Friday, February 15, 2008

it's business time

well, now that i've actually pondered some of the things i'm going to actually cover for this thesis, i'm going to have to get down to business. i believe that it's important to connect with your potential research participants and subjects in more than just a superficial manner, and i've made some great friends out of my previous fieldwork endeavours. the only problem is, now i'm a) on the other side of the world, making old contacts a bit harder to reach, and b) doing the majority of my research online with people i'll never meet.

and so, i'm going to make this blog a place for us to connect, shoot the breeze, and to debate and/or make fun of my various insane ideas. i've revamped the sidebars and links sections and hope to have a new layout at some point as well, so here's to the future of this blog!

and here's hoping i make it out of this thesis (mostly) intact.

my next post will hopefully detail a few of the things i want to cover over the course of my writing. 'til then!

Monday, February 11, 2008

thesis topic FINALLY chosen

okay, so i finally had a proper meeting with two professors here at uni about my thesis topic, and it now seems that i will be (honestly and truly) writing my MA on fan music vids.

totally.

and the best part was the two profs seemed really interested/fascinated by the entire topic. i was surprised, let me tell you! there are a ton of aspects of this that could potentially be covered, and they both seemed worried that i would have too much to write about! (awesome.)

i'm super excited about this now, in case you couldn't tell.

a request - i would love to hear about your absolute fav vids (whether amv or vid proper) and why. also, what makes a good vid? what constitutes it? what components are essential for a good vid and why? any thoughts? no need to be too elaborate, but if you have time to share your thoughts, go for it. (links to vids always appreciated.)

some new vids i'm crushing on:

- Lost in an Anime Dream by Hana no JudgeHolden Productions for combining Read or Die with the Lost in Translation flick and footage from the original Madonna vid for the song, and making the city of Tokyo a character. i love how this one collapses boundaries between "real" footage and animation, between the song and the video... rockon. LINK!

- Ordained from Above, by Many Lemons Productions for making a amv about making amvs. i'm still in shock that this even exists, but i love it. it shows quite clearly the crazy dedication and mania that can go into creating a vid. LINK!

- Moons of Jupiter by Eunice (doctor who), because i was just so overjoyed to find a vid that highlighted the rather wonky happiness of who, and was not an angst-filled "ROSE/TEN 4-EVAR OTP!" type of vid. also, i love the licking / monster / running / hugging montages. love. this vid seems to me to be a ten/tardis 'ship vid. or maybe i'm drunk. one never knows. the point is, this vid captures the mad and quirky energy of who.

(also, i can't help but smiled back at scenes 1.44-1.50.) LINK!

- Rodeohead by Absolute Destiny. I've loved this guy's vidding since his early days in amvs. the song can be a little annoying, but if you can get over that then i think the vid grows on you.

- Jack, Or Adventures in Reading Against the Text, by LC, just for being so aware of what she is doing when she makes vids. (also, i like the song.)

- Vids=Joy! by CounterAgent, for having the hutzpah to make a vid about how much she loves vids, using clips from other people's vids that she loves - without actually making any cuts to them at all! craziness. it makes my heart happy. LINK!

- Filthy Mind, by SE. i love the stream-of-consciousness methodology behind this vid, crossing boundaries between shoes at will. i love love love worship the idea of sydney bristow, faith, the life on mars cops, captain jack, angel, and the lot all in the same club. brilliant. talk about collapsing boundaries between shows. LINK!

- Improper Dancing, by Mary Crawford. because it's lovely awesome fun. lovely awesome. the joy of seeing rarely-vidded older shoes, as well! and as she says in her commentary: "hiro wins at life." LINK!

- Walking, by Seah and Margie, for giving a great old mockery towards all who don't understand/know about vidding specifically, and that great series of tubes we call teh internets in general. don't worry, old peoples, it will all make sense one day. LINK!

and thus begins my proper foray into researchy-type stuff. hopefully i'll get this blog arollin' again to be used for actual communication with people in the internets.

so hello again, big world! bring it on