VID: 'Roller' [The Women of SPN]

[zimshan]

Turning fandom frustrations into projects is how I roll. This was my way of dealing. I can’t swear this is exactly how it happened. But it is how it felt.

This one, folks? Is for the girls...

’ROLLER‘
THE WOMEN of SPN
Song/Band: ‘Roller’ by April Wine
Vidder: zimshan
Length: 3:58
Summary: "To give it everything that she's got". A tribute to the kickass women we were never allowed to keep.
Characters: Jo, Ellen, Tamera, Bela, Pamela, Mary, and a number of other single-episode female characters from the last five seasons of Supernatural [NOTE: Spoilers for all aired episodes]
Links/Size: MPEG (640x320) (56 MB) | AVI (640x304) (37 MB) | BAM Vid Vault (Streaming)
Disclaimer: All clips property of Eric Kripke, WB, & The CW. I claim no ownership of anything in this vid other than the editing I have done myself.

Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault



QUICK CONCEPTUAL NOTES
I’ve been dying to vid a kickass classic rock song to this show since the moment I started watching. So it’s slightly hysterical that, three years and four vids later, when I finally found the right song, it was with this concept. I restumbled on an old April Wine album this summer, and the moment I heard this song again, I thought, 'Man, that'd make one kickass women of SPN vid'. So I threw it in my iTunes playlist to join the pile of other songs whose vids will probably never see the light of day.

But the morning of 'Abandon All Hope, as I finally admitted the near 100% chance that both Harvelles would not survive the night, I stumbled on spnroundtable's Women of SPN post. And suddenly had this inexplicable drive to start this. There’s plenty that's been handled wrong concerning the female characters of SPN over the years. But this was not that vid. Initially, my idea was a simple celebration of what had been done right, showcasing the potential these characters had and what they ultimately wasted by throwing them out way before their time.

Then I saw the episode, took another look at the song, and quickly realized I couldn’t just leave it there.

If I did my job, the result should be sorta self-explanatory. It’s part celebratory tribute, part argumentative/political meta, part one bitter middle finger. Mostly, while trying to write this up, one phrase kept running through my head: "I can’t swear this is exactly how it happened, but it is how it felt." I think that sums up my intentions here best.

[NOTE: I chose Jo, Ellen, Tamera, Bela, Pamela, and Mary to walk with through this vid, in addition to bits of number of single episode female characters we‘ve seen over the years. I did however deliberately keep Ruby out of this, feeling strongly that this was not the vid for her to be in. I wanted this specifically to focus on the human women of the show who faced their struggles with a strength that could match the Winchester boys' any day. The complication of this show’s use of women as evil has been covered already in expert fashion, and therefore was not something I wanted to include here.]

ETA: Crazy Score Girl that I am, I could kick myself for forgetting to include a music credit for this vid's opener. If it sounds familiar, it should. The piece is Christopher Lennertz's 'And So It Begins' score, first heard in the opener of the 'Pilot' as Mary gets out of bed to check on baby!Sam.

Special thanks to smilla02 for offering to take a look at this early on, being so fabulous in listening to all my 'oh-so-long-and-rambly' emails, and giving vital feedback to help me steer this thing in the right direction!

Also thanks to dotfic whose words inspired the summary. To spnroundtable for their impeccably timed Tribute to the Women of SPN post. And to all the fic writers who over the years expanded these women's stories far past what the show ever gave us, enabling them to live on far beyond their initial exits.

Hope you all can enjoy! :)

Any and all comments are coveted, loved, and adored! XD

For those who might be interested, I'm offering up a vid of your choice at the help_haiti auction HERE. Bidding's up to $30 now. Auction closes Wednesday at 12pm EST!

Comments

[zimshan.livejournal.com]

It was a slightly therapeutic exercise on my part, but I'm happy to have shared it! Glad you could enjoy!

[zimshan.livejournal.com]

Aw, well, thank you! And thank you for downloading and watching! I'm glad to hear you could enjoy it!

[kijikun.livejournal.com]

Holy shit that was awesome.

[serrico.livejournal.com]

Ooo, *nice.* I especially like the turn at the end--after all the kickass, a clear illustration of SPN's inevitable Death Of The Female.

*Nicely* done.

[blahbaby.livejournal.com]

It is strange! After watching this vid, it made me think of that. How strange it is. I never had a problem with any of the women on the show, and after I started looking into fandom sometime after S3 I was surprised by how controversial they were, so I try to stay away from any discussions on the women of the show. It just seems headache inducing either way.

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

This is great! I was bopping along happily and going "yay! Kickarse women of SPN win!" until the last 20 seconds where my :D rapidly turned into a :( x 1,000,000. It really packed a punch in the gut and I love how you managed to swing the mood around from ecstatic right down into the gutter, which is sort of true in SPN in particular. Great work.

