Boulevard Of by Shati
The slow and steady migration of the Slayer from "she alone stands" to one who definitely doesn't stand alone. This vid makes truly fantastic use of every component of the "Boulevard of Broken Songs" mashup, especially its blending of all of the voices at the end, and the overwhelming triumph it carries will never stop making me beam like a nut.Graduate by Corn_Child
Why are the first three seasons of BtVS my favorite? All of this. An energetic, tightly edited recap of the high school years, it's a great (and rather nostalgia-inducing) reminder of everything that made the show so thoroughly awesome at its inception, right down to how it balanced ordinary high school woes against the much more, ah, pressing issues of living on a Hellmouth.Two Words by Sisabet
(Warning for language)
Covering five years in four minutes, Sisabet's crafted a breathtaking love letter to Angel that rockets through its entire run, relentlessly and effortlessly building momentum until the entire thing just takes off and soars. No matter how many times I watch it, I get chills as soon as it reaches the final round of throw your hands up. If you have ever loved the show, even briefly, this is a must-see vid.Whatever by Luminosity and Sisabet
Oh, come on, you know you were thinking it, too. It's Angel's West Hollywood lifestyle, and it is pure comedic gold.
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God is a DJ by Dualbunny
Confession time: I haven't watched more than a handful of BSG episodes. (Yeah, I'm going to fix this sooner rather than later. Stop looking at me like that.) My limited knowledge of canon, though, doesn't change the fact that this is an amazing study of Starbuck, ultimately uplifting even as it careens through her highs and lows. I want to edit vids like this when I grow up.
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Diary of Jane by Xandra
I've always felt pretty indignant on Martha's behalf, because even though she's shown to be a smart, competent, and downright awesome person, it's constantly implied that she will never be as good as Rose just by her mere existence. Wouldn't you be pissed off if someone made the same insinuations about you? That's what we get here: a much angrier, frustrated Martha who's trying to claim her place with Ten in her own right, all of it sharply and cleanly edited to make the most of her character arc.
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Words of the Dead by permetaform
"I assume you dream, Preston." This is a fantastic example of how vids don't just have to elaborate on what's told in canon, but can carry a clearly-defined narrative of their own. Plus, the special effects are so seamless that when I first saw it, before I'd seen Equilibrium, I'd assumed that they were a part of the source material.
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New Frontier by Here's Luck
The real standout in this vid is its use of motion, both internal and external, to highlight connections and draw new ones as it explores Mal, River, and the events of Serenity. Honestly, though, the entire vid is a standout. It's the kind of nuanced, gorgeous work that rewards repeated viewings, and its editing's propelled forward on the sort of emotional drive that left me breathless by the end. Amazing.
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3 AM Call by Shati
Niki's a difficult character to pin down, and the way canon treated her sure as hell didn't do us any favors. Here, Shati clarifies her in a way that she desperately needs by, somewhat paradoxically, zeroing in on one simple question: who is this? Her identity struggles are way more interesting than her struggle with (and fear of) her ability, and this proves why.La Resistance by LC
(Warning for language)
The first time I saw this, it literally took me five minutes to stop laughing long enough to catch my breath. It's a hysterical showcase of the first season to the tune of South Park, and I cannot say enough about the perfection of the clip choices.Omaha by LithiumDoll
I've got mixed feelings about Mr. Bennet; I find him sympathetic, but I also think he's a walking, talking example of how the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. This extraordinarily powerful vid hits on both -- though with more emphasis on the former, maybe -- as it shows what's shaped him, what drives him, and everything he will do to keep his family safe. Lovely.One of a Kind by Nicky
Okay, I admit it: I'm always going to be a sucker for anything that tries to figure out what makes Sylar tick. (Pun fully intended.) He's a fascinating, complex, scary, and insanely unnerving character, and Nicky hits on every note of that with a thoroughness I've yet to see in any other Sylar vid -- all in just under two and a half minutes.People Get Ready by Here's Luck
This, right here? This is the definitive Heroes vid. When people ask me why I love the show, this is what I show them; it takes every ounce of the wonder, joy, heartbreak, fear, and amazement of the first twenty-two episodes and funnels it down into a gorgeous, flawlessly edited four and a half minutes. Yeah, I'm overusing adjectives here, but trust me: it deserves every one of them. If you can only download one vid recced here, make it this one.
