Media Cannibals/Tape2

Tape 2 covered the next two years of the Cannibals' vid collaboration, 1995-1996. By this time, the Cannibals had started including liner notes via a photocopied sheet of paper and a listing of what vids were in the box taped to it. Duplication was still done manually, with Sandy making the majority of the copies. Tape 2 also contained Megan Kent's early Starsky & Hutch vids, which had been made around 1987/1988 and were very difficult to get to. 
Original Vidders' notes:
:The Media Cannibals are a loose group of people who live in Seattle, (or visit frequently) who like to do fannish things collectively. MC is working on a zine at the moment too (Guilty Pleasures by the Media Cannibals, due out at Escapade VII.)
:And for those few that care
:* The MC VIDEOS were done on one of our two Mitsubishi editing decks, either the U57 (1994) or the U59 (1996), both Hi-ZFi VHS machines with insert edit. They were both around $400-$500 new. Megan's vids were done on a Canon VR-HF 800. It cost about $800 in 1987
:* The MC TITLES were created in Powerpoint for Windows, using pictures scanned in, stolen from the web, or taken as screen shots, brought over to the Mac, and then converted into NTSC with an Apple video card. Not a bad way to do this, but we learned that Reds and Greens that look great on your computer screen will look terrible once transferred to a TV screen.
== Tape Contents ==
Vid 	Fandom 	Singer or Band 	Vidders 	Liner Notes
A Fire Is Burning 	The Professionals 	Oyster Band 	Alex, Sandy Herrold, Gwyneth Rhys 	Alex found this great song, and we nearly broke our two editing decks making the short cuts that the song required. I think of this vid as being a roller coaster ride, a little like Bodie and Doyle's lives.
You Gotta Be 	Multimedia 	Des'ree 	Sandy Herrold, Alex, Blackbird, feochadn, Gwyneth Rhys 	I was sitting at the bar at Escapade IV with Alex and Lezlie Shell, and this song came on the big screen. We all thought the song embodied both the humor and the strength of character that we love in our fannish heroes. I'm not sure why this didn't turn out to be a favorite of mine.
Knocking on Heaven's Door 	Wiseguy 	Dylan 	Sandy Herrold, Nicole V., Morgan Dawn 	I don't think that either Frank or Vinnie is actually suicidal, but they've each definitely had days where they feared they had nothing left to give. This vid was in my mind for months before I finally found the Dylan version of the song--the abrupt ending isn't me: it's from the original album.
Rock and Roll 	Led Zeppelin 	Led Zeppelin 	Sandy Herrold, Megan Kent 	This was a blast to do, but LZ is such a small fandom we figured we were the only two people who'd understand (or care...) Basically, it's about them missing each other, all they've done while apart, and the short reunions that finally lead to them getting back together as Page & Plant last year.
Walk the Same Line 	The Professionals 	Everything But The Girl	Blackbird, Alex, Sandy Herrold 	Blackbird turned us on to this band. The song was a little 'soft' for our rough, tough boys, but we loved the theme. This was the first vid where we tried structuring the POV first one, then the other, then both of them at the end.
Roll to Me 	Due South 	Del Amitri 	Sandy Herrold, with lots of help 	At the time I started this, most of the Cannibals weren't watching Due South yet, so this is the first vid I did with Net collaboration. I like this, but can't help being embarrassed by how short and snappy it is. I would appreciate recommendations for a serious song in the fandom/pairing.
Out of Tears 	Wiseguy 	Mick Jagger 	Sandy Herrold 	I live with a married couple: Nicole is part of the Media Cannibals, and her husband John is very friendly to it. He is a huge Rolling Stones fan, and assigns a character or pairing to ever Jagger, Richards, or Stones song he hears: once in awhile, we listen to him. I think Frank suffers beautifully.
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles), take 2	The Professionals 	The Proclaimers 	Sandy Herrold, Alex 	I was never happy with the original version of this on Tape 1: I'd blown the audio part way through it, and when I laid the audio back down, I got it 1/2 a second 'off'. Too many Pros stories show Bodie doing all the running: I wanted to do a visual rebuttal, showing Doyle doing the chasing. See Tape 1 for more back story on the re-diting of this vid.
Something to Talk About 	Wiseguy 	Bonnie Raitt 	Sandy Herrold, Charlotte C Hill 	I did the Pros version with Alex on Tape1, but Charlotte talked me into this one as well. I like them both, but this one is shorter, and has a wonderful ending (done by Charlotte, so I can say that.)
Stray Cat Strut 	The Professionals 	Stray Cats 	Sandy Herrold, Alex, Blackbird 	Complete fluff: I'd read one too many 'cat-like' Doyles.
