Fanvid: "Grapevine Fires" (Star Trek)

[skywaterblue]

I couldn't think, of anywhere I would have rather been, to watch it all, burn away...

Fandom: pan-Star Trek (movies, 24th Century Prime timeline)
Characters: Spock, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway...
Song: "Grapevine Fires" by Death Cab for Cutie
Length: 4:19
Downloads: 60.6 mbs in .mpg / 76 mbs in .avi (best)

Find more videos like this on BAM Vid Vault




Star Trek - death, rebirth, death again.

It took almost nine months to make, though I did scrap a first draft when I switched from Premier Pro to Sony Vegas. I could have made a human being in that time. Special thanks to sarken who I forced to watch, cheerlead, and suggest Voyager clips where my knowledge ran dry. Couldn't have done it without her.

This video may seem like I'm deeply ambivalent about the new canon - I am not. Overall I appreciate the effort made by the Supreme Court of Bad Robot to ensure that the Trek I grew up with still 'happened' and matters. That said, I feel a deep sense of finality and regret about the movie: in redefining Star Trek to only be about the original crew, we're both saying goodbye to all the other characters and their journeys, and in some ways limiting the palette of what Star Trek can be about to the mass audience.

Here's to the journey, though! The Undiscovered Country! There really is no place I would have rather been, to watch it all burn away.

Comments

AS an TOS Trekker from the wayback,

[ravenholdt]

Honey, you made me cry. Its ridiculous how pervasive popular icons and shows are...they just stick with you, and here I am, raining on my keyboard. I can put a sensory memory to almost every single shot you had there. I was in the theatre, bawling my eyes out just like everyone else when Spock died. I was in that same theatre, cheering with the audience as Spock recalled Jim adn they rescued a couple of very confused Humback whales.
I was even in the theatre when that whole ridiculous mess with Veger went down, and I watched the Star Trek multiverse transform and change right on up through to Enterprise. I can honestly say that there was never a time in my life, when Star Trek in some fashion wasnt being eagerly expected in my home at least 2 days of the week. I was weaned on the stuff.
This video was wonderful in a way Im not even sure I can fully describe. Its as though you took me back to being 7 years old.
Its beautiful.

Re: AS an TOS Trekker from the wayback,

[skywaterblue]

Oh, so sorry for the lateness of this reply. Thank you - I'm touched that you felt moved to cry. I had hoped that some people would be moved by it, but I didn't want to expect that.

Like you, I grew up in a home of Trekkers, so I too can recall where I was when I first watched Spock and Kirk rescue the whales or fight shapeshifters in the snow. It was a great loss to my life when it finally was canceled, and so this video celebrates both the return of it and the death of the version we grew up with... so yes, thank you. I'm glad the power of the idea goes beyond my own brain.

[yanatya]

Here's the deal. I watched this a couple times when you first posted and thought, huh, I really, really like that. I'd automatically focused in on Spock's narrative, how his life stops and starts and begins and ends and begins again, and how its pieces overlap between realities and over time. And I was trying to think about how to say that without run-on sentences, so I left it for a while.

Then this morning I thought, crap, it's been ages; I really need to leave feedback, so I logged in, and just before I came here I decided to watch it one more time.

And this time, finally, it hit me. I got it. I sat in front of my computer screen hyperventilating as old Trek in all its iterations burned away in front of me, lost in the ether, all the decades of joy and pain and awesomeness and tragedy that never ever actually happened. Choking on sobs that wouldn't come for all those people and stories that I really have known for decades, literally.

So I don't know what else to say. Great job? Really nice work? Wow? Maybe wow. Also, this is amazing and I love it.

[skywaterblue]

This comment means a lot to me. I read it several times, and I still don't know what quite to say except an effusive thank you. That I got a genuine 'wow' - that it works for people in multiple ways and can slap someone silly after multiple viewings - just, wow, I feel privileged to have made anything that works that well.

It's stupid, maybe, to care this much about a fictional TV show, but Star Trek is so lengthy. It has a genuine weight to it that I think is difficult to replicate among any other fandom. In some ways it is First Fandom, the ur-fandom, the mother of why we're even here. It means so much to so many people. And if in some way this video talks about all of that in a way that moves people, I'm really happy I pressed through it and finished the damn thing.

