One Thing
| Vid | |
|---|---|
| Title: | One Thing |
| Creator: | Kazbaby |
| Date: | October 2, 2004 (original version); April 2, 2007 (re-edit by vidder) |
| Format: | wmv |
| Length: | 04:15, 26.6MB |
| Music: | "One Thing" by Finger Eleven |
| Genre: | het, John Crichton/Aeryn Sun |
| Fandom: | Farscape |
| Footage: | Seasons 1-4 |
| URL: | Original version at Farscape Fantasy Re-Edited Version |
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One Thing is a Farscape het vid by Kazbaby. The pairing is John Crichton/Aeryn Sun.
Reactions/Reviews
It was reviewed by mresundance (the sundance kid) at the reel vidding community on March 27, 2009:
Overall impression: A good vid with a coherent narrative arc (beginning, middle, climax, end) and some genuinely poetic and touching moments. I recommend it for fans of Farscape especially, as there are moments they might gravitate towards and find touching.
First off, I must apologize to the vidder for the nearly year long wait for this review. You have been entirely patient and I thank you for it. I hope this gives you what you were looking for.
Titles: The titles are conveyed partially through an audio clip at the start. This is interesting and in some ways, adds to the themes and the story. The end credits are nice and subtle and give credit where credit is due.
Music choice: A particularly strong song choice for John. In some ways the vidder might have exploited the source material more and married the images better to the song, particularly the constant low drumbeat which plays throughout the song, resounding like a heartbeat. I think it might’ve been very cool to pick up on this “heartbeat” and tie it more into the vid and the themes. But that’s just me.
The timing in the vid was very strong and I didn’t pick up any timing slips. Yay!
Narration, Tone and Movement:
Narration: The narrative POV (John’s) is clear and doesn’t slip. Very well done indeed, as I find that POV is one of the primary things that many vidders struggle with. The narration has a strong plot arc, with a well established beginning, middle, climax-of-the-action and an ending. Also, something which some vidders struggle with, but basic story structure is always something which provides a rewarding experience for the viewers – because if done right, it brings us very smoothly and coherently along on the journey of the story. I had no problems with understanding what John-as-narrator was trying to tell us as the audience.
Tone: The tone is serious and introspective for the most part, as revealed by the frequent use of slower shots and even repeated footage which suggests some kind of contemplation (internalization) on John’s part. This of course, contributes well to the strong POV as well.
Movement: There is some strong use of movement in some sections of this vid, but I thought that occasionally the slow shots or repeat use of similar shots could make the movement in this vid a little static. Finding shots with more movement, internal or external, might’ve added some nice texture and moved things a long a little more gracefully, lending this vid a little more poetry on some levels.
Cuts, Transitions, Effects and Coloring:
Cuts and Transitions: A fair combination of straight cuts with longer, dissolve/fading transitions and even some overlays. I think the vidder demonstrated good use of all of these and there was nothing that stuck out to me as “wrong” or out of place.
Effects: Minimal use of effects, which was a good choice. It is within keeping of the POV (John is really not that flashy as a character) and allows the clips themselves to tell the story.
Coloring: There is de-saturation and sephia coloring in portions of this vid which made sense to the narrative whole and complimented the story to an extent. I don’t know that the use of colors (or de-saturation) wowed me, but it again, it wasn’t distracting and I understood what it meant and how it functioned within the narrative.
Specific vid and music notes:
0:09 – 0:24 – This initial clip of the fire and the audio sets the slow, contemplative tone of the vid. Initially, I was confused about this clip, but when I got to the ending, which features the fire again, overlayed with John, I understood it to mean something akin to “John going through the fire”. He’s walking through the fires of his life to the one thing he cares about. It is not immediately accessible, but I think it is beautiful, simple, and poetic on some levels.
0:28 – 0:30 – This is the only clip choice which struck me as very out of place. I don’t quite understand what Zhan has to do with John/Aeryn, per se, and the clip is from a particularly strange episode in the series which seems to contradict/wrongly contrast the contemplative tone of the vid.
1:29 – 1:31 – Strong and lovely use of external movement here. <3
3:01 – 3:09 – The clip choices, movement and timing of this section are impeccable.
Final notes: More use of movement and more varied clip choices would’ve pushed this vid from being good to having an additional “wow” factor.
In many cases there were shots which were similar looking used throughout the vid, which sometimes made the vid not so visually engaging on some levels. I call it having “static” use of imagery which is sufficient, but it doesn’t always move the vid along or keep things interesting.
The main problem I had was the footage of Aeryn. She is a gorgeous woman and not simply because she is physically beautiful. From the moment she and John met she was a dynamic and captivating character. For the most part, the clips of Aeryn in this vid are so still and static and lack, to me, the very essence of her character, and the very essence of what must have drawn John to her. She is not simply pretty to look at, but she is fun, challenging, engaging. Perhaps she works as a trope in this vid – a representation rather than a full character – and a representation of meaning to John, primarily (that “one thing”). But I just think in his eyes he loves her because she is akin to a force of nature which entered his life. I would’ve been nice to see more of that from John’s POV. I also think it would’ve added more depth to this vid to have Aeyrn be more, well “active” rather than passive in some ways.
But overall, a good vid, a strong vid in many places, and very much worth watching.