Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying

[bop_radar]

Lo, it is a vid that none of you want to watch! :)

Vid: Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying
Artist: Belle and Sebastian
Source: Nodame Cantabile, Season 1
Warnings: absurdity, cute love hearts and a mongoose
Description: Whimsy. My Sekrit J-Drama OTP vidded to one of my favourite songs. Because I can.
Download: from sendspace or streaming on YouTube or BAM
Notes: Betaed by supacat who also makes up its sole audience. What can I say? This is a case of the song being so perfect for the subject matter I couldn't resist. Yup, it's cheesy, it's shippy, it's soppy, it has gratuitous love-hearts and credits that I'm secretly proud of. It's probably impenetrable to anyone who hasn't seen the show and as far as I know noone on my f'list has. Nodame Cantabile is a Japanese romantic comedy series about classical music students. Chiaki is a superbly attractive over-achieving perfectionist who longs to be a conductor. Nodame is his next door neighbour, a hopelessly messy and food-obsessed piano student, who just happens to be a genius if you can get her to sit still enough to practice. They form a student orchestra with their friends (all wacky in their own way) and the show won me over with its endearingly unapologetic whimsy. And yup, I ship Chiaki/Nodame. *confesses* I should hate Nodame--she's a stereotype I detest, but she somehow manages to be too adorable to dislike. She's besotted with Chiaki, he falls for her against his will... it's a simple story, but I got completely suckered by it. Hence: vid.

Lyrics: Ooh! Get me away from here I'm dying
Play me a song to set me free
Nobody writes them like they used to
So it may as well be me
Here on my own now after hours
Here on my own now on a bus
Think of it this way
You could either be successful or be us
With our winning smiles, and us
With our catchy tunes, and us
Now we're photogenic
You know, we don't stand a chance
Oh, I'll settle down with some old story
About a boy who's just like me
Thought there was love in everything and everyone
You're so naive!
After a while they always get it
They always reach a sorry end
Still it was worth it as I turned the pages solemnly, and then
With a winning smile, the boy
With naivety succeeds
At the final moment, I cried
I always cry at endings

Oh, that wasn't what I meant to say at all
From where I'm sitting, rain
Washing against the lonely tenement
Has set my mind to wander
Into the windows of my lovers
They never know unless I write
"This is no declaration, I just thought I'd let you know goodbye"
Said the hero in the story
"It is mightier than swords
I could kill you sure
But I could only make you cry with these words

Comments

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

Adorable!

yes, I've watched and loved that show ♥
But I suck at vid commenting >_>;

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhh! Someone watched it! *clings* THANK YOU.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

hahaha, I have to give you better feedback since I'm the only one here who knows the show XD

I love how it makes a great job going through the mood of offbeat heart-warming and energetic crack of the show. Also great with moments about Chiaki's difficulty with connecting, either on the funny sides (him being crowded with the "Get me away from here I'm dying" lines, when he looks at Nodama practicing the piano through the window. I also really loved the use of the cartoon character parallelism, with the doll - especially when it was falling down. Although I found it confusing in terms of PoV, when I look at the lyrics (I'm the kind of person who doesn't really listen to lyrics when I listen to music).
Also loved the first : "I always cry at endings" with Chiaki's crying while doing music.
Also the whole "be us
With our winning smiles, and us
With our catchy tunes, and us" build up with the S orchestra doing their thing is awesome.
Another build up moments I loved was the "This is no declaration, I just thought I'd let you know goodbye" moments to the taxi catching up Nodame.
And the "And then" on Nodame playing the piano and the crowd applauding.

... I probably sounded incredibly rambly there.

Anyway, there's at least one person on my flist who knows the show, I'll try to send people your way!

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Yay, it captured the mood! \o/ That was my main goal. Anything else is a bonus.

Chiaki IS very bad at connecting, bless him. I'm glad you liked the cartoon character parallelism--I enjoyed putting that section together.

The PoV *is* confusing because I played fast and loose with it... though it's mainly from Chiaki's pov, and I had to switch to Nodame on 'thought there was love in everything and everyone, you're so naive' because it simply isn't true of Chiaki. Despite the lyrics, he sits down reluctantly with the 'story', so I ran with it... there's a disconnect there between the lyrics and the source but I hoped that it would make Chiaki's reluctantness and lack of connection (and the fact he views Nodame as naive) more obvious. *wanks about own vid*

with the S orchestra doing their thing
That bit was my favourite thing to put together! They are too cute.

Thank you for rambling! I get a better sense of how it connected with you and it's heartening to know the mood worked.

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

First reaction:
Oh, how cute! I have no idea who these people are, but they do make me smile. I especially like the parts on the lyric "winning smile". :-) You made the credits with the little stage and the animation? Wow!

