Sound of Music shrine

Planning to create or to revamp a shrine and need some help or a second eye with your content? Post away!
Forum rules
The usual guidelines in Constructive Criticism apply, and you have the option to flag your topic as "Sweet".
Robin
Events Staffer
Posts: 3072
Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2014 3:15 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

Sound of Music shrine

Post by Robin »

So I've been mostly procrastinating on my Sound of Music shrine for the past three months. Can't seem to get moving on it, whatsoever. (I even debated changing my topic for the Old School Challenge site but couldn't bring myself to do it--I've put off this shrine long enough and need an external kick in the butt to get going on it.)

My big problem? I love this film so much that I'm suffering from "my-site-won't-do-it-justice-itis." No matter what I write, it doesn't seem to be good enough, or explanatory enough, or SOMETHING enough.

The other problem: I have gotten to the point where I HATE writing dry factual articles. I feel like that information can be so easily found elsewhere that it's a waste of my time to even copy-n-paste it. But I also worry that if my site doesn't have ~the facts~, then it won't be seen as a "real shrine," not informative enough or complete enough. Round and round we go on the Obsessive-Compulsive-go-round... LOL

Because of this, I can't really get the site to coagulate into specific articles. I've written one good piece about the film's basis in real events (or lack of basis, lol), and I've written a play-by-play of the film in terms of my fan reactions (which has a lot of flailing and funny in it). Other than that, I just...don't really know what to cover. I have a list of articles, but no desire to write any of them.

So, what would you most like to read about when it comes to The Sound of Music?
~ a dream is a wish your heart makes ~
withinmyworld.org
nyxmidnight
Communications Staffer
Posts: 1078
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 7:55 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Stuck, stuck, stuck, stucker than stuck

Post by nyxmidnight »

A synopsis, since I've never seen this movie.

Also, an imperfect shrine is better than no shrine at all!
Join in the Tale, in the Blight, of Conquest and Lies
Come the Sun, to Tarnish in the Sky
Vow that we shall Tear the Light - Dark seizes the Throne
Lost in thoughts, all alone
Lethe
Posts: 1342
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 1:20 pm
Contact:

Re: Stuck, stuck, stuck, stucker than stuck

Post by Lethe »

CuriousLittleBird wrote:My big problem? I love this film so much that I'm suffering from "my-site-won't-do-it-justice-itis." No matter what I write, it doesn't seem to be good enough, or explanatory enough, or SOMETHING enough.
I'm sure we all know what that feels like!

I haven't been around long enough to know how you go about shrining, CuriousLittleBird, but I think that shrining is about giving shape to something that is dear to you and thus something very personal - so I think the question should rather be what you would like to read (or well, talk, but I also mean rereading it in the future and enjoying it) about when it comes to the movie, not what others expect to see or what you think are "must haves" from the reader's perspective.

If you hate writing dry factual articles and that hampers your motivation to work on something you'd love to get done, be bold and leave it out! It's your own project. As you said, that information is so easy to look up - it's just a google search away. People (or at least I) check out things not just when they see summaries. Some go by statistics/popularity, others just watch whatever their friends tell them to watch; I occasionally check out anime because I like the colour or animation of a character's hair! Mostly though, I think curiosity is sparked when you see how someone is passionate to something, or when they have a particularly interesting essay with lots of insight to offer, by, for example, pointing out one special aspect of a movie; it needn't even be a central aspect - perhaps you have something new to offer that others wouldn't have thought of! I feel like you can get that across based on what you've said, so write what you'd love to write about, rather than forcing yourself to write something that isn't coloured by that personal love.

There's no such thing as a "real shrine", as you put it, nor something as "informative enough" or "complete enough"; you wrote that in a different topic and it touched me. Shrines have changed over time due to the changes in accessibility of information on the internet - and sometimes we forget that and focus too much on what we consider "basics" or "must haves". To me, it wouldn't be so wrong (and is in fact how I'd approach making shrines... though I won't deny that it's difficult to get over "oh I really need to include summaries or hard facts") to look at shrines as a glorified essay or even essay collection on a topic, decorated with a pretty layout to make it nice to look at. In that sense, if you think there's no more that you'd like to write about, leave it as is maybe? It'd also help if you could put up links to, say, official sites, Wikipedia, etc. or other related things you think are worth recommending, so that people have sources to go to if they're interested in delving deeper.

On the topic of disliking presentation of dry facts or descriptive texts: I try weaving in those things into texts that I actually want to write, rather than have summaries or facts be the main focus or have a section of their own on the site. The thing you have to keep in mind if you have too many analysis or opinion sections while neglecting pure information sections is to structure those texts well (also in the navigation of the site), so that the chronology of events doesn't confuse the reader. Having a red thread that is present in each text or the majority of them helps too.

Hope I'm not being too presumptuous!
Both despair and ecstasy are part of the elements that compose a person.
Robin
Events Staffer
Posts: 3072
Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2014 3:15 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

Re: Stuck, stuck, stuck, stucker than stuck

Post by Robin »

@Nyx: I hear ya--I believe this synopsis on IMDB is good enough to link to, and I'll try to find some way to incorporate it into my site.

