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VVC report part 4: Club Vivid
After the panels came the usual dinner break, which lately has just been the "get ready for Club Vivid" break. The buffet is substantial enough to serve as dinner, so we generally head down and eat and socialize for a bit, then head back to the room to change and glam up for the dance.
The hotel was running a little behind all weekend on setup that involved food of any kind, which is unusual, so the buffet didn't start until 6:30 or so. No biggie, except how I just expect everything Vividcon-related to start on time, so it made me blink a bit.
Which has just reminded me of something I wanted to say: the concom, as usual, was calm and cheerful throughout the con, handling things as they came up, despite coping with even more stress than usual in the face of a hotel staff that was late with all food-related things, right down to water service in the function rooms, and more horribly, a DVD duplicating place that had delayed the delivery of the DVDs till the last possible second. On Friday, no one on staff even knew if the DVDs would arrive by Saturday (!!). If they hadn't, the concom would have had to somehow get hold of the DVDs after the con, and ship out every set individually at huge unexpected cost, not to mention facing the disappointment of more than a hundred people who expected to be able to pick them up on Sunday in person.
Not a trace of that stress showed publicly; to the uninformed eye, everything was running smooth as silk all weekend. So big kudos to the concom for their professionalism throughout. <3
So the buffet was good, as usual, and Mandy and her cohort were back at the bars wearing beaded necklaces and ready to serve up whatever we wanted (seriously, I love how much the bartenders seem to have a good time with us. We're kind of a motley crew, and we are unbelievably loud at Club Vivid, but everyone has a blast and it's great that the bartenders are part of that. It never feels like they're outsiders watching us and silently mocking, which could totally happen with some people. These folks put on their beads and seem to have a great time watching us all have a great time. <3 )
After we ate, we went back to the room to dress up a bit and add some nice bright hair coloring, then headed back down to check out everyone's outfits and start in on the booze. (I brought hair chalk to try this year, too, but you have to put hair spray in first, which I'm not keen on, and forgot to pick up at Dominick's anyway. Oh well, maybe next time.)
During the very first CV, one person came in very tight, very shiny silver pants that impressed everyone. Times have changed; this year, we had a shiny silver bikini-thing that also impressed everyone quite a bit. There was also the usual array, from comfy street clothes to cosplay to cocktail dresses to clubwear; bare feet and sneakers and stilettos and thigh-high laced boots; and glitter and glowsticks EVERYWHERE. I love all of that so much; I can't think of anything else I do all year where someone in a tight-laced pleather corset and killer boots can hang out with someone in loose cotton pajamas and slippers in public, and both of them be appropriately dressed and equally comfortable. ♥
So pre-CV is always fun, with everyone wandering around talking and drinking and eating and admiring each other, then there's a rush for the dance floor as the Joxer Dance starts up, and we're off!
... and then there's a three-hour haze of dancing and drinking and vids. *g* Ian outdoes himself every year on the playlist, and this year was no exception.
But one fabulous addition this year was a tv over on one of the side table in the middle, showing all the vids in addition to the big screens at either end. It made it easier to actually watch the vids, if there was something you particularly wanted to see.
Also awesome this year for anyone who was premiering vids at CV:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
absolutedestiny had put up a list in the con suite with time codes for each premiering vid, so you could keep track of when yours was going to air without having to count vids off the main playlist.
A handful of vids that jumped out at me through the haze of awesome:
Vid: The Evil Queen (Ms. Mills If You're Nasty)
Vidder: foomatic
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Summary: I may be bad, but I'm perfectly good at it.
This was the first vid where partway through, I wound up moving over to the side so I could watch it more closely on the TV. It's a fabulous character study of Regina; yes, she's been hurt in the past and there are lots of reasons she turned to evil, but that doesn't change the fact that she revels in her power and her ability to hurt people. Really revels in it. A lot. I wish the showrunners would watch this, because this is a way more focused look at her than they often manage.
I also like the way this vid gets in all of the various (het) sexual relationships Regina has had and enjoyed, but puts the emotional emphasis on the femslash vibe between her and Emma; really nicely done.
Vid: Me Against the Music
Vidder: Greensilver
Fandom: Red
Summary: none
This is a bit of a cheat, as I missed this entirely at CV; I think I was in line for a drink. *g* Buttherienne loved it enough to suggest we watch the movie a week or two after the con, which we did, and which we loved. I kinda wish I'd thought to watch the vid first to see how I reacted to it without knowing canon (but otoh, the vid is seriously spoilery for some major things that happen, and watching it right before seeing the movie would have been a mistake for me, so). Watching it again afterward, it's a delightful distillation of the movie, and I enjoy the heck out of it.
Vid: Scream & Shout
Vidder: rhoboat
Fandom: Assassin's Creed
Summary: Everything is permitted
This was kinda the year of the video-game vid at VVC. I'm not a gamer and game visuals usually don't resonate with me; it may be a borderline uncanny valley thing? But I was taking a breather when this came on, and got caught up really fast in the motion of it. It also felt like there was a narrative happening that I was just missing some context for. I've since had the general game storyline explained to me, and with that context, I enjoy the narrative here a lot. And the motion of it is still gorgeous.
