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Clarification: FanVids

While I can find quite a bit of information on fanfiction and fan communities in general, very little has been written about fanvids, apart from Machinema. Because I am not so much interested in the community-driven aspects of fanvids, however, these articles will not comprise the majority of my research.
I could also cite Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (and probably will), but again, authenticity and authority are not my main concern. Because I want to figure out what it is fans-auteurs know about visual rhetoric, what conventions they mainly rely on, and what genres they most heavily draw on, I will most likely have to rely on film theory.
What is complicating this project is the musical element: Fanvids don't just rely on Hollywood conventions, but on music video conventions. I'm not sure where to go looking for research on this, but I'll start with the cultural studies journals. I'm not sure yet whether there are different genres of fanvids based on genres of music videos (or genres of music), but the ones I've seen all seem to fit within the same romance-filled, teen-angst genre. This may be, however, because I am looking at arguments for "unconventional pairings" (Hermione/Snape and Daniel/Jack), which are based on unfulfilled desire. There are so few fanvids for "canon" or established relationships that I'm starting to think that "angst" just might be the key emotion of the genre.

Submitted by Amylea on Thu, 2007-02-08 10:57.
Amylea's blog

Fascinating
magnoliafan's picture
Submitted by magnoliafan on Thu, 2007-03-01 10:48.

This sounds like a really fascinating project. I think that a good place to go would be popular culture conference programs, because the ones I've been to seem to be invested in the kinds of questions you're asking.

L-Train


Visual Genres
David Blakesley's picture
Submitted by David Blakesley on Thu, 2007-03-01 09:31.

Amylea:

One possible trajectory would be to look at a variety of "prototypical" fanvids to see if there has emerged a visual style that amounts to a genre--a socialized response to a situation--using film and images. I think you're right that the genre will be influenced by music video, perhaps even the roving camera technique it initiated and that became a staple of shows like NYPD Blue and other TV shows.

To what extend to these (re)presentations violate traditional video genres like realism? What sort of mixing/mash-ups might they employ? Your goal could be to establish just what techniques do seem common and (even) what role technologies (and video editing software) have in determining them.