Sweet Charity Vid: Blaze of Glory (SPN)

[giandujakiss]

image by tripoli; click on the picture to see her post of the larger version.

This vid was created for destina for the Sweet Charity auction.

Song: Blaze of Glory by Jon Bon Jovi
Fandom: Supernatural

Summary: Number one with a bullet.

Spoilers: Through "Swan Song"

Sizes: 54 MB (540 x 360 .divx), 22 MB (420 x 280 .wmv)
Length: 4:37

Download from Sendspace: The .divx file is here and the .wmv file is here.

Watch on Vimeo

Password: performance




I wake up in the morning
And I raise my weary head
I got an old coat for a pillow
And the earth was last night's bed
I don't know where I'm going
Only God knows where I've been
I'm a devil on the run
A six gun lover
A candle in the wind, yeah!

When you're brought into this world
They say you're born in sin
Well at least they gave me something
I didn't have to steal or have to win
Well they tell me that I'm wanted
Yeah I'm a wanted man
I'm colt in your stable
I'm what Cain was to Abel
Mister catch me if you can

I'm going down in a blaze of glory
Take me now but know the truth
I'm going down in a blaze of glory
Lord I never drew first
But I drew first blood
I'm no one's son
Call me young gun

You ask about my conscience
And I offer you my soul
You ask if I'll grow to be a wise man
Well I ask if I'll grow old

You ask me if I known love
And what it's like to sing songs in the rain
Well, I've seen love come
And I've seen it shot down
I've seen it die in vain

Shot down in a blaze of glory
Take me now but know the truth
'Cause I'm going down in a blaze of glory
Lord I never drew first
But I drew first blood
I'm the devil's son
Call me young gun

Each night I go to bed
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
No I ain't looking for forgiveness
But before I'm six foot deep
Lord, I got to ask a favor
And I'll hope you'll understand
'Cause I've lived life to the fullest
Let the boy die like a man
Staring down the bullet
Let me make my final stand...

Shot down in a blaze of glory
Take me now but know the truth
I'm going out in a blaze of glory
Lord I never drew first
But I drew first blood
and I'm no one's son
Call me young gun
I'm a young gun


Thanks so much to destina for bidding on me and giving me such a fun assignment, and to my patient betas, danegen, halcyon_shift, and rivkat.

Thank you also to tripoli for the graphic she made for this vid as one of her Sweet Charity goodies. Please take a moment to tell her how gorgeous it is!

Comments appreciated.

(Crossposted to LJ)

Comments

[musesfool]

I enjoyed that a lot!

[giandujakiss]

Aww, thank you!!

[torachan]

I love that song! Great vid. :D

[giandujakiss]

Thanks! It is a fun song, isn't it?

[torachan]

It will always remind me of my jr. high Young Guns obsession. XD

[amalthia]

I had a blast watching your vid! I loved the song, the clip choices, and the action sequences. :)

[giandujakiss]

Thanks - I'm really glad you had fun with it - it was fun to make!

[not_sally]

Wow.
We all saw the show get more epic with each season, but it totally hit me like a punch with this vid. It was visually amazing, and expertly vidded.
I honestly loved it.

[giandujakiss]

Thank you so much! Yeah, it's been a pretty epic story so far - I'm glad you felt the vid captured it!

[potted_music]

The vid is gorgeous!

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm so glad you thought so!

[erda]

Jesus god GJ, this is fantastic! I have to pull up the lyrics and watch more closely later, but you totally rocked matching clips, lyrics and rhythm here in a way that makes it look inevitable. Wow!

I saw someone on lj mentioned the overlays, and yes, they were well done also. I don't understand much about the technical side of vidding, but I love this!

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm so happy you enjoyed it and that everything seemed to come together for you! And, btw, just edited the post to include the lyrics, if you want them :-).

[cee_m]

Okay seriously... I actually started crying watching this. I really didn't expect that as a reaction. I love that song (because of a deep and abiding love for Bon Jovi) but I mostly find it funny. The way you've used it my whole stomach took the song seriously and at face value.

And I've seen it shot down
I've seen it die in vain

When I saw this I actually whimpered. Losing Jo and Ellen just seemed like such a waste to me... though later I accepted it. This made it hurt all over again.

Honestly, I'm at work right now or else I would have more thinky thoughts about this but I just loved it. I actually found it comforting that I could still get an emotional response from Supernatural. It's made me excited for the new season to start. *hugs*

[giandujakiss]

Oh gosh, I am so happy the vid affected you so much! Yes, Ellen and Jo's deaths were a total waste - which was a point I just had to slip in, and I'm so glad you liked that part. Thank you!

[lastscorpion]

Wow! That is incredibly gorgeous!

[giandujakiss]

Thanks! I'm really glad you liked it!

Blaze of Glory

[yourlibrarian]

Oooh! Really enjoyed that -- oddly I've seen few vids that really dig into the Western themes in the show and obviously this song fits that perfectly (on a variety of levels). The beginning and ending were terrific bookends.

Re: Blaze of Glory

[giandujakiss]

I'm so glad you liked it - and the Western themes :-). I had a lot of fun searching for clips that had a sort of classic Western feel and, yes, that scene from Swan Song was kind of ideal!

[keerawa]

I do believe this is my favorite SPN vid of all time! I really, really love it. Why? Let me count the ways...

