot patch
See boy you don't want no friction like the back of a matchbook
Daddy Fat Stacks will fold you and your MacBook
Close shows, shut you down before we gon' go backwards
Act up, and whether we high or low we gonna get back-up
Like the Dow Jones and Nasdaq
Sorta like a thong in an ass crack
Come on

I tip on alligators and little rattle snakers
But I'm another flavor
Something like a terminator
Ain't no equivocating
I fight for what I believe
Why you talkin' bout it
S-s-she's talkin' bout it
Some callin me a sinner
Some callin me a winner
I'm callin you to dinner
And you know exactly what I mean
Yeah I'm talkin bout you
You can rock or you can leave
Watch me tip without you

N-N-Now whether I'm high or low
Whether I'm high or low
I'm gonna tip on the tightrope
Baby, baby, baby
Whether I'm high or low
High or low
I got to tip on the tightrope
Now baby tip on the tightrope

You can't get too high
I said you can't get too low
Cause you get too high
No you'll surely be low
1, 2, 3, Ho!

Comments

[chaila]

This editing is so SNAPPY. Great, great use of the song!

[frayadjacent]

Thank you! As you know, this is a fun song to vid. :D

[calvinahobbes]

Fray! OMG I love this so much. I love how expertly you used the stuttery cuts, and I loved how you managed to blend Buffy-the-girl and Buffy-the-Slayer footage to show how she's both, and I thought the first part had a seriousness to it that somehow wasn't negated by everyone dancing in the end. Gosh, so many Scoobie!feels inside me now!!!

[frayadjacent]

Scooby-feels!! Yay! Making this gave them them too. :D I'm glad you liked the Buffy-the-girl and Buffy-the-slayer stuff being put together. Thanks so much for commenting!

[odessie]

Ohhhh, Buffy feels... Love it, fabulous editing - probably the best vid I've seen to this song.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you! Yes it is such a commonly-vidded song! Glad you enjoyed it. <3

[cosmic_llin]

This is awesome!

[frayadjacent]

Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it.

[netgirl_y2k]

Oh, I love this! So much fun, and really made me remember how much I loved Buffy.

[frayadjacent]

It had a similar effect on me! (Making it, I mean.) Thanks for commenting, and I'm so glad you liked it. :D

[d_generate_girl]

This reminds me how awesome BtVS was, and how much I miss it. Perfect song, awesome editing, and some of my favorite clips.

[frayadjacent]

Aw, BtVS is so awesome. Thanks for commenting; I'm glad you enjoyed the vid!

[giandujakiss]

That was amazing! I love how you turned so many kinds of movements into dance - really clever!

[frayadjacent]

Thank you! BTW, I totally studied "Origin Stories" when I was trying to figure out the speed changes that moved to the music. :D

[yourlibrarian]

Yay for this! Such a simple thing and yet I don't think I've ever seen the credits in a spot like that before, but it went so well with the scenes!

[frayadjacent]

Thanks, I'm glad you liked the vid and the credits! Heh, your icon is awesome.

[delwyn_cole]

This is gorgeous. I love that it played with the tension in Buffy (and to a somewhat lesser extent, everyone else) between the duty/calling of being the slayer and the desire to just be a normal girl with a real life, and the balancing act she had to pull off to do that.

Aside from that, the editing was amazing. Every second of it is beautiful.

[frayadjacent]

Oh, thank you so much! Yep, that is Buffy's dilemma -- or one of them, anyway -- and I'm glad it came through in the vid. :D

[grammarwoman]

So many happy Scooby feels! :D

[frayadjacent]

\o/ Yay Scooby feels!!

[deird1]

That was awesome.

Scuse me while I watch it a few thousand more times and then go track down the rest of your vids... *scoots off*

[frayadjacent]

Thank you!! Though, huh, I do believe my vidding has improved since my last BtVS or AtS vid...still I'm so glad you liked it, and thanks for commenting!!

[cass404]

Amazing editing!

[frayadjacent]

Thank you! :D

[violace]

I probably already said everything back when I first saw it, but it still makes me dance! Such great editing, and I really like what you did with the credits.

[frayadjacent]

Hooray! Also, shit! I totally didn't credit my betas! Editing now...