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I Enjoy Being a Girl by AbsoluteDestiny
Sometimes, you just need a multifandom montage of women kicking ass. My favorite part of this vid is how it recontextualizes the source music, taking a bubbly, vacuous, and entirely too girly song and turning it into something worthy of being paired up with the likes of Starbuck, Buffy Summers, Veronica Mars, and Zoe Washburne. Well-executed irony, represent!Us by Lim
A celebration of fandom, fanworks, and everything that comes with being passionately in love with a story. I found the heavy use of special effects to be a little distracting at times, but there's no denying that they work extremely well with the vid's premise -- and seriously, it's impossible for me not to be blown away by the sheer technical skill that went into this, let alone by the pure joy Lim brings and shares with the viewer. This makes me so glad to be a part of fandom.
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It's Not Over by Dragonchic
I'll try to do it right this time around. Focusing in on one very specific S4 arc, I'm in awe of how much of an emotional punch this packs, even as someone who stopped watching Smallville early in its third season; Dragonchic's quick, deftly-handled editing only intensifies it.
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Born to Kill by Ringwench
Not only does this encapsulate my favorite aspects of SPN -- the mythology, the fight, the bond the Winchesters share, and the damage the hunt has inflicted on their lives -- but it's a great example of how every instrumental section ought to be used: not as a way to mark time until the next verse, but as a way to keep building and telling the vid's story. Oh, boys.Carol of the Supernatural by Dragonfly
I think this may be simultaneously one of the most bizarre and one of the coolest fanvids I've ever seen. The bizarre component: it's SPN set to, of all things, Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Christmas in Sarajevo." The incredibly cool component: it's got an intense, driving energy that builds and builds without once letting up, coupled with the kind of beat whoring that fills me with unimaginable glee.One Week by Zee
HAH! See, not all is irrepressible doom and gloom in Winchesterland. I love this vid's light, faintly wry tone, and I especially love the way Zee uses the taking off/losing my shirt lines. It's a great thing to watch if you're just looking for something fun.Turn You Inside Out by Sisabet
The choices each Wincester makes and the impact they have on the other two. I have yet to see something that captures their family dynamic as well as this; it's every iota of the fierce loyalty, love, and obsession they share, and Sisabet perfectly shows how all of it can so often tear them down as much as it buoys them up.Women's Work by Luminosity and Sisabet
(Warning for thematic content)
Consider this a recommendation, but a recommendation with warnings plastered all over it. "Women's Work" is a gutpunch of a vid that is fucking sickening and difficult to watch, though I honestly mean that in the best way possible; it takes the women guest stars of SPN, who so often die in horrible, gruesome, and sexualized ways, and strings them together to form a commentary on both the show itself and the kind of society that would let this sort of thing air, week after week, without so much as batting an eye. This is the vid that not only got me to sit up and pay attention to the way women are treated in entertainment, but to regard vidding as something that's as fully capable of strong meta commentary as any five thousand word essay.
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Dèjá Vu by f1renze
I saw this for the first time well before I'd seen any of Veronica Mars, and even then, with so little knowledge of the source material, it made me burst into tears. It focuses on the connection between Lilly and Veronica as she fights her way through discovering her friend's murderer, and both the narrative line and the editing are flawlessly, gorgeously executed throughout. This is another one of those vids that I've used to pimp out the show to interested parties.Martina by Keely
(Warning for thematic content)
When S3 kicked off with an arc centered on a serial rapist, I was not too happy with the way the show handled it (hah, major understatement), especially considering Veronica's recent past. Keely, it seems, wasn't too happy either. Powerful and unsettling, this takes the creative team to task for their bad writing, showing exactly how and why the arc was so problematic in its easy dismissals and overall treatment of sexual assualt.
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