#i downloaded my vid editing software just to make this

[kuwdora]

A Vidding Primer

A guide written for @wren-of-the-woods who asked for advice about how to start vidding! This is far from comprehensive and I tried not to make it too dense because it's a big subject. I still wanted to share a variety of topics about getting into vidding because it's a hobby and art that is near and dear to my heart.

First Piece of Advice

watch a lot of vids and rewatch vids multiple times. Seek out vids on YouTube, AO3, Watch the TikTok and Twitter/X vids that show up on tumblr or wherever you’re browsing. They all have distinct styles and tools/techniques they use to make their vids and edits. Rewatch the vids and ask yourself what you like or dislike about them. The song, the editing, the source. That can give you a good starting point about how you might want to approach making your own fanvids. The TikTok style of 30 and 40 second edits are very different what you find on YouTube. YouTube editors tend to use a full song and a lot more effects and a lot more overlapping dialogue. Whereas the fanvids - Vids - from people who came into vidding in the mid 2000s/2010s have their own culture, different ways they approach song choice, clip choices and narrative. I also suggest watching vids for shows/films you’re not familiar with as well as your fandom favorites. You can learn a lot about how vidders try to tell a story even when you might not grasp the context behind certain scenes but you can still follow along with the emotional arc of the vid.

Second Piece of Advice

Have fun and enjoy yourself. Everyone starts a new hobby as a newbie. It can be a lot of effort to make 30 seconds or a 3 minute vid, but it’s such a unique type of fanwork that is fun to watch and fun to make. It can also be migraine inducing because of all the learning and technical issues along the way. But!! omg when you make a clip fall on the perfect beat with your blorbo crying that perfect tear or you find an idea and sources for the bestest perfect lyrics of the song, it’s a magnificent high. It can make you feel like a god. At least that’s how I feel a lot of times!

There are about 10 steps* to creating** a fanvid/edit:

• select your platform and software (phone/computer video editors) • gather your video and audio files • create a new project in your video editor • import audio into the editor • import the video into the software and mute audio tracks that contain your video’s audio • review, label and cut up the video into shorter clips - this step is known as ‘clipping’ in vidding parlance, but it’s also optional. Some people pull in movies and scrub through the whole film and just pull it directly onto the timeline • move the various video clips around on the timeline to match the audio track you’ve chosen for your project, add video effects and additional dialogue if you like • export the finished timeline • upload the video to a streaming platform and/or downloadable service • share your project!!! posting to ao3 and/or social media or share on discord, etc * there are a lot more steps involved with each of these steps. What what software to use, where to find video, how to deal with copyright blocks on Youtube, etc. Some of that will be covered in the links below but is not comprehensive. That would require separate posts and links and I don’t want to drop an encyclopedia on you right now! I’m happy to provide more resources that I can curate if you want more direction and pointers to resources and amazing vidders.

** like any hobby, there can and will be a learning curve and frustrations. Blank page for a writer, blank timeline for a vidder. Is anything you put down is any good, self esteem and confusion about what actually makes sense is part and parcel for any creative work. Once you're in the vidding process and committed, as long as you're enjoying yourself you gotta just keep going to get it done.

Getting Started Vidding

My knowledge and background and learning how to vid from people on livejournal and dreamwidth from 2007. I don’t have any experience in editing with a phone but if that’s something you’re interested in, YouTube will be a place for you to start finding tutorials for various apps and tools. Probably discord communities, too. Vidding Workshop - a great how-to/guide when you're starting out. This is on dreamwidth from the WisCon vidparty in 2014. Some of the tech discussions might be a little outdated but there’s a ton of relevant information. It covers technical subjects as well as developing vid ideas and actually getting started. If you have any questions about what you’re reading you can leave an anonymous comment and ask - some of these vidders responding inthe threads are still active. You can find them on AO3/YouTube, tumblr, discord and actually leave them questions about their vids. Many vidders are more than thrilled to talk about their vids and answer questions. Vexcercises - this is a dreamwidth community for short-form vid excercises. This is a very structured way of introducing vid concepts and constraints so that you can produce a vidlet. I highly recommend you check this out and participate! There’s even an AO3 collection so you can check out how people have done the different exercises, too.

The Process of Vidding

Watch Me Edit - @limblogs put together a fantastic playlist of YouTube editors who will show you beginning to end how they made their vid. A lot of these editors appear to be using Sony Vegas but the general process of vidding end-to-end will be similar with other nonlinear editors like DaVinci Resolve, Premiere, etc. It’s a great way to actually see the vid come together if you don’t know what that even looks like. Every vidder will develop their own workflow and approach (which might even change from vid to vid), but it’s useful to see in video how people actually DO the thing. @limblogs also created a handy YouTube playlist some vidders from Bradcpu’s Vidder Profiles (Fanlore page). These profiles are basically like a director’s DVD commentary on their vidding process, featuring the vidders talking over their own vids! So cool. Phenomnal insights from these vidders about how they choose song, use effects, think about their narratives.

Self Rec: I recently did a vidding textpost series called: do it for the process - a naked vid draft: What (Yennefer of Vengerberg). How I Edit by @vimesbootstheory is another textpost about their vidding process. Self rec: Here’s my text interview: Vidder Profile - Kuwdora 2011. I talk about my process with a lot of specific examples from my previous work and lots of screenshots. This profile is over a decade old but a lot of this still holds true for me today! videlicet - this is an incredible vidding zine that @limblogs put togegther with a lot of amazing contributors. These articles and discuss about specific vids and aspects of vidding. It’s really detailed and a fantastic piece of vidding culture. I highly reading recommend the Demystifying Vidding article by lim and the A History of Vidding by @meeedeee and…pretty much every article in the zine!

Doing the vidding!

I recommend joining exchanges and watching vids that come out of exchanges and checking out fannish cons that have vidshows and discords to get more exposure to vidders and vids. Many people have joined @festivids (AO3 collection here) and made their very first vid, it's a very fun and great way to get into vidding. It’s not quite festivids season right now but time flies and it will be time to nominate sources and do sign-ups in the blink of an eye. Follow @festivids and check out the AO3 collection and see what people are making. Join the Vexcercises community and make some short vids and share them on your tumblr or on discord or somewhere and bask in the thrill of making your first fanvids. Check out who reblogged the vidder ask game - go and read other vidders responses and ask some new-to-you vidders questions. Everyone has their own take on process and tech and everything. It's great to hear and see what a lot people are doing and making.

Final Advice - talking about vids and doing the vidding

• watch vids • rewatch vids • leave a comment and ask a question about something you saw in their vid! • Again: find someone’s AO3 page of fanvids and ask them something about their vid in a comment or send them asks on tumblr (people usually have the same alias or link to their tumblr or dreamwidth pages somewhere.) • YouTube can be a valuable resource for tutorials so if you don't know something, there is likely someone who has made a tutorial about how to use a cross dissolve transition or anything else you might want to replicate in a video that you've seen in a vid. • start making a vid, scream and cry, ask for help, and keep going until you get it done. Celebrate and bask in your completed vid and share it with everyone! • Follow vidders on tumblr that you find from the vidder ask game • Check out the vidding discord for community and questions and vid recs and news about vidding exchanges and cons. • Have fun!

Hope this helps you get started! Thank you so much for the ask! Let me know if you have more questions and I can help you out or send you to cool vidders who have great advice and suggestions. And please send me your vid if you make one!

[dennisboobs]

if you guys ever have any requests for gifsets or vid compilations feel free to hmu by the way, i've got all the eps downloaded and i don't mind throwing some shit into my editing software if you want/need something. i see a lot of people struggling both on here and twitter with gifmaking, video editing, or even just. sourcing screenshots. listen. i will help u. i have a whole archive of hq sunny rips available for download on archive.org. you can stop going to youtube to rip clips in 240p with the fx logo on them. you want a clip for your girlypop dennis edit but can't find it on youtube? give me five minutes ill fuckin post it for you. i understand the struggle ok and it benefits everyone to have this shit floating around i will personally supply you with HQ shots just so you guys stop passing around a reposted screenshot that has 5 whole pixels left in it.

also like. if you're looking for something (promo, behind the scenes, random unlisted video from 10 years ago) i can prrrrrobably hook you up. it's a lot more work to make my archives publicly available but most shit is just sitting on my hard drive. ive got every nightman cometh live video i could find on youtube with like 5 whole views in an unlisted playlist. i have cast interviews and instagram videos and cameos and previews with alternate takes. i am also immensely lazy and cannot be assed to post them unless directly asked. do you all know about the going back to philly music video. do you know about the comedy central ads where charlie and frank break into some family's home and make milksteak. do you know about dennis' orgy dream.

[prettysweetprettysweet]

i love Cherry Magic th so much (which just gets better from week to week) that i've been using my pro vid editing software to make gifs, which isn't ideal in any way but im not gonna learn another editing program and there are only like three people gifing this show (you know who you are, thank you for your hard work!).

its crazy how much the yt copyright suspension has impacted the reach and momentum of the show. it definitely killed its international presence on Tumblr, and i'd imagine Twitter as well. gifmakers if you want my horrible no good gifs to disappear from your dashboard you need to download Cherry Magic from mkvdrama and watch it and start gifing baby

[fellshish]

hi! i want to get back into editing video (used to do that like a decade ago) and since i absolutely love your vids (long live the butthole video) i was wondering if you have any recommendations on software? im looking for something beginner friendly, but honestly i'll take any advice. also! can i ask where you got the gomens series for editing? as in... did you download it yourself, or how do you do it? anyway, thank you!

