VividCon - the Radio Cut (Friday)

[tzikeh]

When putting together my con report, I went back and forth on whether or not to include all the personal trauma and behind-the-scenes stuff of the days leading up to the con, to help explain why I was such a flake at the con, but then that would make the report about me, not the con, and then I thought "would I want to read that, if I were reading someone else's con report?" and my answer was ... it depends.

So what I'm gonna do is separate out the personal trauma and behind-the-scenes stuff for a different post which people can skip if they choose.


If you want to follow along with the con schedule, you can find it here in pdf format.

VividCon started on Friday morning with the Retrospective show, presented by, well, me. I had done the Retro last year, and another member was going to do it this year, but she (sadly) had to cancel her attendance at the last minute. So, rather than have no retro show at all, we (i.e. astolat and I) figured we'd just run a repeat of last year, since it seemed to be popular. Of course, I hadn't talked about any of that since the last con, so I was pretty much winging it. I was lucky to have Kandy Fong, one of the very first vidders back in the mid-seventies, at the con this year, who could help me with dates and names when I forgot them. I showed early vids (slide shows, a single clip from a show to a song), I talked about the advent of the VHS machine, and touched on a bit of what was involved in vidding from one vcr to another. Judging by the shocked looks on some of the faces of the newer vidders, I believe I did my job well. <g> Due to some technical difficulties with the "mixing board" (I use that phrase loosely), we didn't get in as many vids as I would have liked, nor did I get to bring the history of vidding fully up to the present, but perhaps I will write up the panel with more detail and post it here, so more folks can read about vidding's thirty-year heritage.

The favorite vid in that show (according to a totally informal survey consisting of me listening to people talking during the con) was "Pressure", which is a meta-vid! Made in 1990 by California Crew, the vid shows two vidders trying to get a vid done in one weekend. This vid, better than I ever could, shows what working with two vcrs was like.

After that, I hung out in the con suite for lunch, and talked with a bunch of wonderful people - some of whom are old friends, some of whom I'd never met - but one of the best things about this year's VividCon for me was that I knew so many of the people there already from other conventions and get-togethers, and the ones I didn't know by face, I knew by name. The con was a very friendly, warm, welcoming place and everyone could feel it. That openness and happiness really added greatly to the good time we all had. I got to put faces to names for debchan, thran, sisabet, and other folks I'm sure I'm forgetting - and got to reacquaint myself briefly with folks like destina and soobunny, and hang out with all my old pals as well. Whether it was something in the water, or the alignment of the planets, everyone looked to be having a fabulous time and was really energetically taking advantage of what the con had to offer. There was a lot of laughing during the weekend.

Since I'd burned about 80% of the vid shows before the con, which meant I watched all the vids several times (darn - poor me), I didn't really need to attend shows in order to enjoy talking about the vids with folks afterwards. The ones I did go to, I mostly went to gauge whether or not the crowd was having fun. I watched Rarely Vidded and enjoyed the hell out of audience reaction to "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" and "Without Me", among others. Then, due to more technical difficulties, I had to run back to my house and fuck about with the computer for a while. More on that in the behind-the-scenes post. ;)

Back to the con in time for CLUB VIVID! Most of you who have read other VividCon reports have heard tell of this insanity, but really, nothing we write can do it justice. I will say that several of the concom (you know who you are) have admitted to thinking this was a terrible idea, at first. HA! astolat, take a bow. We RULE! Most con-goers dressed up, and more and more danced as the evening went on and the big cash bar was frequented. A three-hour dance party full of loud, fun vids and crazy people acting like characters from Xena - you can't beat it! I hope photos will go up on the web somewhere -- if you weren't present, you need to see it to believe it. The sparkly ass making its rounds in icons was part of that evening, as was the runner-up gay pants of dark red leather. The party included all kinds of dancing, from club to disco to swing. It was a hoot, and it really created a strong sense that we were here to enjoy ourselves and that everyone was friendly and happy to see you. And if you didn't want to dance, the panel room was set up with a feed so you could watch the dance vids and talk with friends.

I swear to you, I can't completely remember what I did after Club Vivid. I know I didn't just go to bed. I showered, and then... I put on my pajamas and went to someone's room and watched vids, I think (imagine that!). I If I was in your room, can you remind me? Was that the night that kitkatbyte made like a gazelle? Or was that Saturday?

More to come...

Comments

[kitkatbyte.livejournal.com]

I can't completely remember what I did after Club Vivid. [...] Was that the night that kitkatbyte made like a gazelle? Or was that Saturday?

That was Saturday. Friday night I was in a room somewhere and we were talking, and there was the stuffed Monty Python bunny... but no vids showing.