[rae1013]

My love for this is overflowing. Masterfully handled. The integration of all Trek was seamless and stunning and your story throughout was well handled and easily understood. Wow. Downloading for keeps. <3

[skywaterblue]

Thank you, I'm very honored by your lovely feedback. :)

[owlbeer]

Oh wow, this was amazing. Although I can be a little wary of Death Cab, this song is gorgeous and fits so well with the clips and the narrative you were putting across. That flashback sequence was so effective, it sent me back to watching TNG/DS9 as a kid.

[skywaterblue]

I'm a little wary of Death Cab myself, but this song is I think, quite amazing on its own. I'm glad you found it a good choice and even gladder that you sent me such lovely feedback. Thank you.

[giandujakiss]

Oh, this was lovely and touching.

[skywaterblue]

Thank you, I'm very flattered. :)

[not_sally]

This vid actually made me tear up. It was an amazing retelling.

[skywaterblue]

Glad it got an emotional response out of you. Thanks for the comment, it is always appreciated.

[illogicalvulcan]

Oh, very nifty. Reminded me of why I like Trek so much, which has been a mite difficult in recent years. Thank you.

[skywaterblue]

Rekindling the love feeling is a good thing to have accomplished! Thanks for the feedback. :)

[goodbyebird]

Wow. I used to catch episodes of ST here and there when I got home from school, and this was a wonderful glimpse back. Very well-edited. Thank you for sharing ♥

[skywaterblue]

:) I'm very happy it worked for you, even as a casual fan of the old shows.

[(Anonymous)]

Very nice. Very, very nice.

I have a question. What do you mean by "in redefining Star Trek to only be about the original crew, we're both saying goodbye to all the other characters and their journeys"? Does Spock coming back in time at that precise moment mean that other Start Treks didn't happen? I admit I am only up to the end of the Picard Star Trek, and that still makes sense - Spock was not as old in it as he was in the new movie. How about Voyager/DS9, etc.? Does this mean they are automatically out?

/kres@livejournal

[skywaterblue]

The opinion of the current 'Supreme Court' of Star Trek: JJ Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman is that when Spock!Prime gets booted back through the black hole, he creates a new universe. So all the old shows still happened, but they happened in the Primeverse, to which it is basically impossible to travel to from this new universe.

And in the new universe, time has happened differently: Kirk's father was murdered by Nero, Vulcan blew up. So there's no assurances that say, Picard, will even be born in this new universe.

And from the perspective of what will be shown on movies and in future tv series, if they occur, it seems really unlikely that they will go back to the Primeverse. So all those stories involving Picard/Sisko/Janeway can basically be considered done with now - we'll likely never see any of them again.

Glad you enjoyed the video!

Grapevine Fires

[yourlibrarian]

Great to see a vid pulling all the series' together. Such an enormous history the verse has that can only ever be hinted at.

Re: Grapevine Fires

[skywaterblue]

Glad you enjoyed it! It was tough to cut so much history down into one vid.

[brainwane]

Such a moving vid. Thank you for being so inclusive. Somehow this vid feels like a form of grieving, not dwelling on the past and the stories we love, not clinging to them desperately, but honoring them, and opening our heart to more stories in the hope (however slim) that they'll capture the same spirit, the same magic. In the hope that these new stories will have moments that stay with us, as memorable as the old ones.

[skywaterblue]

Thank you for commenting, and yes, I think you're right - it's a form of grieving. Luckily my intention that it be optimistic, and cheerful, and filled with love seems to have come across. I'd hate it if people just saw it as a weepfest. So thank you for this comment, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

[sol_se]

This video is so amazingly gorgeous. It really touches my heart. Fantastic work!

[skywaterblue]

I'm glad to hear it, thank you for commenting!

[morgeil]

OMG, I just found this. I was browsing your old DS9 posts... This is fabulous! Kinda sad, in a good way. Mind if I rec it?

[skywaterblue]

I would love to be rec'ed! Thank you! I'm happy anyone reads old journal posts of mine. I'm also pleased you enjoyed it.

sadly I haven't got a Trek icon for DW yet

[biichan]

I can't believe I missed this when you first posted it! It's beautiful, though. Watching it filled me up with a great love for all Trek, including the stuff I haven't seen yet!