Hi! Thank you for loving the butthole video i’m very proud of it azdjfjdjdjd. Now i am about to expose myself as an absolute amateur who’s manic pixie dreamgirling himself into video editing but yeah. Let’s just say if i can do it then you, with actual editing experience, can definitely do it!

I make them on my iphone with a free app called splice — or at least, the free version of it. It’s quite easy and self explanatory! To get the songs i use a youtube to mp3 converter to download a youtube video to my phone. Splice lets you use the sound of a different video to use as the sound of the one you’re making so that’s handy. Also, a lot of amv makers use splice on desktop too so you don’t have to phone edit if you don’t like driving yourself to madness.

The gomens series, well, i have a prime video account so i screenrecord the bits that i wanna use (i googled how to work around the ‘everything is dark’ bit — something to do with using google chrome and disabling some button — wow thx for the helpful advice fells) and then i just airdrop those clips to my iphone as well.

Then i just spend 8 hours or so glueing those bits together in splice until it kinda works as an amv. Tadaaaa 🙈 good luck!

[nessa007]

I'd always admired video editors like you "back in the day" as I call it lol; you and countless others always inspired me. Your prior work really makes me want to consider dabbling in edits as well. Do you have any tips? Between editing software, and even just accessing footage of our favorite movies/shows, I really don't know where to start. Any tidbit of advice at all would be so appreciated! :)

aww that means a lot, thank you 💕 and i get what you mean by “back in the day” because so many friends i made on youtube through fan videos (the vidding community) haven’t been active/posted in years. i miss those days 🥺

i’ve been making videos since i was 12 and i started with the most basic of all programs, windows movie maker. then i switched to sony vegas studio maker and then sony vegas pro. i’ve used vegas pro for years now and it’s what i’m most familiar with. it unfortunately costs a lot, so i was lucky enough to have my stepdad install it for free. if you have the money, you can pay for it through monthly payments, i think.

if you search on google “best video editing software” you will get some other good suggestions. some are pretty reasonable prices. most people i knew on youtube would use vegas pro though and there’s so many basic tutorials available on youtube. practice makes perfect. i kinda taught myself and once you know the basics you can easily create a video.

i actually get my episodes and movies to video edit/gif with from t*rrent websites because they’re the fastest way to download but it’s best to use a special web browser, like tor browser, or a vpn to download t*rrents. i don’t really know any working direct download websites for episodes/movies unfortunately. if you’re comfortable downloading through t*rrents, i can let you know some good websites.

if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask 💕

[nowritingonthewall]

hello chrissie! I hope you're having a good day!

do you have any tips on gifmaking for someone who wants to start?

Hi Nonnie, thank you so much for your ask, I hope you're having a good day, too 🥰

Tbh, I always feel like I am not really qualified to answer these questions, because – unlike me – most of the wonderful gif makers on this site use photoshop and if you have access to that software, I would always recommend using it because it’s easier, faster, the outcome is so much better and the opportunities it offers are endless. (There are a lot of beginner tutorials on this site if you search for gif + tutorial in the search bar 😊)

However 😉 If you don’t have access to photoshop or your cpu can’t handle it or you are simply overwhelmed by the vastness of the program, you can always try GIMP 😊 It’s opensource, you can download it legally for free and it runs on all platforms. The main drawback is that it doesn’t have the timeline feature, which means that you have to edit every single layer separately. (The program literally wasn’t designed to create gifs, it’s just that a few clever people found a way to work around that 😆)

I would recommend starting with this tutorial here. It explains how to create a gif in GIMP in general, how to create screencaps, how to import them, how to resize, how to crop and how to export your gif.

As for the really fun part (editing your gif), I think for a beginner it would be easiest to concentrate on three basic steps: brightening up the gif, adjusting the colours, and sharpening the gif. You’ll find all the editing tools that you need for that under “Colours/Colors” in the menu bar.

The brightening/contrast tool of GIMP can give weird results, so it’s usually easier to use the exposure tool, but that’s just my personal opinion.

As for playing around with the colours, the tools that you would want to look into first are “curves”, “levels” and “components -> channel mixer”. The channel mixer isn’t nearly as good as the one in photoshop, of course, but it makes me so giddy that GIMP finally has a proper one implemented 🙃

Also, if you’re just starting out, I would always recommend working with the largest quality source material that you can find (at least 1080p). I spent most of last year giffing really low quality vids because I’ve never been able to resist a cute Oscar moment, but if you’re just learning how to gif, the quality issue might become really frustrating, especially in the beginning.

And of course, the most important part: Allow yourself to have fun playing around and trying new things 🥰 Every new gif poses a new challenge, so don’t be discouraged if a certain editing step doesn’t result in the outcome you’d expected, you’ll soon get the hang of it 💜

I hope this was at least a little helpful 🥰

[twochildreninamoteldemo]

hey, so i started vidding just a couple years ago and while it seems daunting, the first vid i ever made ("copycat") was literally just youtube clips downloaded using a youtube downloader (i recommend yt5s.com, but beware the popups) and put together with minimal effects/transitions on hitfilm express, which is a free program. and ironically, it's my most popular video on youtube (excepting the one that got taken down due to copyright claim 😒)! in fact, aside from copycat, "don't know what to do about you," "tolerate it"--which i consider to be one of my best vids--and "therefore i am" were also all from youtube clips and edited on hitfilm--which does take a bit of a learning curve because it's a software that mimics adobe and other 'pro' programs, but it is free! (people in the notes are also recommending DaVinci Resolve, which i haven't tried, but hey there's that too! and also u could try wondershare filmora as prev said. i also use capcut for shorter edits, and though people hate on capcut for some reason, i think it's great, and definitely the best phone editor!)

there's also an unfortunate common narrative among some circles of fandom that you have to be really skilled or do really fancy transitions and coloring and text, etc etc to be a "good" or "popular" vidder, and the fact of the matter is, that's just false. if you line up clips to music in a way that will make the fandom go cuckoo bananas, it doesn't matter how much time you put into making a perfect fade-blur or pink-toned video, that's not what people are going to be talking about. it's the characters, the emotions. ofc it depends on the fandom, because i'm in one that prefers simplicity and another that likes fancy coloring and effects, too. but in my opinion, emotions matter more than all of those supplementary things--which can be fun to include (i love doing my own coloring and transitions!) but are not needed to make you a good vidder.

ALSO! here's a few resources for getting good base footage without having to resort to youtube clips, which sometimes don't have everything you need and aren't good quality:

scenepacks on youtube + instagram! some insta accounts have megafiles of entire shows and movies linked in the post. i downloaded several seasons of supernatural from @/devilzpack--and they have a ton of stuff, seriously it's worth checking it out.

logolessdesires. request to follow them on twitter for updates/password to the site (which rn is 2022desires). this is a MASSIVE archive for vidders & editors in fandom, i highly recommend!!!

on firefox*, use soap2day.to to search for a movie/show, then once you're on the page for the media, press CTRL+I to pull up the page's info. there should be a section labelled "media" at the bottom. left click on the mp4 item and save as, and it should download! this is the safest pirate site i've ever used, and doesn't require a torrent, unlike piratebay. (*chrome doesn't do the same thing when you do ctrl+i, it's weird, just use firefox for this lol.)

Please reblog this post to spread these resources to other vidders and potential vidders! and feel free to add on <3

i really wish amv editing was a more accessible hobby but it has such a high barrier to entry and that really sucks. you can't just pick it up one day, you have to get an editing program and footage and risk giving your computer like eight billion viruses in the process. if you're already involved in amv maker communities it's a lot easier to find footage, but if you're just getting started? and that's not to mention how hard it is to find an editing program if you don't want to spend money because, y'know, you're just getting started and don't even know if you like the hobby yet. and then there's elitism within the vidder community, some meps will only accept people who use a "pro program" which is honestly bullshit. i use fancy expensive editing programs because i am in film school. i am legitimately going into video editing as a career. and i'm sorry, but industry standard or quote unquote "professional" software should really not be the expectation for a hobby.

[cushfuddled]

Could I ask you for advice on making YouTube videos, please? I'm thinking of making one, but I have no experience WHATSOEVER on it (and I mean, literally two days ago I googled a tutorial for editing videos to find out the name of main video editing software, I basically just entered kindergarten). So the broadest, most seemingly obvious advice would help immensely. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I'm still trying to figure out if you can make a video without talking.

HIYA!

Yes, you can definitely make a video without talking. I don't watch a lot of those vids, but there are plenty of people who use text-to-speech software rather than their real voices (some text-to-speech programs have gotten really good). You can also hire someone to read your script for you...If anyone has a site to recommend (where you can hire readers), please reply!

I've heard good things about HitFilm Express. It works a lot like Premiere, and there's a free version available. You can also use whichever free movie program comes with your computer or phone, though! I know of a YouTuber with over a million subs who edits his videos entirely on his phone.