Vid: How You Like Me Now
Vidder: gwyneth
Fandom: Iron Man
Summary: Tony Stark, the Little Black Dress of Avengers verse.
Tonnyyyy. ♥ Fantastic song choice for him; on the dance floor, I was gleeful as soon as I heard it, because it matches him in every direction. I love the progression of it, too, starting with Tony alone always expecting people's eyes on him, to being wtih Pepper, then Rhodey (Rhodey! <3) to Steve and Bruce and then just everyone, but always at the center of it, Tony and his tech, always working.
Vid: Titanium
Vidder: Gianduja Kiss
Fandom: Wonder Woman
Summary: none
I fell in love with this during Festivids; Lynda Carter is my Wonder Woman, the one I imprinted on when I was a kid. And this is just a fantastic character study, starting with Diana in WWII and moving forward through her time in the 70s, building and building its awesome until you just want to cheer, as Diana gets stronger and more confident and more amazing as the vid goes on -- and then it ramps up, because suddenly Diana isn't just an awesome superhero, she's an awesome superhero TEACHER, passing her knowledge on to young girls and the women on the island so they can all defend themselves and each other and it's SO COOL. \o/ But the best part about it, it turns out, is watching this on the dance floor at Club Vivid, while all around you the crowd of awesome women you're dancing with ramp up right along with the vid, cheering their heads off by the end. It was amazing.
(As a side note: Oh, fuck you, Hollywood! If a cheesy network tv show in 1975 could pull off something this fantastic for Wonder Woman, why the hell are you running scared of her in 2013? Argh!!)
Vid: Every Penguin Dance Now
Vidder: Mr. Anderson
Fandom: Happy Feet
Summary: none
Aw, I love this vid. <3 It's an old favorite from VVC, and I got such a charge out of seeing it again this year. I can't hear this song without seeing penguins dancing in my head. And seriously, who doesn't want penguins dancing in their head? I ask you.
The hotel was running a little behind all weekend on setup that involved food of any kind, which is unusual, so the buffet didn't start until 6:30 or so. No biggie, except how I just expect everything Vividcon-related to start on time, so it made me blink a bit.
Which has just reminded me of something I wanted to say: the concom, as usual, was calm and cheerful throughout the con, handling things as they came up, despite coping with even more stress than usual in the face of a hotel staff that was late with all food-related things, right down to water service in the function rooms, and more horribly, a DVD duplicating place that had delayed the delivery of the DVDs till the last possible second. On Friday, no one on staff even knew if the DVDs would arrive by Saturday (!!). If they hadn't, the concom would have had to somehow get hold of the DVDs after the con, and ship out every set individually at huge unexpected cost, not to mention facing the disappointment of more than a hundred people who expected to be able to pick them up on Sunday in person.
Not a trace of that stress showed publicly; to the uninformed eye, everything was running smooth as silk all weekend. So big kudos to the concom for their professionalism throughout. <3
So the buffet was good, as usual, and Mandy and her cohort were back at the bars wearing beaded necklaces and ready to serve up whatever we wanted (seriously, I love how much the bartenders seem to have a good time with us. We're kind of a motley crew, and we are unbelievably loud at Club Vivid, but everyone has a blast and it's great that the bartenders are part of that. It never feels like they're outsiders watching us and silently mocking, which could totally happen with some people. These folks put on their beads and seem to have a great time watching us all have a great time. <3 )
After we ate, we went back to the room to dress up a bit and add some nice bright hair coloring, then headed back down to check out everyone's outfits and start in on the booze. (I brought hair chalk to try this year, too, but you have to put hair spray in first, which I'm not keen on, and forgot to pick up at Dominick's anyway. Oh well, maybe next time.)
During the very first CV, one person came in very tight, very shiny silver pants that impressed everyone. Times have changed; this year, we had a shiny silver bikini-thing that also impressed everyone quite a bit. There was also the usual array, from comfy street clothes to cosplay to cocktail dresses to clubwear; bare feet and sneakers and stilettos and thigh-high laced boots; and glitter and glowsticks EVERYWHERE. I love all of that so much; I can't think of anything else I do all year where someone in a tight-laced pleather corset and killer boots can hang out with someone in loose cotton pajamas and slippers in public, and both of them be appropriately dressed and equally comfortable. ♥
So pre-CV is always fun, with everyone wandering around talking and drinking and eating and admiring each other, then there's a rush for the dance floor as the Joxer Dance starts up, and we're off!
... and then there's a three-hour haze of dancing and drinking and vids. *g* Ian outdoes himself every year on the playlist, and this year was no exception.
But one fabulous addition this year was a tv over on one of the side table in the middle, showing all the vids in addition to the big screens at either end. It made it easier to actually watch the vids, if there was something you particularly wanted to see.
Also awesome this year for anyone who was premiering vids at CV:
absolutedestiny had put up a list in the con suite with time codes for each premiering vid, so you could keep track of when yours was going to air without having to count vids off the main playlist.A handful of vids that jumped out at me through the haze of awesome:
Vid: The Evil Queen (Ms. Mills If You're Nasty)
Vidder: foomatic
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Summary: I may be bad, but I'm perfectly good at it.