And thanks for commenting, and I'm glad you liked the credits. :D

[lilly_the_kid]

I'm a bit late, but anyway... Awesome vid! I love the movement and the energy. BUFFY, BUFFY, BUFFY! :D

[frayadjacent]

And I am even later in my reply -- thank you!! I'm so glad you liked it. :D :D

[anoel]

I LOVE this vid!! The intro is absolutely wonderful and I love how it all leads up to Buffy. The motion in this especially in and between the clips is so awesome, it makes it so much fun to watch. I loved how you show Buffy taking down the haters and used the lyrics so well. I love the bridge when you bring in the rest of the Scoobies with the same amount of love and affection you show for Buffy. The end is PERFECT with the dorky dancing and I love how you show the fun side of Buffy as well. This vid gave me so much nostalgia at CVV and I'm so glad you made such a wonderful vid for the show!

[frayadjacent]

Aw, this comment melts/warms my heart!! Thank you for pointing out those elements that you enjoyed -- that is exactly the stuff I was going for! (Not that it was like, a dense vid, ha!)

Yay for dorky dancing!

[boomqueen]

I loved this! Such slick, fun editing and great use of movement <3

[frayadjacent]

Thank you so much!

[andraste]

This is wonderful, and using the Scoobies for the rap break was a stroke of genius.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you so much!! :D

[kiki_miserychic]

I'm totally biased in LOVING this vid because I helped beta it. And I adore it to pieces. I adore the visuals that were added and there's great care in how the vid was made, if that makes sense. Like, I can tell that you love and enjoyed it.

[frayadjacent]

Aw, thanks so much! And thanks again for your beta. :D I'm really glad to hear that my enjoyment of this vid came through, because you're right -- I did love making it. What can I say -- Buffy is my girl. <3

[goodbyebird]

OH MY GOD YOU HAD THEM DO THE TIGHTROPE!!!!
This was great fun and well constructed, enjoyed muchly <3

[frayadjacent]

Thank you!! And thanks so much for the rec -- it totally made my day. :D

[thraceadams]

This was FABULOUS!!!

[frayadjacent]

Thank you so much! :D

[wisdomeagle]

Nice!

[frayadjacent]

Thank you!!

[thirdblindmouse]

I don't remember if I ever told you how much I loved this.

The angle this vid approaches Buffy from is wonderful. I've seen plenty of vids about her problems and frustrations before, but never one that focused on her normal life frustrations -- which include demons and epic romance, because she is the Slayer, but also jobs and social embarrassment, because she's also Buffy. The intro with all the other high schoolers is funny and fresh. It's a surprisingly rare element in vids, given that the social consequences of her calling are one of the major frustrations of Buffy's life. Fuck it, she's going to prom no matter what! \o/

I love all the matching on action in this vid, especially the cut from the construction equipment she's moving too fast to the knights galloping up toward her trailer. Love the movement of dancing(?) with Riley, the little thumbs up, and the juggling curtsy (and being handed the ball), and all the sighs and eye rolls. Willow shaking out her hands! The pencil cup! Buffy being badass!

The musicians and dancers at the beginning and end also crack me up. And the end sequence in general.

[frayadjacent]

Omg, what a wonderful comment! Um, thank you for making my day? You hit so much of what I was going for here, which is such a delight to read.

I'm glad the matching action works. I came into this vid with the goal of using action and motion as a primary driver in clip choice. While I did accomplish that far more than any other vid I've made, I found my inclination toward narrative over all other considerations creeping in. In the end I'm happy with the balance I struck, but I do still someday want to make a vid that is mostly about motion.

[red_satin_doll]

I came into this vid with the goal of using action and motion as a primary driver in clip choice.

HOW did I miss this vid? Or not comment on it? HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?

*ahem* In other words, I loved it. :)

I'm probably not going to be very articulate today, so I should probably just say, "What thirdblindmouse (and everyone else) already said" and leave it at that. I can say that this is one of the few "upbeat" or "silly" btvs vids I've enjoyed, in part because comedy is harder IMO but in part because I love that there's actually more going on here than meets the eye/ear. The tempo is upbeat but the images remind me again and again that Buffy's story is "keep on keeping on" and that's part of what makes here a hero, and something I think every one of us can identify with on some level. We've all "been there", trying to balance all the demands made of us without losing a hold of ourselves. A friend of mine made a film about her mother years ago and ended it with the voice-over line "Southern women endure". I say, "WOMEN endure" - because we have to, and Buffy embodies that. She endures.

