Vidding chat: Lyrics and literalism

[bop_radar]

Hi guys. Vidding chats are back (although I'm running a little late with this one, hope you don't mind)!

This week I've chosen lyrics and our relationship to them as vidders as the topic, partly because it's come up several times in the comments of previous posts, and partly because it's a topic I'm personally very interested in.

For many of us, lyrics can be one of the strongest reasons for choosing to vid a particular track. As viewers, lyrics help us navigate through vids, as we absorb the images that the vidder has chosen to pair them with. In comments about planning vids, many people mentioned lyrics as determining the structure of a vid. They're certainly very hard to ignore! But it also seems like there are degrees to which different vidders, or different vids, rely on lyrics. Do some vidders ignore them completely? (I'm cheating, because I know of some instances where the answer is yes.) If so, feel free to leap in and talk about that--or talk about what it's like to work with a track without lyrics.

Lyrics can be our friends and our foes. We've probably all seen vids where the juxtaposition of a particular lyric with a particular image makes our jaw drop or gives us shivers. Pull it off and the use of lyrics can be incredibly powerful. What are your favourite lyric + image combinations, either in your own vids or others'?

The flipside of the power of lyrics is that I'm pretty sure most vidders will also be familiar with the phenomenon of being stuck with a bitch of a lyric within an otherwise perfect track. A lyric that doesn't aid, or perhaps even actively works against, the rest of the vid. How do we deal with this? What 'difficult' lyrics have you had to work with/around? How did you handle them?

Interpetation
The interpretation of lyrics can be very complex. With the purely aural version of a track, the listener is free to make all sorts of associations of their own. However, once we marry lyrics with visuals, we direct the viewer's focus for interpretation in a certain direction. I think good vidders still allow space for audience interpretation--they suggest rather than tell. And when a vid really 'sings', for me personally, the combination of lyrics and images sparks associations that I might otherwise not have formed on my own. That's magic!

This brings us to: literalism. Much discussed, much abhorred literalism. In heaps of vid meta, especially advice to newbies, you will read 'avoid literalism!' But what does this mean?

Let's take U2's overblown lyrics as an example:
'I have climbed the highest mountain' (Vidder vids protagonist climbing a mountain to this line)
'I have run through the fields' (Vidder vids same character running through fields)
'Only to be with you' (Character canons into the arms of lover)

The vidder is interpreting the lyrics literally (and we can imagine that the vid will become more and more absurd as they vid the lyrics 'I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls' in the same way). The poor old protagonist (who may well have done all those things, though not necessarily 'only to be with' the person the vidder is shipping them with) becomes more and more absurd and comical in the eyes of a viewer. Awww.

Why doesn't it work? Partly simply because it seems 'obvious'. Partly because the lyrics themselves were intended as metaphor. The message is that the lover has struggled and overcome obstacles--those could be internal, emotional obstacles. Or they could be external ones. But the 'mountains' are a metaphor. This is GOOD news for the vidder. It frees them up to use them creatively. Instead of having to find a shot of a character climbing a mountain, they can think about what the greatest achievements of their character have been, what the biggest obstacles are that they have overcome, and then how those could be represented visually. They are then expressing the intention and message of the lyrics truthfully.

As a beginner vidder I struggle(d) with literalism, and I believe many newbie vidders do. Although the example above may seem clear, and although we may have ourselves seen vids where the literal interpretation of lyrics felt 'clunky' to us as viewers, it's not as easy as all that once we start making our own vids, for a number of reasons. It's amazing how easy it is to start justifying literalism, thinking things like 'but this line is UNCANNILY perfect for my ship/character/subject' or 'but they actually do CLIMB A MOUNTAIN'. Since lyrics are often the reason we've chosen a song in the first place, it can feel like a betrayal to ignore the most obvious associations with the source.

On the other side of the equation, we may also find that what we think of as very obvious doesn't come across to our viewer at all. The association we made/saw between a lyric and an image hasn't translated the same way for our audience. Often literalism can feel like a bit of a security blanket in comparison.

