Reviews Round Four

Reviews by Andrea

Best Video & Judge's Choice - Living Dead Girl by Bradcpu

I set aside the fact that I love the song  (I made an AtS soundtrack years ago with this version ) and I adore the character, it is Brad's inventive clip choices, interpretations of the seemingly 'nonsense' lyrics (how appropriate to Faith) and thorough character development that dazzles me with, in my opinion, the best Video I have seen here at the AVA's to date. With all the associations that this song has with the character it would be easy to fall into neatly synchronized fight scenes (Faith has a huge selection to choose from) some flashy cuts and lots of sexiness, Whilst that might be pretty there's so much more to Faith. But Brad made this so, no chance there. Like Shona says - it's subtle with a capital SUB(text), looking at the meaning of being the slayer and how her and Buffy's arc are not that different - "What are you thinking about, same thing you are".

From the very beginning using those silent horror movie titles and those barely audible audio clips, of Faith, Buffy and Wes that send chills up the spine that signal' hold tight we're in for a hell of a ride'. And we're off with Revelations - the beginning of the end of Faith as the seed of doubt and isolation  planted by  corrupt Gwen Post.

Great musicality throughout and use of internal motion that to list everything would seem kinda boring so I just will note the stuff that made me gasp - blood drips to 'flat foot' -the letter opener at dragging across the table - the 'Angel' audio - hunchback juice ( the shift of the eyes and the droplet) - dollar bills. as the knives move

Great clip matches throughout - leaping onto Wes which then turns into Xander, the fire from the first slayer which then becomes the 5x5 torture scene. There are so many and so much effort has gone into this work  each repeat viewing gives a little more that you didn't catch the first time because you were too busy marveling over something else.

I love the use of the static effects and zooms and pans, the clips made to look like silent movie 'cemetery things' Can something flow in a deliberately disjointed manner, because this did.

'Faith' now has a new definitive vid - and this is it  Fantastic doesn't  begin cover it.  
 

Best Video RU - No More Mr. Nice Guy - Rusalka Blue

A fun, fast and upbeat if not violent( this is SPN) fan vid. Great to see again a lighter side to Supernatural amongst all that overwhelming angst, and the facial expressions between Sam and Dean a put to excellent use as the "Mr Clean" chorus .

Good use of internal movement to the music pace and sounds, I love the opening scene with the gunshots, fast moving clips and then the helicopter and lights that shine as the guitar cords sound and you manage to maintain this.

Very funny clip to lyric matches that always bring a smile to your face, literal in more comedic vids works well imo, and there are some here that would have been difficult to resist. I loved the 'punch me on the nose' , 'sweet sweet thing' and 'opening doors for old ladies'. And wonderful closing scene as Dean collapses on the final drum beat. Classic. A eminently rewatchable vid that reminds me of why I enjoy this show. A job well done.

 

Reviews by Shona

Best Video - Living Dead Girl - Bradcpu

Although this vid also won our 'effects' award, the word I most want to use to describe this is *subtle*. The clip choice shows a huge amount of faith (no pun intended) in the intelligence of the viewer and does not once fall into the form of cliché or predictability.

 I'm a Faith fan, I love how complex her character is and how clouded her motivations are. This vid perfectly captures exactly that - the unpredictableness, the angst, the horror, the joy, the regret, the clouded hope, the sheer essence of Faith.

I should stop now before I get all poetic, because I could seriously go on and on all night. I love this vid. It deserves all the praise it gets, and more.

 Best Video RU -  No More Mr Nice Guy - Rusalka Blue

The timings within this vid and the use of internal movement rock. There should be a better word for it, and there no doubt is,  but right now all I can say is "This rocks!".

It's rare that a Supernatural vid can make me grin, but this one hits the nail on the head.

One slight niggle I had was that the second verse was a tiny bit too literal in matching the lyrics to the visual content, but the effect works because I'm nodding along as I'm watching it and thinking that it's really cleverly done.

And, as Andrea is no doubt going to mention, Dean collapsing on the drum roll? Classic. Wonderful matching of music to content and overall a fantastic feel-good vid which captures a side of Supernatural that is all too often lost amidst the angst. Kudos!

 

Judge's Choice - Harder To Breathe -Firefly_Ca

The timing of the clips to the music in this vid along with the light pulses and other effects are awe-inspiring. The continuity works so well within the vid - the integration of the Meg exorcism scene along with the Sam possession/exorcism was just awesome.

The recurring parallels of Meg and Sam work incredibly well in this vid, and the changes between vocals and instrumental are well thought out. The clip at 2.00 particularly shows an incredibly match between lyrical content and visual content.

 And the end, the eye twitch in time to the final guitar chord? I will never tire of watching that! In fact, as I'm typing this review the vid is playing on a loop and I've no intention of switching it off any time soon... :)