Sign-Ups for Vidding Workshop Now Open!

[teyla]

Hello VidUKon Attendees!

As announced in our recent programming comms, we’re trying something a little bit different this year with the traditional VidUKon vidding workshop. In this post, you'll get all essential information on the new format. At the end, there will be a link to a sign-up form for anyone who'd like to join the Frankenvid fun.

What’s the traditional VidUKon vidding workshop?

VidUKon runs a yearly workshop where participants, both in-person and virtual, are divided into groups. Each group receives two movie sources plus a song segment each, and are given a couple of hours to vid the sources to the song segment. Concom collects the vidded segments at the end of the workshop and assembles them to form the Frankenvid, which is watched at the end of the con. You can watch previous Frankenvids here (unfortunately, the 2022 one may be blocked depending on where you are, boo YouTube).

Here’s what we’re changing:

• The vidding happens before the con
  
  Frankenvidders will be asked to sign up in a Google form (linked at the end of this post). In that form, you’ll give us some information and volunteer as a Frankenvid contributor. After sign-ups close, you’ll receive a song segment (usually around 10s long) that you’ll have to finish and submit on a date yet to be announced, but which will be before the con.
  
  
• You may choose your own sources
  
  In the last few years, part of the Frankenvid experience was that you received sources from us. This is still an option this year. However, in the sign-up form, you’ll also have the option to indicate that you want to work with your own sources (more details on that below). There is little to no restriction on the kind of sources you can use. In fact, if you choose to go with your own sources, you are encouraged to go wild: it’s only a 10 seconds clip. Maybe this is the time to vid that book source you’ve been meaning to try out?
  
  
• Group vidding is optional
  
  This year, it is up to you if you’d like to put your segment together as a group, or as an individual. We will be distributing clips per sign-up, not per individual. So if you’d like to vid as a group, please coordinate before you sign up, and then fill out the form as a group. Each sign-up will receive a single song segment. If you sign up as a group, you and your group will vid one song segment collaboratively. If you sign up as an individual, you’ll be vidding the clip by yourself. Feel free to use the comments on this post to find vidding buddies!
  
  
• You’ll be able to indicate a desired type of song segment
  
  Part of the idea behind the workshop is to give people who haven’t been vidding for that long, or who’ve not vidded yet but would like to try it, a chance to experiment. In this new format, during sign-ups, you’ll be able to indicate the kind of song segment you’d like to receive: with lyrics, instrumental, or either. The idea is to give less experienced vidders a small margin of control over the kind of song segment they’ll receive. If you’re comfortable vidding either, please choose “either”.

Here’s what is staying the same:

• The exercise is entirely voluntary
  
  The workshop remains a voluntary event that you are welcome to join if you think it would be fun, and welcome to give a miss if you would rather not take part.
  
  
• Each segment should use at least two sources
  
  You can choose your own sources, but we ask you to choose at least two for a single segment and combine them. It’s up to you what counts as a source, and how you want to combine them. You are welcome to use more than two if you want.
  
  
• All participants are welcome regardless of vidding experience
  
  As long as you’re registered at the con, you are eligible to join the fun. You do not need to have vidded before. You will, however, need access to vidding software: you’ll either have to own some yourself, or you’ll have to join a group with someone who has vidding software. DVR is an open-source vidding software that you can download for free. YouTube has many tutorials for it.
  
  
• The Frankenvid (or -vids?) will be shown at the end of the con
  
  We’ve reserved a time slot towards the end of the con to watch our creations, as we do every year. We don’t know how many sign-ups we’ll receive. Depending on the numbers, we might end up making more than one Frankenvid. This is our first year trying this format, so we’ll have to play it by ear, but we’ll make sure the number of Frankenvids remains manageable.
  
  
• You will be provided a song and can’t choose your own
  
  Event organizers will still be the ones choosing the song. Once you’ve received your segment, keep the song a secret! To make the Frankenvid reveal as exciting as possible, we ask you not to share the song with anyone else (even other participants – since we may have more than one Frankenvid, others may be vidding a different song!). You may of course discuss it with other group members if you’re vidding in a group.
  
