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

[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, 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!