Vividcon/Vividcon 2011

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"Vividcon 2011 Warnings: Kittens. Kryptonite unicorns. Absolutedestiny." ~ Morgan Dawn

"Vividcon VividCry 2011" ~ sdwolfpup

Overview

10th anniversary program cover featuring all the llamas that have been used on previous program guides (along with a few that have not). It reads: "All our llamas belong to you" and is a play on words based on the Internet meme "All your base belong to us"."

The convention celebrated its 10th anniversary under the direction of the new con chair, renenet. Unlike in repvious years, the convention did not sell out immediately. In addition to panels and themed vid shows, 2011 saw the continuation of Vividcon traditions, including Vid Karaoke and Club Vivid. Two special events were held in memory of Sandy Herrold who had passed a few weeks before the convention: the "Remembering Sandy In Vids" vid show and a quiet room memorial on Saturday night.

Other programming included: the Vid Review of all the premiering vids along with an in depth review of two selected vids. Two attendees, anoel and settiai took extensive notes of the review which can be found here and here. The two vids chosen for the In-depth Vid Review were sisabet's Game of Thrones vid, Thistle and Weeds, and kuwdora's Stargate SG1 vid, High Voltage.

As one attendeed explained: "vid review gave me a whole new insight into vids and vidding and vidding for vividcon. it was fascinating to hear people talk about building narrative and emotion in vids, what (not) to do in vids for the premiere show, matching songs to source texts, the difference it makes to be familiar or not familiar with the source when watching a vid (and perhaps what to keep in mind when you are making a vid for premieres when not everyone will be familiar with the show/film you're vidding)."

Programming: Panels

An attendee, anoel took extensive panel notes that can be found here. Briefer panel notes by franzeska are here.

Vids in Academia

• Mod: Tisha Turk
• Description: Come find out about the experiences of VividCon attendees who are also professional academics writing and doing research on vids. Learn what academics are saying about vids in print and at academic conferences; hear about how audiences have been responding; ask questions about any part of our work. Geek factor will be high, but we promise to keep the jargon to a minimum.

Aspects of Aspect Ratio

• Mod: jarrow
• Description: Mystified by why everyone's faces are so stretched? (Or why your friends are telling you they're stretched when it looks fine to you?) Does the math of ratios and dimensions and letterboxing make your head hurt? And what the hell are you supposed to do when working with multiple sources using different ratios? Join jarrow and lolachrome for a user-friendly breakdown of aspect ratio and the mysteries therein. After a general chat, we'll break out into PC & Mac groups to address specific issues on each platform.

Constructed Reality (paired with vidshow)

• Mod: Greensilver
• Description: What defines a constructed reality? Where are lines drawn between non-canon pairing vids, original non-canon narratives, and meta? We'll discuss kinds of constructed realities and what separates them from other genres of vids, and go over technical methods of construction with examples of visual matching, manipulation and more.

Comics Vidding

• Mod: sisabet
• Description: Who, what, how? Is there a secret? Do we need to brainstorm? How do we make this happen and happen successfully.

In the Spotlight: Why Are We Here?

• Mod: Dualbunny
• Description: Whether you started vidding on VCRs, only recently opened your first video editing program or you just like to kick back and watch vids from a safe distance, you have thoughts about them! Notions and opinions about technique, technology, art, music, and what exactly makes each of us stick it out when a fannish high turns highly frustrating. No single Vividcon panel can cover all of these topics (without a TARDIS), but we can have a fabulous time failing in the attempt! Come join us to jump in and share your own thoughts, hear all kinds of interesting viewpoint, and help us create new and wonderful time-eating vid-talk tangents!

Photoshop for Vidding Redux

• Mod: Milly
• Description: A revised version of the panel presented in 2009, now with more uses for Photoshop in vidding! This panel will walk you through a sampling of the many things the program can be used for, from the purely shiny to more complex applications. We will start off with a short Photoshop 101 and files will also be available for you to download before the panel so you can follow along (bring your laptops!).

