Technologies of Writing

Volume 7, Issue 1-2
Spring 2010

Hi! I'm Sarah Gross, here to tell you about a phenomena known as vidding. Vidding has been around for decades, but it's only in recent years when technology has made the creation and distribution of vids so  much easier that vidding has begun to come out into the spotlight. However, this also has made the, ah, rather shady technicalities of the legality of vidding come to attention as well. Thanks to copyright and intellectual property laws, the ability of fans to participate in their media loves is limited, if not nonexistent, and in today's changing atmosphere where anyone can post content, there are a few kinks that need to be worked out.

To Vid or Not to Vid

But first, what is a vid, anyway?

by Sarah Gross

To put it simply, vidding is when you take a piece of music, add it to some clips from a television show or a movie, and come out with a “fanvid” (or a “songvid” or just plain a “vid”). The main difference between a vid and a traditional music video is that in a vid the music is there to support the main focus on the visual, whereas in a music video, the visual is there to support the emphasis on the music. Vids can be critical, a sort of visual essay that gives an argument, usually about the source television show or movie, though sometimes vids use said sources as a vehicle for a more expansive social commentary.

Vidding is an example of today's generation, where the public not only consumes pop culture media, but actively participates in it.

Vidding is mashup, vidding is remix, vidding is an art form unto itself – whatever the latest new media category vidding may find itself falling under, at the end of the day vids are made by fans for fans.