To remind you of last summer: A Kerry/Edwards music vid

[Noisy Democrat]

To celebrate the 4th of July this year, and take a trip down memory lane, I made a music vid, a tribute to the Kerry/Edwards campaign, with a song by Evanescence and footage of rallies, news clips, etc. (The source material tended to be kind of low-resolution, so it looks best and clearest in a small-ish window.) It plays in Windows Media Player. Currently a friend of mine has it up on her webpage for download:

http://www.ableh4x.com/barrie3/Bring%20Me%20To%20Life.z...

I should perhaps mention that it's an emotionally intense vid; most of my friends who've seen it cried. I wanted to express what we all felt during the campaign last summer, both the highs and the lows, but ultimately it's hopeful. If you do check it out, please let me know what you think of it.

[TayTay]

1. Hey, Welcome to DU

ANd Welcome to the Kerry Forum. (Your very first DU post is here? Wow! I'm impressed.)

So, tell us about yourself.

And thanks for the house warming present. (Some people are just born classy and know how to make an entrance. Wow!)

[Noisy Democrat]

2. Thanks for the welcome!

I think I used to post at DU last summer (under another name which I can no longer recall, so I re-registered), but I didn't see any Kerry groups at that time -- is all this new? In any case, I'm a diehard Kerry supporter, rooting for Kerry '08. I tend to post a lot of comments on DailyKos and LightUpTheDarkness, and just found out about this group a couple of days ago. Seems like a very nice little forum you've got here!

[Island Blue]

6. Welcome Noisy Democrat!

I'm relatively new here myself, but this is a great place to hang out! There are a lot of people here who are very knowledgeable about all things Kerry (I'm not one of the knowledgeable ones) and everyone is always happy to share what they know with the group. I have learned so much in the short time I've been here. This group is also great because we can indulge in our admiration of Kerry and his good works without getting slammed by people who don't feel quite the same way we do. Other times we simply indulge ourselves with lots and lots of photos!




Welcome aboard!

[MH1]

7. Hi ND!!!

I saw your comment on my blog and just now downloaded the video, but before I watched it I wanted to thank you. I thought I had seen you here before at DU, so I came looking for you addy or to pm you. Obviously not...guess I'm hitting too many blogs these days, can't keep 'em straight.

Anyway, welcome to DU!! As you can see I haven't been here all that long myself. I only found it when Ron was exasperated at me at LUTD one day for bothering with dkos, and told me I really should join this group. So, here I am!

Welcome, welcome!!


..and now I'm off to look at your video. Then there's JK's Homeland Security hearing from earlier - I at least have to watch the "spurs" comment!

[MH1]

10. Just watched it, and it's great.

Thanks. I'll pass it around.

[ohtransplant]

3. Wow is right!

I didn't think I had forgotten but it all rushed back to me. I was almost in tears myself.

It reminded me of a lot of things. Most of all, it reminded me of what could have been - what should have been. I have no doubt the USA would be on a better path today and that JK would make an excellent POTUS.

No one who watches this could truthfully say this man is wooden or stiff or shows no emotion. Once again ladies and gentlemen - the real deal.

[Noisy Democrat]

5. :)

What you said about how no one could say he's wooden -- a friend of mine has been showing it to friends of hers who voted ABB, who never saw Kerry in rallies and believed the media line about him being boring, etc. Feel free to pass the video on to anyone; who knows, maybe it'll change a couple of people's impressions of Kerry.

It was interesting to see that when I was editing the section with Kerry's DNC speech, I had to use clips that were very close together in the real speech. That is, if I cut away for a one-second crowd shot, when it came back to Kerry, the next footage had to be from the same little part of the speech, because Kerry's face is so animated that if I took the clips from very different sections, his expressions (and body language) would look *completely* different -- it would look bizarre that he could change that much in only one or two seconds. It was an interesting illustration of how expressive he is.

[ohtransplant]

8. Great job on the editing BTW.

I'm no expert but I just watched it again. The music and editing really work. I will be sending it and showing it. Thanks for your great work.

I've said it before, the more I learn about him, the more convinced I am Kerry is the genuine article.

[Mass]

4. Happy to see you at DU

and thanks for the video. It is great.

I enjoyed your posts at dailykos and LUTD and hope you will post often here.

[pinkflower21]

9. Wow, that blew me away!

Wonderful job on that video. I was experiencing such mixed emotions watching. On the one hand I felt proud watching it because it truly showed what a tour deforce the Kerry/Edwards campaign was. They might not have won but it still looks like they changed the world and did something great with that campaign anyway. Then another part of me is sad for what could have been. Yep, people would have a hard time saying he was wooden from watching that.

[sandnsea]

11. Hi!!

It's a good group. You will definitely feel right at home! I'll look at the video now!!

Sandy

[europegirl4jfk]

12. What a great video!

Thank you so much! It is very well done and very emotional as you say. And it's really well edited. Is it difficult to make a music video? I have a song in mind that I like a lot: "Running out of heroes" by Charlie Dore, and I would love to make a music video with this song.

[Noisy Democrat]

14. Thanks!

I'm so glad you like it! As for whether it's difficult -- not exactly difficult, but it *is* time-consuming. You have to get source material -- I don't have equipment for transferring video onto my computer, so I captured clips from various news sites online (I have software to capture streaming video). I spent a lot of time searching for images on different themes and watching clips of rallies to find good shots for the different moments. Some people make vids that are just still photos arranged to music, though; no moving clips. There's another Kerry/Edwards vid I love that's only still photos; if I can get permission from the vid maker, I'll post a link up here.