This was the first vid where partway through, I wound up moving over to the side so I could watch it more closely on the TV. It's a fabulous character study of Regina; yes, she's been hurt in the past and there are lots of reasons she turned to evil, but that doesn't change the fact that she revels in her power and her ability to hurt people. Really revels in it. A lot. I wish the showrunners would watch this, because this is a way more focused look at her than they often manage.
I also like the way this vid gets in all of the various (het) sexual relationships Regina has had and enjoyed, but puts the emotional emphasis on the femslash vibe between her and Emma; really nicely done.
Vid: Me Against the Music
Vidder: Greensilver
Fandom: Red
Summary: none
This is a bit of a cheat, as I missed this entirely at CV; I think I was in line for a drink. *g* But
therienne loved it enough to suggest we watch the movie a week or two after the con, which we did, and which we loved. I kinda wish I'd thought to watch the vid first to see how I reacted to it without knowing canon (but otoh, the vid is seriously spoilery for some major things that happen, and watching it right before seeing the movie would have been a mistake for me, so). Watching it again afterward, it's a delightful distillation of the movie, and I enjoy the heck out of it. Vid: Scream & Shout
Vidder: rhoboat
Fandom: Assassin's Creed
Summary: Everything is permitted
This was kinda the year of the video-game vid at VVC. I'm not a gamer and game visuals usually don't resonate with me; it may be a borderline uncanny valley thing? But I was taking a breather when this came on, and got caught up really fast in the motion of it. It also felt like there was a narrative happening that I was just missing some context for. I've since had the general game storyline explained to me, and with that context, I enjoy the narrative here a lot. And the motion of it is still gorgeous.
Vid: How You Like Me Now
Vidder: gwyneth
Fandom: Iron Man
Summary: Tony Stark, the Little Black Dress of Avengers verse.
Tonnyyyy. ♥ Fantastic song choice for him; on the dance floor, I was gleeful as soon as I heard it, because it matches him in every direction. I love the progression of it, too, starting with Tony alone always expecting people's eyes on him, to being wtih Pepper, then Rhodey (Rhodey! <3) to Steve and Bruce and then just everyone, but always at the center of it, Tony and his tech, always working.
Vid: Titanium
Vidder: Gianduja Kiss
Fandom: Wonder Woman
Summary: none
I fell in love with this during Festivids; Lynda Carter is my Wonder Woman, the one I imprinted on when I was a kid. And this is just a fantastic character study, starting with Diana in WWII and moving forward through her time in the 70s, building and building its awesome until you just want to cheer, as Diana gets stronger and more confident and more amazing as the vid goes on -- and then it ramps up, because suddenly Diana isn't just an awesome superhero, she's an awesome superhero TEACHER, passing her knowledge on to young girls and the women on the island so they can all defend themselves and each other and it's SO COOL. \o/ But the best part about it, it turns out, is watching this on the dance floor at Club Vivid, while all around you the crowd of awesome women you're dancing with ramp up right along with the vid, cheering their heads off by the end. It was amazing.
(As a side note: Oh, fuck you, Hollywood! If a cheesy network tv show in 1975 could pull off something this fantastic for Wonder Woman, why the hell are you running scared of her in 2013? Argh!!)
Vid: Every Penguin Dance Now
Vidder: Mr. Anderson
Fandom: Happy Feet
Summary: none
Aw, I love this vid. <3 It's an old favorite from VVC, and I got such a charge out of seeing it again this year. I can't hear this song without seeing penguins dancing in my head. And seriously, who doesn't want penguins dancing in their head? I ask you.
no subject
Yes! Yes, this, SO MUCH.
And oh, I love that Happy Feet vid. It actually gave me a bit of a shock when it aired, because when Zaphod was tiny I asked around for kid-friendly vid recs and put that vid on the iPad for him, and have watched it a zillion times with him over the last 4 years, and had kind of forgotten that it originated as a CVV vid! *grin*
no subject
It astonishes me, having gone to a few ice-breaker things at SF cons that always wind up being kind of dire, no matter how interesting the original concept was -- they're either too vague ("come to our ice-breaker party and meet people!") or too specific by far ("come to our Regency Dance and meet people!"). But CV, man. "Come to our dance party, dressed however you want, where you can dance or sit in a corner and watch vids and still be a part of it all. GLOWSTICKS AND GLITTER FOR ALL".
It's actually everything I should hate (too many people! dressing up! heels! too many people some more!), and it's one of the highlights of my year. *g*
And hee, on the penguins! That's awesome.
no subject
I went upstairs to change my clothes when Titanium came on and I was bummed; I fell in love with it at Vidukon and it would have been fantastic to see it at CVV.
You have described CVV perfectly. I find it hard to put into words whenever people ask about it, but now I can just quote this back at them and it will do.
no subject
Oh, that's too bad, about Titanium! But I suspect it's going to wind up being a CV favorite, and make its way into the rotation again at some point. *g*
It's so hard to explain CV, but man, it's so great.