Happy Birthday, wizened_cynic!!!!

I made this for her birthday as her gift!! She's a totally amazing person (who has been so so good to me this last year) and she writes wonderfully hilarious fic with this pairing, so, as I did last year, I made her a vid! The storyline's pretty self-explanatory, really, I think :)

I hope you like it, love! <333

Song: Another You
Artist: Cascada

I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

Video can also be found at my YouTube. Comments are appreciated!

Another HSM video! Yay! And my first collaboration too!! I worked with the wonderful Jennae (LunarEclipse360) who makes some very charmingly lovely videos and it was awesome.
Really, there is no storyline for this one! But it was great to just do something sweet and innocent and fun and joyful for a change, given the ones that I'm currently working on are more sombre.

Production notes:
SONG: Obviously, with a collab, both Jennae and I had to agree on a song. We tossed a couple of ideas back and forth before Jen suggested this one, and I liked it a lot, so we went with it! I'd been planning on a Beyonce song at some point anyway ('Halo' for Silvia/Pepa - and then ibreatheforher made a delightful video to it and so I ended up scrapping it :D) and I liked this one, so.
EFFECTS: Jen made her half first, and she tends to prefer playing down the effects and letting the clips do the talking (so to speak), rather than covering them up with lots of colours and flashes. I, on the other, hand, am more into effects but it does depend what fandom I'm vidding for, I think - some, to me, don't seem to require overloads of effects, especially if the song is simple. Additionally, Jennae tends to vid to the lyrics rather than a beat, and it was interesting for me to be going back to my roots as a vidder, since I used to do the same thing until I started vidding to a beat in the song. It was surprisingly challenging, but a fun one. However, I did vary whether I placed the clips to the beat or to the lyrics. In terms of actual effects, I did add some glow effects and some black and white tones. Also, Jennae used a few stills in her half at certain points and that's not really my thing in videos like this, but I did want to carry the 'sense' and atmosphere of the video on (in my opinion, collabs aren't great unless it looks like it was made with one goal in mind, and each part fits together perfectly, which I wanted to achieve). So instead I simply split the clip and slowed the second part down, adding a glow to achieve a more 'dreamy' effect.

0:00-2:10: Jennae
2:10-end: me

Song: Smash Into You
Artist: Beyonce

My first Silvia/Pepa video that follows the whole epic love story.

Song: Book of Love
Artist: Peter Gabriel

Video also at my YouTube.

I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended

Production notes:
SONG: I first heard this song in the season finale of Scrubs. This song has such an air of...finality about it, but at the same time hope and love and grace and beauty. I knew I wanted to make a vid to it at some point, and it was about this time that the Silvia/Pepa marriage rumours were flying about. Then Silvia proposed, and I started sketching out a proper plan for it. However, I lost inspiration before the actual wedding aired, and then I was away for the whole summer. I found the vid file on my computer yesterday and decided to finish it :)
EFFECTS: The effects were tough to figure out for this video. I wanted something warm and yet sepia-like. However, most of the sepia effects made it look too sober, and so I simply added a faint black and white effect to calm it down a bit and counteract some of the bright and warmer tones. I was originally planning for it to be far more fancy, with overlays and masks and things, but then I realised that the problem with that is that with a song like this, too many effects cover up the emotion behind the video. I wanted this vid to be completely emotional, so I left most of the complicated effects out and let the song flow.

I hope you like it!! Comments are <3!!

Sound all right?

Then here we go! Each banner links to the video that won the category. Be sure to comment either on that person's video or on this post to congratulate them!!


 

This was supposed to be finished in time for Zan's four year anniversary on September 1st, but unfortunately, because I was away, I couldn't finish it till now.

Anyway, so this is a tribute to Zac and Vanessa's relationship. It's difficult to explain how I feel about them and their relationship, but I hope this video shows it instead.

I know most of my flist doesn't care about them, but seriously, give them a shot. They're lovely and sweet and beautiful and adorable, and you will just fall in love with them :)

Song: These Are The Days
Artist: Van Morrison

I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

Video also at YouTube.

