CH1 MY EXPERIENCE

CH1 MY EXPERIENCE

A few years ago, I came across these very interesting videos on YouTube. I remember watching some and really being captivated by them. In some ways I knew what I was watching; however, I wasn’t aware of what they were called. Fanvids or fanedits is what they call them!

What I learned was that the word “Vidding” was very popular among the video editing community, but like the terminology we also call it the vidding community because both are interchangeable to us. What does “Vidding” mean? Well, it can be described in many ways. Vidding is when fans create videos consisting of music and footage from different media sources. We create these videos to capture a story and explore these stories in a creative and unique way. For those of you who don’t know what a fandom is, it’s being a fan of something or someone, either a TV show, movie, celebrity, game, sport, etc. My dad loves watching tennis, and I mean loves it. He follows most of the tennis players and when they’ll be playing. I would say he is a big fan of tennis, and he is apart of that fandom.

Some people might understand it from this definition; however, not many people would understand how long the process takes to create fanvids. I’m going to share my own journey with you. Buckle up, because this is going to be a long ride!

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Vidders can be seen as underground video editors who make edits in secret without most people knowing that they exist. A vidder would take millions of scenes from TV shows and movies and after getting these scenes they will put them together to a song. The created fanvid might suggest a story that was never seen in the film. We create these videos or vids because we want to share our love for our favorite TV shows, movies, characters, and couples with the rest of the world. Fanvidders create trailers in a way and these videos promote those TV shows or movies portrayed. We help get attention from people who might not know anything about these fandoms and make them intrigued to watch them... and I believe that’s a beautiful thing. The video editing and vidding community is a magical world to be a part of and getting to put my imagination into videos to tell stories, is oneof-a-kind experience. I have also met incredible people who have become really close friends.

Fanvids are art because they have the power to evoke emotion and that’s truly something special.

10 | THE CREATIVE LIFE BEHIND #fanvids

HOW I STARTED

I joined YouTube in 2013, but didn’t start video editing until 2014. I spent around a few months just watching fanvids and eventually dived more into the actual concept. The first edit I uploaded to YouTube was on December 23rd, 2014. It was to the couple Bellamy and Clarke from the TV show “The 100”. Bellamy and Clarke weren’t officially together, but most of the fans who watched the show wanted them to be. They have a ship name, which means the fans combined their names together. So instead of saying Bellamy and Clarke, we say Bellarke for short.

I initially didn’t know what a ship name was until I started video editing and diving into this world. Of course, I watched many TV shows, but without the internet there’s no way to know some of these terms. People who don’t make fanvids but are only fans of TV shows and movies also use ship names. The fans are the ones who create these names for the romantic couples. These ship names are usually combined with a few letters from the first person and then a few letters from the second person in the relationship. Rarely you would notice unique ship names that don’t use their names combined, but rather make up a name from their story that would fit them. Now, they don’t have to be in a relationship for there to be a ship name. Fans have created these names for TV and movie characters they want to see together. An example would be, “I ship Romione”, which is the ship name of Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter. Another example would be “I ship Starmora”, which is the ship name of Peter (Star Lord) and Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy. I gave two well-known examples of famous couples that I believe most people would know, to give you an idea how fans use them.

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In my first video description box I wrote that it took three to four days to make. Now… it’s a completely different story, because nowadays the idea of editing that fast is unreal. When I look at my first video and my recent one, I have really come a long way and it’s obvious how much my style has changed. Not just the style, but my skills. I notice that I’m more focused on every detail now, than I was before. It’s a growing experience by practicing and each video I make I try something new. It can be with a coloring, an effect, a voiceover, putting scenes together, following the beats, etc. My style generally changes every year and I have learned new techniques. My eyes see differently with every edit I work on. Bringing stories that go inside my head and making them come to life through videos is very special to me. The final project is one thing, but the process is what’s truly the most important in becoming a better video editor. Every second really counts when working on a video.

I always edit like it’s my last video I will ever create. That makes you give your full attention to the current project you’re working on and giving your all. Sometimes I edit what I am feeling, and it can be connected to me personally or show my love for my favorite fandoms. If I’m sad I tend to edit emotional videos and if I’m happy I go for happy and humor videos. However, there are times where my mood will change in a snap of a finger (just like Thanos did to the Avengers). When that happens, I tend to have multiple projects open. I have got one emotional that I’m really inspired for, then a humor project, and maybe one project for just one couple or TV show. Now, that doesn’t seem productive, but if I’m inspired for all of them and have free time to work on them, I consider multitasking to be a strong suit for me. It doesn’t always work, but most of the time multitasking helps me finish videos faster. Right now, I have at least five projects that are halfway done.

Time management is important just as it is for many things in life, whether that be for school, work, or other hobbies. It’s alright if you don’t have the time or if you want to take a break from your hobby. Taking a break can be like hitting the refresh button and allow for you to get new inspiration, because you never know what ideas can form when you take a step back. Another good thing to do is take down notes of your ideas for those times you’re not at your computer or don’t have a chance to work on them, it’s a smart way to capture them before they disappear from your mind. At first, I never took notes, but now I have become more organized with some of my projects and have started taking notes of what scenes or voiceovers I would want to add, and this really helps me. I also tend to take screenshots on my phone of a scene with subtitles on it or with the episode number on it. I put the screenshots in their own folders, and this helps me tremendously in the long run. I am a very visual person so having these screenshots helps me even more than taking notes.

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Both ways work wonders and can be very useful depending on what kind of vidder you are. At the end of the day that’s the most important thing with making fanvids is developing those techniques that work for you, just like any other skill.

I can’t imagine a world without my hobby and the same way goes for your hobbies. Whether that be in designing, illustrating, sports, video games, cooking, traveling, dancing, singing, etc. Life is beautiful when you have something you truly love that makes you happy and you might not even gain anything from it in the end. It makes it even more special because you do it for yourself and not for others. Whatever makes you passionate, keep doing it! However small or big it is. Do it! Don’t regret trying new things. You will be surprised how impactful they will become in your life. Any artistic direction can offer both a physical and emotional outlet. Even if it’s not realistically physical, the emotional outlet can cause a physical one. They are both connected in the end. Fanvidding has become a big part of my life and I will always be thankful that I took the time and patience to learn something new. I never imagined it would become this essential in my life and sharing this hobby with other people around the world makes it even more exciting. How I started video editing is what I truly won’t forget and the feelings I had when I started are still here with me. Now let’s dive deep into the making of a fanvid!

“I never imagined it would become this essential in my life and sharing this hobby with other people around the world makes it even more exciting. “

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