But then on the other hand we have LKBV, which is about half admitting your overinvestment and half disavowing it.
All of the comments on Mely's post are really interesting, but this in particular because it so neatly encapsulates what I think drives the LKBV phenomena.
LKBV seems to be a way - consciously or unconsciously - for vidders to negotiate the influx of critical theory and academic fen into the world of fannish vidding and the increasingly powerful technological tools available to vidders while still trying to hold onto their fannish love. In the last five years or so, I've seen marked changes in the responses toward what I'll call traditional fannish attitudes expressed in vids - not that there was every only one point of view in early fanvids. But as the number of computer vidders has exploded and combined with the Internet-driven influx of new fen - especially acafen - I have seen a sea-change.
Vidders can manipulate source (both visual and audio) so much more in vids today than in the past. What is possible today is radically different from even ten or five years ago - hell, even two years ago. Consequently, the tech expectations of viewers and other vidders have been changed dramatically. At the same time, the easy availability of vidding software and hardware means that the numbers of new vidders - many of whom will only ever be casual vidders - have sky-rocketed and the sheer volume of relatively low-quality vids (technologically speaking) has also increased. There's a real disdain - no, perhaps that's not quite what I mean, maybe impatience is a better choice - yes, an impatience that experienced and technological savvy vidders (and viewers, too) express regarding vids that don't take advantage of all possible bells and whistles. Simple simply isn't good enough - even if it is a deliberate choice, not a lack of vidding tech skills.
And post-modernism has crept - or perhaps bludgeoned - its way into vidding, especially via acafen of various stripes (not just the litcrit crowd). Self-reference, irony, satire, parody - all those elements are highly valued, sometimes overvalued in my experience, at the expense of fannish love for the source itself. A vid that isn't ironic, isn't self-mocking in its love for the source, well, those vids are often (more so in some circles than others) labelled as "painfully sincere" or cheesy or "old skool" (and that term is often used with disdain, IMO, though I've seen others protest that it's not inherently a critical, rather a descriptive term) - even if the vid is technically well constructed.
This isn't to say that earlier vids didn't use irony or satire or parody or lacked self-referential nods to fen and fandom; they absolutely did utilize such approaches, and many did it brilliantly. But the privileging of such vids over other styles/attitudes is something that I see far more of today than in years past.
In vidding - and in fanfiction, too - post-modern fen are the current "cool kids" - and though not everyone automatically apes or aspires to be them, the "cool kids" will always exert an undue influence on the general population.
And that, I think, is why vidders have embraced LKBV. Partly as a backlash to vids they perceive as technically well-made but lacking heart, and also as a buffer against being seen as "not cool enough" in their expression of fannish devotion. LKBV comes with an automatic disclaimer: if some fen find it cheesy or OTT or old skool or in any way "not cool" - well, it was meant to be. And if a vidder secretly loves her LBKV in a totally non-ironic way, well she can keep her secret without automatically losing her post-modern audience or jeopardizing her status.
It's been interesting to read people's responses to this year's LBKV show. Several times I've read people announcing they loved a LBKV, with the addendum that "No, really, the vid is so good it isn't really a LBKV" - Man in Motion by Renenet is one good example, and Separate Ways by Pouncer & Barkley is another (though many who love it still clearly see it as a LBKV).
LKBV
All of the comments on Mely's post are really interesting, but this in particular because it so neatly encapsulates what I think drives the LKBV phenomena.
LKBV seems to be a way - consciously or unconsciously - for vidders to negotiate the influx of critical theory and academic fen into the world of fannish vidding and the increasingly powerful technological tools available to vidders while still trying to hold onto their fannish love. In the last five years or so, I've seen marked changes in the responses toward what I'll call traditional fannish attitudes expressed in vids - not that there was every only one point of view in early fanvids. But as the number of computer vidders has exploded and combined with the Internet-driven influx of new fen - especially acafen - I have seen a sea-change.
Vidders can manipulate source (both visual and audio) so much more in vids today than in the past. What is possible today is radically different from even ten or five years ago - hell, even two years ago. Consequently, the tech expectations of viewers and other vidders have been changed dramatically. At the same time, the easy availability of vidding software and hardware means that the numbers of new vidders - many of whom will only ever be casual vidders - have sky-rocketed and the sheer volume of relatively low-quality vids (technologically speaking) has also increased. There's a real disdain - no, perhaps that's not quite what I mean, maybe impatience is a better choice - yes, an impatience that experienced and technological savvy vidders (and viewers, too) express regarding vids that don't take advantage of all possible bells and whistles. Simple simply isn't good enough - even if it is a deliberate choice, not a lack of vidding tech skills.
And post-modernism has crept - or perhaps bludgeoned - its way into vidding, especially via acafen of various stripes (not just the litcrit crowd). Self-reference, irony, satire, parody - all those elements are highly valued, sometimes overvalued in my experience, at the expense of fannish love for the source itself. A vid that isn't ironic, isn't self-mocking in its love for the source, well, those vids are often (more so in some circles than others) labelled as "painfully sincere" or cheesy or "old skool" (and that term is often used with disdain, IMO, though I've seen others protest that it's not inherently a critical, rather a descriptive term) - even if the vid is technically well constructed.
This isn't to say that earlier vids didn't use irony or satire or parody or lacked self-referential nods to fen and fandom; they absolutely did utilize such approaches, and many did it brilliantly. But the privileging of such vids over other styles/attitudes is something that I see far more of today than in years past.
In vidding - and in fanfiction, too - post-modern fen are the current "cool kids" - and though not everyone automatically apes or aspires to be them, the "cool kids" will always exert an undue influence on the general population.
And that, I think, is why vidders have embraced LKBV. Partly as a backlash to vids they perceive as technically well-made but lacking heart, and also as a buffer against being seen as "not cool enough" in their expression of fannish devotion. LKBV comes with an automatic disclaimer: if some fen find it cheesy or OTT or old skool or in any way "not cool" - well, it was meant to be. And if a vidder secretly loves her LBKV in a totally non-ironic way, well she can keep her secret without automatically losing her post-modern audience or jeopardizing her status.
It's been interesting to read people's responses to this year's LBKV show. Several times I've read people announcing they loved a LBKV, with the addendum that "No, really, the vid is so good it isn't really a LBKV" - Man in Motion by Renenet is one good example, and Separate Ways by Pouncer & Barkley is another (though many who love it still clearly see it as a LBKV).