  
• It’s an event meant to be fun and to leave space for experiments
  
  The point was never, and will not be this year, to submit the most perfectly vidded segment possible. The 10 second music clip you’ll receive is your sandbox: if you’re new to vidding, use it to try out what it feels like to put clips together on a timeline. If you’re a more seasoned vidder, try out what it feels like to use a source format you’ve never used before. Try out a vidding style you’ve been meaning to try, try using effects that you usually give a miss – try out anything and everything you feel like trying out. There are truly no limits, as long as in the end, you send us some video arranged to the song clip we gave you.

On Choosing Your Own Sources

We are losing some of the chaos that characterizes the Frankenvid by giving vidders all the time in the world (or, well, all the time until the deadline) to complete their segments. We are hoping to generate some chaos by opening the source selection up to any type of source you can think of. We’ll ask you for an indication of what you’ll be using in the sign-up form: not the source title itself, but the source genre, type, and country of origin (i.e. “US American science fiction TV drama from the 90s” or “Mainland China imperial period BL drama” or “British science fiction novel series”), just so we can assemble the Frankenvids in an interesting way.

When choosing your source, please keep in mind that the Frankenvid is meant to be a fun, lighthearted experience for everyone watching it. Choose your source freely, but consider that some imagery depicting violence or divisive topics will not be a lighthearted viewing experience for everyone. A specific source example to best avoid would be copaganda shows such as Law and Order and similar. If you’re unsure about a source you’d like to use, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

On a technical note, consider that we’ll be asking you for a specific technical format in your submission: mp4, H264, and widescreen (more details to follow). Please make sure that you can submit your creation in this format for us to add into the Frankenvid. If needed, we can provide tech support for rendering the correct format when the time comes.

You don't have to choose your own sources. If you'd rather receive sources, you can ask us to provide some. This will be a wildcard: we may send you some movies, the way we did the last few years, or we may send you something else. Sources provided by us will not include non-visual or static sources (i.e. books or comics) but beyond that, we’re not putting any restrictions on what you may be getting. We will give you the option to state which difficulty level you’re comfortable receiving, though, and will of course respect that.

On Defaulting and Pinch Hits

Life happens, so after you sign up, you may default (i.e. pull out of the workshop and not submit a vid segment) without judgment or penalty. The mechanics are as follows:

There will be a defaulting deadline quite close to the submission deadline. If you default before this deadline, your song segment will go out to a group of pinch hitters, one of whom will take over vidding it. If you haven’t submitted a vid segment yet by the defaulting deadline, we will contact you to see if you think you can make the submission deadline. If you tell us you won’t be able to make it, or if we don’t hear from you, we will send your song segment to the pinch hitter list.

If you default after the defaulting deadline, or if you don’t submit your vid segment by the submission deadline, we will send your song segment to the pinch hitter list.

You can sign up to the pinch hitter list in the sign-up form. A pinch hitter may choose any two or more sources they’d like to work with, or may request sources from us. If you’re pinch hitting and also submitting a segment yourself, we ask that you don’t work with the same sources for both.

Timeline & Sign-up Form

Sign-ups close: April 7, 2023
Assignments go out: April 14, 2023 (or earlier)
Defaulting deadline: May 21, 2023
Submission deadline: May 26, 2023

Before signing up, please make sure to read all information in this post, thank you!

>>>Sign-up Form<<<

Comments

[bingeling]

Is it okay if we don't end up using all our sources as long as we use at least two? Signing up with 4 sources, but 2 of them don't end up working with the song segment, for example.

[teyla]

Honestly, we hadn't even thought about that, but I'm gonna say that yes, that's fine! Minimum of two sources should be met, but beyond that you're free to use however much or little of the rest you've signed up with.

[bingeling]

Cool, thanks!

[anoel]

I missed the deadline to sign up but could I still join the pinch hitter list?

[teyla]

Aw, oh no! Unfortunately we can't accommodate late sign-ups (we'd love to, but the song math doesn't work out :( ) but you can absolutely join the pinch hitters list! Will add you -- could you let me know your email address?