I use yt5s to download YouTube videos. I download animated shows and movies from this version of KimCartoon and download live action stuff from sites like the Pirate Bay. Make sure to install a VPN before torrenting anything, btw. Last year I got an email from my internet provider like "we noticed you illegally downloaded a film :3" and BOY did THAT light my ass on fire to hide my IP. I currently use NordVPN, but there are probably faster ones out there lol.

If you go to the YouTube Studio tab on YT, then the "audio library" page listed on the left sidebar, YouTube gives you a great selection of no-copyright music.

I don't know what type of videos you want to make, but if you're interested in making review-style content, I've noticed that videos that focus on a specific topic tend to do better for small channels than broad reviews (example: "How A Snake Ruined Star Wars" performs better than "Rise of Skywalker Review"). In that situation you can use the snake as a vehicle to talk about the whole film, but a narrower premise tends to get more clicks these days. That, or titles like "In Defense of The Rise of Skywalker" or "The Rise of Skywalker Sucked" would still fare better than "Rise of Skywalker Review."

It's true: negative reviews perform better than positive reviews. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Do what you will with this information.

The algorithm will sometimes bury your video if your title or thumbnail contains words from this list. I've had one of my videos shadowbanned because I used the word "abuse" in the thumbnail. Some people will tell you that you should avoid swearing within the first minute of your video or so (because the bots will pick up on the bad language and restrict your video)...I've never tested this out, but. Better safe than sorry I guess.

Don't worry about monetization for a while, probably? You have to reach a certain amount of watch-time before you qualify for that program. If you do want to make sure your videos are monetizable later, though...use non-copyrighted music, and cut your clips so they're under ten seconds each. Copyrighted music needs to be under eight seconds to evade the bots. YMS explains this in the first couple minutes of this video: [x]

Don't put pressure on yourself to make a popular channel right out of the gate. Sometimes people do get a lot of attention right away, but most people don't start to get real traffic for at least a year? So yeah. Try to make whatever content you want to make and not worry too much about the numbers.

[quokki]

hii! i make a lot of edits and they do turn out okay?! but the thing is its quality.. it really decreases and I always am fascinated by yoour edits which are AMAYZING AND THE QUALITY IS GOOD TOO!! so could you give some tips to increase quality or apps that doesnt decrease the quality of org vid when making edits?

oh thank you :D

i think you're talking about the gifs right?

here's my tips lol (it's just how i do things honestly)

1. get the highest quality file available

when using an mv, download the highest quality version (i use 4k downloader, you can get it for free). if using a stage, try to get a raw .TS file (they can be hard to find 💔) or if the youtube video is 4k and you can tell it's really good quality then you can use that

2. use a pre processing software like vaporsynth or avisyth

this type of software will clip the parts of the video that you want to gif, and it has some sharpening features that are also very helpful. i can link some giffing tutorials i've used that taught me a lot!

I use vaporsynth (tutorial)

3. make your gifs on photoshop

photoshop has additional sharpening filters that can be useful, along with many other editing features.

4. exporting on photoshop:

file > export > save for web (legacy)

I marked down all the important things:

➤ first on the upper right where it says adaptive: there are 3 options you can use, perceptual, selective or adaptive. they all work well for gifs but some will end up in a higher size file than other. i've been into adaptive later. you can just switch it up and see what you like best.

➤ then where it says pattern: there are 2 options you can use, pattern or diffusion. it's a matter of preference here, i like to go with pattern. both work fine. diffusion might make the file heavier.

➤ for the next part it says diffusion transparency dither, here you should use either that or pattern transparency dither.

➤ next is about the dimensions, for this part you should actually define it when you first start the giffing, in the clipping phase, using vaporsynth. just make sure you're using dimensions that are compatible with tumblr's format, for width either 540px (1 gif per row), 268 px (2 gifs per row) or 177 px (3 gifs per row). As for height normally you'd start with at least 350 px but that can vary a lot. Like in this extreme case from my screenshot where my height was 640px. Keeping in mind that the bigger the dimensions, the bigger your gif size will be and the lower number of frames you'll be able to have.

➤ which is the next point, size. as we know, tumblr has an image size upload limit of 10mb (honestly if my images are over 9.5 it already doesn't let me upload). ideally you want to keep your gif small as tumblr might tone down the quality a little bit with the upload.

For the rest of the options on the export screen I believe you typically don't need to mess with, so just make sure they look the same as mine :D

All of the above are standard procedure for me and imo usually indispensable for a decent looking gif.

5. editing

i don't know if by quality you also meant some aspects of my gifs that imo are due to my editing (such as how they're usually clear and bright). if you wanna know more about that, let me know in another ask! but generally i'd advise you to do a test drive with your gifs when it comes to filters. for example add a filter and try to export to see what the final result will actually look like, in comparison to a version of the gif that wouldn't have it. I say this because, for example adding noise to your gif could potentially make it look like it's in lower quality compared to not using it.

I'm sorry if you already knew everything I mentioned and it wasn't helpful😖

But feel free to send more asks if you wanna get down to more specifics or if you wanna know more about my own process :D

[suga-ssi]

How do you make your gifs?

Hi!! uhmmm... this is a loaded question lmao I'll try to be brief (me? brief answers? lmao) and maybe share a tutorial for each step soon? I'm not an expert or a pro... and I just learned stuff from watching and asking then applied them too... but anyway... my main steps to giffing...

Finding and gathering content source - for video quality, .ts type video files are usually the highest quality. But you still have to check, because some .ts files are sometimes compressed and vid quality isn't optimum either. 4k mp4 videos work great. I use 4K Video Downloader to download vids from youtube. Getting the best possible quality for your clip is good so you know there is a higher chance your gif would also come out hd.

Clipping the videos - I use Vapoursynth to clip the videos. Vapousynth (for mac) or Avisynth (for windows) are softwares you can install to be able to clip your vids without changing the video quality. You can of course clip the videos through any video editing software, but usually saving them after clipping changes their quality. I don't have sources for Avisynth though since I use mac. Here is a good tutorial on how to get Vapoursynth and work it. I'll share how I use it on a different post hopefully.

Editing the video clip to make them into a gif - I use Photoshop to process gifs. It is quite a detailed process... you can probably find some tutorials on youtube too? But, for me, I usually add smart sharpen, Topaz Denoise and Topaz Clean when processing gifs to smoothen and sharpen them. Topaz is an extension you can download and use on Photoshop. Topaz Denoise helps smoothen the gifs and Topaz Clean helps sharpen the edges and outlines so your gifs won't come out blurry.

Coloring the gif and exporting it properly - there are a lot of color adjustments possible when giffing. It really depends on what you like to do and this can all be done in Photoshop. I learned how to use the adjustment tools by playing around with them, actually lmao Something to remember is that a gif is a file that compiles a series of photo frames, they are not vids so you can't expect them to be as clear as the original video. Unlike a video that can have all the colors available to remove pixelation and allow frames to move seamlessly without grains, a gif can only have max 256 colors. Even if you want the gif to capture the full blend of the color to not come out pixelated... it's not always attainable. But there are things you can do to lessen the pixelation through coloring before exporting and, proper settings and color picking while exporting. Keep in mind to stay within the 10mb parameters of Tumblr too when you export.

Oh and before exporting, you need to set the gifs frame rate. You could make it real time, or slo-mo. All depends on the style you want to achieve. I usually use 0.04 or 0.05 (slower) when I import full clips (not lessening frame count to every 2 frames when I import).

Like I said, I'm not an expert... and I only learned these things slowly through the course of me exploring giffing in the past years. So just be patient with yourself and be open to learning more. If you admire someone's gif... you can always ask what techniques they used. :) I'm open to creating a post about my full giffing process when i find the time hahahaha. I think most people who gif have similar processes to me too. :)

[bedlund]

I saw someone else asked with which software you make your edits/amvs with - if I might add a follow up question, how do you record/get the clips from the show? Do you use a screen recorder?? Your amvs literally add 50 years to my lifespan every time i see them. Godspeed <3

so unfortunately i love to work hard not smart which means i have 327 episodes of supernatural downloaded🥴 i just open the episode in quicktime, cut scenes that i need for the video, save them into an edit folder for future use (this is what that folder looks like) and then import those scenes into imovie. it was really exhausting to get all the clips for the first few vids but now that i have a bunch ready to go it’s really just about going through that folder and selecting the relevant ones. i hope this makes sense, feel free to dm me any time<3

[5x14]

how i make amvs:

     i’ll preface this post by saying i am completely and utterly self-taught when it comes to using the video-editing software i use (final cut pro). i started off by playing around on imovie when i was younger, then got fcpx as a christmas present a couple years ago. i occasionally google how to do things, but most of my knowledge comes from playing around with it. if you want advice from a professional, i can’t recommend katebushstandean’s vid help tag highly enough! like i mentioned in my “spn amvs that live rent-free in my head” post, i am a total nerd about amvs; i find making them to be such a satisfying experience and incredibly creatively fulfilling. so here’s a (non-exhaustive) look at my process for making them:

     step one: step one is choosing a song! i have a list in my notes app of songs i want to make amvs for, which i update every time i come across a song that i think would make for a good amv. when choosing a song, i take into consideration both the lyrics (i.e. can i fit the lyrics to supernatural in any way?) and the sonic elements of the song (i.e. would the beat make for an interesting edit, are the lyrics too repetitive, etc.). for the latter, i usually don’t use any slow songs, because imo, it doesn’t make for a very engaging amv. once i have a song, i usually listen to it on repeat to envision in my head the concept i’m going to go for and how i’m going to edit it.

