Fanvideos can range from character tributes to comic parodies and shipping/slash feasts. They come in many different styles, and there’s at least one for each person’s tastes and ships, many times even breaching the barriers of a single fandom (crossover). Most of us host and watch fanvideos on YouTube, and if you type in “fanvideo” on their search bar, you’ll get around 173000 results, so… lots and lots to choose from.

Did you know that vidding (meaning the practice of creating fanvideos) started in the 1970s? That’s right, it all started at a Star Trek convention, with Kandy Fong (who used a slide projector and a cassette player).

Today, fan made videos are a big part of almost any fandom, be it Lord of The Rings, Dragon Ball Z, Harry Potter, or the one featured in this article: the Rupert Grint fandom – which you are most probably a part of, if you’re reading this text! Also, nowadays most vidders aren’t digging up their old cassette players but using instead video editing software such as Windows Movie Maker (a simple, basic program, good for newbies), Sony Vegas Pro, One True Media (free online editor), Corel Video Studio, and many others, which allow us to do more sophisticated fanvideos.

But back to what really matters here – Rupert Grint. There are hundreds of videos dedicated to him and edited by his loyal fans, but some of them certainly stand out from the rest for various reasons. I’ll put one particular Rupert fanvideo in the spotlight and explain why it is, in my opinion, a must watch for any fan. So, with no further ado, the spotlight is on…

“Rupert Grint // complete”
Edited by huntergraphics (a.k.a. Laura)
Upload date: October 31st, 2008
Users Rate: 5 stars
Views: 3581
Comments: 66

Why is it in the spotlight?

Audio: The vidder has combined a great song, which sets the soft, beautiful tone of the video, with audio excerpts in which we can hear various quotes from the interviews with Rupert, his co-stars etc. The song is “Ashes & Wine” by A Fine Frenzy, which not only fits Rupert and the overall style of the clip, but it’s very cleverly put together with the clips’ audio: because the song takes a back seat, you don’t have that annoying experience of trying to hear whatever people are saying while the song is playing very loudly at the same time.

Clips/Pictures: The video is a nice mixture of some of the fans’ favorite clips (such as the press conference for Harry Potter and the Philosopher/Sorcerer Stone, behind the scenes clips, interviews, movie clips etc), pictures (promotional stills, photoshoots, photocalls …) and quotes (some of them coming from Rupert himself and others from co-stars, movie critics and movie directors). All of these elements are, in my opinion, very well selected, because they show Rupert’s personality/public persona, his talent and his relationship with co-workers and fans.

Editing: The editing fits the song perfectly, being very soft and simple. Too many crazy effects and transitions between the clips would make it too busy, complicated and fast paced for the song and would just not be appropriate for the video’s style. However, what stands out in the editing is the color scheme used: soft, warm but very distinct and original – just like Rupert himself.

Feedback from the fans: Well, I’ve shared my thoughts about the video, but of course I couldn’t choose it to be on spotlight based only on my personal opinion. So let’s see what other Rupert fans had to say about it (from the Youtube comments page):

“Hey that was a really good video! You pieced together all the clips and photos and quotes so well. I love Rupert Grint!! Who doesn’t right?”

~ percivalwemysmadison

“for me this is the best rupert vid”

~ p0kerFace88

“most beautiful Rupert tribute. great work! ♥ ”

~ MissSatansbratenqirl

And that’s all for this fanvideo spotlight. Hopefully this was a chance for all of you to discover or remember a great video about our favorite young actor. Feel free to give us your own opinions and thoughts about fanvideos or vidding in general and this clip in particular.

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Dove: Stuck In The 90s (<– now, THIS one contains NC-17 stuff; kids, stay away!)