Gift for ghost lingering (RPF - Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Behind the Scenes DVD Extras)

[fv_poster]

Title of vid: Making The Fellowship
Recipient: ghost lingering
Vidder: echan
Fandom: RPF - Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Behind the Scenes DVD Extras
Music: "Endless Summer" by Scooter
Summary: We all came together, a fellowship of craftsmen, artists and engineers, to make the Fellowship of the Ring.
Content notes: No standardized notes apply
Signed length: 05:00

Link to signed vid post.

Comments

[ghost_lingering]

I HAVEN'T EVEN WATCHED BUT YOU HAD ME AT THE TITLE. ZOMG PERFECT.

I am going to watch now, but FYI, I tend to go verbose so my actual comment might not be posted until later tonight.

[ghost_lingering]

I needed this vid so much right now, you have no idea. I love, really, everything about this vid, but above all it just makes me happy. It just makes me so so happy and full of love — both for *this* film and *these* people but also for making movies in general and I needed that a lot right now for reasons that would probably be too identifying if I were to get into them. (But boil down, basically, to: ug, work.) This vid is like getting the best hug ever and since I'm at a time when I really need a hug that's pretty much the best gift you could have given me. Thank you so so so much.

I love how you go through the process from location scouting and design to computer graphics to costuming and props and set building to make-up and shooting and then editing and sound and music and color correct and then — there it is. And I love that you make someone working on a computer as exciting as someone chopping at foam or putting together chainmail or driving a camera rig or shooting blue screen or making music — you give everyone "hero" shots and I love that so terribly much. <3<3<3 It's amazing — both because yes! everyone deserves that, because they ARE all heroes and also because you made it all look equally awesome in the vid, even though on the surface of it a shot of a person doing the sound mix has no right to look as cool as a moving shot of a moving camera rig that is shooting moving horses. But you did it! You made it all look equally awesome visually and that's ... hats off. That was probably my biggest hesitation with requesting this, but you made work. It makes me so incredibly happy.

Moments, in particular, that just leave me grinning like a loon: PJ sitting on the hill at the beginning over the lyric "the sky has changed"; when the music changes at :27 and the drawing starts!; when the cave troll skeleton starts to run; 1:50 — the smile! This is probably my favorite moment of all of it <3<3<3; THE ONE RING that is ridiculously huge; basically any part with Richard Taylor (I <3 the Taylors they just both seem so fucking awesome); 3:06 when the woman is sanding; 3:49 with the orc with the pink flower!; and then 3:59-4:10 when it's all coming together!!!!; and 4:36 - 4:42 oh my god color correct I LOVE IT. (God I'm such a dork); and then the smile at 4:58 through to the green screen becoming the final version of the fellowship and, yes. It's perfect. When you see that final frame, you see what has gotten the film to the final version. I was really grinning through basically all of it though — I love it so much.

Thank you for making this vid, it's even better than I could have hoped for and it's exactly what I needed. I really — it's just perfect and makes me smile and everything I could possibly say after that is just repetitions of the same theme. Thank you so much!!!!!

[echan]

This is the best comment in all of Festivids. And it's for me!!! I am completely blown away. I am SO GLAD you loved the vid.

I personally love the backstage stuff of, well, everything really, I love seeing the seams, how things are made. I've worked in theater, but not film, but so much of the behind-the-scenes footage felt familiar to me, in a way that made me completely incapable of doing anything but making all those workers the stars of the vid and really showcasing all of their work. I'm well aware of how easy it is to highlight more visible workers (like actors or costumes) over less visible but still just as crucial work (like editing or CG). I wasn't sure I could make them all look equally exciting and interesting, though, so I'm hugely excited that that worked for you.

I love that some of the moments you love were big moments that I loved too, while others were moments I had to look up and go "that?! but that's just some totally random clip". A lot of my editing after the first draft was "is every clip the awesomest it can be, are there any clips I haven't included that just need to be in the vid". I think the contrast of our favorite clips really shows that, that there are so many just super awesome over the top brilliant moments in the vid.

