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[or, why you shouldn't get butt-hurt if you get flamed by someone you don't know]
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cortese does meta on vidding here, specifically on how one's upbringing and past might affect if a vid "works" for a watcher.
And of course therein lies a major stumbling point for me at "for a watcher", the issue being how well does a creator recognize the audience they are creating for? Because theoretically only the sub-audience(s) it is geared towards can *fully* access the ideas/emotions that the creative piece in question is trying to convey. (assuming that the work in question was created for an audience, and not just for the creator themself)
Example: I write fanfic assuming an audience that has grown up or lives in a native-English speaking culture. This is important *not* because I'm trying to exclude other cultures, but because I'm *writing* in English and my writing's so lyrical.
Anywhere from 60%~80% of my writing is based on the sound and the flow and the implications (cultural and fanon and otherwise) of the language; I make word, phrasing, syntax, and punctuation choices based as much on the emotions garnered from the sounds and pace of the words as from the meaning itself to lend the story layers. At least 50% of any story I write is hidden in the implications and a LOT of that is based on the wordings and the emotions from the words.
I've heard of some stories being translated into other languages and I am *terrified* of trying to do it for any of mine because I don't think it can all transfer over; whatever *does* translate might be just the bare bones of the fic, or less.
In sum, I'm purposely directing my writing towards a target audience of native English-speakers, who are immersed in the slash fandom I'm writing for. I don't expect non-fanficcers to 'get' my writing, I don't expect non-slash fans to 'get' my writing, I don't expect those not in my fandom to 'get' my writing, and I don't expect non-native English speakers to 'get' my writing. It would be gratifying if they did, and I would be surprised and pleased should it happen, but I don't have any real hope or expectation for it.
I do not *intend* to write for the other audiences. Thus the comments "You made them gay, how could you?!" and "Duuuuude that doesn't make sense, I'm confused!" would (and should) carry weight only if they came from my specific target audiences.
I've mentioned before in my bad!fic defense that you can get into trouble when the writer of one intent tries to crossover into the audience of the other intents, which is exactly what might happen if, say, I try to submit a slash fic into a het fic community. Or if I try to get a non-native speaker to read my fic.
Or, if a writer who's looking for entrance into a community by way of submitting fic get's criticized for their fic, and doesn't realize that the criticism is the community's way of inclusion (ie. your fic is good enough to make me want to help you get better).
This, I've noticed, is like unto the well-paved path to Wank. (it's another one of those four-letter words, work with me here...)
It's thus that you get mislabled bad!fic; sometimes they're just mediocre!fic, except you're not in love with the pairing and can't see why people would read it. Othertimes they're good!fic except they're Greatly Misunderstood. Or even brilliant!fic, except Ahead of Their Time.
Granted, some bad!fic is just *bad* fic.
And some fic are just so brilliant as to transcend all boundaries of culture and time and never get labled as "bad". (::gestures at Shakespeare::)
But what about those fics in-between? The mediocre stuff? Or the really kinky stuff? The trashy romance novels? The curtain!fic? The random average Mary Sue fic that is blatantly self-insertion that are a dime-a-dozen at ff.n that get those masses of reviews and makes everyone roll their eyes?
Everything else that is not quite brilliant and trancendant, and could only be loved by a small audience?
By god, but they have a right to be there too. Yes, even the Mary Sues. Because the readership for *that* is a culture of different temperment than the slash fics, and please set aside one's blinkers on "quality" for a moment here. yes? Because it's not as if slash fandom isn't as populated by the Marty-Stu, or even the transgendered Mary-Sue under a sex-operation (::coughWillTurnercoughcough::). It's gratuitous fic perhaps, and it's not high art; but then not everything is, or is *supposed* to be, or *needs* to be, no? I mean, high art is *nice*; but sometimes I just want an easy, schmoopy, trashy romance to cuddle up to...
Alternately, there's an audience for the Mary Sue, and an audience for the slash, and connect the two unwisely and it's like a rough surface and a match stick.
