FAQs on Buffy vs Edward

Here are a handful answers to frequently asked questions about my “Buffy vs Edward” remix video. I’ll add more as I see them. Also see my original post for this remix with downloads, links, subtitles and reviews. Please feel free to comment if your question is not addressed below.

Q: What made you decide to make Buffy vs Edward?

A: I wrote a detailed blog post about that called What Would Buffy Do? You can read all about it (and comment on it) over on the Women In Media & News blog.

Q: Why didn’t you color match the footage from Twilight and Buffy?

A: It was actually a style choice to leave the color (mostly) the same as the original source footage (except for making the Twilight forest shots a little darker). I wanted the viewer to always be reminded that this is a visual critique of two very different narratives. The different colors help pull the you back out of the story for a moment so you can think about the messages in the juxtaposition as you watch (Naomi articulated this to me beautifully). I didn’t want to hide the fact that it was a remix; remix is often about exposing the illusion of film and television, not reproducing it. Plus I thought it was also helpful for those who haven’t seen the movie or the show to know that the blue tinted shots are from Twilight and the orange tinted ones are from Buffy.

Q: How many views does this remix have so far?

A: That’s difficult to say, as of July 2nd 2009 it has been viewed well over 1 million times (via youtube & blip.tv). But it’s hard to track exactly since it has been re-uploaded to various sharing sites by others (including at least 15 times to youtube). Some re-uploads give me proper attribution and follow the non-commercial requirements of the Creative Commons BY-NC-3.0 License, and some do not.

UPDATE: As of December 2nd it has been viewed well over 2 million times including over 1 million times on YouTube alone (that’s not counting the 30+ re-uploads by other people).

Q: Isn’t the Buffy/Angel relationship basically the same as Edward/Bella?

A: While the two pairings may share some similar narrative elements, I think the relationship dynamics are actually very different in terms of narrative lessons and messages (I would argue they are almost complete opposites in fact). As an example you can compare the original vampire stalking clips from both Buffy and Twilight for yourself on the Critical Commons website – and read my commentary on the topic there.

Q: Are you a professional video editor with fancy equipment?

A: Nope, I have not had much in the way of formal training and I have never really done editing for money. I made Buffy vs Edward on my little MacBook laptop. Which means if you have a computer with video capabilities you can make a political remix, mash-up or fan-vid too! (Though if anyone wants to donate a newer Mac computer to me for my next remix project, I won’t say no.)

Q: You can’t do that, its illegal! Right?

A: Actually I believe that “Buffy vs Edward” is a great example of employing my fair use rights, and that any appropriated copyrighted material constitutes a fair-use. Fair use is the right (under U.S. law) to quote copyrighted material without permission or payment, in some circumstances. If you are using the work for a different purpose than the original and using just as much as you need for your transformed purpose, then you have the right to use it without permission or payment. In this case, the original works are clearly transformed to make my commentary and criticism. No one, for instance, will mistake my video for the movie Twilight. You can learn more about your creative fair-use rights at the Center for Social Media, they have a great Code of Best Practices in Fair-Use for Online Video which will tell you everything you need to know.

Q: Are you making any money off the mash-up?

A: Nope, I am making no money whatsoever off the video. There are no paid ads on my site, or on the video anywhere that I originally uploaded it. If you see an ad on or before “Buffy vs Edward” it is a re-post by someone other than me who is trying to make a quick buck off my work. I created this remix because I feel strongly about the issues raised (and obviously becuase I am a huge fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer). As with most creative fan works I made it out of love. I believe there should be somethings in our culture that are not monetized. Also, I really hate ads on online videos – a lot!

Q: Help! I love this remix but don’t really like feminism, what’s going on?

A: This question/statement has appeared online in various forms in response to my remix. Feminism has unfortunately been denigrated, maligned and badmouthed in the mainstream media over the past several decades (really since the term was first widely used) which has created a deep public misunderstanding of the what the term means. As a first step into a real understanding of feminism and why it’s critically important to humanity, I would suggest checking out a few books by author and cultural critic bell hooks, they are easy to read, accessible and enlightening. My favorites are “Feminism is for Everybody” and also for the guys out there her book “The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love“. Plus check out this funny and poignant speech by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy.

Q: Am I the last person on earth to see this?

A: Nope. And this is a funny question, which I have seen in tweets and comments starting on day 2 right after it was posted to Perez Hilton’s blog. I’m pretty sure there are far more than 2 million people in the world. If you want to make absolutely sure you are not the last one to see it, send it to your friends that might not have found it yet.

Q: What song snippets are used?

