Deadwood-vid: Alma - Take me home + 10 icons

[astarte]

Artist/Song Title: Thea Gilmore – Take me home
Subject: Deadwood, Alma PoV
Summary: ‘I heard there's a warrant out for my arrest - ’ Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.
Format: stream and download at stage6 33 MB, permanent download link 720x400 – 33 MB AVI or watch on imeem



Reasons to vid ‘Take me home’? I love Deadwood fiercely for complex characters and unique relationships, so I didn’t need to search for any specific message for a storyline I wanted to fathom. I just needed a song which sounded right and made me think of a character. ‘Take me home’ had me from the first few notes and instantly Alma came to mind.

Lyrical interpretation: The lyrics are graceful and yet restrained, perfect for Alma on every level. Circumstances and her father pushed her into the position of a spouse and then the dumbness of her husband made her a widow. A beautiful jackdaw - Alma is held down in a time in which she couldn’t be independent and strong on her own without inspiring contempt even in a godless place like Deadwood. She struggled with addiction, overcame her habit with Trixie’s help – still not being able to hold the same power as a man in those pioneer times kept her on her guard. Her need for two marriages of convenience speaks volumes about the limitations of her life as wealthy woman. Again making the best out of circumstances she found in Ellsworth the one of the very few kind and sensible men in Deadwood – okay, maybe the only one. Of course happiness never lasts long – first her miscarriage and then relapse into addiction strained her wedding. She overcame her troubles with Ellsworth’s support and even had the strength to dissent Hearst at first. Alma never wished any harm on her second husband - Deadwood still claimed his life.

The Journey? Again short and exciting. I love vidding with xandra_ptv pushing me to get shit done. I didn’t even need to restrain myself from using transitions; they just didn’t feel quite right this time around.

Technical notes worth mentioning? I am the first one to admit that Deadwood is beautifully coloured as whole series. But I wanted the final to look very bleach and hard - on the edge of uncomfortable without losing all colour. Not beautiful was the goal, but harsh and unforgiving. So I will make the lack of colour up in the next vid – Hopefully.

Final note: Not a happy vid, so totally up my alley.

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Want? Take, but no hotlinking!

Comments

[bofoddity.livejournal.com]

Not sure how I found my way here, but I'm so glad that I did. I love Deadwood and I love Alma, and this vid was an amazing tribute to them both. Both the song and Alma's story are very moody, and the bleak colors add to the glumness, but I thought this was nevertheless beautiful to watch. This made me wish that Deadwood was still on. Wonderful work.

[astartexx.livejournal.com]

Who doesn’t wish it was still on? I knew heading in that there would be only three seasons and felt nevertheless crushed by the series finale and wanted more. I can’t imagine how it must have felt, hoping for a fourth season and then getting the cancellation news. Damn.

Anyway, thank you so much for the huge compliment. I’m so happy you felt that way about the vid and thought I captured the heart of Alma’s story well. She is just fascinating to watch in the dirty background of Deadwood and how she carries herself through the lawless town and avoids being trapped from anyone except her own demons.