     step two: in an ideal world (read: a world in which i had an ounce of patience), step two would be to paste the lyrics of the song i’m working with into a google doc and map out which shots i’m using from which episode. i’ve tried this in the past, but i always get impatient and skip to the hands-on process of making the amv itself. so, step two becomes opening up a new project in final cut pro. i have an event called “supernatural” that i make every amv project under so i have complete access to all the videos i’ve made in the past and all the footage i’ve used in the past (a quick note regarding the latter: i was very kindly given links to every spn episode in hd, so i have those downloaded onto a hard drive that i put into my computer every time i edit). here’s what my fcpx interface looks like:

     step three: once i have my project set up, i put the song i’m using into it. i start off by cutting out any part of the song i don’t want to use, like a chorus, and make sure it flows nicely. i’ll also mark points in the song (like a beat drop or certain lyrics) where i know i’ll want to do something specific (hence the purple flags in the picture above).  

     step four: then i start editing! this is, of course, the most involved step and can take quite a long time; i *have* made an amv in one day (a day that was spent entirely in a fugue state), but i’ve also spent a month making one (it depends on how inspired i’m feeling and how much time i have to sit down and work on it). i could get into the technical side of this step, but i’ll just give a brief overview. i usually edit from the start of the song to the end, unless i get bored and skip to a more interesting part of the song. the process of finding specific clips is very tedious; oftentimes i have a certain shot in my mind that i want to use, but i don’t know what episode it’s from (google and episode transcripts are your best friends in this instance). or sometimes i have an idea i want to execute (for example, in my “psycho killer” amv pictured above, i wanted to compile clips of dean loading his gun for the intro), but have no specific clips in mind (in that case, i had to google specific phrases like “dean loading his gun supernatural” and “‘dean cocks his gun’” and sift through episode transcripts to find what i was looking for). amv-making is a labor of love.

     step five: i repeat the previous step until i’m satisfied. (i will note that this involves listening to the same song over and over… and over.) when i’m finished, sometimes i’ll color grade the clips, but mostly i leave it as-is (both because i’m lazy and because i don’t know much about color grading). then i export it and voila! (shout-out to my mom for being the first person to whom i always show my amvs and shout-out to my laptop for putting up with my hobby.)

[madfantasy]

Dear blogging

How are you today? Sending all the good vibes towards you. I feel much at ease as I had payed for Internet last minute just now (its thanks to you🙏💛) and happy to say Mani will be with you for another month🌟

(Just a small reminder I'm open for commissions to save up for the next one🍀)

Im just going to blab bout life and me art as usual, if you graciously don't mind c':

☆ I'm much at ease, it's the raining seasons in the bare deserts and I'm loving it(Actually, just came in from losing it a bit under the rain, heh) Not the part where it leaked into my carpeted room whilst getting fiercer :' I'm not particularly fond of cold weather, either. I almost enter dull stage of hibernation, being tightly wrapped with blankets and constantly breathing in cold air. I like to muse being born on December does a cold blooded creature make, hehe. But the quiet is much appreciated. They are almost drowsy all the time and I've got the chance to listened to lots of Hercule Poirot. Ironically my last random chapter was him having an old fashioned English Christmas, and it gave me a crave for puddings I haven't got the slightest idea how they taste lo'

I've missed the sun for almost a month and a half now, in much arguments over restricting the yard at first, but now it was a sleep issue. I finally woken up today to see the sun and felt very much.. "yes, I'm in my element " brighter feel

Speaking of which; I dedicate this song for you dears 💛💛🔥

And also this bug i found if ur interested

☆ I've also, naturally, been sketch-storming with my new tablet! I was simply tittering over all the new discoveries I've been making, while also being gobsmacked at how much painfully sore some side are lacking, and some I had no clue what I'm supposed to do with it, like confused grumpy grand-er

For example;

I love how crystal clear it is, but I guess I can now see the brush's repeating circle pixel and pattern which makes it too artificial for my taste and hender my trust in making strokes. I suppose its nice to zoom out just to be sure my process is fine or whatever idk :'

The softwares DO NOT lag when the canvas is big! Ugh, means I can fatten up the size of my pictures easily. But that's surely eats up the storage, and I found out last minute that ipad doesn't have sd slots, unless you have to buy an adapter. Which is the main lack in this stuff. Everything costs. You want to sneeze while holding the tablet? You can't till u buy a permit.

So yeah, my favourite drawing program there, Clip Studio Paint, is can only used by annual/ monthly subscription licence, while its one-time licences is only for windows, means having to by different licences for different systems. So I'm using the free month trail to get by for now, so be sure to read carefully which on is which before purchasing. ProCreate is a one time purchase, tho. And it has TIME LAPS VIDS idk why I go crazy but I love the fact that I can record my art with no effort or pause (cuz I can never sit 1 hr continuously, honestly), and you can see my horribly-edited vid practices on tiktok or insta as @MadFantasy_ . But as we were saying, they even more double storage intake hehe. Love how ridiculously fancy the lines smoothing on it, I can act up as a calligrapher easy and I'm a joke at it! Also I'm thinking of trying Craft Pro as well, is a one time purchase too. Will go through it in details when I cover all the corners cx

"Are you with me or are we together "

Sharing files between my pc and ipad is too much work, found an easy way I'm loving already, go to SnapeDrop dot net on both pc and ipad and basically all the devices on your network can share stuff! Instead of me pluging it and turning the app or sending by mail, ugh

If you're used to shortcuts, good luck being fast on it unless you get a keyboard, or in my case, screen on keyboard im looking an app for, and by mentioning apps

Regional restrictions, I couldn't download tumblr cause its not available in my region 8L

And alot of other things to be expected, really with more to share if its not much of an annoyance cx

I hope days brings you more ease and what much you desire my dears, happy everything you celebrate 🌋🔥🔥💛🙌

Always sending my love

Mani

3.12.2020 8 pm

[thefaultinourforcebond]

your gifs are so nice! how do you make your gifs? any app or website suggestions?

LIAR. They look mediocre!

I deleted photoshop a long time ago to make room for my uni softwares so all of my gifs that I’ve made in the past few years are made using...and i just know some of yall are going to be so horrified by this; imovie, whatever free photo/video editors i have in my phone and a gif converter.

This is how I make my gifs. Of course, different peeps has their own way of make them.

Step 1: Plan your gifset/what you want to gif.

Step 2: Download the vid in the highest quality possible.

Step 3: Put it in a video editor software. Take what you need. Adjust, speed, framing, lighting, colouring, all that jazz.

Step 4: Save and put it in the gif converter (My favourite because you can see a preview of your gif before saving)

Step 5: Pray. It the gif is wonky, the speed’s not right, go back to editing Step 3

Step 6: Cry, because the quality’s horrible and the colouring’s bad and everything is falling apart.

Step 7: Repeat Step 1 with a different idea or go back to Step 3.

Step 8: Whoops i forgot the watermark. Go back to Step 3. Or skip, bc im tired.

Step 9: Repeat Step 3 three to seven more times for a gifset.

Step 9: Oh shoot, I have to think of a caption.

Step 10: Arrange, tag like your life depends on it, post on tumblr.

I started making my own gifs bc i hate stealing/saving others’ gifs for my meta, header or reaction posts. I know some of my talented moots are appalled with me rn but really from the bottom of heart Nonny, thank you so much for the complement. I appreciate it. And thank you all who also enjoy my creations too <3

[comicteaparty]

Writing & Misc. Resources

Check out this plethora of writing and other comic creating resources archived from Comic Tea Party’s Writing & Misc. Resources Channel!

RebelVampire

https://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/ - an enormous set of world-building questions for fantasy and science fiction stories.(edited)

http://rollforfantasy.com/ - generators and guides galore. it's fairly D&D oriented, but its broad enough to work as an aid for any sort of story you want when it comes to building certain elements.(edited)

http://writersrandomramblings.tumblr.com/post/139781578857/elements-of-culture - fantastic chart that helps categorize elements of culture for world-building. really helpful when you're trying to organize your thoughts(edited)

https://www.learnthat.org/pages/view/roots.html - a quick reference for latin and greek word roots. its really helpful if you need to build your own made up words.(edited)

http://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/calendar/ - a cool generator that can help you build a fantasy calendar. not the most robust, but if you need to make something for quick reference it works well

http://www.behindthename.com/ - my personal goto site for names. has a large collection with meanings and everything.(edited)

Kabocha

There is a thing called "Knife Theory," -- while it's primarily referenced for D&D, this gives some ideas on how you can quickly and easily flesh out an exploitable backstory for a character. Every "knife" a storyteller has can be used to further the character arc of someone if you so choose. https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/775caq/my_friends_and_i_have_something_called_knife/

Also gonna drop "Worldbuilding Question of the Day" and the "Original Character Question of the Day" tumblrs: https://wbqotd.tumblr.com/ https://ocqotd.tumblr.com/ World/Character building is optoinal but useful! Your mileage may vary from question to question.

