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bironic
Title: Wreck of the Good Ship Atlantis (also on AO3)
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis (SGA)
Pairing: Gen/ensemble
Length: 4:26
Music: "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot (edited)
Summary: The tale of the good ship Atlantis, lost at sea with all hands on board.
Content warnings: Implied character deaths.
Physical warnings: Frequent lightning and flickering lights.
Notes: 1. I made 90% of this vid in 2010. It's not that it took six years to perfect; I just had to rebuild it a couple of times (once for better quality, once for computer failure) and figure out how to approach the special effect with Sheppard's face toward the end. I would make this vid differently now if I were to make it at all, but I didn't want the effort to go to waste, so even though I'm not entirely happy with it, particularly the middle, here it is.
2. When this project began, I wrote, "It seems like the most respected vids use music to make a point about the source; here, I've done it the other way around, using the source to illustrate the song." I wanted to see if I could make a constructed reality vid using SGA footage* to tell the story of the loss of a beautiful ship with a beloved crew, set to a song I have cherished since childhood. I hope people enjoy it even though it's a literal interpretation.
3. The loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald was a tragedy. I don't mean to disrespect the event, its crew or the survivors by using the song for this vid.
*Ha—originally I thought I could rely on footage from "The Storm"/"The Eye," but the vid ended up borrowing from about 23 SGA episodes and another two SG-1s.
Thanks: Toyevgenie, zulu and thedeadparrot for their honest input on a first draft. Don't blame them for things that don't work here. To sheafrotherdon, whose advice kept me from doing something potentially offensive. To cinco for assuring me that doing a literal match of source to lyrics and tone was okay. And to deelaundry and synn for their support throughout the process.
Streaming on Vimeo | Download MP4 (81 MB) + subtitles (.vtt or .srt)
LYRICS (edited):
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned,
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland.
And later that night when the ship's bell rang,
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing.
And every man knew, as the captain did too
'Twas the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.
When suppertime came the old cook came on deck, sayin'
"Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya."
At seven p.m. the main hatchway caved in. He said,
"Fellas, it's been good to know ya."
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
They may have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis (SGA)
Pairing: Gen/ensemble
Length: 4:26
Music: "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot (edited)
Summary: The tale of the good ship Atlantis, lost at sea with all hands on board.
Content warnings: Implied character deaths.
Physical warnings: Frequent lightning and flickering lights.
Notes: 1. I made 90% of this vid in 2010. It's not that it took six years to perfect; I just had to rebuild it a couple of times (once for better quality, once for computer failure) and figure out how to approach the special effect with Sheppard's face toward the end. I would make this vid differently now if I were to make it at all, but I didn't want the effort to go to waste, so even though I'm not entirely happy with it, particularly the middle, here it is.
2. When this project began, I wrote, "It seems like the most respected vids use music to make a point about the source; here, I've done it the other way around, using the source to illustrate the song." I wanted to see if I could make a constructed reality vid using SGA footage* to tell the story of the loss of a beautiful ship with a beloved crew, set to a song I have cherished since childhood. I hope people enjoy it even though it's a literal interpretation.
3. The loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald was a tragedy. I don't mean to disrespect the event, its crew or the survivors by using the song for this vid.
*Ha—originally I thought I could rely on footage from "The Storm"/"The Eye," but the vid ended up borrowing from about 23 SGA episodes and another two SG-1s.
Thanks: To
yevgenie, zulu and thedeadparrot for their honest input on a first draft. Don't blame them for things that don't work here. To sheafrotherdon, whose advice kept me from doing something potentially offensive. To cinco for assuring me that doing a literal match of source to lyrics and tone was okay. And to deelaundry and synn for their support throughout the process. Streaming on Vimeo | Download MP4 (81 MB) + subtitles (.vtt or .srt)
Wreck of the Good Ship Atlantis from bironic on Vimeo.
LYRICS (edited):
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned,
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland.
And later that night when the ship's bell rang,
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing.
And every man knew, as the captain did too
'Twas the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.
When suppertime came the old cook came on deck, sayin'
"Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya."
At seven p.m. the main hatchway caved in. He said,
"Fellas, it's been good to know ya."
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
They may have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
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