Vidlet! "Awakenings," male android/female android (Robot Stories)

[bironic]

(Okay, whatever, I made it and here it is. Forgive me if I promote it again later; not sure many people will see it this weekend.)

I saw this 15-minute film and found it really moving. With luck, the vidlet conveys some of those feelings.

Title: Awakenings
Fandom: "Machine Love," from Robot Stories by Greg Pak
Pairing: Archie/Lydia
Music: "Dr. Sayer" by Randy Newman, performed by Philip Aaberg (edited)
Rating: PG-13
Length: 1:55
Summary: Two androids fall in love.
Content notes: Workplace sexual harassment/assault.
Vidder's notes: Unbeta'd. Let's also call this a Kink Bingo square for mechanical/technological.

Streaming on YouTube and Vimeo | Download mp4 (14 MB)

ETA: This vid screened at WisCon 40 ("If..." vid show)!

Comments

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was lovely! So lovely and so sad.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so glad you found it so. Thank you for watching.

[glass-moment.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that was really lovely! Definitely conveyed a lot of feeling.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad. The movie made me full of feelings, so it is good if some of them were conveyed here. Thanks for coming by to watch!

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Just to say I enjoyed the vid, and it prompted me to finally watch the DVD of Robot Stories that I've had for about fifty million years now *g* This turned out to be such a spot-on summary of that particular section - evoking the same feel in a much more compressed fashion.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hey, awesome. So you can see through my tricks now. :) The edited song length was good for keeping the vid tight, but I did miss being able to include clips of stuff like his little wave to his coworker buddy and the scene where everyone gathers to watch him watch her from the next building over and get permission to pursue.

What did you think of the DVD? I was of mixed feelings about its execution but found that some of the stories stuck, particularly (this one and) the second one.

[futuransky]

I just saw this link in your year-end roundup and I think Robot Stories is such an interesting film so I watched – this was absolutely beautiful! The pace of the music is perfect for the slow and awkward android movements, giving them such grace. I'm really glad I found this!

[bironic]

Oh, what a lovely observation about the interplay between the music and their jerky motions. I'm so glad you found something to enjoy in this small vid. And glad to have found another person who has seen these short films. Never mind the low production values and occasional poor pacing; some of the narratives really stick with you.

[futuransky]

I actually watched the films because Wendy Hui Kyung Chun has an analysis of them in her essay Race And/As Technology – it's in a book you can download here if you like (http://rasaneh.org/Images/News/AtachFile/29-5-1392/FILE635125840531259371.pdf – discussion starts on page 52 though I do recommend the whole essay and book!)

[bironic]

Ooh! That sounds fascinating. Bookmarking it right now.

[futuransky]

Update... I would like to show this in my vid playlist at WisCon! I think the audience there is exactly right to appreciate all the things I love about this vid and the film it comes from. :)

[bironic]

That would be fantastic! It makes me happy that you feel this vidlet has a place at WisCon, especially since it hasn't found much of an audience here.

Very curious about your playlist theme!

[runawaynun]

This vid is so lovely and creepy and adorably awkward at the same time! AH!

[bironic]

I'm so glad you saw it and enjoyed it! (Wiscon, maybe?)