One of my most memorable beta moments was when I asked my friend supacat if a draft of 'Middleman' was 'too literal'. She laughed and said 'no, not even slightly', and then explained that what *I* thought of as literal was actually not obvious at all. It's true. So in fear was I of the 'no literalism' rule, that I think for a while I interpreted it as going further than pure literalism and meaning also 'no obviousness'. (Yes, feel free to laugh at me!) So, for instance, in Middleman I vidded Lee in Black Market to 'the grey areas are mine'. I worried terribly that this was too obvious a choice. And hey, maybe it was. Maybe I could have chosen some other, less obvious, example of Lee making morally grey choices. But the reason I chose it (and ended up sticking with it) is because it is the clearest instance of him doing so. Because this point was important for the argument of my vid it stayed. Was it literal? Well it was in the sense that the lyrics described someone in 'grey' areas and I showed someone making 'grey' choices: but thankfully I didn't turn the footage grey. :p

- How do you feel about literalism? Do you struggle with it?
- Do you even, sometimes, like it (I do!)?
- Do you feel your vids are too obvious or too obscure?
- Do you feel the vids you watch are too obvious or too obscure?

Advice for the literalism-challenged
Do you have advice for those of us challenged by literalism? How do you use lyrics in a sophisticated way? What tricks have you learnt or seen for using lyrics effectively?

I don't often offer advice in these posts, but I'm going to do so here because this is stuff I've wanted to articulate for some time. It's based on my own learning experiences and those of other beginner vidders. Feel free to disagree or add to these point, but this is what I've learnt so far:
- We can be blind to the literalism in our own vids. If in doubt, ask a beta! And believe them if they say that the shot of your character getting 'knocked down', when clipped exactly to the lyric 'knocked down' is too literal.
- Make the association between lyric and image around the lyric, not 'on' it. This is best demonstrated with an example. Lithiumdoll's Big City Life contains the line 'all lined in a row' which is connected with the idea of the clones in Dark Angel. Jut before the lyric, they are shown in rows in a classroom, on the lyric 'lined' the vid hones in on an individual clone, and on the lyric 'row' it shows a barcode on the neck. That's much more sophisticated than just showing the image of them in rows in the classroom exactly on the lyric. It means by the time the lyric comes, the viewer is able to *instantly* make the connection with what they've just seen and then rapidly move past/through that concept back to the idea of identity and what it means to be one of many.
- If you are struggling with how to interpret a lyric non-literally, ask yourself: what is the emotional content of the lyric? what is it 'saying'? where is that emotional point made in the source (if vidding in canon)?
- Choose tone over lyric. There are lots of 'tricks' for difficult lyrics, but I've not found anything that can 'fix' the tone of a song (or line) if it doesn't work for your message. I personally find the tone of the music very important to me--if it doesn't resonate with my subject matter, I find the vid will only be partially successful no matter what I do. And I've found that if you vid to the tone of a track, viewers will often 'go with you' even if meaning is not immediately obvious. Whereas, one misplaced bit of literalism can throw them out.
- If a lyric is really 'bad' and doesn't work for you at all, see if you can cut it out of the audio track entirely. If you can't do that then try clipping something with a strong visual message of its own to the lyric (distract!). Chances are people will glide on by. Or just forcefully use it to progress your story regardless. If the lyric before it and the lyric after it require a 'middle' transition to link them--then feel confident to put it there. Again, if the surrounding material is strong and the narrative feels continuous, people won't care too much that the lyric doesn't ping perfectly with the subject matter of the clips.
- Alternatively, BE PATIENT. At the start of vidding projects I often find there are one or two lyrics that I really can't 'place', can't find clips for. But they usually come good eventually and since I vid organically, I'm a big believer in letting them come in their own time.
- In some circumstances, you can choose irony. :) Someone mentioned in comments a song that mentioned eating burgers that they wanted to vid to BSG (a show in which everyone seems to eat either algae or noodles!). If it fits the overall vid to make that ironical point (that food treats are rare or non-existent, life hard, pleasure fleeting), then clipping a shot of them eating for that lyric could work well.
- Related to that point: literalism works well for humour. See for instance deirdre_c's 'Things that make you go hmm'. The vidder twists the meaning of some lyrics deliberately (Sam is the 'girlfriend'), but grounds the vid by using literalism (a doorbell being pressed on 'the doorbell rang', etc).
- There are other instances in which a little bit of literalism can 'anchor' a vid, or help keep the sense of connection between lyric and image, especially when the vidder is doing something tricksy with them. The best recent example I can think of is in bradcpu's 'Tear You Apart'. The vid involves a 'reveal' in terms of point-of-view, and its visual associations are complex and disturbing. Within this context a couple of pieces of literalism ('her hand brushed up against his', 'they took a step back') really worked for the vid--they draw us back into the 'ship' plot after a moment of confronting violence, and they add to the uneasy tone because we are wondering where it's all leading--the link between lyric and image is tonally appropriate.
- Match metaphor with metaphor. This may not always be possible, but I was able to do it at least once, I think effectively (though it could be argued that it is still 'too literal'). In 'Paranoid Android' the lyric 'rain down' is repeated several times. Within Smallville, the show I was vidding, the blood rain is used as a metaphor for Lex's future. I matched the metaphor in the lyrics with the metaphor in the show, and added in some other forms of 'raining down'--the meteors falling on Smallville, and other events that Lex views as 'happening' to him ('raining down' on him) which lead him to the future, where he 'rains down' on others in the form of nuclear weapons. Yup, I milked that lyric's metaphor for all it was worth. Perhaps if I'd only done one thing to that lyric it would have got boring fast, but thankfully Smallville is rich in visual metaphor. :) Yes, the 'rain' was literal--but since it's a metaphor on the show, it works. I hope. ;)