I have to confess, I was terrified that this vid wouldn't be enough. The time crunch meant I was only able to get through the 7+ hours of Fellowship footage. I did have a brief idea of doing sequel vids, one each for the remaining films, but my stupid body demanded sleep, and there just wasn't time. I am so, so relieved that you love this vid, I tried really hard to make it as comprehensive as possible, because the scope of work on a film, any film, and especially the LotR films, is just epic nearly to the point of endlessness. (I still may do them, but I'm happy there's no longer the pressure of feeling like they're necessary.)

I can't take credit for making exactly the vid that you needed, I'll blame that on luck, but I'm endlessly happy that you requested this and I was able to make it for you.

[bedlamsbard]

This is delightful, and intense, and just such a work of love. Bravo!

[echan]

Thank you thank you!

[revolutionaryjo]

This simultaneously takes me back and gets me so excited for the Hobbit! Thank you for making it!

[echan]

Yay, thank you!

[shallowness]

Oh, my heart! Lovely tribute to the work and the craft of the people involved in the making of it, with some really nice witty touches balanced with reminders of the scale of their work. I watched this with a big smile throughout.

[echan]

Thank you so much, that was all exactly what I was aiming for. Hooray for awesome vid!

[lilmoka]

I can't believe I lived 22 years without this vid *adds to bookmarks*

[echan]

:D!! Thank you!

[litotease]

What a perfect song choice! The whole vid is high energy and heartwarming and I couldn't stop smiling. Brilliant; brava!

[echan]

Thank you! I worried about the song (it being a bit of an out-there genre), but it just fit so perfectly in my head I couldn't resist.

[fizzyblogic]

I love this! I love how you took us from the concept art through the creation of props and costumes and sets and effects and prosthetics to filming and editing and all that post-production stuff. It really captured the scope of the production, the amount of work that went into these films. Brilliant :)

[echan]

Thank you!!! I really wanted to capture the "omg you had how many people working on this?!" scope of the production. I also very deliberately put a stop in to every department to see their work. I'm so happy you loved it!

[gorgeousnerd]

Ooh, this was such a unique vid! I can't remember ever seeing behind-the-scenes crew getting as much fanwork love as they did here, and it was just as delightful as watching the extras. Great job!

[echan]

Behind-the-scenes crews totally deserve love! I'm so happy to have made this, but above and beyond that, I'm so blown away by how much people have responded to it, I never expected this level of love. Thank you!!!

[isweedan]

♥________♥

[echan]

:D :D !!

[briar_pipe]

Oh man, this has just jumped to the top of my list of fav RPF vids. Great song choice, great flow, and you captured everything that made me sit and watch the DVD extras all the way through not once but twice. I want to save this so I can rewatch it forever. *shakes fist at sky*

[echan]

I confess, I've never seen an RPF vid, but I've apparently made two now. I wonder if there are any other DVDs with production diary extras I can vid? You can download the vid now! Thank you for your wonderful comment!

[isis]

This is incredible. I wasn't sure what to expect from an RPF vid, but - oh! it's like the best of "making of", condensed, set to music! All the heart that goes into creating the movies we see. I really loved this!

[echan]

(I secretly don't consider this RPF because there's no fiction, just an honest portrayal of the actual work that went into the film.) Thank you so much! I'm happy the vid was a success.

[potted_music]

Thank you for such a heart-warming vid! *cannot wait for The Hobbit*

[echan]

Thank you!!

[china_shop]

What a wonderful look at the behind the scenes stuff! *applauds*

[echan]

Thank you tons!

[franzeska]

I would never have thought of making (or asking for) a vid of this. Neat! I imagine documentary footage isn't the easiest thing to vid; great job keeping this moving.

[echan]

I would never have thought of this either, but it was such a brilliant idea. Actually the hardest part of vidding this was the lack of documentary footage; much of the 7+ hours of footage was boring interviews or after-the-fact talking that looked more like something from the Home Shopping Network's Costume&Armor Hour than anything interesting. I'm happy to hear I was successful at making it all have flow and energy! Thank you :)