Talk strategy to me

[bironic]

Question for Festividders (and Yuletiders, if you replace "vid" with "fic" below) or anyone who might have opinions on fandom challenges: What are your sign-up strategies? How do you decide on requesting vs. offering, offering vs. saving for a possible treat, offering or treat-ing vs. just making a rare-fandom vid outside of Festivids (downside: fewer viewers), and offering a source that you don't have a backup idea for? If you've gotten stuck with assignments in past years because of these choices, how did you handle it?

Specifically, I am wrestling with these situations:

• In past years, I've been able to split shows and movies into "I want to make that" (offer) or "I want someone to make that for me" (request) with little overlap, but this year it's causing me more trouble. For instance, I like [movie] and I'd like to ask for an awesome vid of [movie], but I also have a vid idea for [movie], so I'm thinking of offering it and requesting it. The chance of getting matched on the same source in both directions is slim, right? But then, what if we make similar vids? Or, if I request [movie] but don't offer it, and then I go and make a vid of [movie] in the next month or whatever, and it turns out that [movie] is what my vidder got matched on, might they be upset? ...Probably I'm just overthinking this. ETA: Figured this one out; I'm making one and requesting one.


• I like [show], too, but it's one of the more popular ones on the list. At least, it is in RL. Should I offer [show], because I like my backup idea, or should I save it to make as a treat for someone, because then I'll be sure to get matched on something rarer? ETA: Problem solved; the source was disqualified.


• I love [film] and have watched it many times. I don't really have any vid ideas for it. If I offer it and it gets matched, I could most likely do what the requestor wants. But they might not have any specific requests. Do I offer, or just wait and see if anyone puts it on their Dear Festividder lists and maybe make a treat? (Now multiply this by three sources.)

I'm trying not to make decisions based on what I know of specific people's tastes. I'm guessing that if a source got nominated by someone other than me, I'm more likely to get matched on it if I offer it than if I request it, and vice versa. I'm also trying to think about how happy I'd be if [source whatever] were my match and the only vid I was able to make this round. Guesses, guesses. Questions, questions. Festivids!

(Can you tell I've been going through the now-annual tradition of reading the nominations list alongside my music list to come up with an initial brainstorm of vid ideas? Once again, there's a handful of exciting possibilities, plus a few leftovers from last year, and who knows what the actual assignment will bring.)

Comments

[bitter-crimson.livejournal.com]

Well. I wouldn't ID myself as a Festividder, heh. But I did it successfully that one year. And then last year I signed up but failed at making anything. I'm not signing up this year b/c it's too high-pressure for me. Like, any challenge where I am required to make something is too high-pressure for me at this point in my lyfe. (I tried another challenge this summer where supposedly I wasn't really required to make anything either, and THAT ended up being too high-pressure for me as well due to team pressures that didn't actually follow the specified rules of the challenge itself. Sigh.)

In the past, there were some fandoms I'd request where I also had an idea for it myself, but usually I requested things where I had a vague idea for a type of thing I wanted that I didn't think I was going to make. But I know we all do vidding/creating in different ways. I am really a person who gets a lot of ideas I will never ever make. Some ppl's response to that, like, a prompt for a vid idea that's pretty specific, is "why don't you just make it yourself then?" I, otoh, both like getting specific prompts for things (creative constraints really help me ~be~ creative in the first place), and also like giving specific prompts b/c I do get a lot of ideas I think are cool, but I don't have the ability or time or energy or drive or w/e to actually do them myself. *SHRUGS* (That said, since I know some ppl don't like those types of things, I tell ppl they can always ignore what I say too etc.)

Uh on your point about what if ppl don't have specific requests! Since like I said it really helps me getting specific requests, the first year when I signed up I intentionally ONLY offered fandoms where I could at least think of a rough concept of a type of vid I could make for it. It was really good I did that b/c the person I got assigned to only gave fandoms and like, no specifics at all. So thankfully one of the vague ideas I had had ended up panning out. The next year I also got a person who gave no specifics I think, and I tried to do one of those vague ideas I had had, but ...in that case it didn't end up panning out for me.

Haha idk these are just some vague Festivids-related thoughts. I'm looking forward to reading ppl's request letters this year. Maybe someone will have a specific request that sparks my creativity and I'll make a treat or something. I'm also thinking about like, writing my own Festivids letter myself even tho I'm not signing up? Haha. Like, I wouldn't post it on the comm b/c obvsly not signing up, but I could pick only things that are nominated for Festivids and maybe it'd inspire someone to make me a treat or something. (Only I guess it couldn't officially be for Festivids and for me, ha. But maybe it could inspire something that could be a treat officially designated for someone else. Or just a random vidlet for me. Or nobody makes anything for it but I still wrote a fun entry about brainstorming ideas. Whatever! I'll prolly do it. Maybe. We'll see.)

[anoel.livejournal.com]

Pretty much my strategy is I request my favorite rare fandoms that I'm in LOVE with and really want a vid for-not necessarily for one or two things but I'd love a vid to anything. I pretty much offer to make all my requested fandoms-the odds are small that you'll both vid the same fandom and even smaller that'll be the same thing. I only offer things that I'd love to make a vid for, usually I have one or two things per fandom that I'd love to make for it. I think there'd only be a few things I wouldn't offer but do as a treat and that'd be where I ONLY love one or two things about the source and I was worried someone would be specific and I'd feel bad about not being able to really make them happy without making me unhappy. And for rare fandom vids it's when a vid is deeply personal to me and it's not really a gift vid and I'd feel weird making it for someone else when it feels too much of me and what I want.

I think that for Festivids, it's all about making more vids to rare fandoms, it's great to see two different perspectives on something similar so I wouldn't worry about it too much although if it makes you uncomfortable, don't do it. I've found from past Festivids, I like to vid rarer stuff so I've lately pared my list to mostly include rare stuff but of course more people will watch so it's really thinking about your past reactions to less rare fandoms that might help. And I used to freak out about not being able to find a song/vid idea but now I trust that when I get my assignment, I'll find a song even if it takes many, many hours (or outside help). So I say offer...but if it doesn't help your Festivid experience then don't. In the end, I try to think of it as an experiment, see if you like doing it one way and if not, you have many, many Festivids after this one to change things :)

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

It kind of sucks that overthinking it is pretty much the only thing you have to go on to make a decision like that. I think it would be a good idea to offer something rarer that you have vid ideas for, because that's a win-win.

Offering and requesting the same fandom or pairing is not something I worry about with fic, so I don't think I'd worry about it with a vid - unless you have reason to think that someone else is likely to have had the same idea as you. Also, in your request you could provide some ideas that aren't your own idea, to steer the other person away from a situation where there are two similar vids, right?

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

I'm erring on the side of treats, offering just above bare minimum.

I don't have a problem requesting and offering the same fandom if I don't think it's likely that I and another vidder would accidentally make the same vid.