Note: You'll probably need to turn it up to hear the speech at the beginning.

 

One rec: a Z/V fanmix made by frimeuse. It's beautiful and lovely and the music is perfect. I loved it. So here it is:

a funny thing happened on my way to the top: a zac efron and vanessa hudgens fanmix  

My first Silvia/Pepa video dealing with the events of episode 104. It's told from Silvia's point of view, and is just about how she and Pepa will always be together, even after her (apparent) death. She's just gone ahead for a while, but she's waiting for her.

I think the effects and everything are fairly self-explanatory; for full production notes see below:

I actually cried when I saw this the whole way through, which is definitely a first for me. I'm very proud of this video. I do hope you enjoy it.

Song: Viva Forever
Artist: Spice Girls

I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

Production notes:
I might start doing these for more videos, or maybe just ones that have been difficult emotionally for me to do (I am clearly far too invested in some fandoms). Let me know if you’d be interested, because I don't want to bore you with the details if you don't really care about knowing.
SONG: I never thought that I would do a video with a Spice Girls song. Mostly because I never really liked the Spice Girls, and haven’t listened to them for years. But then I heard this song a couple of months ago and just fell in love with it, and then when I discovered the news of Silvia’s death (although I’m still hoping they’re going to bring her back) I couldn’t stop thinking of it. And then when I came home I downloaded the song and started work.
EFFECTS: The effects were difficult for this video. It was hard to work out what looked appropriate. I picked the blue tint for the memories because it fitted well with the atmosphere of the song, and even though the memories were pretty much all happy ones it lent a solemn air to the video. I desaturated the present events to emphasise the blood more and really make it stand out.
And finally...
As many of you know I had some problems dealing with hate messages and comments on YouTube, so this video is dedicated to those of you who commented with messages of support, especially hargie_42, citjara, nnnjtu, lazydevil40 and zephyr_tempest. Thank you all, and even though I realise that this video will probably be an unfamiliar fandom, I hope you watch it anyway and enjoy it.

Video is also at my YouTube. I haven't posted the lyrics this time, but if anyone wants them I'd be happy to link you to them.

Download HERE.

I would really love it if you commented with your thoughts <3
 

Lastly, I want to remind you all that submissions for my contest are still open, and I'd love some more video submissions of different fandoms, so please please go and either submit your own videos, or (if you don't vid, or have some favourite videos that you'd like to see get some recognition) nominate some other videos. Check out the video and FAQ for more info, and feel free to ask questions if you're unsure about something.
Thanks <3


 

This is a teaser trailer and a music video to fadeoutin's wonderful fic 'Tumbling Through Freefall' and made for thelittlebang. This was definitely one of the most challenging videos I've ever had to do, so I hope you enjoy it. All the information about characters and the full fic can be found HERE.
I strongly recommend that you read the fic first so you have an idea of what's happening, otherwise you might be a bit clueless!! Full cast of characters is listed at the end of the videos, but if you have any questions or anything just let me know and I'll do my best to help out.

Video notes: The teaser trailer basically introduces you to all the characters, so it is important to watch so that you recognize them. Apart from Pepa and Maca, I had to cast the other characters myself. You might smile when you see who I picked :D The full video follows the basic storyline (but, again, you should read the fic first, because it's rather complicated) and I tried to focus quite a bit on the relationships developing, which was an immense challenge, and I hope I've pulled it off.

Song for trailer: Your Hands Are Cold
Artist: Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Song for video: For You
Artist: Coldplay

I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended. Videos are under the cut and on YT too as always, and I've also provided a download link if anyone wants it. Comments are <3! I'm a bit nervous about these.


 

Today I discovered what hell is like. Hell is being stuck on a six hour coach ride to Sandakan with a family in the row behind with about six kids, all of whom are vomiting noisily and regularly into black plastic bags.

