New Vid: "The Pioneers" (Torchwood)

[giandujakiss]

This vid was created for rivkat for the care_faith_hope auction.

Song: The Pioneers by Tunng
Fandom: Torchwood

Summary: Three times bad and three times good.

Length: 3:38

Download: At Sendspace.



Streaming: YouTube or embedded:

Watch on Vimeo

Password: retcon


Thanks so much to such_heights and sol_se for beta-ing.

Comments welcome.

(Crossposted to LJ)

Comments

[were_duck]

Beautiful and heartbreaking. Really underlines the violent paradoxes in the show. I loved the part where Jack touches Tosh's shoulder at "it can be turned", and of course Owen at "breathe in"... like a punch to the gut.

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! And yes, that's exactly how I hoped that shot of Owen would come across - I'm glad it worked for you!

[eisen]

I love the brutality of this, and I especially enjoyed the fact that this was not the traditional kind of "song-y" music I've come to expect from vids - it seems a thing that TORCHWOOD provokes, if this and obsessive24's "The Scream" are any indication, and I like it.

[giandujakiss]

The song was rivkat's choice - and I agree, it's wonderful for the fandom. And yeah, I guess Torchwood has a very ... discordant ... feel to it. I'm really glad you liked it, thanks!

[wealhtheow]

I actually hated Torchwood, but this vid was so wonderfully made and dynamic that I couldn't take my eyes away from it. The song choice is perfect! The timing was great, and I loved the repeating of the team walking away from graves. Thank you so much for sharing this!

(ok, I only saw season one and CoE--what's the meaning behind the "black holes and the uncertainty principle" pamphlet in the last shot?)

[giandujakiss]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the vid even without full Torchwood knowledge! The song choice was rivkat's and yes, I agree it's a great song for the fandom - I was so happy she had the idea!

As for the final shot, it's just meant as a signal of this running theme where the Torchwood team doesn't consider the potential variables before taking action - their problems are often problems of their own making, because of their failure to consider what they don't and can't know.

[wealhtheow]

And ye gods, what a running theme it was...I'm still not sure, after watching CoE, in which that was a HUGE aspect of the plot, how aware the writers are that their characters continually make things worse for themselves because they're too busy being self-righteous to consider the situation. I definitely did get that from your vid, even without figuring out the last frame. Your vids are always so clever and multilayered! I luv 'em!

[giandujakiss]

Yeah, I'm never quite certain myself how much the writers intend that running theme of how Torchwood causes more than half of the problems it encounters. But I'm very glad that aspect came through for you - and what a lovely thing to say about my vids, thank you!

[litotease]

Oh, this is an awesome vid. My breath caught on the first round of "it's all under control" (it's so obviously not) and never quite came back. The "all you need is time" section is magnificent(I mean, Jack has nothing but time, and it doesn't make anything better, does it?). And then the grief just piling and piling up on "breathe in, breathe out." "We will not be the last" -- oh, my heart.

Amazing.

[giandujakiss]

Oh, thank you! I'm really glad you found it so affecting! The "all you need is time" and "under control" lyrics are exactly the ones that made me love the idea of using this song for Torchwood, when rivkat threw the idea at me - because, yes, the truth is just the opposite of what the lyric is saying.

Anyway, I'm so happy it all worked for you - thanks!

[sunnyrea.livejournal.com]

(here from such_heights rec) Wonderful vid, heart breaking but really showing the blood and human toll of torchwood. Love the 'what goes around comes around feel' and how Torchwood destroys everyone who touches it. Amazing!

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm so happy to hear that the themes came through - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[pocketmouse]

OMG, this is beautiful. All the trying and the failing and failing again. This is what Torchwood is about for me.

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm so happy you felt it captured the show.

[stellastars]

Here via such_heights's rec. I've watched this vid several times now and the first words that come to mind are powerful and intense.

I loved your choice of clips that correspond with the first lyrics about broke/fixed. Early, early Torchwood there, but even then, when trying to fix broken things, it still just seems to go wrong for the poor team.

All the clips of team members walking away from the morgue really caught my attention, too. I'm certainly aware of all the Torchwood deaths, but to see it quantified visually in a condensed span of time (as opposed to being spread out of three seasons) had quite an impact.

Also, much love for the Donna/Gwen parallel. It took me a few viewings before I noticed it, but it's a great comparison and I quite like the subtlety of it.

The part of the vid that I found to be most poignant where the scenes of the team during the We promised the world, we'd tame it, what were we hoping for? section of the song. For me, that really captured the essence of Torchwood, always trying and hoping for the best -- and so rarely achieving their goals.

I thoroughly enjoyed this vid. Thanks for sharing it!

[giandujakiss]

Thank you so much for such lovely feedback! I am so happy you've enjoyed the vid enough to rewatch it, and that you felt the vid captured Torchwood well! The lyrics - like "We promised the world we'd tame it" - really suit the show, don't they? I'm so happy rivkat suggested the song. And I'm happy to hear you liked the Donna thing - I was nervous about whether it was too subtle, or not subtle enough, so it's great that you liked the final product.

[dragojustine]

This is just amazing. Absolutely intense, sad, captivating- wow.

[giandujakiss]

Oh, thank you! I'm so glad it had an emotional impact!

[regicidaldwarf]

This vid is absolutely breathtaking, I'm stunned. The song choice is eerie and perfect and god your sense of timing and matching clips to changes in the music always leaves me speechless, I wish I had better words. You wove all three seasons together so well, all those themes of loss and grief and things just going wrong working wonderfully together to create something heartbreaking and amazing.

[giandujakiss]

Oh, gosh, thank you so much! I am delighted that the themes came through - and I'm so happy that you felt the clips worked well with the song! The song was rivkat's choice, and it's got such an unusual sound to it - I tried hard to make the editing work with each of the different sections. I'm so glad it all came together for you!

[starlady]

Oo, that was really good.

I was going to ask what made you go for this version of the song rather than the Block Party original, but then at the end I thought the very final choral overlay section answered that question--I liked the understated feel of pairing the clips and the song, though, it in a way underscored the ruthlessness of the writers and the brutal quality of what happens in the show.

[giandujakiss]

I'm very glad you liked it! I can't answer the question about song versions - the song choice was rivkat's - but I can say that I wasn't even aware of the original until after I made the vid, and after hearing it, I definitely preferred this version for exactly the reason you say.

[starlady]

Definitely! I think the other version would have worked too, but it would not have had the same impact as a vid.