Color Explosion Vidshow and Panel

Panel moderated by sockkpuppett and dualbunny

I think it will be easiest if I talk about the vidshow playlist in the context of the panel comments. This reminded me of Lum's 2004 panel on composition and movement just because I always feel like I learn more from her panels than from anything else in the con.

Lum and Dualbunny started off by showing us two color wheels, one for (flat?) pigments and one for light; the latter is more useful for vidders unless they're using cartoon footage. Color considerations are helpful for vidders to weigh when making clip choices.

Color schemes break down roughly into the following:

• Monochromatic (NB: the single color doesn't need to be black)
  
• Analagous (colors that are next to each other on the color wheel)
  
• Complementary (colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel)
  
• Split complementary (two sets of complementary colors)
  
• Triadic (three dominant colors, roughly equidistant on the color wheel)
  
• Tetradic (double complementary)
  

( Cut for length )

Color Explosion Vidshow and Panel

Panel moderated by sockkpuppett and dualbunny

I think it will be easiest if I talk about the vidshow playlist in the context of the panel comments. This reminded me of Lum's 2004 panel on composition and movement just because I always feel like I learn more from her panels than from anything else in the con.

Lum and Dualbunny started off by showing us two color wheels, one for (flat?) pigments and one for light; the latter is more useful for vidders unless they're using cartoon footage. Color considerations are helpful for vidders to weigh when making clip choices.

Color schemes break down roughly into the following:

• Monochromatic (NB: the single color doesn't need to be black)
  
• Analagous (colors that are next to each other on the color wheel)
  
• Complementary (colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel)
  
• Split complementary (two sets of complementary colors)
  
• Triadic (three dominant colors, roughly equidistant on the color wheel)
  
• Tetradic (double complementary)
  

( Cut for length )

Comedy Panel

Moderator: absolut3destiny

This is an inexact transcript, but I promised to note down all the jokes for heresluck because she was bitter about having to miss the panel. I think she might have done better to ask Ian to re-enact it for her, possibly while drunk and with assistance.

absolut3destiny: It's 10 in the morning! You're all crazy. If I could be asleep, I would be.
tzikeh: And if you gave the panel that way, that would be comedy.

absolut3destiny: Comedy is ... [draws a line across the easel]. And that's my panel done.

Comedy begins with music. Start simple, with slapstick. There's an old Chinese proverb: There's no joke like watching an old friend fall off a roof. Let me show you--[fiddles with computer] The lesson of this is: Never rely on YouTube for your source. Okay, since I I can't show you this, I'm going to have to act it out. [Acts out the Monty Python principles of comedy, which I have completely forgotten but which I can assure heresluck was very funny and involved mimes and a banana peel.] The essence of comedy is familiarity and difference: you set up the repetitions, then twist the end where the audience is expecting the same thing.

Comedy has a grammar: The funny word happens at the end of the sentence. If it happens in the middle, people don't laugh; they expect more of the joke.

[Ian showed an insane porn vid he can't show at family-audiences anime shows.] The lesson is: People fucking is really funny.

To get in the comedy frame of mind, muck around with clips on your timeline; improvise. Experiment. Unlearn precision. Note down what made you laugh where and in what context, because by the time you've seen it fifty times, you won't be laughing anymore.

What's funny? Surprising literalism, as in "Enormous Penis" (Farscape vid) or possibly "Detachable Penis" (Pros vid) or possibly "Detachable Penis" the song. This relies completely on the literal interpretation. It works better with a single source. "Hot Hot Hot" does the same with multiple fandoms, but each clip visually connects to the rest. If it really is the same joke again and again, cut the song. "Razzle Dazzle," by contrast, builds up: Kirk kisses a girl, kisses a second girl, kisses the third girl -- and punches her. It's the final punch, the final difference, that makes the joke.

The rule of three: In Western culture, our storytelling trains us to expect repetition in groups of three (fairy tales set it up when we're very young and other narratives continue to use the same structure, if not quite so obviously). Set up your joke before the punchline.

