In Your Honor

Vid
Title:	In Your Honor
Creator:	Halcyon Shift
Date:	December 2005
Format:	.avi
Length:	20MB, 3:18 minutes
Music:	"In Your Honor" by Foo Fighters
Genre:	character study
Fandom:	Farscape
Footage:	Seasons 3 and 4
URL:	offline (but the vid can be requested here
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"In Your Honor" is a Farscape vid by Halcyon Shift. It is a character study of Aeryn Sun and was made for azuremonkey for the uncharted_elves Christmas exchange.

Reactions/Reviews

• "I love the use of effects in this. The sped up footage, levels adjusting and overlays all timed to the music are brilliant. It's far faster paced than any other Farscape video I've seen and I really like that. I haven't seen a great amount of Farscape videos yet, but so many focus on the Talyn!John/Aeryn storyline but yours stands out. I also like that you don't make the obvious parallel between the ghost!John almost kiss from The Choice with that from A Human Reaction, because I've seen it in several videos already."
• "I lovelovelove what you've did with the echoes here, though I thought the echoes got a bit too intense around 2:28ish, and there's some seriously strange turns the song went on, but I love what you did with this! Really really nice!"

This vid was also reviewed by Jebbypal aka DevilWoman, the Thrower of (plot)Bunnies on March 28, 2007, at the reel vidding community:

"Overall impression: A very tightly focused Aeryn-centric vid with a lot of risks taken that definitely pay off in a very unique vid. That said, if you don't like it on first viewing, give it some time. It's such a dense vid, it definitely benefits from multiple viewings.

Titles: The titles flash at 0:14 and then the vidder info flashes in the end. It's a neat effect and blends well with the vid.

Music choice: Knowing that the vid was a gift for (LJ user 'uncharted_elves'), I can't really criticize it much. That said, the emotional intensity of the song fits Aeryn very well post Talyn-John's death.

Narration, Tone and Movement: This is Aeryn's story throughout - her grief, her descent into love with John Crichton, and each obstacle they've overcome: their differences, their respective deaths. The entire vid is laced with the utter desperate love that Aeryn had for John as well as the lengths that she would go to save him, and how much the loss utterly breaks her to the point of wanting their roles reversed. The movement and pace of the vid highlight these feelings with the jerky cuts and bleeding of one scene into another. It's so full that there's a new image or theme discovered on almost every viewing.

Cuts, Transitions, Effects & Colouring/Coloring: Okay, I have to say, I think LD should have waited for a vidder to review this vid simply because my command of the terminology is going to fail me because there are so many effects in this vid. I'm sure I'm going to miss everyone's favorite, but I'll try to hit the highlights. I already mentioned the jerky cuts and flashes that add to the sense of grief and loss -- it really puts you in Aeryn's head post TJ's death and her sense of disconnect. Overlays are also generously used with my favorite being at 0:50 with us seeing another scene behind aeryn's face.

Specific vid & music notes: 1:08 split screen of aeryn drinking and John on dambdaba (sp?) is beautiful. 1:37 overlay of aeryn drinking with her "death" in season 2 finale. 1:42 Story of the star crossed lovers begins with back to season 1 and khaki JOhn. 1:50 One of the obstacles other than death -- craziness! 1:58 So into grief that Aeryn feels up Crais. It fits with the ab story of grief to that of what is grieved (j/a). 2:05 One of many "stutter" frame scenes that are used. But this one of John's death just hits me in just the right place. 2:13 J/A kissing, but speeded up. At normal timing it's hot. Speeded up...I'm melting. 2:23 "Mine is yours, yours is mine" with them kissing and the screen blur. 2:47 The memory scenes of j/a intercut with the floating scene of Aeryn in the prowler chair, drowning. It really underscores how much at this point that she hates the fact that she's been left, alone. Like she told John after the original visit to Dambdaba, "I've always been one of many". Being the one left behind has always been her fear and always will be, which is what makes the next season so damn difficult. 2:50 "Feel the Life" on the cut to another memory sequence of J/A leading to love. All the things she'd miss if she hadn't taken the chance. 3:00 The transitions on the hard "guitar" beat (well, drum beat, i don't think it's the drum specifically. Pretty sure it's a hard guitar riff. See, LD, this is why you should have someone else reviewing this vid. Words fail me when i try to describe sounds and visuals...which probably isn't good). 3:10 We get the ending titles and credits intercut into the vid in flashes.

Final notes:

This vid is so tight and packed that it's almost overwhelming. I honestly didn't care for it on the first viewing, but with each time I watched it (because I knew the failure was mine and not LD's. Technically it's superb), it grew on me a little more. Now when I watch it, I find it hard to believe that there was a time I didn't like it (seriously, I'm not just saying that). I think part of the problem is that many of the fancy cuts and transitions make the viewer have to actively work to tease out the a:b story and even then, it's not your cut and dried a:b story line really. That said, I can't pick a frame or sequence that truly could benefit from being changed. There's nothing wrong with making a "hard" vid just like there's nothing wrong with writing a "hard" story. The consumer just has to be willing to put the effort in to understand the creator's intent. (IMO)."