Kabocha

MIT Open Courseware Courses Writing Science Fiction: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/21w-759-writing-science-fiction-spring-2016/ Genre Fiction Workshop: Fantasy: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/21w-758-genre-fiction-workshop-fantasy-fall-2016/ Genre Fiction Workshop: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/21w-758-genre-fiction-workshop-spring-2013/ Transmedia Storytelling: Modern Science Fiction: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/21w-763j-transmedia-storytelling-modern-science-fiction-spring-2014/index.htm Make sure to check out the assignments and student work, as well as the readings, and lecture notes. All of these are free.(edited)

RebelVampire

http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html -free word processor software. ywriter may have an ugly site, but the software is immensely useful if you want to collect lots of information in the same place. character profiles? important locations? the outline? all can be contained in a single file. http://wikidpad.sourceforge.net/ -another great, free program. if youre a fan of wikis and would like to store your story notes in a wiki format, this program is great for that.

https://papercatpress.com/ - since this one doesnt really fit art_resources ill put it here. paper cat press is a great resource for finding tons of resources in general. contests, zines, job openings, and so forth! definitely a great thing to have if you're a comic creator.

Kabocha

Webcomic Listing Resources Where can people find links to your comics to read? Comic Bookmarking assistants -ArchiveBinge - https://archivebinge.com/ -Piperka - https://piperka.net/ -ComicRocket - https://www.comic-rocket.com/ Lists -The Webcomic List - http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/ -TopWebComics - http://www.topwebcomics.com/ -Belfry - https://new.belfrycomics.net/ -Webcomics Guide - https://webcomicsguide.com/category/webcomics/ <- this might be iffy, browse with discretion and probably not at work -Webcomic Library - https://webcomiclibrary.tumblr.com/ -LGBT Webcomics - https://tagpacker.com/user/lgbtwebcomics(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

These are also about site design, only partly intersecting with writing...but there's no coding_resources chat, so I guess I'll put it here? Useful Wordpress plugins for webcomic sites. https://twitter.com/ErinPtah/status/1045091986070556672

Kabocha

Also, if you're using Wordpress, this site is invaluable for keeping up to date with the latest issues that might pop up with various plugins: https://wpvulndb.com/ You can search for various plugins, and sign up for an email digest. We use it at work a lot to make sure nothin' we're using got hit. Also, if you do email through wordpress at all -- get an SMTP auth plugin! It's... well, good because your mail can be rate-limited in case it starts spamming. Also sending authenticated emails will help stuff from getting flagged as spam. It won't stop it, but it will help. Many shared hosts require this. https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-wp-smtp/

Kabocha

If you were wondering how people got things like.... a Patreon icon, or a deviantart icon on their site using a font... Worry no more -- here it is! FONTAWESOME https://fontawesome.com/icons?d=gallery&m=free The free version is just that -- free. Documentation: https://fontawesome.com/how-to-use/on-the-web/setup/getting-started?using=web-fonts-with-css

Kabocha

Also, since I'm thinking about fonts, here's some good places to get free or inexpensive fonts with commercial use licenses: http://typodermicfonts.com/ - Check the "Some Styles Free"/Free tag in the catalog https://creativemarket.com/free-goods - Every week, there's a few new "free" items, one of which is usually a font. https://www.myfonts.com/search//free/?sort=cheap - MyFonts has a free option -- check the licenses on what you download https://www.exljbris.com/ - You may recognize this foundry, but... well, they have some distinctive, useful fonts! Check them out if you get a chance. http://www.blambot.com/ - COMIC FONTS! Some free, some paid. Read the license. https://fonts.google.com/ - Google has a ton of fonts that are available for web use AND download under the MIT open source license. *note: commercial use means like... in your books, or on your website, etc. Read licenses of course, and know what you're allowed to do. Many fonts do not allow you to use them in a graphic that you are trademarking because this may limit other people's use. https://99designs.com/blog/logo-branding/trademarking-a-logo/ If you're thinking about applying for a trademark, talk to your lawyer, not to me.

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

Also https://www.fontsquirrel.com/ for free fonts

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I get a bunch of cheap fonts, and other graphics resources, at MightyDeals: https://www.mightydeals.com/

They do limited-time offers of big bundles at huge discounts. Some of them have really nice fonts, others have tiled patterns (I've used them for SO many clothing textures) and clipart elements, that kind of thing.

Kabocha

https://myfonts.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/y/681445A81EC65CCF/0AB7A90AD1D74D85B4B1B1F623478121 Free font Friday!

RebelVampire

https://www.emwelsh.com/blog/character-questions an article with 7 questions to get to know your characters. i really liked some of the questions on here so i thought itd be worth sharing.

Kabocha

If you're looking for resources for writing comics or just... writing, here's a few (including book recs): Save the Cat https://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp/1932907009 Beat sheets can be found here: http://www.savethecat.com/category/beat-sheets Romancing the beat http://gwenhayes.com/romancing-the-beat/ People don't talk a lot about romance stories or arcs and how they're structured. So here ya go. http://gwenhayes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/RtB_worksheet.pdf Generic beet sheet Various worksheets for plotting, beta reading, etc: https://jamigold.com/for-writers/worksheets-for-writers/ (The beta reader sheet is definitely worth a look if you're giving people things to read over -- focuses their feedback ) Writing a character's internal journey https://jamigold.com/2014/05/how-can-we-show-a-characters-internal-journey/ SciFi/Fantasy Writers of America resources https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/information-center/ (for those looking for US publication -- GUILDS HAVE TONS OF INFO. This list goes to tons of blog entries!!)(edited)

Kabocha

https://twitter.com/gumroad/status/1058358068411555840 Hey, if you didn't know, Gumroad has a wordpress plugin, and that's kind of awesome if you ask me.

Kabocha

Dropping some youtube videos tonight, all from the same channel. Evaluating Critical Feedback on your book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCeXPF1SS10 Revising Character Arcs in Your Novel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj6MASDD_P4 How To Develop Characters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SicPEVhzSaM Writing Hack: Break Out Of Your Writing Rut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAsV3Vhvy-I Revising Your Novel: Where To Start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAKvUwrhCr0(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Putting this here because there's no "coding resources" channel, hope that's all right. Now that a lot of people are suddenly feeling the need to move their webcomics to an independent hosting site, I really to spread this around...if you're going with Wordpress, don't use ComicPress! Use Webcomic 5: https://wordpress.org/plugins/webcomic/ It has more features, it's more versatile, and it's updated much more regularly, with an active support forum if you need it. There's so much you'd be missing out on.

Kabocha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXoJYOWFESI This entire channel is great, but this video. (Tenor pointed out to me she uploaded a new vid) EDITING! Also, another CMS for webcomics? Hmmm. It ain't wordpress, at least. http://ptyxis.cthonic.com/ Note: I have not tested this. I cannot speak to how usable this system is. I assume it requires a base willingness to learn html/css at minimum.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Useful poll about what readers like in webcomics! Covers site design as well as story stuff: https://hplehkonen.com/blog/how-do-you-read-webcomics-poll-data/

Delphina

I'm really digging this video series about con table setup and sharing tables! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpPNSFBemQ0

Artem Ficta (Ring Spell)

https://twitter.com/MattGarvey1981/status/1135157084805312512?s=19

MJ Massey

This podcast mini series features two creators I have met in real life and consider authorities on comic writing: Dirk Manning and Russell Nohelty. Each week they will be focusing on a question from one of the different creators in this mastermind group. http://www.comixlaunch.com/session202

Attila Polyák

Whenever I join any webcomic related community I always end up linking to this wonderful guide that covers everything that's webcomic making or related: https://evanjwaterman.com/guide/ Also fun fact: This guide used to be just some publicly shared google sheet, but the dude who compiled it eventually made this page for it.

RebelVampire

https://yourlocalwriterblog.tumblr.com/post/185806112050/how-to-make-a-story-file some great ideas for organizing your stories and making sure the important things that need to be answered are getting answered.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

The power of pacing https://twitter.com/Hamm_Tips/status/821137467545817088

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Made a post with all the foundational "how to start a webcomic" advice I've seen people ask for, plus some that I haven't: http://leifandthorn.com/2019/07/help-i-want-to-make-a-new-webcomic-how-do-i-start/

The Q

Found this very new resource about making webcomics, from a Finnish webcomics creator (who seems really cool on twitter). It's still in pre-order, but you read the first chapter for free. Thought maybe it could help someone! https://twitter.com/HPLehkonen/status/1160965755330076672

Jo Michelle

Don't know if I've shared this before, but this is a really good resource for story creation: https://youtu.be/hZgWw5juPJ8

MJ Massey

I have trouble coming up with FX ideas so this has been really helpful! http://www.comicbookfx.com/fxlist.php?fbclid=IwAR2QzmzgfVhFy4690_KaK0NX4Qg2r2tPSVXHhwLGf2ldin9m5hSnlDUwsU0

DaemonDan

I also have made use of http://www.writtensound.com/index.php for coming up with onomatopoeia.