Anyway, then you just need movie-making software. If you have a Mac, iMovie is easy to use; if you're on a PC, I should warn you that Windows Moviemaker starts out easy but tends to start crashing *constantly* once the project gets to be about 40 seconds long. Not everyone experiences that, though, and you could be one of the lucky few. I switched to a program called ULead Video Editing Studio, which is simple and inexpensive -- you can download it for a free 30-day trial, in fact. This video took me 2 weeks to make, but I should confess that it was 2 weeks in which I could barely get the vid off my mind and I was staying up late night after night. If you take a more gradual and sane approach *BG* it may take a little longer. But it's a lot of fun to do. If you're interested, just download some free sample software and try it; by the time the 30-day trial runs out, you should know whether you like doing it.

[europegirl4jfk]

17. Thanks for the advise!

Thanks for you detailed account how to make a music video. I already thought that it takes a lot of time searching the material etc. I have a PC and tried Windows Moviemaker for some clips, but only short ones without music and it worked fine. I should probably try the program you are talking about; thanks for the advise.

Well, it will take me more then two weeks to make a video, that's for sure. But I have that idea since the Iraq war started and I really should give it a try. It wouldn't be a Kerry vid but an anti-war, anti-Bush video (the song is an anti-war song). But Kerry would have a place in it too.

[fedupinBushcountry]

13. Welcome and Thank You

The video is great. Oh what America is missing. It brought out happy and sad emotions for me. It reminded me how the media misrepresented JK from crowds sizes to his bringing hope to this country.

IMO this video deserves a standing ovation.

[globalvillage]

15. Wow.

Welcome and thank you for all the hard work you put into the video. It's fabulous.

[karynnj]

16. Wow, your video is amazing

It's really good to see some of those sights again - I only wish we could change the ending. It's great to see this group expanding - it provides a place of sanity. (especially at times when DU itself becomes as nasty and irrational as the MSM)

[whometense]

18. Welcome to our little

(but growing!!) family.

I've read your posts on Kos (and given them lots of 4's). I'm happy you're here. Can't wait to see the video - but it'll have to wait till I get home from work.

[Island Blue]

19. Wow! I had to wait until I got to work today before I could see the video

but I must say it's incredible! It made me both sad at the thought of what could have been (what SHOULD have been) and angry at the half of the country that just didn't get it last year. It perfectly depicted the difference between what was being offered in '04 - Hope vs. Fear. Thank you so much for posting and again, welcome to the group!

[whometense]

20. Finally saw it -

Twice. It made me cry too. I just love it. Wonderful - thanks so much for sharing it with us!!!!

[wisteria]

21. Very moving, it was well done.

I actually watched it three times before saving it. Your right though, it made my heartache to watch it and wish there had been a different outcome this past election.
Oh, and by the way welcome!

[politicasista]

22. Welcome and nice video.

Thanks for the link.

[sandnsea]

23. I finally got that open

Long story.

Oh My God. That is so wonderful. Hope is still on the way, I love it. Thank you so so much.

[jillan]

24. OMG - I just watched it.

That was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!
Perfect music to go along with the video.

Noisy Democrat - you should post that video on alot of sites.
It would be great if Kerry and Edwards could see it.

Thanks for posting, and welcome to DU!

[jillan]

25. want to add...

I apprecicated how you were showing the Dem convention, with all of the cheering for Kerry, and then went right into that phony terrorist threat. This was something I never will forget. I remember screaming at the news when they did that, I knew why they were doing it. The threat to them was how well people responded to Kerry, and how he proved he wasn't the loser they were trying to make him out to be.

Thank you for capturing that.

[TayTay]

26. I missed the terrorist threat last year

I remember the end of the convention and when they opened all the roads again and stuff. I remember Sat and how everyone was doing wrap-ups of the Convention. Then I heard there was a terrorist threat to NY with the pictures of buildings on someone's computer.

I tuned into WBZ Channel 4 to see the story because I was sending my daughter to NYC to go to school in a few weeks and was a wee bit concerned. Not one word was said on local TV. My husband thought I dreamed the whole thing up.

See, that was the weekend the Red Sox traded Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs. There was no other news in Boston that night. At all. We missed the whole friggin terra alert. Sigh!

[jillan]

27. Hey TayTay - you are talking to a Cubs fan here :)

Actually I haven't lived in Chicago for 35 years, but what can I say, it's in my blood! Too many happy times sitting in the bleachers. Still waiting for that championship! You had yours, now it's my turn!

About the terrorist threat, I knew it was bs...and it was later proven.
There they go again, playing with the security of our country. Assholes! All I know is that it cost Kerry the after-convention-bounce in the poll #s.

[TayTay]

28. I don't think it did

There was an after convention bounce. It was not reported. There was an after debate bounce as well.

And I like the Cubbies. They are my second favorite team in baseball. The first thought I had after the Red Sox won last year was that the Cubs fans have got to try this, it was so friggin awesome. I think you will, and in my lifetime.

[TayTay]

29. I liked it too! Very well done.

I especially liked the ending card. Hope is still on the way.

I am continually struck by how Senator Kerry has continued to not just fight, not just offer good legislation but how he has continued to call up his own disgust and outrage at what is being done to American by that cheap thug in the White House. He's not going anywhere and if the Rethugs think they have buried this guy, they need to look again. Cuz he hasn't gone anywhere. And lately, he seems more energized than ever.

[LittleClarkie]

30. Hey Noisy Democrat!!

It's Kerrycrat from DailyKos. Good to see you here.

[FreedomAngel82]

31. This is very good!

I really love it. I love seeing them both together and with rallies and everything. Very good job. I remember being proud to cast my first ever vote for Kerry and Edwards. I would do it again in a heart-beat as well. And the purple heart thing still really really pisses me off so bad. I also noticed the little girl at a campaign rally hugging his waist.