VID: Glósóli (Doctor Who, by purplefringe & such heights)

[such_heights]

Glósóli
by purplefringe and such_heights
fandom: Doctor Who
characters: Eleven-era ensemble (canon ships)
music: Sigur Rós - Glósóli
content notes: bright lights, audio level changes
summary: "That's a fairytale." "Aren't we all?"
notes: spoilers for all of S6. The lyrics, both in Icelandic and translated into English, can be found here.
download: 40MB zipped .avi

password: stories

Glosoli from such heights on Vimeo.

additional notes:

purplefringe: So, this vid kind of came into existence as a result of such_heights' Feelings about the Ponds and how awesome they are, and my Thoughts, which mostly went along the lines of "omg so much meta!!" Inspired by some particularly beautiful and insightful essays by elisi and goldenmoonrose, we decided to join forces to make a vid about the fairytale adventure that is Doctor Who, a journey of self-discovery down the rabbit hole, through the looking glass, into the wardrobe - a quest for identity throughout all of time and space. We also wanted to incorporate some of the most interesting symbolism from the show. And their faces. All their faces.

Comments

[juniperphoenix]

This is a beautiful, powerful vid.

I love how seamlessly it moves from the general (the opening images of various children) to the specific (the Ponds). The whole thing feels very inclusive and meta, as though we as fans are included in that roll call of wonder-struck children who go on to discover themselves and become powerful and shape their own amazing stories. I was particularly struck by the alternating Old!Amy and River battle sequences, which highlight the multigenerational nature of the Ponds' story as well as the multigenerational nature of this fandom.

I also love that this vid doesn't separate the Doctor from his companions, but depicts him as being on the same kind of personal journey as everyone else (and wow, you found so many great visual parallels to demonstrate that). I especially love the shot of his cradle — it's that multigenerational theme again, and a great way of showing that people have been going on journeys of self-discovery since time immemorial. The children at the beginning are all of us, and they are the Doctor, too.

Another of my favorite parts is the sequence that culminates in the TARDIS/Pandorica explosion — I love the way it equates the power of personal transformation with the power to renew the universe.

Plus, the whole thing is visually gorgeous, and the song is beautiful.

And now I'm going to have to hunt down those essays that inspired you, because they sound like good reading. :)

[such_heights]

What a wonderful comment, thank you so much! I'm delighted that all of those ideas came across for you, particularly the idea of the Doctor being on a journey too, and the children being us.

[purplefringe]

Oh my goodness, this is amazing. Thank YOU! This comment made my day. Particularly the part about the children being us, and the Tardis explosion. I'm glad the meta came across! If you're interested in this kind of thing, you should definitely read those essays, they are amazing and kind of mind-blowing.