DaeofthePast

Jami Gold has a good breakdown on writing romance https://jamigold.com/2012/11/write-romance-get-your-beat-sheet-here/

Pistashi

someone sent me this website on twitter and I thought it was really well done https://www.wirepop.com/

a good initiative too

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

For those of you also writing fantasy, you might find these two videos interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJQb5bGu_g&t=256s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVrnfniQiS8&t=222s

MJ Massey

My pal Russell relaunched his podcast as The Complete Creative and his first episode is a discussion with Tyler James of ComixLaunch. Both of these guys are experts on having a comics business https://open.spotify.com/episode/2QluA6vfhsmvhTnMRQ0wN3?si=OzF2goYlQeqgg99PL3sqXg

SAWHAND

Hi all! Here's a favorite link of mind for writing stuff! This is an entire recorded course from Brigham Young University on Writing. It's basically a lecture class by Brandon Sanderson, who's written a few of my fav books. It's a quite good class that covers many main categories of writing fiction! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ZDBOc2tX8&list=PLH3mK1NZn9QqOSj3ObrP3xL8tEJQ12-vL

Also, I like to plot stories out event-by-event, then scene-by-scene for comics and I found this really cool format for using excel/spreadsheets to do it that I really like. This person uses the technique (they call it God's Eye View) for screenplay writing, so there's a whole thing about color-coding scenes based on what characters are in the scenes that I just don't bother doing, so don't let the crazy rainbow intimidate you! Anyway, it really helped me organize and get a good feel for the overall pacing of the story https://thestorydepartment.com/get-a-gods-eye-view-of-your-story/ Enjoy!

Kabocha

https://wordpress.org/themes/toocheke/ https://wordpress.org/plugins/toocheke-companion/ Alternative webcomic resource for wordpress

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Another 'Hello Future Me' video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2dzRzPPAwY

He has a lot of excellent writing resources (including a book on worldbuilding), so I recommend checking him out.

Kabocha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HOdHEeosc&list=PLSH_xM-KC3Zv-79sVZTTj-YA6IAqh8qeQ Brandon Sanderson's got a really good writing course, and the one he's got going for this year is being posted online with each lecture. Totally worth it if you're into writing fantasy and sci fi (And it's FREE!)

Dann

https://twitter.com/EtheringtonBros/status/1228916004463489025?s=20

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

So earlier in the general chat we were talking about types of characters (mary sues, likeable characters, antiheroes, etc), and this short video I think summarises the basic factor for creating an engaging character: https://youtu.be/QM1tUwpy-yQ

Kabocha

If you're looking to be published or agented, make sure to take a glance at the Manuscript Wishlist for agents to see what they're looking for and if what you're doing matches that niche! https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/the-comprehensive-search-and-query-guide/

Kabocha

Also, if you're looking for freelance editors, the Editorial Freelancers Association has a nifty search tool! (And yes you can have them review comics!) https://www.the-efa.org/hiring/

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Wrote an article on webcomic-specific issues from COVID-19, and some strategies and resources for handling them: http://herald.comicadia.com/2020/03/17/covid-19-and-you-r-webcomic/

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

One of my favorite "here's one way to look at pacing" guides. Short and sweet! Source: https://twitter.com/Hamm_Tips/status/821137467545817088

em.rowene

Hey all! Just heard about a virtual comic con being held over discord/twitch this weekend. There's a lot of interesting comic-related programming! All the info is at: stayhomecomiccon.nl(edited)

em.rowene

I’m double sharing in this channel, I guess, but I’m starting up a hashtag for creators to share ko-fi/commission/other support posts on twitter! It kicks off tomorrow! https://twitter.com/anaphiel_/status/1244727294503067655?s=21

CoppertheCarutor

Whoo Hello Future Me made another video on writing mental illness!... if anyone else is interested in that sort of thing. https://youtu.be/SQCb7GiNOrE

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Good advice on comics to listen to, even tho she's going to teach graphic novel tips, it applies to Webcomics: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TFsDCxHJpBg(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

DVpit is coming soon, here's a thread of comic artist advice on looking for a literary agent by my good friends, JesnCin. This is for marginalized creators https://twitter.com/JesnCin/status/1250788458618073088?s=19(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Guide on How to change your book formatted comic into a Webtoon. Found this and thought it's a useful guide: https://youtu.be/evv5hyB6UGk

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Webtoon gave guides on how to publish on their site. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWLxyqoe66w

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Was looking up tips for designing comic banners for comment storm and found this! Pretty solid advice for anyone thinking of doing it. http://webcomicalliance.com/business/10-terrific-tips-for-building-banners/

Jo Michelle

This focuses on screenwriting, but the suggestions about opening scenes and establishing empathy with characters is true for any medium: https://youtu.be/E1eoLw1goic

Miranda (Into the Swell)

Some helpful information on prologues: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-a-prologue#3-famous-examples-of-prologues-in-literature(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

The Mom Trope guide; this covers 3 types of moms. I like that she mentions the Missing Mom and give pointers on why it's written this way. Also her black cat distracted me https://youtu.be/vMc955HsAV8(edited)

em.rowene

There's an online SFF writing convention happening this weekend! There are some realy interesting worldbuilding panels on the program! https://emrowene.tumblr.com/post/618560723074908160/diverse-sff-writing-convention-this-memorial

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

A cool post by the staff at GlobalComix about finding your audience: https://globalcomix.com/news/details/9/who-is-the-ideal-reader-for-your-comic-

CoppertheCarutor

This person who ran a really dedicated critique thread on Tapas made this doc, I figured it would be an interesting read for users of the platform. https://docs.google.com/document/d/11ejYNWf9w8L1Y-th1SHAqT3sSDPbOY6KNd-1CfvBTJE/edit

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Good advice about Tips for new and 'getting into it' creators starting a webcomic. I agree alot with Caezhel since it speaks to my struggles even though I've done webcomics for afew years https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc6greXRS7A(edited)

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Hello Future Me back at it again with a world-building video: https://youtu.be/gcyrrTud3x4

LabsZach

This vid hit me between the eyes re: The Toolbox Fallacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz4YqwH_6D0&feature=emb_title

eliushi [Keyspace]

Taglines for your comic! Tips: https://www.google.com/amp/s/thoughtsonfantasy.com/20hat-makes-a-good-book-tagline/amp/

Feather J. Fern

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v4R2ZcxPlA Other that the satirical nature of this video, it does give good advice

[olderthannetfic]

Vidding absolutely counts as a fandom, and Escapade is key to the history of vidding.

Notice how the terminology shifts over the course of Escapade: The first year, it’s ‘songtapes’ being shown, then ‘songvid’ or ‘song video’ predominates for much of the 90s, and then we move on to ‘vidding’ and ‘vids’.

The vidshow moves from being more of a curated presentation of old favorites to having a lot of premieres. It goes from just one night to two, then back to one. Vidshow panels where you just watch vids for a whole panel slot come and go. In 1998, vid review starts up: This is a Sunday morning panel for in-depth critique of the vids shown the previous night and is a famously contentious part of the con. And then there was this:

2002, Friday, 6pm - VividCon Discussion (Come discuss the proposed VividCon, tentative time/location, August/Chicago.)

Yep. Escapade was where Vividcon was born!

By 2008, people were talking about how vidding had moved on from Escapade. In 2011 a vidshow retrospective was added to try to counter the lack of vidding-centric programming. There was a big resurgence for a few years, including such hard-hitting topics as:

2016 - Vidding Aesthetics (”Why is there so much show audio in this vid?", "Why didn't that cut hit on the beat?", "What do you mean 'Cheesy?' She's Celine Dion!" and other immortal questions of vidding aesthetics. If you've ever watched a vid, we want your opinions.)

Why yes, it was my panel. Why do you ask?

There were rounds of warnings wank, caused by Oz vids and by that time Absolute Destiny sent a vid of a violent coming of age film.

Check out this 1994 panel description from Fanlore:

"[The technology in fandom panel] included several things that people can now do in-home that they couldn't do five years ago: cutting and splicing songs on Macintosh computers (to remove inappropriate choruses, verses, or the word "girl"); the soon-to-be-easier ability to select different people from different clips and combine them onto a new background (also for songtapes); printing vhs video frames directly to computer screens, printers and/or color copiers (for fun); and zines and/or libraries on disk. Most of the new technology possibilities were followed by comments that the actual work we can do is illegal [...]. Which comments were followed by the statements that seventeen years ago, writing and publishing a slash fanzine was illegal.... [...] a few people [...], talked to me at different times throughout the con about getting accounts or modems [...]”

This is interesting not just technologically but aesthetically. Is the word ‘girl’ bad in a slashvid? Different communities have disagreed.

Conversations about digital vidding and digital vs. VCR really heated up around 2001, much later than you might expect if you’re coming out of an AMV background. While most of Youtube vids on Sony Vegas--a Windows-only program--at Escapade, Mac has been the norm.

The topics that have remained big are vidding aesthetics, including things like how to make an effective pimp vid, discussions of hosting options and where the community is hanging out now, and how-tos for people who want to get into vidding.

(And before anyone asks, the answer is that you should download DaVinci Resolve because it’s free and cross-platform. And you should encode with h.264 because it’s widely compatible.)

