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 2010-02-05 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
Aw, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this! With the kickass song, it was a challenge just to edit to keep up with it, so it's totally a valid comment! :)

Love that you enjoyed the Jo and Bela parts! I kinda adored Bela especially, and honestly had to hold myself back from using too much of her, because this wasn't the vid for her to be center of. But it's always lovely to see another Bela fan around! There's not too many of us.

And YAY for noticing Kathleen and Missouri!! They were some special one-offs we were lucky to have! I was so excited to include them in this vid.

Thanks so much for watching!

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-02-05 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
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.
This was one of those comments that was just AN ABSOLUTE JOY to read. It's FABULOUS that it was that kind of vid for you. And it's always delightful to hear this was exactly what someone needed to see! I definitely felt like I needed it myself, but it's great when it works for others on the same level.

Thanks SO MUCH for watching and commenting! :)
goodbyebird: Batman returns: Catwoman seen through a glass window. (SPN Ellen)

[personal profile] goodbyebird 2010-02-06 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
It’s part celebratory tribute, part argumentative/political meta, part one bitter middle finger.

That pretty much sums it up. Thanks so much for making and sharing this.

*memmed*

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-02-09 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Aw, you're wayyyy too kind, but thanks so much. It really is a difficult and frustrating situation all round, and I just couldn't bring myself to vid these women, without letting my conflicting emotions on it all show through. So I'm delighted to hear that you could notice and appreciate the layers!

Thanks so much for watching! :)

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-02-09 06:39 pm (UTC)(link)
It should be interesting to see, with the advent of a S6 renewal around the corner, whether they will choose to try and introduce more recurring female characters. With the exception of the girl from 'The End', whom I really secretly wish could be introduced real-time and become reoccurring, this season has definitely been missing some awesome female characters. (Mary's retrospectively more kickass self, not withstanding, of course!)

At any rate, I'm glad you could enjoy this! Thanks so much for watching!
ext_2366: (buffy: spiffy!)

[identity profile] sdwolfpup.livejournal.com 2010-03-20 03:24 pm (UTC)(link)
I really enjoyed this! I loved the bookending with the opening doors and then the closing ones, and you used the Ellen & Jo death scene perfectly. It felt strong and also bitter, which I think is exactly right.
ext_35076: photo of a Harry Dresden character with my user name along the bottom. (layeth)

[identity profile] crevanfox.livejournal.com 2010-03-20 06:05 pm (UTC)(link)
this is amazing, mind if I recced it on DW?

[identity profile] sol-se.livejournal.com 2010-03-20 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
This is so awesome! Thank you.

[identity profile] faithintheboys.livejournal.com 2010-04-22 10:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Squee! So awesome, so so awesome! Thanks!
ext_3762: girl reading outside in sunshine (girl with a gun)

[identity profile] harborshore.livejournal.com 2010-04-29 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)
OH FUCK. See, this show I would have watched. When I started hearing about SPN it was already becoming clear what they were doing with their female characters, and I just--this, this, a million times this.

[identity profile] standing-fic.livejournal.com 2010-05-06 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
LOVED THIS, so much. i regret not finding it sooner! great idea, fantastic execution! loved the pacing of it. my favorite was asylum girl cocking the shotgun. YEAH GIRL. rock it.

[identity profile] mfirefly10.livejournal.com 2010-08-27 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
This is fantastic!!! Gods, I love all of these women so much! If the show revolved around any/all of them, I'd probably still be watching :D

Excellent song choice and your editing = perfection! Perfect final shot, as well :)

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-09-02 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
So much wasted potential was kinda the biggest motivator of this vid, so yea, it's sad that it's become such a pattern. (I'm with you on the 'Bela especially'. I loved her character, and still can't believe how little was done with her story!) But I'm glad to hear you could enjoy the vid! It was definitely a therapeutic vid to make for myself but always awesome to hear others can enjoy it too!

Thanks so much for watching and commenting!

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-09-02 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
It really is a hard issue to grasp, isn't it? Because it's not that we don't get some awesome kickass women. We do. I think that's part of what's so confusing for people to grabble and why much of fandom is so split on how women are handled in SPN. Many shows with much less heinous treatment of women characters nonetheless make those character much less interesting than SPN's. But in the end, whether or not it's a product of the nature of the show, for me it comes down to being upset for not being able to keep them, so I'm elated to hear the vid was a success in communicating that point! Thanks so much for watching!

[identity profile] zimshan.livejournal.com 2010-09-02 04:58 pm (UTC)(link)
YAY! SO HAPPY to hear you could enjoy this! And that it gave you exactly what you needed. XD

[identity profile] alba17.livejournal.com 2011-02-03 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
OH awesome! I loved this.

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