The way you start the vid by invoking this very specific Western-style vision of masculinity, of what it means to be a hero, that fits so well with the song.

And let's give a shout-out to song choice. What a beautiful match to canon, in both lyrics and sound. This is the Dean who said, "Honestly, I think the world's going to end bloody. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't fight." These are the Winchesters who know for a fact they won't make it to old age. These are two men who have seen everyone they care about burn.

I really liked Dean slinging himself over the fence and then that goofy, wounded smile on "a gamble in the wind."

Your POV transitions were clear and seamless.

Sam struggling against this destiny, the role that's laid out for him as Cain.

That verse on love Winchester-style, oof.

I loved the way you blended their clips on "No I ain't looking for forgiveness" and "Lord I'm asking for a favor," parallelling both of their storylines there.

Both of them sliding down the wall at 4:25 really worked for me. And then ending with Swan Song again - yep, awesome.

[giandujakiss]

Oh wow, what an amazing comment, thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the song choice - that was Destina's pick, and she had the idea to alternate viewpoints - I'm so glad that you felt it worked in the vid! And I love that you enjoyed the Western-style manliness thing - I probably had way too much fun going through the footage to find clips that fit the theme :-).

Anyway, I couldn't be happier that you enjoyed the vid so much - thank you!

[yhlee]

I'm sorry I don't have the canon knowledge to appreciate this fully, but the flow and the sense of energy are fantastic--great use of overlays and motion.

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm really glad you enjoyed it even without knowledge of the show!

[heard_the_owl]

Oh, my God. That was absolutely breathtaking! Amazingly executed and holy crap wow.
Hand me a tissue, please?
Man, I love those boys.
Thanks so much for sharing this!

[giandujakiss]

Oh, thank you so much! I'm so happy it affected you!

[arliss]

I just got nudged to watch this again--I dl'd it a while back, and loved it then. I've been going through a period of inarticulate, so I apologize for not saying something earlier. I'm deeply impressed with both the clips you chose and the editing. The song has become a cliche, and can tend to the trite. In this case, you proved the foundation of the cliche is truth--at least in how we view the Winchesters. Really solid work. Thank you.

[giandujakiss]

I am so very glad you enjoyed it, and that you felt the clips overcame the cliche of the song! Thank you!

[call_me_ps]

Supernatural and Bon Jovi. Two of my favorite things. Excellent video!

[giandujakiss]

Thanks! They do work well together - I'm glad you liked it!

[scintilla10]

I really loved this! I particularly loved the way you used action and motion throughout, and the western themes worked so well with the song and the hunter way of life.

[giandujakiss]

Thanks so much! I'm really glad the Western stuff worked for you - i tried to grab everything that smacked of "Western" that I could :-).

[alyndra]

This is my absolute favorite go-to SPN vid. I heard this song on the radio a few weeks after binge-watching the first 8 seasons, and I was like, there MUST be an existing vid of this! So I googled, and sure enough, there were several, and this was hands-down the best. I downloaded and keep coming back to watch it again and again.

I love how coherent the story you tell with it is, how the brothers have alternating 'voices' that ultimately merge into the same feelings about different events shown with the "ain't lookin for forgiveness/got to ask a favor" overlays. I love the use of prop shots to convey an idea - the microscope of Sam's demon blood, the horsemen's rings (key to Lucifer's cage) "before I'm six foot deep," everything you use to refer to Dean's stay in Hell. I love the little bounce of the Impala to the music beat, Sam and Dean's footfalls to music beats,

Just on the most recent rewatch it hit me just how many literal 'blazes' you manage to find and slide into this vid, and I can't believe I never appreciated that before! It is almost like it was too obvious, I was so busy looking at all the brilliant references to show events and how you tied them into all the lyrics, I missed the bear right in front of my nose!

"You ask if I'll grow to be a wise man/well I ask if I'll grow old" Can I just take a minute to talk about this? Because Dean's a hunter, and all the older hunters he knows are dead or paranoid hermits or crazy, and he's so willing to accept his own death when that's all he sees, as you show with Tessa and the rest of the episode references in there. They're densely packed, but so worth unpacking, you know?

And oh God, Sam, "Well at least they gave me something, I didn't have to steal or have to win" so quietly bitter and yet not dwelling, still determined to fight the good fight. MY HEART BREAKS FOR EVERYTHING IN THIS VID, OKAY.

And I don't care if people don't take this song seriously, because it seriously works for this show and this vid, and that is just all there is to say on that subject, okay?

(No, not really, I didn't mean it, I could totally go on.)

[giandujakiss]

Oh my gosh, this is one of the most amazing comments I've ever seen - thank you so much!

I can't take all of the credit, though - Destina's the one who came up with the song idea, and she had the idea for the alternating voices - I think she matched which brother with which, IIRC. I'm just so glad that you think I managed to live up to her inspiration :-).

"You ask if I'll grow to be a wise man/well I ask if I'll grow old" Can I just take a minute to talk about this? Because Dean's a hunter, and all the older hunters he knows are dead or paranoid hermits or crazy, and he's so willing to accept his own death when that's all he sees, ...

Hee, yes, exactly - I'm very glad it came across!

Anyway, yes, you're right, it's not a song that's taken very seriously - so I'm so happy you think the vid overcame that. Thank you so much!