Gift for Anoel by hollywoodgrrl (UnREAL)

[fv_poster]

Title of vid: Flashbulb Eyes
Recipient: Anoel
Vidder: hollywoodgrrl
Fandom: UnREAL
Music: Flashbulb Eyes by Arcade Fire
Summary: What if the camera

really do

take your soul?



Oh no.
Content notes: No standardized notes apply
Signed length: 02:37
Signed URL: http://sync-slaying.livejournal.com/40513.html

Comments

[anoel]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS IS SO AMAZING!!!!! PERFECT PERFECT SONG CHOICE and the editing is spot on and RACHEL AND QUINN OMG MY BABIES!!!!! (I cheered/clapped at that face touching A++++) I am so fucking in love with your cutting style and how you show the fucked up-ness and how you build up to that ENDING OH GOD I CRIED and AHHHH ITS SO AMAZING!!! THE ENDING IS SO PERFECT I COULD DIE WITH THE PERFECT COUCH SHOT AND THE QUOTE WHICH IS MY FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE!!!! This is more than I ever expected and THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH FESTIVIDDER!!!

(more coherency later THANK YOU)

[anoel]

Apologies for the delayed response Festividder but I have not checked the reveals post I SWEAR so let's pretend I commented on this before because I still have no idea who you are yet. But I have some sleep so I can properly give you some feedback on this cause it DESERVES ALL THAT AND MORE!!! I am still in awe that I got such an amazing vid that perfectly encapsulates the show and is SO FUCKING BRILLIANT and you are MAD TALENTED and I bow down at your skills cause daaaamn this is so fucking awesome. The song choice IS SO PERFECT, it's like they made it specifically for the show and you capture the fuckedup-ness of the show and the glee of them and how all the characters get swept up in it. I really REALLY love how you use motion in the vid, not letting us rest and instead getting swept up into the action which never stops just like the reality show production. I love how you cut throughout, on different beats, never in a regimented way but capturing that sense of not knowing what's going to happen and trying to make things dramatic like the show does and everything being off balance and not quite right.

I love how you start the vid by showing the clip of the church and immediately go to the camera view of it to set up the camera theme and how this is all just fake and being watched and then that transition to the two clips of Adam with his closeup (so great!) and camera flash was so perfect with setting him up as the *dream* with that fantasy, celebrity culture. I love how you use the different angles of the women waiting edited perfectly to the music showing how they're being observed at all times and that little motion shot of Adam turning and the Everlasting title is SO PERFECT in setting up the name of the show and transitioning to the next part in the music in beautiful harmony. I love the camera flash on the big house, giving us the bigger picture and setting and that you wait til here to bring in Quinn and the producers behind the screen who set this all up. I love that motion shot of Quinn set right next to her hands up controlling everything behind the scenes as she's always hectic in motion and yet knows she can handle it all. I love that you then go into Adam and Britney waiting anxiously but then show him giving the finger, showing how seriously he takes it and also setting up his conflict with the producers who you all give perfect reaction shots for showing their response, Quinn's in particular is SO perfect haha. I love how you show the smiling faces of the more innocent, romantic contestants getting sucked into the fantasy of the show and then immediately follow that with the Everlasting exclusive shot showing the fakeness of it next to real clip of Adam standing there. And I love that shot of Rachel uncomfortably watching Rachel setting up her story.

I love the shots of the camera (sometimes literal lyric matches are awesome!) following the contestant and how you go from a wider camera angle to the camera closeup which I love how it hits that sound in the music. The way the high heeled leg comes out of the carriage is so great at setting up Britney's kiss and who she is and I LOVE that you follow that up with Quinn's laugh and then the subsequent butt grab letting Quinn label her as the villian is so great at showing the fucked up attitudes to women's sexuality and how the reality show makes a game out of it. All of Quinn's smiles and points are SO great at showing her and the show's approach to the women and you choose the perfect clips to represent the women particularly Grace's little motion to the camera and I love that it all plays out on "the cameras take your soul" as by being on the show, the women let themselves be used as symbols and "characters". The reaction shots on "oh no" are SO perfect with Adam not knowing how to handle himself with the attention and Shia giving him the thumbs up, leading him on (like the rest of the producers). The push to the music is so great and Jay's laugh at setting up is SO him and awwww I love him.

