Vexercise 1 Drops! (2021 Edition)

[lola]

Hi all!!! Here we go, the first vexercise of the 2021 edition! We're so excited to play in this sandbox again, and hope you are all as well!

For this first vexercise, we decided to keep it simple and stay with the original version of the vexercise. We've found that this vidding pechakucha variation has been a terrific exercises for people new to vidding to learn the ropes of editing, and for old timers to try out new media sources, new ideas, or to embrace the limitations and to see what you can do within them. So many amazing and inspiring videos came out of these vexercises last year. You can see them on this YouTube playlist that bonibaru  put together, plus others that were not posted to YouTube at the Vexercise collection on A03. 

Here are the instructions/guidelines for this first vexercise: 


1) Pechakucha 2 ways

Create a video edit of exactly 60 seconds consisting of precisely 10 video clips from your chosen source text, each lasting precisely 6 seconds, assembled with straight cuts. Make two versions of your pechakucha, with 1 minute excerpts from two different songs as audio. Fade in and out on your audio at the beginning and end of the audio clip.

[Word to the wise: Most six second clips that you use are bound to have in-clip cuts--you don't have to go looking only for clips that have no internal cuts. But you can make those internal cuts work for you rhythmically or thematically etc!]

[This exercise is inspired directly by the first of the videographic criticism exercises, but modified here to be vid/fanedit focused with the inclusion of music from an outside source. You can see some examples of the original videographic pechakucha’s here and a more vidlike one Lola made here. !!And now you can see way more wonderful vidding pikachus on this YouTube Playlist (as well as examples of the other O.G. vexercises at the vexercises collection on a03! 

If you have any questions about this vexercise, either before you start or as you get going, feel free to post them here!

Stay tuned for a post about technology, resources, etc., and a check in next saturday. This vexercise will be "due" in two weeks, so March 27

Comments

[nu_breed]

I had so much fun with my first lot and it was a crappy week so I made another lot. This time I used episode 25 and 26 of The Untamed and made a bamf!WWX pechakucka (including the archery scene that my beta always laughs at me for shamelessly inserting into my vids - because...well... I could. Shameless!)

Again, couldn't choose so I am including all three that I made.

Go | Rattlesnake Smile | Fire Woman

[scytale]

Those are gorgeous and fun! I love the choice of clips, and the archery scene is great. :) It goes well with each of the songs, and it's really illuminating seeing how the different songs change the meanings/emphases within that six seconds.

[nu_breed]

Awwww thank you! I'm so thrilled the combos worked! Yeah, I can never resist that archery scene lol - my beta lovingly teases me for it because it's in probably half of my vids so far in some form or other :D

It's so fascinating to play around and see how much the music changes the ways that we view the visuals - I think that's why I find this exercise so addictive!

[lola]

These were wonderful!! I especially loved Go; it had such amazing build!! That's so hard to do for a pechakucha! And Fire Woman was super interesting too--I wanted to just keep going on that ride, I feel like that fully vid would be a kind of amazing experience.

[nu_breed]

Yay thank you! I have to admit that I kind of wanted to keep going with both of those songs and actually i initially used a minute later in Go that was also really good but it didn’t quite nail that shot on the Jinlintai steps. Maybe I will have a play and see if I can shake out a longer vid at some point - I think some of the fight scenes would work with both of those tracks quite nicely.

[amedia]

Wow wow wow. I love all three and the different feelings they embed into the clips. I also love the way you set up the parallel between Wei Wuxian using his mad archery skilz to shame the other contestants and un-endanger the Wen remnants, with the way he takes away and drinks Lan Wangji's alcohol right in Jin Zixun's face when the latter is trying to undermine the Lan. Yes, he's showing off, yes, he's a bit smug about it, but *damn* he does it so freaking well. I also like how the vid gets darker both thematically and visually as it goes on, and how it works with the different musical styles.

And oh, during "Fire Woman," the way the music builds to a climax on the targets and then the tension releases as WWX fires the arrows--that was brilliant!

[nu_breed]

Ahhhhhh thank you so much! I am addicted to that archery scene and to the "I'll drink for him" scene. You're so right. He is absolutely doing the right thing and also being an arrogant shit and I love him so much for it :D

I'm so pleased you enjoyed them!