Setting: It's Where You Are (paired with vidshow)

• Mod: sweetestdrain
• Description: Dense forests, labyrinthine prisons, long hallways, sprawling vistas, the streets of Rome ... every vid contains setting -- the place and time in which our characters find themselves -- but often our focus lies elsewhere. This panel will discuss elements of setting (time, location, mise-en-scene, etc.), the effect that certain settings have on an audience, and how this is put to work in vids (using the vids from the show as beginning examples).

Tears and Cheers: Big Emotion (paired with vidshow)

• Mod: Eunice
• Description: This panel will focus on strategies for building a connection with your audience and getting the most emotional bang out of your source. Leave them weeping tears of sadness or joy, fists clenched in anger or hands clapping in glee, falling in love or just falling apart, we'll talk about how to get there.

Ultimate Vidsong: A Case Study

• Mod: Joyo. Panel notes by franzeska are here.
• Description: Song Choice is considered by many to be the most important part of a vid. Of hugely popular music, why do some songs attract so many vids--in some cases over decades--where others rarely see a vidlet? Are all vids to the same song effectively the same vid or is there really an "ultimate vidsong" that can be made new with each new work? Join in as we explore these questions and more as we boldly go where many a vidder has gone before.

The Vividcon Vid Quiz

• Mod: AbsoluteDestiny
• Description: Test your knowledge of premiering vividcon vids of yore at AbsoluteDestiny's vid quiz! Watch clips of vids and write your answers - its fun for vidders and vidfans alike! Can you identify a vid from its intro? Do you know the year it premiered? Can you remember the vidder of that Stargate vid with the thing and the other thing? If not, do not fear as you will have help - everyone will be assigned to a random team with answers put onto a team sheet pub-quiz style. The team with the most right answers wins a vid made just for them!

Programming:Vidshows

Remembering Sandy in Vids

• Description: Dedicated to the work of Sandy Herrold, who lost her battle with cancer earlier this month. Sandy was a huge presence at VividCon over the years--as a vidder, a vid reviewer, a VJ, a panel mod, a volunteer, a karaoke singer, and always as the most infectious laugh in the room.

Constructed Reality (paired with panel)

• VJs: lierdumoa and Greensilver
• Description: Crossovers, AUs, original stories built on external source and manipulated footage: they're all constructed reality vids.

Heavy Metal

• VJ: Destina
• Description: Cars, guns, and robots: three delicious staples of the fannish diet.

Riot Grrls

• VJ: gwyneth
• Description: Riot Grrls: Women in action. There are more women in action shows and movies than ever before, so let's celebrate some chicks kicking ass and taking names.

Setting: It's Where You Are (paired with panel)

• VJ: sweetestdrain
• Description: Dense forests, labyrinthine prisons, long hallways, sprawling vistas, the streets of Rome ... every vid contains setting -- the place and time in which our characters find themselves -- but often our focus lies elsewhere. This vidshow will focus on vids that use these specific elements of setting (rooms, structures, landscapes, etc.) to carry major symbolic, emotional, or narrative weight.

Tears and Cheers: Big Emotion (paired with panel)

• VJ: Greensilver
• Description: Showcasing vids that form strong emotional connections with their audience, from the heights of hope and joy to the depths of bitterness and sorrow. These vids are portraits of love, loss, longing, and sheer exuberance, and they all convey big emotion.

Threesomes/Triangles/Trios

• VJs: Sarah T. and geekturnedvamp
• Description: A vidshow about the entanglements, romantic or otherwise, that can arise between three people, from OT3s to love triangles to families to partnerships plus one. In short: why should pairings have all the fun?

Totally Rad Vids

• VJs: sisabet and Dualbunny
• Description: All 80s, all the time! It's time for big hair, tight pants, and livin' it up while we're going down. Actual hairspray, shoulderpads, and acid-wash jeans not included (but ohmygawd they would be so totally bitchin', please bring your own)!

Go West, Young Vid!

• VJ: RadixIsCat
• Description: For everyone that has ever found themselves daydreaming that they should have been a cowboy ... vidder. And for those of us that just want to be along for the ride! Good, bad, or gloriously gray (nope, not a typo ;D), they're all saddled up and searching for that perfect sunset.