/opinionated Bop.

I've littered questions for discussion throughout this post but basically this is an open invitation to discuss the use of lyrics in vids in any way you wish. Tell us what you like, what you hate, what frustrates you--either as a vidder or as a viewer.

ETA: This post got long. Feel free to just chat without reading all of it! *headdesk*

Comments

Lyrics are the enemy.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Okay, maybe not always. Maybe not for everybody. But more and more I feel that they get in my way, as both a vidder and a viewer.

As a viewer, I have only to mention the vid that knocked everyone's socks off at VVC this year: obsessive24's Climbing Up the Walls. Ask anybody who was in the Premieres show audience whether they could understand a single word that singer sang. Go ahead, ask. (: I've watched the vid five or six times now and I still can't make out a single syllable. And you know what? IT DOESN'T MATTER. But the first time I saw the vid, I spent fully a third of it straining desperately to hear the words so that I could understand what was going on...until I went "duh, who cares" and relaxed. At that point I actually started to, you know, watch the vid. And be blown away, like everybody else.

Even leaving literalism aside (for the moment), there are so many pitfalls when it comes to lyrics-driven vids. The biggest one, IMO, is when a vidder pays more attention to the words than to the music. Lyrics can do a lot in a vid, particularly given that so many fans tend to be (as makesmewannadie says) text-based lifeforms. But almost all of the raw emotional power of a song is in the music, not in the words. Vidders ignore that at their peril.

Then there's the problem of the basic banality of most lyrics in popular music. I so often see vidders squeeing about how "perfect" X song is for Y relationship, and when I look at the words? They're Generic Pop Love Ballad Mark 1A. Which is not to say you can't vid more interesting songs with more unusual lyrics -- you can (and I snobbily insist that you should!). But most vidders don't.

And to circle back around to the Climbing Up the Walls issue: many, many lyrics can be terribly difficult to make out, especially the first time through a vid. Increasingly I believe that, unless you're vidding a well-known song or a singer who has excellent diction, your audience is going to miss at least half the words. So your vid has to have a lot more going for it than just good lyric matching.