The 2020 vidding panels are:

Vidding 101: The Vid Bunny Farm So you’ve had an idea, and it’s gnawing on your leg? Or maybe you have too many vid ideas and can’t choose? Or you want to make a vid but don’t know where to even start? Aspiring fan vidders, unsure-vidders-to-be, and experienced vidders welcome alike to share vid bunnies, brainstorm together, and talk about the processes of conceptualizing a vid.

Vidding Genres Then & Now We’ve come a long way from “living room vids” vs ‚”con vids‚” or have we? Let’s talk about evolving fanvid genres, from ship vids to AU vids to multivids, from character vids to fake trailers, from genre-bending vids to long form vids to cosplay music videos, and more. Let’s talk about all the genres of fan videos floating around YouTube, Billibilli, AO3 and beyond, and also consider if the old school genre terms still apply.

Escapade has had many, many vidding panels. So many that even I feel the need for a readmore. I’ve pulled out the meta ones and left off some single-fandom vidshows and whatnot. Sorry for the wonky formatting, but Tumblr, in its infinite wisdom, seems to have removed the horizontal rule feature.

1991  - "Classic" songtapes were shown at 9:00 on Friday.

1994 - Song Video Roundtable (Bring works in progress or finished works you're having difficulty with for a quick jump-start. Open to anyone who enjoys videos as well as the people who make them.)

1994 - Songvid Editing (Authors get edited and usually have to do at least one rewrite of a story. Artists have erasers. What stops songvid makers from doing drafts and re-edits of their work? Let's talk about editing style (what cuts to use for best emphasis) and technique (how to physically do the inserts.)) [Notice how much of an issue editing is. These are VCR vids, edited in order, so insert edits are a gigantic pain.]

1995 - Techno Vids—Media Cannibals, (What's available with the new computer hardware and software? Can have Bodie & Doyle screwing on screen if we apply the right touches. Should we? How and when?) [Yes. Sweatily. Always.]

1995 - Video Workshop (video makers & watchers discuss the art.)

1996 - Music Video Critique and Workshop (Roundtable critique of videos, how to tell/recognize story, POV, rhythm. Also, tricks of the trade.)

1997 - Music Choice for Song Vidding (Finding the right song for the fandom is almost as great a challenge as finding the right clips for the song. Discussing what to look for in music choice.)

1997 - Songvid Critique (An exploration of different elements of media vids, with an emphasis on aesthetics. We'll look at segments of different songs to see how the images were used in conjunction with the varied rhythms of the music, and to enhance the mood.)

1998 - Media Cannibals Self-Indulgence Hour (Stunned to look back on vidding effort, MC plans to show -- and talk about -- some of their best and worst vids, pointing out some happy accidents and some annoying f*ckups. This is a great panel for people who want to learn about vid-making, the work that goes into them, and what to look for when watching them.)

1998 - Con Vids vs Living Room Vids (What are the elements that make a music vid accessible to a large crown, or more appropriate to an intimate setting?)

1998 - Music Video Show Review (Selected vids from Saturday's show will be replayed and discussed for their aesthetic, technical and musical choices. Open to all, for feedback and fun.) [Perhaps the start of the Sunday vidshow critique, which was also such a feature of Vividcon?]

1999 - Songvid Aesthetics (An exploration of theme, color, mood, and rhythm. Choosing clips to relate to the music and convey your message to the viewer.)

1999 - Sunday Morning Vid Review (Selected vids from Saturday's show will be replayed and discussed for the aesthetic, technical and musical choices. Open to all, for feedback and fun.)

2000 - Vidding Basics (Or "you want to learn how to make a music vid, huh?"—Carol and Stacy will take a group of novice vidders from the basics of what you need on your VCR, to all your hardware set ups, thru the selection of music, to actually doing some hands-on putting a dip (or two) into a music vid. So if you're interested in music videos and you want to try your hand at making one... you know what panel you need to go to.)

2000 - Songvid Appreciation 101 (Remember Art Appreciation? "Why is this painting good?" Well, we're doing the same for vids, using examples from the ESCAPADE Video Show. Let's take advantage of the fact that we've all just seen these vids, and use them to illustrate how to do cool things in a vid. We'll look at clever POV changes, appropriate choice of music to theme, skillful uses of musical changes within a vid, storytelling techniques, changes of mood, cutting on the beat vs. cutting on the lyric line, the different approaches to serious and humorous vids, or single fandom vs. multiple fandom vids, and more.)

2001 - Vidding Workshop (2 hours) (This workshop will cover: a comparison between digital and analog vidding; a how-to for analog vidding; a how-to for digital vidding; and a discussion of the artistic side of vidding, including song and clip choices, and techniques to avoid.)

2001 - Impact of Computer Tools on Vidding (Vidding used to be push-and-pause between 2 vers, and a LOT of patience. Now with I-movie and Final Cut and Macintosh G4's, the technological leap is here and it isn't going anywhere. Are vids better for the technology available to them?)

2001 - Songvid Appreciation (2 hours) (Comments and feedback on vids you saw last night, Escapade style.)

2002 - Art Manipulation Using Photoshop (A how-to overview, with demonstrations in Photoshop, and more detailed techniques for creating photo manipulations, web graphics, and zine graphics. Depending on interest, creation of vid titles and overlay vid graphics may be included.)

2002 - Digital Vidding (An overview of the digital vidding process, including some advice on the hardware and software you need to get started. Learn the basics of editing with Premiere and similar programs, and get an overview of some of the fun options you have when using a computer to vid.)

2002 - Vidding Workshop: Art After Craft (What is the Art of Vidding?)

2002 - Vid Revision (The art and craft of revising vids—how you get from a song in your heart and a bunch of clips on your hard drive to the final product. We'll show multiple versions of a few vids, critique them, and talk about what improves a vid. No technical knowledge needed; come whether you make vids or just like watching them.)

2002 - Vids: Pro vs Fan Editing (A long time fan vidder and a professional editor discuss techniques.)

2002 - Sunday Morning Vid Review

2002 - VividCon Discussion (Come discuss the proposed VividCon, tentative time/location, August/Chicago.) [VVC started 6 months later, in August 2002, and ran until 2018]

2003 - How to Vid on the Computer (A brief intra vidding on computers. It will touch on hardware requirements, software options, and basic concepts of non-linear editing and what makes for a good vid, and, time and tech permitting, it may also include a demonstration of some of the editing basics. There will be handouts.)

2003 - Vid Show Review (A discussion (and literal re-viewing in some cases) of some of the vids from the Saturday night show.)

2003 - Also Premiering Vid Show (The "Also Premiering..." vid show is for vids premiered in the last year that aren't going to be shown in the Friday or Saturday shows. This will be an informal setting and we'll go by participant preference — if folks want to see a vid a second time, or want some time to chat about it, or if a vidder wants some feedback on it, we can decide to do that on-the-fly. If you'd like to show any vids in this show, just bring them to the show itself. There are no hard-and-fast limits on number of vids; we'll just go with what shows up and take turns until we run out of time. Afterwards, consider going out to lunch with other participants to talk about the vids!)

2004 - I want to vid! (But I don't know how) (Introduction to vidding hardware, software and maybe some concepts if we have the time.)

2004 - Made On a Mac: The MacFen Symposium (So you're a slasher and a Mac user. Come and share your tips and tricks for HTML coding, photo editing, website management and vidding on a Mac, Share the programs that have and haven't worked for you and hear some helpful tips from the front lines.)

2004 - Vidding: Creating Mood (Why do rapid cuts of short clips create tension? What does a wipe *feel* iike? A vidder's toolbox Includes more and more options, but how do we know what emotional effect each technical effect will produce? Leave the music at the door; this one's about the visuals.)

2004 - Editing Techniques and Vidding (How can you edit together clips from widely different episodes and movies into a seamless whole? A familiarity with concepts in filmmaking can help you achieve the results you're aiming for. A look at some of the common rules of continuity editing and how they relate to vids.)

2004 - The changing face of vids (How has increasingly cheap technology, wider highspeed access and the new flood of vidders changed vidding? What should we rejoice about and what should we worry about? How do we help make it a winning situation for all?)

2004 - Vid Review (A retrospective on the Saturday night show.)

2005 - Vidding: Let the Lyrics Help You (How to look at lyrics to add depth and structure to your vid. or why top 40 songs usually make you do all the work.)

2005 - Vid Review (A Sunday morning tradition at Escapade, and a chance to discuss those great vids.) [See how it’s a “tradition” by this time.]

2006 - The Changing Vid Audience (The move to digital vidding, the availability of vid source and software, and the expectation of online distribution have all radically affected audience desires and expectations. What do audiences want from vids now? Vidders, share your historical perspectives. Vid fans, this is your chance to tell vidders what you want.)

2006 - Defining the Character Study Vid (We love character study vids, so how do you go about making a good one? What's the difference between a vid about a character, a vid about a universe, and a vid about seeing the universe through the eyes of a character?)

2006 - Marketing Your Vid (How can you stand out among the swelling ranks of vidders? What's the best way to present yourself, and to draw attention to your work? We'll focus on knowing your audience, timing your release, pimp communities, etc.)

2006 - Vid Review  (Like Ebert and Roper, but much better looking.)

