zimshan: (SPN - Those Kickass Harvelles)
zimshan ([personal profile] zimshan) wrote2010-01-18 12:15 pm
Entry tags:

VID: 'Roller' [The Women of SPN]

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: [livejournal.com profile] 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 [livejournal.com profile] 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 [livejournal.com profile] 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 [livejournal.com profile] dotfic whose words inspired the summary. To [livejournal.com profile] 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 [livejournal.com profile] help_haiti auction HERE. Bidding's up to $30 now. Auction closes Wednesday at 12pm EST!

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 02:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Gritty gutsiness! Hey, I like that description for these girls! And the "pedal to the metal approach to life". I think you could say that about the whole show, actually, and the fact that it also applies to these characters shows that they did have the potential to fit in this show long-term.

At any rate, I'm delighted to that the vid showcases that for you! Thanks for watching! :)

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 02:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Hee, well, I'm glad it was able to illicit a 'holy shit' reaction. XD

Thanks so much for watching! :)

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 03:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I got really attached really early on in making the end a distinct and pointed turn, but I sorta beat my head against the wall trying to make it work as such, so I'm overjoyed to hear you found it to be clear!

So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for watching!

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 03:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, I have to say, I’m SUCH an admirer of your vids, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that every one I've seen has BLOWN ME AWAY. So it really means a heck of a lot to hear this worked for you! The quick mood swing and punch in the gut was definitely what I was gunning for, but I’m overjoyed to hear you think it functions as such, and can illicit that kinda emotional reaction.

Thanks so much for watching and commenting! :)

[identity profile] apgeeksout.livejournal.com 2010-01-20 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Here via the always-thoughtful [livejournal.com profile] dotfic.

Thank you so much for sharing this vid! My feelings about SPN for the last couple of months have been about 96% "bitter middle finger", and this is exactly what I needed to see: all these squandered women kicking ass and taking names and being funny and grim and capable and damaged and human. I love that you've taken the most infuriating, disheartening part of watching this show and made something gorgeous and triumphant and defiant from it.

[identity profile] lcsbanana.livejournal.com 2010-01-21 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
this is AMAZING. i really appreciate the layers, that you didn't keep it simple but left in all the pain and anger. the ending sequence is just--a KILLER. absolutely deadly. I love it.

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-01-21 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
Wow, thanks so much for the glowing comment! It's FABULOUS to hear that this functioned as something you needed to see. Vidding always ends up being sorta canon/fandom therapy for me (despite all the other headaches it might cause!), but it's wonderful when it overlaps to work for others too.

I had so much fun laying in all the faces and eyelines so I'm glad you enjoyed them! Even though I do confess I had it easy finding them for this one. As little source as we have of female characters, there is even less of them with active roles. Most of the times, their only action was a dialogue quip, which is useless visually. So technically it started out of desperation for more clips, taking the smirks and smiles after the deliveries. Necessity is a mother and all. :)

Thanks so much for watching! I’m so glad this was able to work for you.

[identity profile] secretlytodream.livejournal.com 2010-01-21 07:16 am (UTC)(link)
It's just - not so may vidders usually do something except Sam'n'Dean, you know? So it was really nice to see something fresh :)

[identity profile] starrylizard.livejournal.com 2010-01-21 08:02 am (UTC)(link)
Oh what fun! I do wish for more recurring female characters. It's great seeing them all again.

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-01-22 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
Aw, we did have some fabulous moments with them.

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you could enjoy!

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-01-22 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
Dotfic gives quite a great rec, eh? Glad to hear you enjoyed!

Thanks for watching!

[identity profile] bofoddity.livejournal.com 2010-01-22 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)
So many awesome women (Bela especially), so much wasted potential (Bela especially!). If only those two phrases didn't go together so often! You did a great job with this. Love it a lot.

[identity profile] kattahj.livejournal.com 2010-01-24 09:26 am (UTC)(link)
This was a whole lot of awesome for one video. SPN is such a strange experience, all these wonderful women and, as you say, we're never allowed to keep them. You really illustrated the point very well.