Intelligent humor makes the audience feel clever for getting the joke; the satisfaction makes them happy. But to do this properly, you must make sure the audience knows what you know. Frame the video; you need the mundane explanatory things for the joke to work.

Example: MASH vid has the best joke on "the camp has alligators," in the middle; save the best joke for the end, as per the grammar of comedy.

You can make comic vids from depressing shows if you take them all the way down, so bleak it's over the top.

Try to get fresh betas, because jokes are easily exhausted; if you can, be there in person when they beta, so you can see when they start laughing. It's a bad sign if they start laughing too soon. Remember when you laughed for the first time.

sisabet and sockkpuppett's "Whatever" has a mix of the literal and the metaphoric.

"Holding Out for a Hero" is framed perfectly; the theatricality of the credits fits the theatricality of the song. By contrast, "Comedy Tonight," a Farscape vid, needed more framing so the audience knew where to laugh.

Sitcom vids, i.e., situation comedies: establish the situation and let it play through the logic. "I Wish I Was A Lesbian" begins outside the house to establish the normality of it all, like a classic sitcom; the title doesn't show up until after the intro.

Basic Rules

1. Brevity is the soul of wit. "And, you know, it's easier on you." A joke vid should be 2:30 max; 1:30 may be perfect. Don't be afraid to do 30-second jokes; just put the best bits in.
   
2. Song choice is critical. "It's also helpful to like stupid stuff." 50s pop music is great for comedy vids because a lot of it is cheesy or fluffy.
   
3. Parody depends on framing. There's a Twin Peaks vid to the Addams Family theme song which mimics the AF titles, but could have done so even more obviously.
   vagabondage: It's okay to hit your audience over the head. Ten times.
   sisabet: Subtlety is for pussies.
   absolut3destiny: You can be as subtle as you like later.
   

Expressions are essential; the reaction shots often tell the audience when to laugh. Hold the punchline to give people long enough to laugh.

Comedy Panel

Moderator: absolut3destiny

This is an inexact transcript, but I promised to note down all the jokes for heresluck because she was bitter about having to miss the panel. I think she might have done better to ask Ian to re-enact it for her, possibly while drunk and with assistance.

absolut3destiny: It's 10 in the morning! You're all crazy. If I could be asleep, I would be.
tzikeh: And if you gave the panel that way, that would be comedy.

absolut3destiny: Comedy is ... [draws a line across the easel]. And that's my panel done.

Comedy begins with music. Start simple, with slapstick. There's an old Chinese proverb: There's no joke like watching an old friend fall off a roof. Let me show you--[fiddles with computer] The lesson of this is: Never rely on YouTube for your source. Okay, since I I can't show you this, I'm going to have to act it out. [Acts out the Monty Python principles of comedy, which I have completely forgotten but which I can assure heresluck was very funny and involved mimes and a banana peel.] The essence of comedy is familiarity and difference: you set up the repetitions, then twist the end where the audience is expecting the same thing.

Comedy has a grammar: The funny word happens at the end of the sentence. If it happens in the middle, people don't laugh; they expect more of the joke.

[Ian showed an insane porn vid he can't show at family-audiences anime shows.] The lesson is: People fucking is really funny.

To get in the comedy frame of mind, muck around with clips on your timeline; improvise. Experiment. Unlearn precision. Note down what made you laugh where and in what context, because by the time you've seen it fifty times, you won't be laughing anymore.

What's funny? Surprising literalism, as in "Enormous Penis" (Farscape vid) or possibly "Detachable Penis" (Pros vid) or possibly "Detachable Penis" the song. This relies completely on the literal interpretation. It works better with a single source. "Hot Hot Hot" does the same with multiple fandoms, but each clip visually connects to the rest. If it really is the same joke again and again, cut the song. "Razzle Dazzle," by contrast, builds up: Kirk kisses a girl, kisses a second girl, kisses the third girl -- and punches her. It's the final punch, the final difference, that makes the joke.