...It was absolutely FOUL. And the mother was throwing up as well!! And then we stopped for a toilet break and they bought the kids crisps and ice creams, which they then proceeded to vomit up again five minutes later. And they weren't even sitting up, they were lying down and you could hear the vomit gargling in their throats. I was like, 'someone sit them up, please, because I really don't want to have to do CPR on a kid with dried sick round his mouth when I don't have my face mask.'

Ugh. They fell asleep after a little while, but then one of the younger kids had an accident in his pants, and the whole coach smelled of it. (He can't have been eating anything good, that's for sure.)

The strange thing was, the kids seemed to multiply! At first we only saw one or two kids but by the time they got off (leaving their still-warm sack of vomit behind, might I add) there were five or six of them! Crammed onto two seats! One of the kids was lying across the top, hanging on for dear life! Some of them went to sleep in the aisle as well. There were lots of people in the aisles, actually - some of our group couldn't deal with the constant sight of vomit (fortunately I could only hear it, not see it, as I was sat further in front listening to the Mamma Mia! soundtrack with Lydia) so ended up sleeping in the aisles.

We got here at about half two and checked in at the hotel. We hadn't had any proper lunch so went on a hunt at about four for lunch. We're about to go out to dinner soon for a reservation at 9.

.

The last few days have been quite cool. Last Thursday we went to the Niah Caves (tons of pictures!), which was pretty awesome, although we were all relieved we'd made alternate arrangements so we didn't have to stay at the National Park - after six hours we were all literally dying to leave!

We went swimming in the public swimming pools - you could get in for like 20p! - on the Friday and then relaxed at the hypermarket in the afternoon. Shopping etc. Didn't really do much - we were originally planning to go to the temple but it turned out to be way outside the city and we had no transport budget for the day.
And the beaches around Miri aren't all that great. We did go bowling, though, and to see HP at the cinema!

On Saturday I woke up feeling like death warmed up. At first I thought that it was because it was four in the morning and we had to get to the airport, but then I had to make several rather awful dashes to the toilets at the airport, which were the squat kind, which was not at all helpful. Turned out I had a milder version of what Will had, and I think I'll leave it at that!

In the afternoon, once we'd arrived at Kota Kinabalu (our hostel was really nice, and we've left a whole load of group kit there for free that we'll pick up when we go back to KK) we went to a water park place. I decided to stay out of the water because I still felt a bit odd, but I sat by the side and read and tried not to burn my shoulders any more! We went out to the Rainforest Cafe in the evening, which was really nice.

Yesterday kind of went a bit belly up. I'd gone to bed earlier so came down to plans that we were going to a have a BBQ on the beach. The trouble was, it was already 10, we had no BBQ or charcoal or food and we didn't even know if we could have one in the first place. So the plans got abandoned and we ended up at the cafe that we couldn't really afford. Mark had a bit of a rant about organisation and planning and I just sat there toying with my chips and wishing he would stop. Even though it wasn't only my fault. The rest of the day went better though - we came back early and sorted out all the transport for today, went out to the markets (got some nice presents!) and ate there. I didn't because there was nothing I fancied but I picked up a sandwich, some fries and an ice cream at a cafe on the way home at 11.30pm!

Also found out that Mark waxes under his arms. He also wears flared jeans. Enough said - we giggled for years over that one!!

A quick note about money - I'm managing it all quite well, I think!  We've got a good surplus and my book is very organised - I think it needs a special commemmoration case when I come home! I'm doing it all by myself, though, and it gets very stressful at times. Most other people expect me to just cough up the cash - feel a bit like the mother to 14 boisterous children!

Gotta go, off to tea!

 

Hi everyone!!