The editing here is first-rate (and you know I have a kink for that sort of thing) esp as the video goes along; Chaila's description of the editing as "snappy" is perfect; maybe the most sophisticated of any of your buffy vids in terms of the technical aspects - there's a lot of different effects being used here, overlaps, collage, speeding the film to match the music, but none of them scream "look at me I'm using cool effects just for the sake of using them!" (which I saw a lot of once they switched from film to digital editing when I was in college.) What I remember is the overall effect of the video, and none of those single moments interrupts the flow of things.

I wasn't familiar with this song before but it's great because it provides variety in the tempo and rhythm that you work with wonderfully, so it isn't all "rapid cut/rapid cut/ rapid cut..." there's moments to slow down and catch my breath so to speak. You've used a lot of shots that are unfamiliar to me or I don't see as often in vids. And you have sections for both villains and the SG on their own, so you've maintained the "gen" quality of the show, with Buffy as the protagonist and hero, while the ships are tangental and part of the story here as they were in the series but not the main event. (Plus, Buffy knocking Riley on his ass is always a win for me. )

Two tiny conceits: 1) Kudos for putting up the name of musical artist, as you did with The Making of a Slayer (oh that all vidders would do so!) but as a viewer I'd appreciate seeing the title of the song as well (as nvrbnkisst does with her vids). A lot of people seem to be familiar with the songs being used but I tend not to be; a lot of fanvids have been my intro to new-to-me songs and artists;
2) you've used so many fresh or rarely-used images that I think ending on a likewise underused image rather than the Chosen smile (which is so overused - and for obvious reasons of course) would have been a stronger finish. But off the top of my head I can't think of what that other image "should" be.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you so much for your comment! I'm sorry it took me a while to respond -- I wanted to give it the response it deserves.

I posted this vid in August, which, if I remember correctly, was when some pretty crappy things were going down in your life and keeping you off the internet? So that might be why you didn't see the vid?

The tempo is upbeat but the images remind me again and again that Buffy's story is "keep on keeping on" and that's part of what makes here a hero, and something I think every one of us can identify with on some level.

Yes! This is so gratifying to read, because it's exactly the sort of thing I was going for. Heh, now I am awash not only in Buffy feels but also in glee for getting one of those "someone got my vid!" moments. :D

What I remember is the overall effect of the video, and none of those single moments interrupts the flow of things.

Awesome! That is also fantastic to hear. I actually err on the side of low/no effect vidding, though as I've gotten more comforable with the tech side of it I'm letting myself explore the creative uses of it a bit. This is definitely my most techy vid to-date.

You've used a lot of shots that are unfamiliar to me or I don't see as often in vids.

Heh, that's because I spent about two months going through every single episode to find clips. :D

as a viewer I'd appreciate seeing the title of the song as well
That's a really good suggestion! I usually have the title of my vid be the title of the song, and only give the song title if I choose a different vid title. But there's no reason why a viewer should know that! I have to admit I'm pretty bad about remembering what to put on titles, but yeah this should definitely go there.

I'm also not happy with the ending, but for somewhat different reasons. I don't mind using over-used clips if it's for good reasons, and in this case the idea was that once Buffy (or, er, Willow) enacts the Empowerment Spell then that tightrope she's walking gets easier. I think it was a good idea, but I didn't execute it clearly and so it just comes off like a super generic ending.

If I do ever come up with an idea of how to convey that concept clearly, I might very well go back and remake the end of that vid, because I'd be *really* happy with it if it had a different ending. Given how much time and thought I've put into that question though (basically none), it's not likely. Well, hopefully a lesson learnt for the future, anyway.

[rbfvid.livejournal.com]

I'm very late here, but I couldn't just lurk without saying how much I love this vid. That’s just excellent editing and one of the best uses of tempo change I’ve ever seen.

[frayadjacent]

Ooh, thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked the vid and that you commented! Also, hilarious icon!!

[shallowness]

This was brilliant. It's so ebullient and witty and reminded me of how likeable Buffy was and a nice twist, especially in the use of footage of dancing and movement other than the fighting, on the show.

[frayadjacent]

Thank you so much for your kind comment! I'm glad you enjoyed the vid, it was a lot of fun to make. :D