As a vidder, words can be great to lean on when they really clearly apply to your story/character/theme, and when you have the perfect clip to ride along with them. But they can also be damned limiting. I'm not just talking about the "ack, these words don't fit" problem -- you can often edit a song around that (or, as I tend to do, shuck and jive and hope nobody notices). I mean that even when the words are "perfect" -- especially when they're perfect! -- they've almost done your thinking for you. You're trapped. You find yourself structuring the entire vid around what absolutely MUST HAPPEN WHEN THESE WORDS ARE SUNG. That can be hell, especially if things start to want to go a different direction once you're midway through the cutting process. And it can be very awkward if the lyrics are going one way and the music, or your storyline, are going another.

Which is why I've been so happy with instrumentals and foreign language songs lately: there's so much room! I can do what I've always done, base the vid's structure on the music's structure, without any pesky lyrics dragging me where I don't want to go. And increasingly, even when I use a song with lyrics in English, I vid as though I were vidding an instrumental. I start with the music, consult my basic storyline or theme, work with the emotional trajectory -- and then deal with the lyrics as the lowest priority (or when I need a crutch *g*). Never been happier. (:

Re: Lyrics are the enemy.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Ohh how fascinating! *clappy hands*

I've watched the vid five or six times now and I still can't make out a single syllable. And you know what? IT DOESN'T MATTER
HA! And oohhhh, thanks, I think I now realise why that vid didn't click with me as much as it should (sorry, Nicky! I do think the subject matter's interesting!). I do know what the song lyrics are because I know the song well and I also always had the understanding that it was about a serial killer, so I had a bit of trouble getting away from that association and seeing how it had been used to deal with incest (at first I wondered if serial killing was supposed to be a metaphor for incest but then I figured not). So perhaps we can go further and say that knowing the lyrics (and having established associations with them) was a hindrance?

almost all of the raw emotional power of a song is in the music, not in the words
Ohhh, interesting. I'm a text-based lifeform! Meep. But I'm also very very interested in reflecting the tonality/musicality and emotional sweep of the music, and I definitely think that's as important. I hadn't got as far as thinking of it as more important but this comment is enlightening.

your audience is going to miss at least half the words. So your vid has to have a lot more going for it than just good lyric matching
Mmmm, good point (and eeeeep scary because all the other stuff is MUCH harder!).

You're trapped. You find yourself structuring the entire vid around what absolutely MUST HAPPEN WHEN THESE WORDS ARE SUNG. That can be hell
OMG YES! Thank you for bringing up this point--I don't think anyone else has so far, and that's so true.

I must admit I loooove my lyrics--I am not a musical person so the songs I'm drawn to nearly always have interesting and striking lyrics. I agree re. avoiding generic pop songs but the idea of vidding without lyrics at all terrifies me (which probably indicates that I should try it!). I think I have a hang-up about it being for 'advanced' vidders. ;)

Lyrics as the lowest priority. Wow. I will be contemplating that one a long time I think.

Re: Lyrics are the enemy.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

You could start out with a song that has a longish instrumental bridge and see where that takes you. That's how I conquered my fear of lyric-less vidding -- and eventually I realized that my bridges were always the best part! They were performing the same function in the vid that they do in a song: This Is Where Everything Changes. It's awesome. And hey, baby steps, right?

I love words, too, BTW -- I'm a huge reader, and I can't love a song unless the words mean something to me. But do an experiment and try to love a song you've never heard, just read the lyrics to. And then play the song itself. The lyrics can provide tremendous yummy brainjuice, but the music! That's where the power is, IMO.

Re: Lyrics are the enemy.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Good tips! thanks! I've done that lyric test, and it's definitely true. I just so rarely listen to lyric-less music... but yes, perhaps one that had long instrumental bridge would be a good start.

Re: Lyrics are the enemy.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the lyrics-as-hindrance thing? That's a big reason why I've mostly vidded terribly obscure songs. (: I hate it when viewers are bringing in too many preconceptions.

Re: Lyrics are the enemy.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's no way to control viewer preconceptions so I think avoiding them entirely if possible is a great choice.