The rule of three: In Western culture, our storytelling trains us to expect repetition in groups of three (fairy tales set it up when we're very young and other narratives continue to use the same structure, if not quite so obviously). Set up your joke before the punchline.

Intelligent humor makes the audience feel clever for getting the joke; the satisfaction makes them happy. But to do this properly, you must make sure the audience knows what you know. Frame the video; you need the mundane explanatory things for the joke to work.

Example: MASH vid has the best joke on "the camp has alligators," in the middle; save the best joke for the end, as per the grammar of comedy.

You can make comic vids from depressing shows if you take them all the way down, so bleak it's over the top.

Try to get fresh betas, because jokes are easily exhausted; if you can, be there in person when they beta, so you can see when they start laughing. It's a bad sign if they start laughing too soon. Remember when you laughed for the first time.

sisabet and sockkpuppett's "Whatever" has a mix of the literal and the metaphoric.

"Holding Out for a Hero" is framed perfectly; the theatricality of the credits fits the theatricality of the song. By contrast, "Comedy Tonight," a Farscape vid, needed more framing so the audience knew where to laugh.

Sitcom vids, i.e., situation comedies: establish the situation and let it play through the logic. "I Wish I Was A Lesbian" begins outside the house to establish the normality of it all, like a classic sitcom; the title doesn't show up until after the intro.

Basic Rules

1. Brevity is the soul of wit. "And, you know, it's easier on you." A joke vid should be 2:30 max; 1:30 may be perfect. Don't be afraid to do 30-second jokes; just put the best bits in.
   
2. Song choice is critical. "It's also helpful to like stupid stuff." 50s pop music is great for comedy vids because a lot of it is cheesy or fluffy.
   
3. Parody depends on framing. There's a Twin Peaks vid to the Addams Family theme song which mimics the AF titles, but could have done so even more obviously.
   vagabondage: It's okay to hit your audience over the head. Ten times.
   sisabet: Subtlety is for pussies.
   absolut3destiny: You can be as subtle as you like later.
   

Expressions are essential; the reaction shots often tell the audience when to laugh. Hold the punchline to give people long enough to laugh.

Great Transitions Panel

Moderator: laurashapiro, whose notes are here.

What do you need transitions for?

• To get from one clip to the next. The usual transition for this is the hard cut, which we don't even register; as Walter Murch memorably said, it seems like a blink of the eye.
  
• To express a change in time
  
• Smooth over the difference between clips
  
• Enhance the music
  
• Emphasize the artificiality/style of the vid
  

Types of transitions

1. cut
   
2. soft cut (a brief dissolve, 1-2s.)
   
3. wipe
   
4. push-wipe
   
5. iris
   
6. 3D effects
   

When do you use a dissolve?

• Flashback (esp. dip to white dissolve)
  
• Softer emotions
  
• Sensual or contemplative mood, especially when used slowly
  

killabeez's "These Two Arms" dissolves from a close-up to a long-shot. The faces are on different sides of the screen, rather than one overlaid on the other; composition is especially important in dissolves. This often works better on the bigger screen and should work with the music.

Additive and nonadditive dissolves: these effects can highlight different aspects of the screen (I have no idea what I meant by this) [eta: Laura says, "Additive and non-additive dissolves change the color and value of the two clips as they interact with one another. They make bright areas brighter or dark areas darker."]

Iris: Focus on one spot, slowly darkening out everything else. This is used for:

• comedy
  
• to highlight a particular shape in a pleasing way. Can be used invisibly (Laura showed a clip from "Mixed Nuts" where the diamond simply emphasized the shape of Chiana's face)
  
• for style or mood. The 20s-style oval iris in "Closer" (Star Trek version) emphasizes the drama and artificiality of the vid.
  

