Thursday, 29 August 2013

Reviews Cyberwoman FanVids by Christopher Fain


Fanvid Reviews


We'll make this short and sweet, shall we?

I'm Doctor Owen Harper.  I'm the team's medical officer and resident wit.

I'm here to talk to you about how to stay safe if you're out after midnight in Cardiff.

Advice: Don't be out after midnight in Cardiff.

I've been asked to tell you a little about fanvids and their value as art.  This is punishment for downloading RedTube videos onto the Hub servers.  Jack might think it's funny for a while but the moment Gwen sticks her nose in, I'm suddenly a pariah.

So, here we go.

Fanmade videos are a form of art like paintings, sketches, and fanfiction.  They may be only tributes to a character, a movie, or an episode, but they can also tell a story within the mix of lyrics, dialogue, and imagery.  Sometimes, those stories are time capsules which create a sort of portrait, but there are other fanvids which tell unique stories of their own. 

Each month, starting with September, we will publish five videos found on Youtube which either encapsulate the month's featured episode, is a tribute to the team or a character or a relationship, or stand as a sort of video fanfiction.  During the month, we will post twelve to fifteen fanvids to the Project: Torchwood Facebook page and you, as readers, can vote on the ones you think should make the final cut.  Vote on every one of them if you like, no one minds, but please do vote.  If you have comments about the fanvid, have at it---your words are valued.  Well, valued as much as anyone values words around here.

And with that in mind, let's begin.

The top five videos are chosen by a process of vote elimination.  The more votes, the higher each video is rated.  At the end, the team tallies things up and bob's your uncle. 



Video Winners for September



5.
Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood) - I Can't Decide
username: jleigh329

This infamous Scissor Sisters song is a Doctor Who fan-favorite.  It featured in the Doctor Who Series 3 episode "Last of the Time Lords".  On a whim, I decided to see if anyone had ever used it for a Torchwood fanvid and was pleasantly surprised to find this.  The clips have been masterfully placed within the context of the lyrics, making even the darker side of Torchwood events into something you can grin at.  It is Jack-centric, but don't let that be a reason to ignore its very existence; it is full of the team, because they form the bulk of Jack's life on Earth.  It's a cute romp through this beloved group's many adventures.



4. 
Powerless - Cyberwoman
username: Banned bythe Beeb

The song 'Powerless' is by Linkin Park and the lyrics are used to tell the story we see on-screen in the episode "Cyberwoman"; it has a doubled meaning here.  In a way, the viewer sees the story from Jack's and Lisa's perspectives, but both sides involve Ianto.  The dialogue used from the episode is perfectly placed in non-lyrical points of the song and chosen for its maximum impact; unlike many fanvideos we've seen, this does not detract from the music here.  It is one of the best "Cyberwoman" tribute videos we have found, to date.

3.
Bloody Cyber Mix
username: SariaGray

This is a remix of the song 'Pet' by A Perfect Circle and its rhythms are perfect for the Cyberwoman.  The clips were timed to follow the beat, so that it seems as if Cyber-Lisa is moving at the same pace as the music in many places.  The lyrics are ferocious, forbidding in their intensity.  There is no doubt, upon viewing this video, that the song's meaning goes back and forth between Ianto and Cyber-Lisa and leaves the viewer a little breathless at the thought of Ianto's darker side. The color changes to black and white towards the end and gives the video a stark look.  It's easy to imagine the rhythm containing a metallic clank; it becomes an auditory suggestion that makes us wonder if we really heard those boots or not. 



2.
Torchwood - Jack/Ianto - Tears of an Angel
username: geekchick1013

'Tears of an Angel' by Ryan Dan is a beautiful song and its lyrical meaning is very appropriate to Jack and Ianto.  The video is not as visually crisp to watch as others we viewed, but its meaning is far more poignant than many Janto fanvids.  Jack and Ianto live, as co-workers and lovers, constantly aware that their relationship is a temporary situation; it might be a chunk of Ianto's life which changes how he sees the world and love, but for Jack, it's a moment in time that will be soon washed away by Ianto's mortality, no matter how or when the younger man dies, and yet he learns how to appreciate the ephemeral for how it touches his soul.


 1.
Torchwood - Running Up That Hill
username: PrinceZukoFanGirl

'Running Up That Hill', a cover tune by Placebo, is a song which seems to be used by every fandom at some point or another.  For its lyrics, it is highly appropriate that this one turns up in a Torchwood fanvid; could there be anything more touching than how Jack is wounded by his immortality?  He can never trade places with those who die in his presence, often for his sake.  He would give his life for his friends and yet that is not really an option.  His undying state might appear to cheapen his efforts to protect and serve as hero, but in fact, it's just the opposite.  His pain comes from how his friends and team follow him into battle and fall under his command, all for the purpose of saving a world that sometimes doesn't deserve the sacrifice.

And there you have it, boys and girls and weevils and funny-looking fish people.  Go check out these fanvideos and keep in mind that each one is just as artistically put together as any fanfiction or script, created for emotional impact.  I'll see you again next month when you come in to have that rash looked at.  Don't say I didn't warn you about being out at midnight in places like Splott.



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