2007 - Ulead Media Studio Pro 8 and Why It's Better Than the Rest (A compare and contrast of the semi-professional video editing software programs with a strong emphasis on Ulead Media Studio Pro 8. If you are new to vidding, or interested in upgrading your video editing software, this panel should help you make an informed choice.)

2007 - Mac Workshop (The ins and outs of vidding on a Mac.)

2007 - Vid Show Review (Take apart what worked and what was missing from selected vids in the Saturday show. Audience participation at its finest.)

2008 - Ulead Video Editing Introduction (Intro to Ulead Video Studio/Media Studio Pro for those who are interested in vidding but don't have a clue as to where to start. or wouldn't mind a refresher course.)

2008 - Vid Review (Last night was for watching, today is for analyzing. What worked, what didn't, and why?)

2009 - Fannish Aesthetics: Extrapolation v. Subversion (How do we as writers (and especially as vidders) interact with the source material? Is that relationship evolving? What can we say about where we've been and where we're headed?)

2009 - Vid Review (Last night was for watching, today is for analyzing. What worked, what didn't, and why?)

2010 - 2010: A Vidding Odyssey (Current trends in vidding, including what's changed and what's remaind the same when it comes to slash, vidding in particular. We will show some examples of "classic" slash as well as some of the newer develpoments in constructed reality.)

2010 - Vid Review

2011 - Escapade Songvid Retrospective (A trip back to the days of yesteryear, when vids were made on VCRs and Escapade was the place for vids and vid programming. Compiled by Kandy Fong, this show will survey vids from a variety of vidders and shows, covering Escapade 1992-2001 in a fun, informal environment.)

2011 - Decoding Vid Meaning (How do you read a vid? Clip choice, lyrics, structure, symbols or the tone of the music— vids offer plenty of clues, and we decipher them as we see fit. Come watch a vid (or two!) and discuss how we get meaning from what we see and hear to develop a deeper understand of what's going on in the vid. Multiple viewings are required!)

2011 - Vid Review (Flash all the way back to Saturday night to dissect our favorite (or not) vids from the show.)

2011 - The Vidding Explosion (1985-1990) (Who taught whom. The growth of storytelling, technique, and sophistication. Includes vid show and presentation.)

2012 - Vidwatching 101 (Vids have their own language and their own framework for discussion. It can be tough to translate vids into words, but if we have the same language, vid discussion can be wonderfully rewarding for both vidder and viewer. This panel is a primer to get us all on the same page.)

2012 - The State of Vidding Fandom (Ten years of VividCon and roughly the same years vids have been distributed online, let's talk about the state of vidding and the community of vidders. Is there one? Where is it? How do vidders fit in with fandom at large? What are the different options for watching/releasing vids, and how do they stack up for vidders and viewers? If you love vids, join us—whether you vid or not.)

2012 - Festivids Review (Festivids is a fannish vid exchange inspired by the Yuletide fic exchange. This will be a vid review-style panel where we show clips from some of this year's highlight vids and talk about the challenge.)

2012 - MVD Vid Retrospective Show (Sometimes the oldies really are the goodies. Mary Van Duesen has made songvids since the 1980s, working in a range of fandoms. She has also remastered many old vids, and they look better now than they ever did. Come see some old favorites, or find some new ones.)

2012 - Vid Show Review

2012 - Nearly New Vids (So many wonderful vids were submitted for the Escapade show that we couldn’t fit them all in the early show. Here’s your chance to see the rest in the daylight hours (replay of the late-show vids).

2013 - Mac Vidders Roundtable (What’s the best way to vid on a Mac? Our vidding options have changed a lot in the last few years, and it’s been a while since we had a roundtable to discuss and compare our tips, tricks, and processes. This panel is for all of the above.)

2013 - The Art of the Pimp Vid (What makes a pimp vid so addictive one hit will get you hooked? Let’s talk vids for people outside of your fandom. Plot arc vids, character vids, pairing vids: How do you grab a new audience hard and never let them go? Hey there, little fangirl, the first taste is free!)

2013 - The Bestivids of Festivids (This year’s Festivids featured everything from incest testtube babies to care bear Avengers to a surprisingly large amount of kickass femslash. Let’s watch and discuss some favorites from Festivids 2012.)

2013 - So You Want To Be A Vidder (Nobody vidding your OTP anymore? Sad that vidders haven’t discovered your new favorite show? Why not vid it yourself? Come learn the very basics, from choosing programs in your price range to dos and don’ts if you’re planning to submit to cons.)

2013 - How Do Vids Work? (Let's talk about the techniques (not just the feelings!) that make a slash vid work. What makes for a vid that we watch over and over and that sticks with us long- term? We'll talk about these things with reference to a couple of specific vids, see what strategies, commonalities, and differences we can identify, and then open up discussion to additional favorites from the audience.)

2013 - Vidding Aesthetics (Vidders and vid watchers: let’s talk vidding aesthetics. How have styles changed over time? What makes a good vid and what’s just a matter of personal taste? What do you want to BURN WITH FIRE? Let’s get this cage match... err... discussion going.)

2013 - Vid Review (Flash all the way back to Saturday night to dissect our favorite vids (or not) vids from the show.)

2014 - Vidding 101 (Never edited before? Haven't made a vid since the VCR went the way of the dodo? Come learn how to turn those vidbunnies into reality!)

2014 - Vids for the Viewer (We often discuss writing from the perspective of a reader, but vidding from the perspective of vid-watchers not so much. Let's talk about how to read a vid, different vidding aesthetics and how accessible or popular they are with viewers vs. vidders, and impostor syndrome in vid review.)

2014 - Vid Review (Flash all the way back to Saturday night to dissect our favorite (or not) vids from the show.)

2015 - Best of Festivids. From the slashy to the merely sublime, what tickled our fancy in this year’s Festivids?

2015 - The Perfect Slash Vid. What makes the perfect slash vid? Is it the song choice? The point of view? The abs? (Okay, you got me: it’s the abs.)

2015 - So You Wanna Be A Vidder. Bring your laptop or at least a pen and paper and find out how to get started in vidding.

2015 - Vid Review: Flash all the way back to Saturday night to dissect our favorite (or not) vids from the show.

2016 - The State of *Vidding Fandom. Sunday, Noon, San Diego 2. What's going on in vidding fandom today? Where are people hosting and posting? What's next?

2016 - Vid Review. Flash all the way back to Saturday night to dissect our favorite (or not) vids from the show.

2016 - Vidding Aesthetics (”Why is there so much show audio in this vid?", "Why didn't that cut hit on the beat?", "What do you mean 'Cheesy?' She's Celine Dion!" and other immortal questions of vidding aesthetics. If you've ever watched a vid, we want your opinions.)

2017 - Vidding 101 - Have you dreamed of making a vid but just aren’t sure where to start? We’ll go step by step, talk finding your source(s), choosing music, finding your way with non overwhelming tech-tools, brainstorming ideas, finding collaborators, and learning by doing. Already a vidder? Come and help new vidders find their way, find new collaborators, and make new ideas happen.

2017 - Let’s Collab! New Forms of Collective Fan Creativity , Newport Changing technologies mean that we collaborate with each other in ever-evolving ways when we create fic and vids. What are the possibilities for collaborating beyond geographic boundaries with digital technologies? How are you collaborating with fellow writers and vidders these days? Are you interested in finding new collaborators and new ways to connect? And are these new forms of collaboration creating new forms of creative fan work?

2017 - Vid Review, Marina del Rey On Saturday night, we watched the vid show. On Sunday morning, we talk about it. Join Rache to discuss the good, the better, and the great of the show, including techniques and all of the reasons Charlotte doesn’t vid anymore and never will again.

2018 - Noon (Vids from the Vault, Part One Kandy Fong Newport A curated retrospective of vids from early Escapades.

2018 - Fanvid Feels (What vids do you return to again and again because they just make you *feel* things, thrill you, or fill you with joy, or even sadness? Maybe a vid introduced you to a pairing, or a fandom, or perhaps you love it even though you’re not really that into the source? Let’s look at some of our/your favorite vids and think about what makes them tick. Come with vids you want to talk about in mind, or just come to watch and talk about vids that make us feel stuff.)

2018 - Vid Review (Flash all the way back to Saturday night to dissect our favorite (or not) vids from the show.)

2019 - 3-Minute Pimp Vid (Forget telling: Show us your canon with a vid or clip! (3-5 minutes each.))

2019 - Lend Me Your Ears: Vids and Music (Have you ever discovered a song or musician because of a fanvid? Do you have thoughts on what music works and doesn't with fan vids? Let's talk about all the ways in which different types of music can work in vids, and look at some vids that work with music in awesome or surprising ways. Plus maybe there will be a little singing along...)

2019 - AO3 But For Fanart and Fanvids (AO3 has been great for fic, we need safe harbors for art and vids too. Let's talk about it!)

2019 - Pitch a Vid Bunny, Find a Vid Beta (Have an idea for a fanvid you'd love to see happen? Come with concept, song, source ideas, characters--share your bunnies, find some cheerleaders, brainstorm together. For newbie & experienced vidders alike, all welcome!)

2019 - Vid Review (Rehash the Saturday night vid show with a room full of fans.)