Mar 18, 2010

Fanstravaganza Feature ~ RA Fan Highlight


I just love watching Richard Armitage fan videos.
I could waste (and have wasted) so much time sitting in front of my computer
screen, staring in awe at RA, enjoying the music, admiring the vidders' editing skills and wondering how in the heck they do that... it's just another addicting aspect of being an RA fan.  

Today I am featuring an RA enthusiast who knows all about
fan videos.  She runs the site RAfanvids.com : Ms. Elvira Sweeney.
*Banner created by Heathra & Angelfish/Spikesbint*
I may love RA vids, but Elvira is downright passionate about them! Every time I discuss fanvids with her, she's like a kid in a candy store... and her excitement is contagious.  I recently asked her to list her favorite fanvids for me.  I was thinking she'd give me her top 5 or something... HA!  Her list went on and on... not only giving me links to all her favorite videos, but detailing what she loves about them and how each vidder's style is different yet so brilliant.  Elvira told me, "Trying to pick just one vidder would be kind of like asking, "Which is the best music, Beethoven or the Beatles?" They are so different, you can't just choose *one* best, can you?"  I ignored my laundry baskets last week and watched most of the videos on Elvira's list... and WOW! I'm so grateful for Elvira's willingness to share her passion with me and the rest of us through her own videos and site.

Here is my formal interview with her:

Nat: Please tell me about yourself. What part of the world are you from? Are you single/married? Do you have any kids/pets?
Elvira: I am boring! But I will tell that I am not married and I live in the USA. I have more than one useless cat which I pamper and indulge.

Nat: When and why did you start your RAfanvids site?
Elvira: I am a geek and like to make sites. Actually, this whole RA thing is my first introduction into fan sites. (I once devoted part of a web site to my favorite scanner, doing tests and analysis of this scanner's performance! I am that much of a geek! LOL.) When I saw N&S and joined C19. A fellow C19er, Remontant, came up with a great domain name for N&S, foolishpassion.com, I quickly registered the domain, just for fun! Then Remontant and I started working on developing it and it was SUCH a great time! Then several other fan sites followed, like richard-armitage.net and foolishpassion.org.
My previous experience with web sites was very fun but rather solitary. I'd write a site and get a few emails a week about it from visitors. With the RA fandom, the reaction to the sites were immediate, the sites were very collaborative efforts (which I loved), and I found the whole experience to be very gratifying.

Nat: How did you learn so much about "vidding?"
Elvira: I'm a geek! I needed to learn for myself, and since I like to write web sites and tutorials, I decided to share what I'd learned in the form of tutorials.

Nat: What is your favorite thing about running your site?
Elvira: Finding new videos! It is so cool! I love fan videos and I love seeing all the creative things that others do with them. Before I learned to make them, I watched them continually and I have a huge collection of them.

Nat: What do you hope to accomplish with your site?
Elvira: I guess just to make fan videos accessible in higher quality and showcase all the great talent we have in the RA fandom. That's one of my big agendas--good quality, HD quality when possible (I'm really pimping HD these days--it's the future!). Before I learned more about fan videos and started making them, it seemed like it was accepted that downloadable copies of fan videos were kind of blurry and murky and low detail. When I found out from a fellow vidder that this didn't have to be so, I decided that this is what I wanted for as many videos as possible!

Nat: To your knowledge, does Richard or "his people" know about your site?
Elvira: I have no idea, but I suspect he does! That makes me feel a little peculiar, to be honest. But as I say on the "about" page of RAfanvids, we don't make the videos for HIM, we make them for each other, because it's a fun creative way to express ourselves. But, if he does see the site, I assume that he knows what's going on, and is okay with it. He has left us with the impression that he is happy that all of us deranged gentlewomen have found a creative outlet and camaraderie in this fandom.

Please check out RAfanvids.com
Not only is it filled with awesome vids that you won't find on YouTube, it's also full of helpful tips and info for vidders.  (Unfortunately for my YT subscribers, instead of being educated in the proper ways of video-making, I always get distracted by the site's fanvids! *ahem*)

10 comments:

Phylly3 said...

Wonderful interview! Bravo to Elvira for being such a mentor to so many budding vidders!
I do appreciate her site for fanvids as so many seem to disappear from Youtube, and the HD ones are truly amazing!

bZirk said...

I LOVE Elvira! I recognized a fellow geek right away, and it's hard not to like someone who is that passionate and willing to share. LOL!

BTW, I've said it, and I'm going to say it again. Elvira should get an award. What I'm not sure but something good. :D

Anonymous said...

Elvira is wonderful and very talented at what she does. I have much to thank her for, in helping me produce Aspect Ratio correct videos when I was having trouble with it.

Her tutorials are really helpful and easy to understand and she is a great vidder!

angela

Anonymous said...

What a brilliant idea. I am a huge fan of Elvira and many of the other RA vidders.

I have been watching her vids since I joined the fandom in 2007. Really enjoy the site she has now.

It was great to hear a little about and from her.

Great blog you have here.

Thank you

Yellow Rose

Manda said...

I love Elvira. She has taught me so much, especially about vidding and yes even aspect ratio (I hear those words in my sleep now thanks to her). The RA fan world would be a LOT less without her in it. :-)

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful interview and it just confirms what a lot of people already knew about her. =)

Her enthusiasm and creativity for vidding is inspiring. I've learned so much from her.

Myrtle said...

Thankyou, a lovely interview.
I am not a 'geek' (wish I was) but I truly appreciate the time and effort that Elvira and others take to put such beautiful videos together for us all to enjoy.

MaryKwizMiz said...

great interview, I've seen quite a few vids on YT but wasn't aware of the existence of a whole website full of treasures. Bookmarked. There goes my weekend - thank you Nat, and Elvira :D

Maike said...

Congrats, Elvira, on getting an article and interview, you deserve it! Great idea, Nat. Keep it up, both of you.

Heathra said...

I love ya Elvira! ;-) Thanks for all your help over the years, hosting my videos and correcting my aspect ratio when I first started! You are the best! The RA fandom would not be the same without you! *hugs*