Re: sadly I haven't got a Trek icon for DW yet

[skywaterblue]

I'm glad so many people have been finding it in the last week. :) I'm glad you enjoyed it, and that it filled you with love.

[thingswithwings]

this is really gorgeous . . . it kind of made me tear up a bit, here, because there is so much Trek canon that I love so dearly, and watching it being closed off, the finality of it after reboot-Kirk breaks out of the meld and it becomes nothing more than a glimpse of something that will never happen . . . that's upsetting, and feels like a death. At the same time, you did a wonderful job of reminding me about all the things I loved in all the treks. Sniff.

[skywaterblue]

They're not really dead! Not so long as we remember them. I'm glad it worked for you emotionally. Thanks for the feedback, and for watching.

[eruthros]

This is amazing -- I missed it when it was first posted, but I'm glad to have found it now. It honestly made me tear up a little, the end of the original Star Trek canon, all those glimpses in the mind meld that are gone now in AOS. Really lovely.

[skywaterblue]

I think some other people must be rec'ing it or something, as I've had a lot of comments lately. Thanks for watching it - I'm glad the emotional content worked for you. Thank you for watching and feedbacking.

[illariy]

Oh, this was very enjoyable how you bound the Trek sources together. Thank you for sharing. :-)

[skywaterblue]

I apologize for not responding to this. Thanks for visiting and leaving feedback on the vid; it makes me so happy that it was well-received and people got it. :D

[aurora]

This was so incredibly well done!

[eccentrikita]

This is a wonderful idea, wonderfully executed.

I'm kind of lacking brain right now, but this is how I bookmarked you on delicious:

Well HOLY SHIT. This is a much different OldTrek/NewTrek vid, in that it acknowledges the impact of the new canon on ALL of the old, not just the original series. It comes across as incredibly bittersweet, because it's about the inevitable death of all things on both in- and out-universe levels -- but it still acknowledges the hope and forward movement of the new timeline. Or: "Star Trek is dead; long live Star Trek."

Seriously, thank you for this.

[skywaterblue]

That's an awesome rec. Thank you. I'm hella flattered that people are still finding this and getting it. :D

[jekesta]

Oh, that's brilliant. I didn't like the film very much at all, but it how it sort of meant the end of star trek I know and love that was the worst bit of it, and you've caught that brilliantly, without actually making it seem bitter, just sad.

Is this still uploaded anywhere? I'd love a copy I can keep.

[jekesta]

Also, I'm putting together a small vid show for Redemption, a sci fi con in a week's time and I was wondering if you'd mind me including it. I've been struggling to find a star trek vid that really worked for me, and this totally does.

[jactrades]

Oh, I adored this! I can't remember a time when Star Trek wasn't a part of my life and - while I love the heck out of reboot - I can't help but feel a bit melancholy at saying goodbye to the old Primeverse. This vid just captures my feelings on moving on perfectly.

[skywaterblue]

Awesome. Sorry for the late reply, but I'm glad it worked for you.

[deepsix]

I know I'm crazy late seeing this, but someone on my flist just linked to it and it completely blew me away. Even though I only really watched the original series and TNG, it still made me tear up for what was and probably won't be again. What a fantastic vid.

[skywaterblue]

Heh. I'm just honored that it has moved enough people to still be remembered in the great fandom hivemind. Thanks for commenting.

[moireach.livejournal.com]

Oh goddddd this gave me so many feelings. Love love love. Such a great melding of so much disparate canon, and such good lyrics to go with it all. Also, Spockkkkk!!

[skywaterblue]

Glad it worked for you. :)

[fenellaevangela]

Hi! Sorry for commenting twice with the same question, but I thought maybe my last comment got lost in the wind. I was wondering if I could get a copy of this lovely vid. The download links have expired, but I find myself wanting to rewatch it often :-)

[skywaterblue]

Yes! I meant to do this and lost the comment. Could you e-mail me at tori[at]anbaric(dot)com? I know I won't get to it tonight but if it's in my inbox I will.

[sasha_feather]

The download links aren't working for me. Is this vid still available?

[revena]

Ditto! I'd really love to watch it sans skipping, and my connection isn't good enough. :(