Repeating yourself

[icepixie]

I just looked back through the vid I'm working on now, and I realized that hey, I've used more than a few of these clips in the other vid I made for this fandom a few months ago! Half of me is sort of like, "Well, they're iconic images of this character for a reason; might as well use the ones that have the most impact even if it means repeating myself," and the other half is going, "Argh, find new clips that serve the same purposes these do!"

What do you think about using the same clips a lot? Is it something to be avoided? Is it inevitable, especially with a short source or when vidding a character from a longer source who doesn't get a lot of screentime? Is it something you even notice? (Am I way overthinking this?)

[elipie]

I think it's okay to repeat yourself if it makes sense in the context of the vid. I might feel this way because I've mostly vidded movie fandoms and so repeating myself is inevitable, but I usually don't think twice about it unless I'm using the exact same part of the same clip I've used in a previous vid.

On the other hand, I do try to avoid using the same clip more than once in a single vid. Again, I think it's totally okay to use a different part of the clip (eg. a moment that takes place 5 seconds after a moment you've already used), but unless I have a very good reason for repeating a clip, I just don't do it.

[franzeska]

Jan 20, 2012 23:19:59 GMT -5 icepixie said:

Is it something to be avoided? Is it inevitable, especially with a short source or when vidding a character from a longer source who doesn't get a lot of screentime? Is it something you even notice? (Am I way overthinking this?)

In order: Yes, Yes, Maybe, Yes.

Even for long tv shows, this happens constantly in shippy vids. Depending on how embarrassing I find it, I may try to use more or fewer effects, use a different part of the same scene, zoom in, or just pair it with something so dramatically different that the footage feels different.

[obsessive24]

Hmm, I was thinking I had nothing useful to contribute given that 99% of the time I never vid the same show (or at least the same character/subject) twice, but actually I think I'm just about to start a vid that might retread some ground over a previous vid. I think I agree with elipie that context would be very important, but if possible, I think I would try and avoid doing it. But as you guys have noted, sometimes it's just not possible. *shrug*

[lillythekid]

I made quite a few Stargate Atlantis vids, so I used the same clips in various vids.

Personally I often think along the lines of "this is the perfect clip for expressing what I want to express" so I don't let my (or others') previous using of that clip get in the way. I mostly see every vid, not just my own, as its own little universe.

However, I also feel that the use of the same clips can, of course, be problematic if you watch many vids of the same fandom in a row. In such cases I feel like the vids can maybe lose some of their impact.

[barkley]

It depends on where this vid is going and what context it's going to be seen in and who I am making it for. If I were vidding in a big fandom, and say submitting a vid to vividcon, I might avoid the iconic scenes because I wouldn't want to deal with the commentary about that. OTOH, in my FNL vid I sent to VVC, re-used a clips I used before for two characters because a) first vid hadn't been seen by many and b) 2nd vid was my larger encompassing vid and I didn't want to short change it for sake for first vid and c) not a big fandom that's really over vidded.

So I guess my actual rule of thumb is, in a lesser vidded fandom, I reuse at will, in a big fandom of oft repeated iconic clips, I think a lot more about it if I care about audience reception and how much that audience reception will factor into my enjoyment of said vid. Like if I am making a vid for me, me, me and me because something should exist, I don't care what clips I reuse. If I am making a vid where I want to elicit a reaction from others and they are forced to watch said vid in a con setting, I will make sure I justify to myself blatant over-use of iconic clip because part of my enjoyment of making that kind of vid is being successful in eliciting said reaction and having the audience distracted by Yet Another [insert iconic moment here] clip might work against that. So I wouldn't not do it, I'd just make doubly sure I had to do it if I did do it.

[obsessive24]

Very well put, barkley!

[fabella]

I think I'm more along the lines of agreement with "each vid as its own universe". I do think about avoiding overused clips, and looking hard for the right clips, but sometimes that happens to be a clip I used three years ago, in another video. I won't pass it up if it feels perfect. If it fits, it fits. I say this as a vidder who creates a library of clips before she starts vidding. I'm not a vidder that thinks about the vid she wants to make, then pulls that clip from episode six, minute nine. I create the library (and consider it setting all my paints before me) and then I visualize. Sometimes I'll replay clips within my library randomly, looking for visuals, for the heart of what I want. I think this type of vidding makes it easier to avoid going for the easy, overvidded clips, because I find in a random, seemingly out-of-the-blue clip what might not have lingered in the mind enough to remember "hey! I want that clip from episode six! minute nine!" If not easier, it at least does the trick for me! If I use an over-vidded clip, I'm doing it deliberately, aware and hoping that it will fit just so within my vid that it no longer feels tired.

[icepixie]

Thanks for all the great responses, everyone. This vid is sort of a first for me because while I've done multiple vids that cover some of the same ground before, and I've vidded longer source before, this is the first time I've done both, and it kind of psyched me out. ("OMG, I have three whole seasons to work from! I should use more from these episodes I didn't touch last time!")

[legoline]

I guess it also depends on the statement you want to make in a video. If you use the same clip but the point you're making is different, that puts the clip into a different context. I, too, tend to take every video as a universe of its own. Why not use a clip if it helps telling what you want to tell?

[FitzPro]

I tend to agree with the "universe of its own" theology. I have certain clips that I know I overuse. But when I can use the same scene in two different videos, with two different themes, and get two different feelings, I don't really feel like it's the same clip. Even though it is. I hope that makes sense.