unofficial authors

Is there such a thing as an unofficial author? I believe that there is and some of the best examples can be seen in Youtube.

Last semesteer, one of my stress relieving hobbies was seaching youtube for music videos created by putting together clips of one of my favorite shows (Doctor Who) with genres of music that I enjoy. While avoiding work, I searched for and watched probably around a hundred little videos. During my time watching, I evolved a set of criteria that were the mark of what I consdered to be an excetpional music videoauthored by a series fan:

1) The video is relatively free of editing problems and displays a clear video quality (including a lack of subtitles or other marks on the video)
2) The song chosen seems to have a clear connection with the overall series as well as the individual clips.
3) Clips chosen resonate in some fashion with the lyrics of the song.
4) Clips chosen make little use of charaters speaking especially while the song's muics and lyrics are glossing over.
5) The cutting or length of the clips matches the beats of the song.
6) Although not strictly necessary, the best seem to tell or retell some kind of story about one or more of the characters.

The video included below is one that I consider to be an excellent example of the above criteria titled "Back To The Start - Dr Who Music Video" by MisterAnderson71 (FYI- the actor protraying one of the main characters-the doctor- changes mid way through the video as the actor changed between the 1st and 2nd series)




This is, by my standards, a well composed video because the video was put together rather professionally (better that I could do for sure). It does a fantastic job of matching the song with the selected clips in both the lyrics and the beat. For example, at the very beginning of the video, note how the cutting of the first clips (from the first episode of the new Dr. Who episode) shifts along with the beat of the music. At 0:39 seconds we can see an early example of a clip working with the song lyrics as with the words "come up to meet you" sung in the background, one character, "the Doctor" walks up next to the other character "Rose." At 1:18 there is another great example with the phrase "running in circles" sung as the character run across the screen in front of the milennium wheel in London. In addition, most clips avoid showing the charaters speaking, which would be out od snyc with the song. Finally, the video tells a definite story about the two. According to the author, this video is "An emotionally based vid that centers around the relationship between The Doctor & Rose. One filled with both happy & sad times. And the connection between them is so strong, that they find a way to be together...forever -- back to the start of all their adventures." Indeed, the last half or so sends the characters literally back to the very beginning of their relationship.

If you would like to see another example of this author's work that I enjoyed, I recommend this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuIKOkPeWT8. In this example, the author does use character dialoge, but mathes it almost seamlessly with the song's lyrics.

In a slightly different vein, I'd also like to draw your attention to another youtube video. In this case "Scattered" meets all of the criteria listed above with the exception that it is not trying to tell a specific story but instead present "The docotor" in a darker tone through the use of numerous clips.



What is really neat about this video is the way that the pace of the clips bounces back and forth between the different beats of the song. As you can see if you watch the video, sometimes the clips are very short and at other times they are long. At the beginning of the video, note the way that the charater's movement within the clips is in sync with the melodic line of the song's instrumental beginning. Later on, when the song's lyrics come in, the charater is more likely to be shown in a close-up shot concentrating on his expression.

Although each of the "authors" discussed deny ownership of the songs or the shows they take clips from, there is a definite element of originality in each of these productions that deserves the title, if not the legal santion, of authorship. Thus, unofficial authors.