I love how you setup Mary with the "desperate MILF" shot that goes so well with the music with Quinn's hand motions and then Faith's unsure look is juxtaposed so great with Grace's confidence in kissing with that Rachel's girls posterboard tying them all together. I love Rachel's uncomfortable look on take your soul right next to Britney's posing, tying them together and foreshadowing what's to come with them. The camera angles of Britney are so well timed with the music and I love Quinn's sinister smile which works well with that fade out of "nooo" with the motion of the camera, super cool. I like how you bring in the other producer's point and show how the women begin to reject the cameras with that great closeup on the camera and then the next shot with the camera being pushed away, visually that was so beautifully done. Rachel and Quinn's hand slap on the beat was SO AWESOME and gives me so many feels not to mention it's timed so well with the music. And I love Jay's little shove at Shia, so cute and they go so well together showing how complicit the producers are in making dramatic things happen.

I love the literal use of hit me with Faith, showing her happiness while she's just someone to make fun of for the camera and then that camera/lipstick juxtaposition is SO GREAT and right after that, the money and Adam's smug look is SUPER perfect with him both having the money and using the show (and the show using him) for money. Such awesome use of the lyrics with "I've got nothing to hide" being the camera showing Rachel's breakdown and Rachel defiantly coming back even as the cameras follow her and Quinn's smile (side note of shipper squeeee) is so perfect and I love all those last three shots hit on the notes in the music with the Jeremy shot at the end showing how she has to come back to face him. I love how you turn it around with Chet and Quinn and show how she hides her feelings for him even as she pretends she's industructible.

That Rachel/Quinn cheek grab gets me EVERY FUCKING TIME, it's so hot and messed up and I totally squee every time :D I love how the grab hits the music and how Rachel's face is so emotionally honest with those closeups and how you let the shot at 0:53 pause for an extra beat to really capture that is so brilliant. I love how Quinn lets her go on "nothing" which fits the music and lyrics so well and then that sped up shot of Adam and Rachel walking together fits so well with both the music and her running away from her problems through sex and romance all while the cameras capture both Adam and Jeremy with her as Quinn watches on. The sex shots all fit together so well and are cut so you feel like she's out of control and then the use of Quinn showing her footage of it is SO perfect especially with the point on the music and Rachel's eye raise expression hitting the music so well. I LOVE the mouse click on the drum beat and the covering up of the camera and media deletion showing Rachel is just like the contestants trying to hide themselves even when they ultimately can't.

I love that the camera turns into the control buttons as Rachel watches the contestants with such amazing facial expressions as they show their insecurities and do whatever it takes and the cutting is just beautiful with the closeups and head turns to the music, just really powerful. I love how you compare Faith's trying to find peace with Rachel with her head to the sky trying to be okay with everything, the juxtaposition is so great. You set up the drugs storyline SO well with Shia turning the camera off and the closeups of the pills and it all hiting the beats so well and then that "oh no" with Mary's family photo is devastating knowing what's to come and Shia's brief oh no face juxtaposes so beautifully with the pill take (right on the music cool!) and Rachel punch giving it an extra horribleness in how they take pleasure in what will cause so much future destruction. I love the transition with the cameras with the lights and the beautiful motion and I love the way the clips cut to those little notes especially with those alcohol shots and how you show the producers using alcohol (just like Shia used the drugs) to create more of a storyline and influencing the contestants to lose control as the cameras capture it. Such great use of all the bikini dancing shots and that "sex sells" mentality of the camera as well as taking off what you're hiding and giving others what they want especially with the kissing shots.

I love how you bring in Chet and the drugs and the graphics of the other shows with Quinn's increasingly unhappy face as she begins to lose control and show the chinks in her armor as her issues with Chet rise to the surface as the camera will let nothing stay hidden (also nice parallel with Jay and Quinn both using Chet to get shows). It's so great how you go against the lyrics with "nothing to hide" being Faith kissing her friend and then pretending to be with Adam for the camera. And then I love Rachel watching Adam fucking to "nothing" as both nothing to hide and to it being nothing to him and Rachel being forced to confront it (and the parallel to Chet, NICE), just SO good. I love the music hits on the Everlasting proposal and then the ring showing Quinn's conflicting desires and how the ring goes with that fakeness of the camera happy kiss shots when really it's just Chet cheating on her (awesome "nothing" callback to Adam) with her reaction to taking off the ring was just so perfect. I also REALLY love the parallel of both Quinn and Grace sleeping with a guy (really great cuts on the beats here) who then goes with the "wife" leaving them sad and alone.

The camera capturing Mary's sadness and then her fall to the music is SO HEARTBREAKING and guts me every time and then you get me even more with Shia's shock and the kid's sad goodbye *cries and cries* I love the use of the police tape imagery and the camera still watching on with those angles of Mary on the ground and then the blood being so powerful especially with that reaction shot of Rachel's devastation. You condense Jay's storyline so well and I love how you show the "monitors off on overnights" sign with them purposefully ignoring it. It's so great how you show the camera controls and how they manipulate the fighting even as the fucked up-ness of the show leads to heightened emotions and the clips here you chose are SO BRILLIANT with the shove, camera push, wall hit, Rachel reaction shot and the motion of the camera shot that beautifully captures the violence and anger climax hitting the music so damn well.