Let It Bleed 	Multimedia 	Rolling Stones 	Sandy Herrold, Nicole, Alex, Rachael Sabotini, Blackbird, Gwyn, Jo	Not a living room vid, but fun in a group. The weakest part is the 'someone to bleed on' section: who'da thought it would be hard to find good clips of our heroes bleeding? Making the title was fun too: gave me a goodish excuse to go web browsing to find all of those show logos.
Too Much Love Will Kill You 	Wiseguy 	Brian May 	Sandy Herrold, Charlotte C Hill 	I Love it when one fannish interest complements another. Charlotte found it impossible to listen to the poignancy of Brian May's elegy for Freddie Mercury without thinking of the incredible torment that Frank McPike goes through at the loss of his friends and relationships. (FYI: This was done before the WG movie, when Vinnie was still dead.)
Promises 	Led Zeppelin 	Clapton 	Sandy Herrold, Megan Kent 	One of Megan's strengths as a vidder is the ability to tell a coherent story using a strong, consistent POV. I love the Jimmy she draws. (We collaborated on this one the hard way: she'd mail me the master, I'd put a few clips in and mail it back. This is the first time we've computer edited a song for a vid. Megan did most of the vid, while Charlotte did the audio editing.)
Little Baby 	Due South 	Rolling Stones 	Sandy Herrold, with thanks to John and Gwyn and Michelle Christian	I could only hear John say, 'you know this is a Benny song' so many times before my fingers started to itch. In both Due South vids, I tried switching the POV 1/2way through the vid, so the viewer could contrast their relationship: is there a difference between Benny following Ray and Ray following Benny?
Tender Comrade 	The Professionals 	Billy Bragg 	Sandy Herrold, Morgan Dawn, Alex, Gwyn 	Rosa Westphalen gave me this beautiful song about soldiers being under fire and I loved it, but it was both a cappella and much too slow. Using the pause button of a cassette player (low tech!), we cut a verse and made all of the pauses at the ends of each line much shorter. I was afraid that it would still be too slow and too quiet, but I like it.
Send The Marines 	Space: Above and Beyond	Tom Lehrer 	Charlotte C Hill, Megan Kent, Jo, Carol S., Wendy 	With a show like SAAB, how could this song not be more perfect! Spoofing our space marine heroes was wonderful collaborative fun.
We Could Leave Right Now 	Highlander 	Oyster Band 	Lynn C. 	At Virgule convention #3, we loved this vid of Lynn C.'s so much, we immediately asked to distribute it for her. The vid perfectly captures my view of Duncan and Methos's relationship: Methos is trying to get Duncan, and Duncan wants 'to think about it.' If he's not careful, he's going to leave it too Late...
== Blast from the Past Contents ==
Original notes for "Blast from the Past: Starsky and Hutch Vids by Megan Kent"
: Megan made these Starsky and Hutch vids back in 1987-88, and they're wonderful! Though at times you can tell that vidding styles and techniques have changed since then, they use strong songs to tell clear stories about the characters' relationship--just the way I like vids to be.
Vid 	Singer or Band 	Liner Notes
Trouble in Paradise 	Romanovsky and Phillips	I loved the idea that once the guys are together, that's not the end of the road.
That's All 	Genesis 	My first vid. What can I say? Also the only vid I have ever COMPLETELY re-cut. Every clip. I still like the mood, but I'd do it very differently today.
Lost Emotions 	Romanovsky and Phillips	I get more response on this vid than any other. It seems to have captured much of the H/C mood of the show and the fandom. It has some of my favorite clips in it.
Don't Use Your Penis for a Brain	Romanovsky and Phillips	Once I had the R&P tape, this was the obvious choice for a humorous vid. This is the first time I edited a song for content.
You're My Home 	Billy Joel 	This song seemed to embody the SH relationship from Starsky's POV
Secure Yourself 	Indigo Girls 	This is the only song that has come close to expressing the agony of loss I think Hutch would feel if Starsky died. Also my one and only use of my neato strobe effect.
== Historical Perspectives on the Vids ==
"A Fire is Burning" was considered a "heart-pounding" vid, as the clips were just so fast for the time. 
At the time that this tape was created, RPS was still very underground, so it was highly unusual to have an RPS vid shown at a con or included in a collection tape. The fact that it was a band fandom at a media convention made it doubly rare.
"Roll to Me" may have been one of the first Due South vids created.
"Stray Cat Strut" won a first place award at Zebracon the year it was shown.
"We Could Leave Right Now" may be the first Duncan/Methos vid created.
==Review of the Tape==
In November 1996, Michelle Christian posted the following rewiew of the tape to the Virgule-L mailing list. It is reposted here with permission.
Category:1996