A: Most of are music snippets you may recognize from various famous trailers, including the original Twilight trailer. Also pay close attention to the songs with lyrics as they are commenting on the visuals and the narrative. Here is a complete list of all the music fragments I used:

0:05 ‘Panic Attack’ – X-Ray Dog
0:39 ‘Clandestine Spirit’ – X-Ray Dog
1:45 ‘Play it by Ear’ – Summercamp (BTVS episode #92: “Crush”)
3:10 ‘Mercy of Darkness’ – Two Steps from Hell (Twilight Trailer)
3:39 ‘Power of One’ – X-Ray Dog (Twilight Trailer)
5:00 ‘Gothic Power’ – X-Ray Dog (LOTR Trailer and many more)
5:35 ‘Eyes on Fire’ – Blue Foundation (Twilight Soundtrack)

Q: What episode(s) of Buffy did you use?

A: I appropriated visual and audio clips from 36 different episodes taken from all seven seasons of the show. Some shots were chosen becuase they have a significance to the original works and/or because they serve to comment on the Twilight series. (Can you find the hidden visual meta comments?) Here is a detailed list of shots taken from Buffy for those that want to geek out:

0:02 – s6e07 – “Once More, with Feeling” (#107)
0:05 – s5e02 – “Real Me” (#80)
0:09 – s2e12 – “Bad Eggs” (#24)
0:13 – s3e18 – “Earshot” (#52)
0:14 – s7e16 – “Storyteller” (#137)
0:27 – s2e01 – “When She Was Bad” (#13)
0:29 – s2e12 – “Bad Eggs” (#24)
0:34 – s3e18 – “Earshot” (#52)
0:49 – s2e12 – “Bad Eggs” (#24)
0:51 – s3e18 – “Earshot” (#52)
0:54 – s1e04 – “Teacher’s Pet” (#4)
0:55 – s4e02 – “Living Conditions” (#58)
1:12 – s5e14 – “Crush” (#92)
1:14 – s4e02 – “Living Conditions” (#58)
1:20 – s3e03 – “Faith, Hope & Trick” (#37)
1:30 – s4e11 – “Doomed” (#64)
1:43 – s3e03 – “Faith, Hope & Trick” (#37)
1:45 – s5e06 – “Family” (#84)
1:49 – s5e14 – “Crush” (#92)
2:12 – s5e07 – “Fool for Love” (#85)
2:17 – s6e13 – “Dead Things” (#113)
2:20 – s6e19 – “Seeing Red” (#119)
2:23 – s5e05 – [audio only] “No Place Like Home” (#83)
2:25 – s6e09 – “Smashed” (#109)
2:38 – s5e14 – “Crush” (#92)
2:50 – s7s04 – “Help” (#126)
2:52 – s6e05 – “Life Serial” (#105)
2:58 – s6e11 – “Gone: (#111)
3:10 – s5e22 – “Grave” (#122)
3:11 – s1e01 – “Welcome to the Hellmouth” (#1)
3:36 – s2e01 – “When She Was Bad” (#13)
3:40 – s3e03 – “Faith, Hope & Trick” (#37)
3:46 – s5e10 – “Into the Woods” (#88)
4:05 – s4e13 – [audio only] “The I in Team” (#69)
4:05 – s1e02 – “Angel” (#7)
4:11 – s2e03 – “School Hard” (#15)
4:12 – s1e02 – “The Harvest” (#2)
4:17 – s5e01 – “Buffy vs. Dracula” (#79)
4:27 – s5e04 – “Out of My Mind” (#82)
4:33 – s6e13 – “Dead Things” (#113)
4:37 – s7e22 – “Chosen” (#144)
4:40 – s6e08 – “Tabula Rasa” (#108)
4:44 – s7e22 – “Chosen” (#144)
4:47 – s5e01 – “Buffy vs. Dracula” (#79)
4:58 – s1e12 – “Prophecy Girl” (#12)
4:47 – s5e01 – “Buffy vs. Dracula” (#79)
5:09 – s7e07 – “Conversations with Dead People” (#129)
5:14 – s6e09 – “Smashed” (#109)
5:19 – s7e07 – “Conversations with Dead People” (#129)
5:23 – s3e22 – “Graduation Day: Part Two” (#59)
5:24 – s4e05 – “Beer Bad” (#61)
5:26 – s7e11 – “Showtime” (#133)
5:27 – s5e04 – “Out of My Mind” (#82)
5:28 – s5e01 – “Buffy vs. Dracula” (#79)
5:40 – s7e07 – “Conversations with Dead People” (#129)
5:55 – s6303 – “After Life” (#103)