Now, I should read your synopsis. Yes, she seemed a bit goofy at first, but is so adorable in this vid I totally found myself rooting for her and was so happy when she got to kiss him. And then he hugged her at the end! I am such a sucker for hugs. :-)

A vid that makes one smile is a good thing indeed. Thanks for sharing it!

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, DB, thank you! :) You are such a good friend to watch without knowing the show. Their hug is very cute, as is her sneaky ninja kiss (in the show after she runs away it turns out he was awake and let her kiss him because she'd done something nice for him *squee*).

I cheated with the credits--I constructed them from the show's credits--but I did have to do stuff to tweak them! And it was a cute idea, yes? :)

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

He was awake?! That just makes me smile wider. :-D Because he is aware of her crush and is a nice boy. (And probably likes her back!)

Good on you with the credits! I thought it was totally the show and it was a cute ending with the . . . mongoose?

Hee! Yes, utterly cute. I will watch this whenever I need a mood pick up. :-)

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Yes! He is secretly nice and secretly likes her (though it takes ages for him to admit it, but when he does it's very sweet).

Yes, apparently that is a mongoose! And it's Nodame in the mongoose costume in the orchestra scenes.

This is my show I flee too when BSG gets too much. ;) Escapism from escapism...

[serenography.livejournal.com]

I have never even heard of that show (do they show Japanese shows where you live?), but that was utterly charming. I can see the cheese, but it's all part of the charm. I love how she was sneaking a kiss, and then finally managed to get one. Good looking guy, wow.

The little closing clip of the critter waving was adorable!

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

No, they don't show it here--I had to download it, but my best friend lived in Japan for five years so I pick up shows through her.

The cheese is definitely part of the charm with this show. Chiaki is almost as girl-phobic as Clark, and yeah, he's very good looking. It's one of those shows where it's silly and light but so well cast and well made that it's really enjoyable.

Thanks so much for watching!

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I feel I am hampered by my lack of knowledge of the source text, but I still thought it was really adorable.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

YAY! Yeah, I honestly didn't think anyone would watch it... it's not meta-y at ALL though so what you see is pretty much it. ;)

[bananainpyjamas.livejournal.com]

Oooh how adorable! And LMAO, you weren't kidding about the little hearts. Awesome.

I've never heard of the show so I have no idea what's going on, but you still managed to rope me in and put a smile on my face. In fact I think I was outright giggling through most of it. Their facial expressions are so funny! You did a fantastic job of highlighting what looks to be the source's natural quirkiness. And even though I knew nothing about the source I was able to follow the basic narrative quite easily. You made me root for the girl to get the guy, which is always a plus.

Favorite moments:

0:04 - The heart! Hee.
0:08 - That's a really pretty (and rather pink) transition
0:13 - Really pretty overlay. The colors are gorgeous.
0:16 - LOL at the musicians' expressions
0:32 - Great on beat movement with the raising of the instruments
0:40 - I have no idea who or what that giant fuzzy animal is but I kind of love him.
0:49 - Hee, love the use of the playing/dancing scene over the instrumentals.
1:31 - Great clip choice for "I always cry at endings"
2:21 - Ha, I love the way she runs
2:27 - Nice use of the multiple camera angles on the kiss
3:25 - Hee, a little floating heart! Awww.

Like I've said before you've been rapidly improving as a vidder, especially with regards to polish. This vid was no exception. Great work!

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Heeeeeee! Your feedback delights me--I'm kind of amazed you watched this but I love that you were rooting for Nodame to get Chiaki despite not knowing them. I did have a lot of fun vidding their playful expressions. It was really liberating to work with a source that allowed for being playful and consequently I fiddled with effects a lot more than I would normally--good training!

I have no idea who or what that giant fuzzy animal is but I kind of love him
*lol* That is Nodame disguised as a mongoose. She's the orchestra's mascot. I don't think it matters if you don't know that though because the mongoose is inherently wonderful as a character in its own right. :)

Great clip choice for "I always cry at endings"
HEEE. Yeah, Chiaki knows he's a hopeless sap at heart.

Hee, a little floating heart! Awww.
In the source! :D Gotta love that Japanese whimsy! I like the way this show blurred the line between anime and real-action. Though I didn't get to show quite as much of that as I might have liked...

But thank you so much for saying I am improving! If it shows at *all* with this vid that's wonderful, because the source was rather dreadful downloaded fan subs and making it felt like play because I figured it had a very small fannish audience. No pressure! ;)

[madame-meretrix.livejournal.com]

i have never heard of that show, but i LOVE the song! and it sounds like it would be perfect! :)

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) The song is a favourite of mine.

[brokenmnemonic.livejournal.com]

I'm going to have to download and watch this when I get home... if nothing else, I've heard a rumour there may be a mongoose involved, and how could I pass that up?