History of VividCon

• VJ: Cesperanza
• Description: Vividcon: This is Your Life! Join us for a celebration of a decade in vids and a tour through the Vividcons of years past.

Nearly New Part 1 and Nearly New Part 2

• Description: This show is also made up entirely of vidder submissions. Like the name says, it's for vids that are new since the last VividCon, but that have been shown at a previous con, or have been released publicly in a collection or online. If we receive more vids than can be shown during the Nearly New show, first choice vids by Attending members receive priority. After that, the VJs may exercise discretion in selecting for variety and balance of vidders and fandoms. Unfortunately, if you are not a member, we may not have room for your submission in the show.

Non-attending Premieres

• This show is made up entirely of premiering vids submitted by vidders who will not be attending VividCon. Like Premieres, the VJs only determine the play order, although they may be forced to eliminate some vids if we receive too many submissions.

Premieres - Part 1

Premieres - Part 2

Club Vivid

• Club Vivid is our Friday night dance party. The vids shown at this event are a mix of old and new vids set to danceable music. A concom member will serve as VJ, as the playlist for this event is three hours long, and requires more advance prep than the other shows. In past years, vids submitted directly to Club Vivid were generally accepted, but with a larger pool of danceable vids available, we continue to refine our methods for designing this playlist. In 2005, we initiated a challenge for encouraging new Club Vivid vids: the Club Vivid Challenge, and it has become a yearly event. We take suggestions for dance songs from the vid community at large, andthe concom then pares down the list to a manageable size. This is done purely on the merits of the songs, trying to keep danceability, balance, and variety in mind. Some of these songs were pre-claimed by the vidders who suggested them. The remaining list is then posted to the [info]vividcon LiveJournal along with a deadline for uploading.. Vidders who want to play chose a song from the list, and comment to claim it. In addition to new vids, the Club Vivid playlist includes past favorites.

Challenge vidshow

• Each year at the Dead Dog Panel, we discuss ideas for the theme which will become next year's Vid Challenge. Past challenge themes have been "Dreams," "Luck," "Milestones," " Faith," "Fuck You," "IDIC," and "Self-portrait." 2011's Challenge theme is "Blast From the Past." The Challenge show is a double-blind show. To submit a vid for this show, you must agree to remain anonymous, and submit your vid without any vidder credits. You may use a beta, of course, but should otherwise keep your identity as secret as possible. This means also keeping it a secret that you are submitting a vid -- in other words, we ask that you please share in the spirit of the anonymous entry nature of the show, and refrain from talking about your vid even in general terms until after the show. Following the vidshow, the audience will have open discussion and critique of the vids. You may choose to reveal yourself as the vidder after this discussion takes place, if you choose, but it's up to you. Collaborations are allowed. The vids for this show are not chosen by a VJ; all challenge vids will be shown.

Auction vidshow

• This vidshow is for the VividCon auction vids, which are created by volunteer vidders for a specific winning bidder in an online auction. The funds are donated to the con, to help pay for things like extra catering, glowsticks at Club Vivid, equipment upgrades, and other benefits for the membership. You do not have to be a member to bid or to auction off a vid, however. A different group of volunteer vidders are chosen each year, and if we have more volunteers than we need, the choice is made based on the number of different fandoms a vidder can offer. The auction winners and vidders will each receive a DVD of the auction vids.

Con reports

"Right now I want to talk about this. And then I stared at the text box for ten minutes trying to think where to go next with 'this' because 'this' was so...indescribable. But, okay, you know absolutedestiny's Up vid that premiered? If you haven't yet seen it please do (have tissues on hand). So there's a moment at the end where Carl is looking at the Adventure Book where Ellie has written "Thanks for the adventure, now go have a new one."

That. That was Vividcon this year. Old friends paging through the depth and history of this shared experience that will never be the same now that it is permanently altered by the Sandy shaped hole, sometimes through tears and sometimes through laughter, always with love. You. You are important. You are wanted. You are missed. You make my day that much happier. You listened. You laughed. This is what I saw over and over, people not forgetting to say that to each other now. Remembering that it matters. And not forgetting tomorrow, the new faces who bring new memories, new friendships, new connections. Time to have new adventures. Not to replace the old ones, but to honor them.