[identity profile] soundingsea.livejournal.com 2010-01-25 02:38 pm (UTC)(link)
This? Is awesome. Awesome and kickass and exactly what I needed.

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-01-25 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Aw, you're wayyy too kind, but I'm so glad you think it did them some justice. :)

Thanks so much for watching. And love the SPN-Women-Centric Icon! Seeing all them together like that is kinda awesome in and of itself.


[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-01-25 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Hee, I might just have a bit of an unhealthy fixation on bookends. But they are my friend. :)

I’m glad you noticed the comparision of those two Jo & Sam scenes! When I first saw 502, I was wholly delighted by that little Jo bit, it was a nice response to how horribly she had exited before, giving her some chance at retribution (even if it wasn’t really evil!Sam). And so when I started this, it was one of the first things I wanted to include here. So I’m glad to hear it gave you a grin!

Thanks so much for watching! Happy you could enjoy!

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[identity profile] lunabee34.livejournal.com 2010-01-30 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
Holy shit. This is fantastic. I am in awe of what you made.

[identity profile] maychorian.livejournal.com 2010-01-31 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, this is fantastic. Wonderfully done, though the "keep out" signs make me a little ragey because, yes, that's what we are being told, over and over again. STOP.

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-02-02 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
You gotta know, your enthusiastic comment was just about the best thing ever to receive and made me smile ear to ear. Chills and heartstrings! Just what I was going for! ;)

And YAY for noticing that Jo agency part! When I first saw 502, I was terribly delighted by that little Jo bit. Who the heck knows what was intentional, but I immediately made it my own personal canon that she got some chance at retribution there (even if it wasn’t really evil!Sam). And when I started this, it was one of the first things I just KNEW I wanted to include. So I love hearing that others could enjoy that piece too.

So glad you could enjoy this! And, you know, that you could look at this and have enough faith to throw another idea at me. ;)

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-02-02 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
I'd decried Jo and Bela's lack of use considering their potential many a time myself in the past. But it still really amazed me, once I put all these women in the timeline together, just how much GREAT potential they all had. The show was ridiculously lucky to have all these fabulous actresses to play these girls, and it's horribly sad that they couldn't have had more story.

But I'm so glad you could enjoy this! Thanks so much for watching! :)

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-02-02 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
I would LOVE to do just a Ruby POV vid, honestly. Though I tend to think others have covered her already too perfectly for me to get the energy for it. You've seen 'Low Red Moon', right? ;)

I really can't get into it that much because its treatment of women drives me up the wall.
It's gotten harder and harder to ignore, I know. This vid really ended up being something I had to finish, for my own sanity. Vidding, it totally can be therapy. (Have you checked out the [livejournal.com profile] spn_women ficathon yet? There have been some absolutely excellent fics to come out of that so far, I'm still making my way through it all.)

Anyway, so glad to hear you could enjoy this! Thanks so much for watching! :)

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-02-02 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
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.
Jeeze, you know? I had totally blocked that out, but I do remember reading that. Ugh, it makes me facepalm. Very short-sighted indeed, and I'm glad at least this vid brings to mind exactly why.

Glad you could enjoy this! Thanks so much for watching!

[identity profile] meg-tdj.livejournal.com 2010-02-02 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
AWESOME. It had me flailing and dancing all the way through, and sobbing at the end. Excellent tribute to these excellent characters!

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-02-02 11:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Aw, thanks so much for your generous comment! It's the best kind of thing to hear it had you with all those different emotions throughout. So glad you could enjoy! Especially the Jo sequence, and the SMILING! These girls were strong tough women, but it was really important to me that this showed the life and joy they had too, you know? Happy to hear you liked that element! :)

Thanks so much for watching and commenting!

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-02-02 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Defiant! I love that description for it! The end honestly panned out wayyyy better than I ever envisioned it to be, I feel like I just randomly got extremely lucky the way all the clips kinda fell together, but I'm so glad to hear it worked for you!

Thanks so much for watching! :)

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