Wipe
Wipes convey:

• travel from one place to another
  
• simultaneity
  
• movement
  
• time
  
• POV change
  
• artifice, like the chapter heading in a book
  

A push wipe wipes the screen by pushing the image on it out of the way.

Cube/spin/cross-zoom
Effects which break out of the two-dimensional frame. The cross-zoom in gwyn_r's Angel/Lindsey vid fits the music and is used specifically and selectively during the choruses.

Rolling your own transitions
Laura showed a bit from "Not Only Human": the glowing demon with wings to Scully opening the doors. This is a dissolve plus a levels adjustment on Scully. Some transitions can have the effect of shifting your gaze in a particular direction. charmax's "Hey Mambo" (Alias) uses a glow filter + key frame + hard cut on a crashing drum section.

The more subtle the transition, the more effects you can use. The fade-to-black is usually the end of a scene: it can be used to emphasize an emotional pause, to allow the audience to react.

Use a transitin to resolve the differences between clips only as a last resort.

Great Transitions Panel

Moderator: laurashapiro, whose notes are here.

What do you need transitions for?

• To get from one clip to the next. The usual transition for this is the hard cut, which we don't even register; as Walter Murch memorably said, it seems like a blink of the eye.
  
• To express a change in time
  
• Smooth over the difference between clips
  
• Enhance the music
  
• Emphasize the artificiality/style of the vid
  

Types of transitions

1. cut
   
2. soft cut (a brief dissolve, 1-2s.)
   
3. wipe
   
4. push-wipe
   
5. iris
   
6. 3D effects
   

When do you use a dissolve?

• Flashback (esp. dip to white dissolve)
  
• Softer emotions
  
• Sensual or contemplative mood, especially when used slowly
  

killabeez's "These Two Arms" dissolves from a close-up to a long-shot. The faces are on different sides of the screen, rather than one overlaid on the other; composition is especially important in dissolves. This often works better on the bigger screen and should work with the music.

Additive and nonadditive dissolves: these effects can highlight different aspects of the screen (I have no idea what I meant by this) [eta: Laura says, "Additive and non-additive dissolves change the color and value of the two clips as they interact with one another. They make bright areas brighter or dark areas darker."]

Iris: Focus on one spot, slowly darkening out everything else. This is used for:

• comedy
  
• to highlight a particular shape in a pleasing way. Can be used invisibly (Laura showed a clip from "Mixed Nuts" where the diamond simply emphasized the shape of Chiana's face)
  
• for style or mood. The 20s-style oval iris in "Closer" (Star Trek version) emphasizes the drama and artificiality of the vid.
  

Wipe
Wipes convey:

• travel from one place to another
  
• simultaneity
  
• movement
  
• time
  
• POV change
  
• artifice, like the chapter heading in a book
  

A push wipe wipes the screen by pushing the image on it out of the way.

Cube/spin/cross-zoom
Effects which break out of the two-dimensional frame. The cross-zoom in gwyn_r's Angel/Lindsey vid fits the music and is used specifically and selectively during the choruses.

Rolling your own transitions
Laura showed a bit from "Not Only Human": the glowing demon with wings to Scully opening the doors. This is a dissolve plus a levels adjustment on Scully. Some transitions can have the effect of shifting your gaze in a particular direction. charmax's "Hey Mambo" (Alias) uses a glow filter + key frame + hard cut on a crashing drum section.

The more subtle the transition, the more effects you can use. The fade-to-black is usually the end of a scene: it can be used to emphasize an emotional pause, to allow the audience to react.

Use a transitin to resolve the differences between clips only as a last resort.

In-Depth Vid Review

Moderated by barkley and renenet

( Laura Shapiro & Lithium Doll, 'I Put You There' )

( Luminosity & Tzikeh, 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' )

( SDWolfpup, 'Fix You' )

In-Depth Vid Review

Moderated by barkley and renenet

( Laura Shapiro & Lithium Doll, 'I Put You There' )

( Luminosity & Tzikeh, 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' )

( SDWolfpup, 'Fix You' )