New Vid: "Seamstress" (Nikita)

[giandujakiss]

This is for rivkat, who suggested the song.

Song: Seamstress by Dessa
Fandom: Nikita

Summary: The best-loved doll.

Sizes: 43 MB (540 x 360 .divx), 15 MB (420 x 280 .wmv)
Length: 3:11

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

Watch on Vimeo

Password: division


Thanks so much to danegen and some_stars for beta-ing.

Comments welcome.

(Cross-posted to LJ)

Comments

[anotherslashfan]

Still trying to understand this vid (I feel so dumb), but loving it already. (I wish that the series hadn't taken the turn it did at the end of season 1, made me not want to continue watching.)

Will be back when I can say anything useful except I LIKE THIS.

[giandujakiss]

Hee - I'm so glad you liked it, thanks! I'm not sure how I feel about the plot developments at the end of the season; I guess I'll see how they play out. Mostly, I was amused because they used actors from the original series as part of that mysterious panel - and I loved the original series.

[rivkat]

Yay! It is exactly what I wanted but could never have done. I love how it gets the aggression in Nikita's caretaking as well as the caretaking in her aggression.

[giandujakiss]

I'm so glad you liked it - thanks for suggesting the song!

[axiom_of_stripe]

whoa. creepy and terrifying! i've never seen this version of nikita, but now i kind of want to.... :)

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm glad you found it effective :-).

[kore]

Haven't watched it yet but: DESSA. <333

[giandujakiss]

I know, she's awesome, right? I'm very glad RivkaT suggested this song for Nikita - I'd never have thought of it.

[some_stars]

This is just so gorgeous, and so full of FEELING. It makes me want to go out and read all the fic about these women even though I mostly have no idea what's happening. And I really love the way you capture the music--how it shifts smoothly between emphasizing the beats in some parts and the words in others. Watching it makes me want to sway or tap my feet or just move somehow.

Some favorite moments, that I have not already enthused over--

"it's late, I'm still at the sewing machine..." This is one of the parts that really makes me want to watch the show because it gives such a clear intense picture of the character.

"It was a mercy killing, no..." I love the replay-with-difference thing, the same event cut in three different ways.

"Tough love and a tape measure" -- I just can't look away from this, it's so--it looks so RIGHT. It makes my eyes happy.

"That's just poking holes," the first one--that shockingly intimate scene, so powerful, and I love how it's nestled between those two clips of text on a screen--which, I don't actually know who's talking to who in those, but it feels like it's--hmm. I don't know, really, I just know that it works SO WELL. That whole sequence coming between those two clips.

The fades are wonderful, the very sparing use of them in most of the vid (I think...one? Possibly two?) and then more at the end. They match the song perfectly. And I love love love the last clip, it's so powerful.

[giandujakiss]

Oh, thank you so much! I'm really glad it had such an impact on you, especially without knowing the source - and thanks so much for your beta comments, they were very helpful!

[katewrites]

I love this so much. It definitely hits home what a mix of creepy-love-isthisok-isitnotok Nikita and Alex's relationship is. Because you want to say that it's fine, it's awesome their friendship, but Amanda (or was it Percy?) wasn't 100% lying when she asked why Alex was going after Division and not her father's company. And god, this dialed that kind of background creepy factor up to ten and left it there.

And I adore the subtle contrast of what Nikita did to Alex and what Amanda did to Alex and what Amanda did to Nikita - it's all there in the beats here.

Plus, oh my god, the lyric, "but that's just poking holes" will never not be creepy.

[giandujakiss]

Oh wow, thanks so much! And yeah, the show does portray it as this awesome friendship, but it's really very troubling - I'm very glad you thought the vid captures all of it. And thank you so much for the lovely rec - I totally agree about the Batman and Robin thing, and with the same creepiness.

[katewrites]

You're welcome! I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm in it for the female friendship and Nikita kicking ass, but I'm also really intrigued by the subtleties of their relationship.

[grammarwoman]

I have not finished the full season of Nikita (and I loved the original series), but I've been pulled in by what I've watched so far, and your video picks up on a lot of what keeps me going: the push-pull between Nikita and Alex, the constant fear of being out-maneuvered and not knowing the whole picture, the "who do you trust and how far". Plus, how crazy beautiful the two female leads are, and how gorgeously they move.

I'll definitely rewatch this vid once I've finished the season.

[giandujakiss]

I'm so glad you felt it captured the series, even if you're not done with the season! There are some big plot twists coming up; hope you enjoy!

[winterevanesce]

Wow this was amazing!! Awesome job :)

[giandujakiss]

Thank you!

[isagel]

I have no clue about the source (beyond the original French movie), but I had to watch this because I was so curious to see how you'd vid the song (Dessa! <333), which is a very difficult track for me to parse musically, even after some six billion listens. There are several songs on A Badly Broken Code that I would very much like to vid myself, but Seamstress never struck me as a vid song. But this is a really amazing use of it, and you work with it beautifully to tell a very interesting story. I was confused on the first viewing because I had trouble telling the two women apart, but on second viewing, it's just wonderful. And, yay, a great vid about an interesting relationship between two women!

[giandujakiss]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you felt I did the song justice - as you can probably tell from the vid, it's really a great fit for the source; I'm so glad that RivkaT suggested it. And yes, it is an interesting relationship between the women although I don't feel it was explored as thoroughly as it should have been in the source - in part because they had this really awkward premise. I'm hoping in the next season we'll get a deeper look.