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

There's quite a lot of mongoose. I could not resist.

[supacat.livejournal.com]

I do love this so much!

I love 'I could only make you cry with these words', with that wonderful cutting between him connecting with her on the highway and connecting with himself through music/the orchestra. Because that is just so *them* -- she gives him the gift of learning how to express himself.

We talked about this, but I also love Nodame's journey towards piano in 'turn the pages'.

And every time I watch this my love for Chiaki just comes bursting out!

Those credits are inspired. :D

And yay, ending! It is so much more 'them' now.

I wouldn't have believed that a vid could charm me as much as the show, but this does. :DDD

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

she gives him the gift of learning how to express himself.
Yes! And his 'please don't reject me now that I've done it' is just so beautiful. Chiaki!love is a wonderful thing. I once found him only hilarious but I now actually love his crazy Chiaki'ness'!

'turn the pages'.
It was INSTANTLY better without the third turn--you were spot on.

You liked credits! \o/ Thanks to the show these are now the only credits of any vid I've made that I like. :)

I wouldn't have believed that a vid could charm me as much as the show, but this does. :DDD
Awwww! Then it has been a way more worthwhile exercise than I thought it would be.

They never know unless I write

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

I like the cutesy clip choices that lead the way to more serious clips. It all looks crazy, but in a deeply beautiful and funny way. There are great beat uses and I like the lyric interpretations.

Re: They never know unless I write

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Crazy, beautiful, funny? Yup, the show's all that. I'm touched you watched without knowing the show.

Re: They never know unless I write

[kiki-miserychic.livejournal.com]

:) I'll watch any vid you make. :)

Re: They never know unless I write

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

That's very dangerous!

[bofoddity.livejournal.com]

This has to be the most adorable vid I've ever seen. Makes me want to hunt down the series and drown in the sweetness.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

COOOOL feedback! I can send you links to some good quality fansubs of the show if you'd like? I highly recommend it for the adorable and the humour (such a great combination anywhere!). The first ep or two I didn't know what to make of it but then it really found its stride. And I am eagerly awaiting season 2.

[bofoddity.livejournal.com]

Fansub links would be great, thank you so much! The vid already was so hopelessly charming that there's no way I'm going to be able to resist the rest of the series, but fortunately I don't want to. ;)

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

You can find them here: http://www.sars-fansubs.com/index.php?cont=btpage (under their 'Past Projects'). There are 11 episodes in the first season followed by two 'specials' which follow on sequentially from season 1.

[talitha78.livejournal.com]

This is super cute, and such a feel-good vid.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you! Your icon is purrrfect!

[solesakuma]

Via etrangere. I'm the person in her flist that knows Nodame. XP
It was sweet as Hell, even if I've only read the manga.
You really captured the feel that Nodame Cantabile has and the crying part was awesome.
You convinced to finally go and see the dorama.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thank you! It's great that I'm reaching a few Nodame fans out there... I loved the dorama SO much so I'm thrilled it's convinced you to watch it! Hopefully it will live up to the manga (I haven't read the manga)--I have faith it will. *g*

[solesakuma]

WEll, it's only fair you read the manga! XP

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

True! That IS only fair. Ok, i'll take that as a prompt to seek it out... ;)

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

Here via supacat and what perfect timing -- I just finished rewatching Nodame Cantabile and I love it as much as ever. :) This was such a fun vid! Everything I love about the series in three and a half neat little minutes. :D (And I love the song choice, too, which I hadn't heard before.)

I'll be sure to pass this along to my jdrama-watching flist -- thanks for sharing!

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's great you liked the song--it's one of my favourites. And I'm glad I reached another Nodame fan!! :) I really should post it to some jdrama comms or something but I've been lethargic about it.

[revolutionaryjo.livejournal.com]

I am drawing pink sparkly hearts all over this vid! :D

It's so sweet! You really pulled on my heart strings in the middle section when Chiaki, Nodame, and Mine were all crying. (S-Oke forevaaaaah~) And I love the little section for "I'll settle down with some old story / About a boy who's just like me" with Puri Gorota.

Did I mention all the pink sparkly hearts? So many.

I don't suppose there's still a way to get a download version? The sendspace appears to have expired.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Hey there! So sorry for the delay! However I do now have a download linkie for you: direct download (http://bopradar.modern-mythology.com/bopradar_GMAFHID.avi.zip) (28 MB)

I'm so thrilled you like it and so excited that someone else is into it! :D I know I piled on the schmaltz in this vid but Nodame is my happy place and I am terribly fond of Chiaki's crying! ;)

thrilled the Puri Gorota worked for you too! That part was tricky but a lot of fun. :)

[revolutionaryjo.livejournal.com]

You're awesome! Thank you so much! :D