This is the year Vividcon flew under a sea of balloons and came home ready to face what comes next with new friends by our side. And I feel honored to have shared that with you all.

I have returned from VividCry 2011! No, seriously, I’m pretty sure I’ve never cried so much during a public event. I had an amazing time, but for many reasons it was a very emotional weekend. It was also the best, most transformative VVC I’ve had since my very first one in 2004. My first VVC, I was worried that I wouldn’t feel a part of the community, and by the end I felt incredibly accepted and I knew I had found my fannish people. This year I was worried that the community I’ve loved for so many years would no longer be my home but instead I came away filled with renewed dedication and love for these people and our hobby. (I seem to say every year how this was the Best VVC ever, but I really mean it this time. <3)

It felt like the whole weekend was this very complex alchemy that made it so emotional. It was the 10th anniversary of the con; I had the feeling that I’d been gone for two years, even though I did go last year, but the way it fell out with Puplet I did not get to invest myself as much in the con happenings as normal; and of course so many of us were under the umbrella of Sandy’s death. I’ll talk more about this when I do my actual con report, but as often as I expected to see (or hear!) her and didn’t, it also kind of felt like her presence was there.

Anyway, sweetestdrain and I counted, and I cried during nine vids on Saturday alone, which is a VVC record for me. Not to mention I would start crying whenever anyone talked in any specific way about fan_eunice’s Marley & Me vid or absolutedestiny’s Up vid."

In years past, I would walk up to some of my favorite vidders and ask them about their creative process or what they were working on. This time, I found myself wanting to know instead that their life is going well, and that they're happy. I wanted to catch up.

It felt a lot less like a "vidding convention" for me and more like a family reunion.

As usual, everyone was wonderful to be around. No matter who I found in front of me, there was always a warm, engaging, and often surprising conversation to be had. And so much fun!

Two weekends ago was Vividcon. It blew me away. I was expecting the intense happiness of getting to meet friends finally in person, and talking nonstop of fannish things, but the friendliness and inclusiveness bowled me over. Almost everyone was welcoming and happy to hang out with a complete n00b like me, even the vidding BNFs. And such a world of fandoms! I got to gush about "Grease 2" and SGA and BSG, all in the space of a few minutes. Club Vivid was so much amazeballs fun that I wish it were a monthly event. And the vids! OMG the vids. Someday I aspire to make something half as good as what was shown. I am so going back next year if I can.

• franzeska, a first time attendee recorded her thoughts on the Premiere Show here, along with her general thoughts about the convention here and here.
• greensilver talks about pulling her Constructed Reality vid show at the last minute and her choices in selecting vids for her Big Emotion vid show here.

Notable premiering vids

Placeholders for now

• dualbunny's Vividcon 2011 Premieres Intro Vid, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the convention.
• absolutedestiny's "Up" vid (May I Suggest)
• greensilver, dualbunny and sweetestdrain's Smallville vid (I Swear)
• diannelamerc's meta Club Vivid vid Club Tik Tok, set to the song "Tick Tock"

Twitter

(#vividcon), (#clubvivid), (#VVC)

• "Catbaby lives! #vividcon #catbaby."
• "#VVC #vividcon on man, some awesome comedy vids in this half of nearly new. Complete win!"
• "vividcon made Clark Kent have a kitten. Whut. #catbaby."
• "Vid review and #vividcon in general are much more helpful when you don't have a premiere."
• "vividcon #VVC waiting for sandy vidshow to start. Plan on crying a bit, then resting before club vivid."
• ""The video was very effective from a pelvic standpoint" #vividcon #vvc"
• "i solemnly vow to go to vividcon in 2012."
• "Geekiest part of a geeky weekend: excellent aspect ratio panel. I will conquer this yet!"
• "Overall impression of the #vividcon premieres (+ challenge) is that they are an inside joke for someone else. Feel v. left out of the fun."
• "I think kittens should be mandatory in all #vividcon 2012 vids. Happy kittens!"
• "Lots of heavily crying people at the end of the Big Emotion show. All complaints and/or kleenex charges can be directed to Eunice #vividcon."