I love how Anna running away from it transitions so well with Quinn running down to Rachel to deal with the fallout and her run is timed so beautiful to the music. It's so great how you intercut the fights and cameras with the marriage proposal showing both the reality and the fake image that gets shown which ultimately ends with crying. And I LOVE the Quinn and Rachel smiles intercut with the "I don't deserve you" note which shows the insecurity and morality differences and transitions so well to them laying down together accepting the show that they made together. And then you chose the PERFECT last scene with the cameras setting up the fight as Quinn and Rachel enjoy (kind of) what they created together. AND OMG PERFECT LAST QUOTE! I'm still not over it, such a hilarious expression of the fun-ness of the show while showing how the camera has taken her soul. And I LOVE the credits which fit the UnREAL title so well.

I was really hoping for an UnREAL vid and I am SO SO HAPPY that you made this truly unbelieably awesome vid for me. I cannot put into words how much I love it and how honored I am that you spent so much time making such a well-crafted vid that I've watched so many times and can always watch when I want more of the show. You have taken my soul dear festividder by making this for me as I am enraptured by it and it's just SO FUCKING PERFECT! Thank you so incredibly much for adding this to my life, I LOVE IT!!!

[cupidsbow]

I have absolutely no idea about this show, and I suspect I would hate it. But this vid? Holy shit, it's great. The cutting is crisp and perfect and full of movement, and all of it draws the eye to the superficial perfection of these awful people whose flaws are waiting just under the surface. Fantastic vid. Thank you.

[goodbyebird]

Holy balls this is amazing. Such crisp editing and perfect music choice.

[mazily]

oh, man, this is just amazing and so fucking PERFECT and I love it so so much.

[sarkastic]

This is awesome! Really get the feeling of the show.

[cathexys]

Oh wow! What a perfect song for this show. Wonderful shots and great engagement with the interpersonal dynamics and the overall themes of artificiality and mediatedness. Just wonderful!!!!

[amathela]

So. Great. This perfectly sums up the show, and wow, what a perfect song choice.

[kiki_miserychic]

YESYESYESYESYES THIS IS EVERYTHING.

I LOVE IT SO FREAKING HARD.

Rachel is so well constructed here, especially with Quinn and their relationship with each other and the truth. My god. This is so good.

This editing is amazing, truly. I love the speed and movement.

It's like you boiled the show down and this is the essence or something.

[were_duck]

WOW this is such a perfect song. The emotion, the fakeness, the realness behind the reality. The clipping in this is so lovely and the beat is so good.

[streussal]

God this is so good. I'm not even sure what to say. The editing, the build. The last shot being Quinn and Rachel watching the fight they have orchestrated. Just. So good.

[sasha_feather]

What a beautiful vid!

[winterevanesce]

This is really freaking good!! I think I need to go check out this show now.

[seekingferret]

Really cool looking vid.

[echan]

I gotta second what cupidsbow said above, about amazing vids to shows the vid watcher would not enjoy at all. There's some amazing magic in making that transformation / translation work. I would not enjoy watching UnREAL, but I really dig this vid a lot!

The song choice is completely inspired, and you did amazing work building it up, starting with the straightforward idea and then showing all the consequences playing out on camera. The major characters and their stories were easy to follow, something I personally have a hard time with in many vids for unfamiliar sources, so that was totally your skill with the vid structure and clip choices. The timing and energy was great. The whole story arc of the vid was very satisfying.

[ghost_lingering]

Ooooh, this is great. Perfect song too.

[nicole_anell]

I think I burnt out my ability to be coherent but THIS IS STUNNING, brilliantly edited and one I will be watching over and over. I love the way you captured the artificialness of the show-within-the-show and the grimier reality, all the cameras and voyeurism and manipulation. Just perfect.

[chaila]

This is so SHARP. In particular, you've done such an effective job capturing the expressions on people's faces, the quick glimpses when the performance slips and the bleak reality bleeds through for a second.

[revolutionaryjo]

Ooh, this really captures the feel of the show. The song choice is fantastic as well!

[bessyboo]

Fuck, I am SO in love with this vid. I feel like it truly perfectly encapsulates both this show, and what I love about it. The editing is AWESOME, and man, it really just cuts right to the twisted, emotional heart of the show, and the quote at the end is fucking PERFECT. Awesome, awesome job.

[ariadnes_string]

This is fantastic! And what a perfect, perfect song!

[starlady]

I have been thinking about this vid constantly. It's so sharply edited and so vividly conceptualized, and of course the song choice is perfect.