New vid! Storm Warnings (Apocalypto)

[bironic]

This came out of nowhere while brainstorming for Festivids. A beautiful (if violent) movie, a beautiful (if haunting) song. I hope you'll give this a try even if you don't know the source. Heck, if only people who knew the movie watched it, it would probably have an audience of about six.

Title: Storm Warnings
Source: Apocalypto
Characters/Pairings: Jaguar Paw
Music: "Things That Scare Me" by Neko Case (edited)
Length: 2:40
Warnings: Graphic violence (ritual sacrifice, beheading, ripped-out hearts, attack on village families), themes of being hunted, themes of imperialism. Spoilers for the end of the film.

Notes: Because this vid doesn't tackle most of the issues surrounding the film, you might want to check out this Wikipedia article, which has more information on the production and initial release, including controversies about its depiction of the falling Maya civilization and potential negative impact on modern Maya societies. (You know, like how the astronomy-minded Maya wouldn't have been surprised by an eclipse, or how mass human sacrifice is more consistent with Aztec history, or how the ending together with the epigraph can be read to mean that the Maya deserved conquering because their cities had become morally corrupt [although I read it as an irony, escaping one relentless hunter-destroyer only to be faced with another].) Also an NYT movie review.

On a lighter note, this is the first time I've edited a vidding song to make it longer. Yeesh. And yet somehow the huge chunk of the movie that is the chase through the jungle got condensed into about five seconds.



Streaming at YouTube and Vimeo | Download mp4 (48 MB)

Lyrics:

Fluorescent lights engage
Blackbirds frying on a wire
Same birds that followed me
To school when I was young
Were they trying to tell me something
Were they telling me to run

[instrumental]

The hammer clicks in place
The world's gonna pay
Right down in the face of God and his saints
Claim your soul's not for sale
I'm a dying breed who still believes
Haunted by American dreams
Haunted by American dreams



Comments and concrit are always welcome as I try to improve my vidding.

Considering the banjo and the eerie American dream references, I still think this song would make for an excellent Take Shelter vid. But this is the match my brain insisted on.

x-posted to vidding

Comments

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

Heh, I'd be one of those six people! *g* Or maybe 5 1/2? I've seen most of Apocalypto twice -- both times I somehow came in about 20 or so minutes into the movie (it was on HBO or Starz or some other movie channel). I liked it, though, and I like this vid. And I agree about the song and Take Shelter, although one might also be able to use Case's This Tornado Loves You or Middle Cyclone.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hey hi! Glad you liked it.

The titles of those songs work but the lyrics and/or tone don't, iirc from the same brainstorming session. That's okay -- maybe someone will vid it (to something) for festivids.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

While you didn't make this vid specifically for me, I really appreciated the way you crafted it to focus on intensity rather than gore. I don't think I could manage seeing the whole film, but this vid covered a very compelling psychological journey for the main character.

[oschun.livejournal.com]

Interesting song choice for the source. I enjoyed it, especially the matching of the lyrics at the end.

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

A lovely vid! I could follow the narrative without having seen the movie, and the irony came across excellently. (I'm confused that I hadn't heard of this film at all. Was its publicity completely eclipsed by Mel Gibson's personal bad press?)

Funny how people keep using the "unexpected eclipse" trope in the least believable contexts. My main association with it is the Tintin album Temple of the Sun (sic) -- I'll never understand why Hergé didn't think that one through.

How do you edit a song to be longer? Whatever you did, it was imperceptible, so good job on that!