In equal terms, there's an audience for fandom community (ie. "I write/read fic for a hobby") and there's an audience for the literature/fic (ie. "I write/read fic because of my love for words") and if you mix the two without a certain understanding (or at least a certain amount of paitience) of the other then you are pretty much asking for a one-way ticket to Fandom_Wank.
Know your audience, as best you can, and don't be surprised to get criticism if you don't hit your target audience. It's been said before, in different ways, but it should be said multiple times and in as many different ways as possible methinks.
[edit] Forgot to define a subject, might've caused some confusing, elaborating now: knowing your audience doesn't mean that you should be inhibited in writing what you want. Just don't be surprised at the comments if you know that you are writing for a bit of a niche market, is all. (altho...that might prove to be a deterrant, in that there might be less feedback, less glowing feedback...gah, maybe more on this later, gotta run)
...
Which brings me to how I, as a watcher of vids, can't seem to connect with some vids due to song choice. It just doesn't connect with me so much so that I would be gritting my teeth to be able to make it through a vid, or not being able to.
Granted I'm an AlternativeRock, LinkinPark, and Eminem-loving weirdo with a prediliction towards smooth voices, heavy beats, and a strong guitar line who also happens to adore choral and orchestral work with a classical framing and a burning hatred for Emo and a strong apathy towards Sarah McLaughlin, REM, and suchlike.
Which, sadly, seems to put me a bit out of touch with certain highly reccommended vids.
In this case I usually pull up the lyrics, and try to find something matching in 'emotional tone' from my mp3 files. In some ways this is *exactly* like reading a fic where I'm not familiar with the language. I *don't* connect with it, and I *can't* unless I find a translation in my own musical "language".
It kinda makes me feel guilty at times, however. I know how much effort must have gone into making the vid fit the beats of the music for impact.
However, if they're not making any impact at all because of the song choice is it perhaps any wonder that I go looking elsewhere for *something* that'll make me understand the vid more?
merble.
cortese does meta on vidding here, specifically on how one's upbringing and past might affect if a vid "works" for a watcher.And of course therein lies a major stumbling point for me at "for a watcher", the issue being how well does a creator recognize the audience they are creating for? Because theoretically only the sub-audience(s) it is geared towards can *fully* access the ideas/emotions that the creative piece in question is trying to convey. (assuming that the work in question was created for an audience, and not just for the creator themself)
Example: I write fanfic assuming an audience that has grown up or lives in a native-English speaking culture. This is important *not* because I'm trying to exclude other cultures, but because I'm *writing* in English and my writing's so lyrical.
Anywhere from 60%~80% of my writing is based on the sound and the flow and the implications (cultural and fanon and otherwise) of the language; I make word, phrasing, syntax, and punctuation choices based as much on the emotions garnered from the sounds and pace of the words as from the meaning itself to lend the story layers. At least 50% of any story I write is hidden in the implications and a LOT of that is based on the wordings and the emotions from the words.
I've heard of some stories being translated into other languages and I am *terrified* of trying to do it for any of mine because I don't think it can all transfer over; whatever *does* translate might be just the bare bones of the fic, or less.
In sum, I'm purposely directing my writing towards a target audience of native English-speakers, who are immersed in the slash fandom I'm writing for. I don't expect non-fanficcers to 'get' my writing, I don't expect non-slash fans to 'get' my writing, I don't expect those not in my fandom to 'get' my writing, and I don't expect non-native English speakers to 'get' my writing. It would be gratifying if they did, and I would be surprised and pleased should it happen, but I don't have any real hope or expectation for it.
I do not *intend* to write for the other audiences. Thus the comments "You made them gay, how could you?!" and "Duuuuude that doesn't make sense, I'm confused!" would (and should) carry weight only if they came from my specific target audiences.
