fannish complaining

... is it just me, or are fanvids suffering from a case of megabyte-bloat lately? I get that you want your vid to be high-quality, but past a certain point, I'm not going to bother downloading it. I clicked on one link the other day, only to discover that the vid was 420 Mb. For three and a half minutes of video? I don't think so!

(I also do not support this growing trend to offer vid links without telling me what format I'm downloading or how big it is. Mystery vid surprise! Do not want!)

When I make vids, I've had a lot of trouble finding a compressor that'll give me a reasonably sized video that isn't choppy or poor quality. So I do understand that it can be a struggle with the technology, especially for a newbie vidder. But ... do people not even check? Or am I just behind the times, still thinking in terms of "bandwidth" and "hard drive space"?

ETA: So that this post isn't just whine, I have discovered yes, Virginia, there will be an SGA Big Bang this year!

And purimgifts is open for signups. Should I? Should I not? *dithers*

ETA 2: sg1_beyond_otp is taking prompts for their Gateverse OT3+ ficathon. You don't have to participate to leave prompts!

fannish complaining

... is it just me, or are fanvids suffering from a case of megabyte-bloat lately? I get that you want your vid to be high-quality, but past a certain point, I'm not going to bother downloading it. I clicked on one link the other day, only to discover that the vid was 420 Mb. For three and a half minutes of video? I don't think so!

(I also do not support this growing trend to offer vid links without telling me what format I'm downloading or how big it is. Mystery vid surprise! Do not want!)

When I make vids, I've had a lot of trouble finding a compressor that'll give me a reasonably sized video that isn't choppy or poor quality. So I do understand that it can be a struggle with the technology, especially for a newbie vidder. But ... do people not even check? Or am I just behind the times, still thinking in terms of "bandwidth" and "hard drive space"?

ETA: So that this post isn't just whine, I have discovered yes, Virginia, there will be an SGA Big Bang this year!

And purimgifts is open for signups. Should I? Should I not? *dithers*

ETA 2: sg1_beyond_otp is taking prompts for their Gateverse OT3+ ficathon. You don't have to participate to leave prompts!

(no subject)

dogeared made a list of links to writers/artists offering SGA fanworks in the help_haiti auctions (and invites comments if anyone knows of someone else who's not on the list). My auction is ongoing here.

Something I wanted to clarify, because I see a few people doing the same things in several auctions at the website. Because of the way LJ comment notifications work, in order to "bid", you need to comment directly to the offering comment (made by the person who is offering their fic or art or cookies or whatever) to ensure that they see your bid -- not to another bidder. And it's a good idea to check out the other comments and see what the high bid has gotten up to, before you make your comment -- there is no point in bidding $10 if the high bid is already up to $20! You also will need to check back occasionally and see if someone has outbid you.

(Clearly this is not meant to be a complaint. :) I know it's confusing and I think everyone who has made an offer is awesomesauce, no matter how it's made! But just to make sure no one gets accidentally ignored ...)

Also, just to be clear, your "bid" is a pledge to donate [x] amount to the relief organization of your choice (unless the offering person specifies a preferred charity, of course, though I haven't noticed anyone doing that). And obviously, you can also donate in the meantime, as the auctions don't close until Jan. 20. The need for aid will be ongoing -- now, a week from now, a month from now, there will still be a pressing need.

(no subject)

dogeared made a list of links to writers/artists offering SGA fanworks in the help_haiti auctions (and invites comments if anyone knows of someone else who's not on the list). My auction is ongoing here.

Something I wanted to clarify, because I see a few people doing the same things in several auctions at the website. Because of the way LJ comment notifications work, in order to "bid", you need to comment directly to the offering comment (made by the person who is offering their fic or art or cookies or whatever) to ensure that they see your bid -- not to another bidder. And it's a good idea to check out the other comments and see what the high bid has gotten up to, before you make your comment -- there is no point in bidding $10 if the high bid is already up to $20! You also will need to check back occasionally and see if someone has outbid you.

(Clearly this is not meant to be a complaint. :) I know it's confusing and I think everyone who has made an offer is awesomesauce, no matter how it's made! But just to make sure no one gets accidentally ignored ...)

Also, just to be clear, your "bid" is a pledge to donate [x] amount to the relief organization of your choice (unless the offering person specifies a preferred charity, of course, though I haven't noticed anyone doing that). And obviously, you can also donate in the meantime, as the auctions don't close until Jan. 20. The need for aid will be ongoing -- now, a week from now, a month from now, there will still be a pressing need.