Photo credit: Vicky Fotopoulou 3D Art Direction
It’s the nature of the beast that fan-made art is not going to get as much attention as original content. But I’ve long been a fan of fanart, fanfiction, fan music, fan crafts–and fanvids. Fanvids are clip compilations put together by fans of their favorite TV shows and movies. A well-paired song and montage of clips can create a beautiful retelling of a story or perhaps examine a little-discussed subplot.
These videos show experienced editing and a real feel for storytelling–which is why they should get some more attention. It’s often hard to know how much credit to give creations of participatory culture, because it necessarily stands on the back of the canon. But many creators put as much effort as they would in original work, and they do it completely out of love of the fandom. Any creation that requires this sort of time, dedication and skill deserves as much admiration as any other art form.
Below, in no particular order, are some of the best fanvids from some my favorite fandoms and ships that I’ve ever seen.
Spoiler warning of course.
Game of Thrones || Open Your Eyes
MatiZ815
Doing an amazing job of matching scenes to lyrics, MatiZ815 is an artist to watch. In this video, they offer a rare optimistic examination of some of the brighter–and darker–moments from the Game of Thrones TV show.
Harry Potter || See You Again
TheRedSoxFan18
Bring the tissues because TheRedSoxFan18 walks you through every heartbreaking death in the Harry Potter series, all backed by Charlie Puth’s “See You Again”.
Sons of Anarchy || Light Carries On
By xHeather360x
Opening on scenes that highlight the deep internal and external conflicts that put pressure on each of the Sons of Anarchy characters, this video examines the dark ends of the show. Saturn’s “Light Carries On” is the perfect slow moving tempo to examine the tragedies of this violent, biker drama.
Jamie and Brienne – Another Love
Ester Pachera
Paying careful attention to the lyrics and rising tempo, Ester Pachera takes an oft-used fanvid song in Tom Odell’s “Another Love” and makes it their own in this tribute to Game of Thrones’ Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth.
Buffy/Angel/Spike-Sometime Around Midnight
Enclownter
If you don’t have an opinion on the Angel-Buffy-Spike triangle, did you even watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Examine their best (and worst) moments with Enclownter.
Multifandom || Be Still (Collab w/alteredZionFilms) [HBD Evan]
xHeather360x
Highlighting the low points of the characters’ journey in Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Supernatural, Dexter, Lost, The Walking Dead and more, xHeather360x delivers a gut-punch of a video set to The Fray’s “Be Still”.
LOST | The Funeral [Tribute]
SilentxRaindrop
Wait for the beat to drop. There couldn’t be a more appropriate song for a show where everyone ends up dead than Band of Horses’ “The Funeral”.
Some Nights [Buffy the Vampire Slayer]
ChildeAtHeart17
Even though Buffy is the eternal hero, the seven seasons of the TV show are full of hard knocks and disappointments. Some nights, it seems, Buffy and the Scoobies just can’t win as featured in ChildeAtHeart17’s sharply-edited video set to “Some Nights” by fun.
Ride Sons of Anarchy
adelicateflower08
It’s easy to think of Sons of Anarchy as simply a gangbanger, shoot ‘em up, violent chaos of a show. But in their video set to Lana Del Ray’s “Ride,” adelicateflower08 shows us the softer side of the Sons of Anarchy characters.
(GoT) Daenerys Targaryen || The Last Dragon
Zurik 23M
Zurik 23M’s “The Last Dragon” is a beautiful character compilation of Daenerys Targaryen’s journey that has better character development in 12 minutes than all of season eight.
[BtVS] Buffy & Spike • Possum Kingdom
SeriousArtistPrdctns
A Spuffy video examining the seriously twisted relationship between the Slayer and our favorite peroxided vampire. With clips building over the series, SeriousArtistPrdctns takes advantage of the wicked bass line in “Possum Kingdom” by the Toadies.
Game of Thrones || The Hanging Tree
MatiZ815
MatiZ815 brings it home once again. Borrowing The Hunger Games’ “Hanging Tree” this Game of Thrones video rises with the tempo to the tense highlights of the early seasons’ most critical moments.
Breaking Bad || Breath of Life
xHeather360x
The downward slide of everyman Walter White to villain Heisenberg is captured in xHeather360x’s dramatic vid perfectly paired with Florence and the Machine’s “Breath of Life”.
damon & elena | never let me go
xXWhisperOfDreamsXx
Set to a significant in-episode song—“Never Let Me Go” by Florence and the Machine—for Damon and Elena, this video examining the moments over season 2 and 3 of The Vampire Diaries that brought Damon and Elena closer. It is as passionate as it is visually beautiful.
first you get hurt, then you feel sorry.
MidnightSky
Touching on many shows from the late 2010’s, MidnightSky examines the way a multitude of characters have dealt with the challenges presented to them set to Cold War Kid’s “First.”
Harry Potter || To Build a Home
Grable424
For everyone who found a home at Hogwarts along with Harry, Grable24 has put together the most nostalgic collection of the Harry Potter film series set to The Cinematic Orchestra’s “To Build a Home”.
Multifandom || Believe (collab w/ RobbankunSWE)
xHeather360x
If you’ve watched TV in the last fifteen years, you’re likely to find some of your favorites in xHeather360x’s hopeful, multifandom compilation backed by Mumford & Son’s “Believe.”