I've mentioned before in my bad!fic defense that you can get into trouble when the writer of one intent tries to crossover into the audience of the other intents, which is exactly what might happen if, say, I try to submit a slash fic into a het fic community. Or if I try to get a non-native speaker to read my fic.
Or, if a writer who's looking for entrance into a community by way of submitting fic get's criticized for their fic, and doesn't realize that the criticism is the community's way of inclusion (ie. your fic is good enough to make me want to help you get better).
This, I've noticed, is like unto the well-paved path to Wank. (it's another one of those four-letter words, work with me here...)
It's thus that you get mislabled bad!fic; sometimes they're just mediocre!fic, except you're not in love with the pairing and can't see why people would read it. Othertimes they're good!fic except they're Greatly Misunderstood. Or even brilliant!fic, except Ahead of Their Time.
Granted, some bad!fic is just *bad* fic.
And some fic are just so brilliant as to transcend all boundaries of culture and time and never get labled as "bad". (::gestures at Shakespeare::)
But what about those fics in-between? The mediocre stuff? Or the really kinky stuff? The trashy romance novels? The curtain!fic? The random average Mary Sue fic that is blatantly self-insertion that are a dime-a-dozen at ff.n that get those masses of reviews and makes everyone roll their eyes?
Everything else that is not quite brilliant and trancendant, and could only be loved by a small audience?
By god, but they have a right to be there too. Yes, even the Mary Sues. Because the readership for *that* is a culture of different temperment than the slash fics, and please set aside one's blinkers on "quality" for a moment here. yes? Because it's not as if slash fandom isn't as populated by the Marty-Stu, or even the transgendered Mary-Sue under a sex-operation (::coughWillTurnercoughcough::). It's gratuitous fic perhaps, and it's not high art; but then not everything is, or is *supposed* to be, or *needs* to be, no? I mean, high art is *nice*; but sometimes I just want an easy, schmoopy, trashy romance to cuddle up to...
Alternately, there's an audience for the Mary Sue, and an audience for the slash, and connect the two unwisely and it's like a rough surface and a match stick.
In equal terms, there's an audience for fandom community (ie. "I write/read fic for a hobby") and there's an audience for the literature/fic (ie. "I write/read fic because of my love for words") and if you mix the two without a certain understanding (or at least a certain amount of paitience) of the other then you are pretty much asking for a one-way ticket to Fandom_Wank.
Know your audience, as best you can, and don't be surprised to get criticism if you don't hit your target audience. It's been said before, in different ways, but it should be said multiple times and in as many different ways as possible methinks.
[edit] Forgot to define a subject, might've caused some confusing, elaborating now: knowing your audience doesn't mean that you should be inhibited in writing what you want. Just don't be surprised at the comments if you know that you are writing for a bit of a niche market, is all. (altho...that might prove to be a deterrant, in that there might be less feedback, less glowing feedback...gah, maybe more on this later, gotta run)
...
Which brings me to how I, as a watcher of vids, can't seem to connect with some vids due to song choice. It just doesn't connect with me so much so that I would be gritting my teeth to be able to make it through a vid, or not being able to.
Granted I'm an AlternativeRock, LinkinPark, and Eminem-loving weirdo with a prediliction towards smooth voices, heavy beats, and a strong guitar line who also happens to adore choral and orchestral work with a classical framing and a burning hatred for Emo and a strong apathy towards Sarah McLaughlin, REM, and suchlike.
Which, sadly, seems to put me a bit out of touch with certain highly reccommended vids.
In this case I usually pull up the lyrics, and try to find something matching in 'emotional tone' from my mp3 files. In some ways this is *exactly* like reading a fic where I'm not familiar with the language. I *don't* connect with it, and I *can't* unless I find a translation in my own musical "language".
It kinda makes me feel guilty at times, however. I know how much effort must have gone into making the vid fit the beats of the music for impact.
However, if they're not making any impact at all because of the song choice is it perhaps any wonder that I go looking elsewhere for *something* that'll make me understand the vid more?
merble.
Re: Utterly OT, but...