[secretlytodream.livejournal.com]

Oh boy!.. I mean...GIRL!.. This vid sooooo what I needed, but I bet a lot of people already said this to you :)

Beat use, clip choices - was great! I love how you put all the "faces" in this video - something I adore in vidders, when they can find the right smirk or the right smile on face for the right beat, you know? I can't do this for shit xD

And I LOVED the ending! You started the vid with opened doors and first time meeting characters, and you ended the vid just right.

Amazing work here hon! \o/

[x5vale.livejournal.com]

Great great video.

I have always loved almost all the female characters in SPN so I am happy to see a video like this one.

[spiderweb-wine.livejournal.com]

Here on a rec from Dotfic and this is really great!

[zimshan.livejournal.com]

HEE! Your icon made me sputter with laughter. OH SAM.

Aw, but thanks for the applause! This thing wasn't without its headaches, but I'm pleased to hear the final result was able to 'wow' you. :)

[slartibartfast.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. I love this so much I have no words. ♥ You've done right by the fabulous women of SPN. :D

[zimshan.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you can agree! Thanks for watching and commenting! :)

[oschun.livejournal.com]

Great vid! I love the way you book-ended the entrances and exits. Intercutting those two very different scenes of possessed!Sam with Jo made me grin.

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

This is WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL!!! GREAT EDITING, GREAT MESSAGE, not over the top, but just gave me chills and grabbed me by the heartstrings.

LOVED IT.

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

I especially LOVE LOVE LOVE the emotional resonance you gave to Jo confronting a posessed Sam. Way to regive her agency. That was awesome!

[winchester-3.livejournal.com]

This video is perfect. It celebrates the wonderful women of spn that i wish were still here or could have a little longer running time! :(
But really - great work!

[zimshan.livejournal.com]

Wow, it's such a compliment to hear that you think so. Thanks so much for watching!

[zimshan.livejournal.com]

Poring over the footage, it really struck me just how much my favorite components were due to the top-notch job of the actresses. The show really was lucky to have them. It's just too bad they couldn't have been given more to do. :(

At any rate, thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed this!

[zimshan.livejournal.com]

I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt poring over those ending clips time and time again. I had my moments where I had to physically walk away from it 'cause it made me so queasy to think about. This was a therapeutic exercise, no doubt, but I'm still not sure I'll ever be truly over my frustrations about how it ended for all of them.

But thank you for watching. :)

[sir-fireboard.livejournal.com]

Aww, I miss Ruby, but I totally understand you not putting her in there. But this vid is great and is more of what I wish the show was like. I really can't get into it that much because its treatment of women drives me up the wall.

Favourite part would have to be Jo's perfectly timed punching of Dean. Hee.

[silverkit.livejournal.com]

You know what's funny about this is that after I watched it I had a line the Kripke said (I think) in an interview about Jo where he said she was a good character, but not the best character for their type of show. And something always struck me as incredibly short sighted, and stupid about him saying that, and this vid reminds me of why.

Those ending seconds hurt me, but I still loved the entire thing!

It was wonderful to watch all of those great characters.

[scintilla10.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, this is STUNNING. Fabulous editing and what a brilliant choice of clips throughout -- I particularly loved Jo's sequence, but you got so many shots of the women kicking ass and taking names, but also so many shots of them SMILING and that was just glorious. And goddamnit that ending had me crying and sticking up that middle finger right along with you.

[ocicatsy.livejournal.com]

I love this. Especially the end, as each one goes out, but goes out strong. The song is perfect. Defiant!

[laru-tan-repus.livejournal.com]

Man, what a kickass video. I wish I had a response more intelligent than that. I know this must have been a lot of hard work, but it perfectly captures the essence of how kickass the girls in SPN really are...WHILE they are. Also I think I am now an alice ine fan, thank you!

I particularly loved the bits with Jo and Bela. I hear a lot of fans say they don't like either of those girls, but I personally loved them to pieces. I had Bela's death spoiled for me, but - even though I knew Jo and Ellen weren't surviving the night - I still cried like a baby when they died. No better way to go than taking a pack of hellhounds with you, though. Jo, Ellen, Pamela...all of them, really. They were all so brave. <3 And that's what your video really gets across - they were brave, strong, confident women, and they went out as such, leaving Sam'n'Dean to be the ones stewing in their angst.

(Other awesome appearances include Kathleen and Missouri. God YES. <3 Also I am in total second to your bitter middle finger. I don't grieve as hard for the females because I've learned not to get attached, but I am in TOTAL second.)

[zimshan.livejournal.com]

Aw, you're wayyy too kind, but thank you. I'm glad you can enjoy it. :)