[danegen]

Love this vid. Even not knowing the source, it's intriguing for how it examines this relationship in which one woman rescues another woman and puts her back together, but then questions their relationship using the broken doll concept.

And it also kicks a lot of ass.

Argh, it must suck to be posting a new vid with the internet misbehaving, huh? *pets you*

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm so glad it all comes across even without knowledge of the source, and thanks so much for the beta!

Argh, it must suck to be posting a new vid with the internet misbehaving

You have no idea. Still, it can't be nearly as frustrating for me as it is for the SPN Big Bang authors, who must be dying. They can't post or people can't read or people can't comment. I feel so awful!

[rydra_wong]

I don't know the canon at all, but wow, I'm fascinated.

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm really glad it held your interest even without knowledge of the show!

[revolutionaryjo]

Oof, but this vid packs a punch. I don't even watch Nikita, I just really love Dessa, but by knowing the song so well and the way you cut it really made it easy for me to follow the vid even when I don't know the source. Well done! Excellent use of the music.

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm glad you were able to follow it and enjoy even without knowing the source!

[chaila]

This is really fascinating. I admit I kind of fell away from watching the show about halfway through the season (though I do want to catch up!), partly because I really loved the idea of two female leads and the idea of this relationship and really wanted to love the show, but thought the execution was a bit too flat. It seemed like the show was trying too hard to keep Nikita too benevolent in her relationship with Alex, too shiny and untarnished in her motives, like the show wasn't as interested in all the meaty inherent complexity or the obvious dark underbelly of the relationship as I'd wish. From the comments, it sounds like the show still isn't quite there, but this vid definitely is, and it makes me want to go watch the eps I haven't yet. Your clip choice is fantastic too, with all the various intercutting, and what a fabulous song choice!

[giandujakiss]

You're totally right about the execution of the show - I started watching because I loved the original La Femme Nikita and I was intrigued by the idea of the two female leads, but I also found that the show was flat and didn't really explore their relationship as much as I would have liked. And one thing it doesn't explore, as you say, is how problematic the relationship is - which is why I was so excited when RivkaT suggested this song, because it was a great opportunity to address what I felt was already there in the text but not really being given the attention it deserved.

Anyway, I'm very glad that the vid worked for you - and yeah, it's probably worth finishing out the season if only in hopes that next season improves things! :-)

[softestbullet]

Aaaaahhh, this is so intense and rich and thoughtful. You've made something wonderful here. *watches again and again*

[giandujakiss]

Aww, thank you! I'm so glad you thought so!

[copracat]

I love this. I wish I could express it as eloquently as other commentators have. Something about how you lay out the hard lies and harder truths.

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm really glad that you thought it was effective!

[starlady]

Oh, that was amazing, and I haven't even seen the show. (Should I?)

And also, major applause for the song choice, Dessa is awesome and I'm glad people are starting to use her music for vids.

[giandujakiss]

I'm glad you liked! As for the show, umm, let's just say it does not yet live up to its potential; I'm hoping it can straighten out the problems. As for the song, yes, Dessa is awesome, but it wouldn't have occurred to me to use this song for Nikita if RivkaT hadn't suggested it - I'm so glad she did!

[redbrunja]

Oh, man, this vid is AMAZING. And the song is perfect.

[giandujakiss]

I'm so glad you liked it! And yes, RivkaT came up with the song choice - and it was a great one!

[velithya]

I was linked here by alias_sqbr and I can't stop watching your vid! I love Dessa's song and the clips you've chosen are awesome and super intriguing and now I am downloading Nikita because I have to see it!

So, thanks :)

[giandujakiss]

Aww, thanks! I'm really glad the vid intrigued you enough to watch the show - and that you felt the clips lived up to the song!

[yhlee]

Hey--I have no familiarity with any version of Nikita, but this is tense and beautiful and I really want to see this show now so I can learn about these people!

[giandujakiss]

Aww, thank you! I'm glad it intrigued you!

[goodbyebird]

I've been eagerly anticipating watching this vid, and now I finally got to! Dessa will never not be awesome, and it fits so well here! I love how you've highlighted the dynamic between Nikita and Alex, and contrasted it with Alex's other relationships, and Nikita's way of dealing with it all. Season one really did a great job exploring this. I just hope we're getting more of it in season 2!

[giandujakiss]

Thank you! I'm glad you thought the vid captured their relationship! I admit, I'm a bit baffled by S2, although there were some scenes in the first couple of episodes I'd so wished I'd had for this vid!

[grey_bard]

I'm on a Nikita binge this week (though I've been watching the show since the beginning) and I came upon this vid, which somehow I missed before.

I can't quite articulate why exactly, but this vid is so, so perfectly Nikita and Alex up to this point in their relationship. Nikita has had so much impact for better and worse on who Alex is, and now Alex is her own creature and they've mostly gone their separate ways, but that doesn't stop them from picking at each other and leaving marks on each other even now.

[giandujakiss]

Oh, thank you!! I'm really glad you think it gets at their relationship!

[tassosss]

I'm a little in awe of this vid. So perfect for Nikita and Alex in so many ways.

[giandujakiss]

Thank you!! The song was rivkat's suggestion, and it really is perfect, isn't it?