Sorry I've been out of touch for the last week and a half - we flew to Long Lellang, which is basically in the middle of nowhere. No internet, no phones (apart from a satellite phone) - not even any post!! We stayed there for a day and then went into the jungle. Let me tell you, the jungle is NOT to be sniffed at! It's SO hot and humid all the time, and there are nasty little bugs that crawl at you. There were inch long ants that bit SO hard! They crawled into Sophie's hammock and up her sleeping bag at like 4 in the morning! And the leeches were gross. A lot crawled into the small of my back and just hung on. They stretch out and are so hard to pull off! If you yank them off they're jaws can get stuck inside the wound, and if you burn them off they vomit their stomach contents back into the bite. It's revolting. I got quite a few bites but they don't actually hurt. The first one that actually bit me I didn't notice until I went to the river to wash and there was blood all down my leg and in my boot. Not many mozzies in the jungle but loads of wasps and flies. I got bitten by something on my ankle and it's swollen up and got infected, I think. At any rate, it's weeping and is all weird, so I'm just trying to keep it clean.

We actually ate pretty well in the jungle. We'd get to the campsite at about 3 and start setting up for dinner. We'd have rice, noodles, etc, and then hang out around the campfire until about 8. Then we'd go to bed because we'd be tired and it would already be completely dark. Our hammocks were good, actually, but kind of strange. I think they were made for anorexics or tiny children or something because they crushed my shoulders in and my feet stuck out the end so I had to sleep with my knees crooked up all night, which was rather painful. My asthma was all right - I struggled on uphills as always and had to stop because I could feel attacks coming, but I managed to head off all but a couple, and I only needed my inhaler twice. The trekking itself wasn't too bad, although our bags were heavy, but we were all just so tired we wanted to go back to Long Lellang and sleep for a year. The fourth day it tipped it down with rain - literally soaked to the skin. And I was wearing my clean clothes too! We did stay though, and had lots of fun. In the evening we all had to sing a song that represented how we felt about the day, and I chose 'Carry You Home' by James Blunt and 'Hero' by Enrique Iglesias, but I only sang 'Hero'. But people clapped! And it was awesome.

Our guides were great! They had machetes and shotguns (in case we came across any aggressive baboons) and were awesome. We stopped at Billy's home in Long Main, which was lovely - their houses are on stilts! But it was so wonderful to see Long Lellang again after the time away. And the sky too.

Our accommodation in Long Lellang was basically mattresses on the floor, and all but two of the girls (7 of us) shared a room, which was pretty fun. The toilet was rather like in the jungle, as in a hole in the ground, but it was technically a toilet. You just had to squat instead of sit - my leg muscles will be strong!! And it only flushed sporadically, but it was relatively clean and better than the jungle floor, where ants were about and other things and it was all very EW. Although a rat did run between Lauren's legs when she was in the loo the other night! The shower head didn't work so we washed out of a bucket or in the river most days. Our project was good - digging the church foundations was tough but fun, and the church service we went to was brilliant, although the sermons were endlessly long. We had to sing a song and we sang 'Lord of the Dance' and everyone gave me the microphone :)

We played a lot with the children, which was so much fun. They knew excellent English, especially Eunice and Joycelynne, and it made me so embarrassed that I can barely speak any Malay. We gave them piggy backs and played barefoot and it was great - I've got lots of pictures! It was so sad to leave them this morning.

We had a talent show a couple of nights ago and I decided to sing, since people hadn't hated it when I did 'Hero'. I sang 'Everything I Own' by Bread, and it was awesome!! Jade recorded it, and maybe I'll think about showing some of you when I get back :)  

We practically got conned into paying more at the airport though for our baggage because some of us were getting off at Marudi then going to Miri, while others were flying direct to Miri. They charged all the baggages to a couple of people then gave us a bill for 150RM! I put my stroppy hat on and got it reduced, though.

It's good to be back in Miri, and tonight we're going to the Ming Cafe for tea. Tomorrow we're going on a day trip to the Niah Caves, then we're going on to Mt Kinabalu.

Hopefully I'll get on in the next few days - the hypermarket here in Miri has a great internet cafe!

Love you all!!

How are you all??


PS - sorry to those who I also emailed! You'll get this twice!! Also, sorry about the huge post with no cut - I'm running out of time on the computer!