I'm trying to convince myself that imperfect is okay when it comes to this site, but since this is one of my "biggie" shrines I've been dreaming about doing for a long time, I find myself hamstrung with anxiety now that I am about to tackle it. Brains are weird xD

@Lethe: Thank you for all your suggestions! I admit I'm a bit Alice in Wonderland when it comes to compiling this site ("I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it"). :P It's almost like I know what to write about until I start looking at the files in my site folder, and then it all just blanks out. (Like a phone battery that lies and says it's at 50% battery and then shuts down 2 seconds into a phone call, LOL)

Here's what I've got so far for a site outline:

- Intro
The Story Behind the Musical
The Musical
The Film
- Info
Synopsis
Songs
Quotes
- Thoughts
Movie Message
Why Differences Between Real Life and Movie Story?
Tropes
Why It's a Favorite
- 50th Anniversary
- Further Info

The articles I'm almost completely stymied by:
- The Musical (never seen it, so requires a lot of research to write and compare to the film version)
- Synopsis (movie is 3 hours long and I am ADHD--complete dedication of attention to getting a full synopsis feels impossible)
- The Film (more of a historical look at the process behind making the film--thought it would be cool at first, and now I'm more "ugh do I have to", LOL)
- Why Differences Between Real Life and Movie Story (because I feel like the answer is summed up with two words: "Because Hollywood". XD)

The rest of these planned articles have resisted my writing them with various degrees of strength. I'm most excited about "why it's a favorite," even though one could argue that should be the whole purpose of the shrine in general. I am also looking forward to completing the "Songs" article, fleshed out with embedded YouTube links for as many of the songs as possible. (The only problem with embedding that many videos on one page is that it tends to slow the browser down...NOT looking forward to getting around that problem V_V)

But on the plus side, I've already written "The Story Behind the Film," and that turned out hella cool, surprisingly. I've also been compiling links for the "Further Info" section (basically a bibliography--go go English major superpower). So maybe I have more done for the site than I thought?
~ a dream is a wish your heart makes ~
withinmyworld.org
Mikari
Posts: 3159
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2012 6:30 pm
Location: Coruscant
Contact:

Re: Stuck, stuck, stuck, stucker than stuck

Post by Mikari »

I totally identify about the dry facts thing and I agree that if you're not enjoying it you shouldn't force yourself. Instead, you can focus on the parts of the site that you do enjoy and give it your own personal twist. IMO that's the most interesting part about shrines anyway. This is something that also happens to me and, I imagine, to many other people. Make the site however it amuses you and for the same reasons it will very likely entertain other people too.
Robin
Events Staffer
Posts: 3072
Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2014 3:15 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

Re: Stuck, stuck, stuck, stucker than stuck

Post by Robin »

@Mikari: Currently just about done with the "Why It's a Favorite" article :) that makes 2 articles complete, out of a total...whole bunch. xD but at least that's one more than I had!
~ a dream is a wish your heart makes ~
withinmyworld.org
Destinie
Posts: 3357
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Columbia, MD
Contact:

Re: Stuck, stuck, stuck, stucker than stuck

Post by Destinie »

I think Lethe has a lot of really good points!

If there are other versions of the film that you haven't seen (like the Musical) I don't think you should feel obligated to write about it. You could simply mention it somewhere in your site and then when you DO eventually see if, you can create a *new* page for it. An example I can think of is Michelle's site to Raine from ToS: http://refill.last-fencer.net/sequel.php This page always cracks me up.

And maybe think about other things you could write besides the dry stuff and, as others have said, just leave it out. You have the "Why I like it" page but maybe you could think of other things that interest you that you would like to write about. Did the film have any sort of positive impact on you? Do you have positive associations with the film? With the actors? What was it like when you first experience it? Why do you keep watching it? What songs are your favorite? That influence you?

I am going to reiterate that a shrine doesn't need to be a wikipedia page. It's more interesting when you put yourself and your experiences into it.
Robin
Events Staffer
Posts: 3072
Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2014 3:15 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

Re: Stuck, stuck, stuck, stucker than stuck

Post by Robin »

@Destinie: That page on Michelle's site is awesome! I love honest pages like that, but somehow I never seem to work them into my sites these days. (That's about to change, though! LOLOL)

Your point about the shrine not being a Wikipedia page reallllllly clicked with me--I guess I'm still kinda entrenched in the old ways of making a shrine (having ALL the info), but not having the mental energy to "do it up" like I used to. (I keep getting hit with "Ain't-Nobody-Got-Time-For-Dat-itis" instead. xD)

So, with that in mind, here's a revised shrine outline (and a rhyme every time xD):
(note, all page names are still in crazy amounts of flux right now)

- Synopsis (may simply link to the great synopsis from IMDB, not sure yet)
- Songs (big huge video/audio list if I can find it all xD)
- Favorite Scenes (much flailing and squeeing ahead)
- Favorite Quotes (^ see above)
- Why It's a Favorite
- What the Film Means to Me (might combine with "why it's a favorite", not sure yet)
- 50th Anniversary
- Further Info
~ a dream is a wish your heart makes ~
withinmyworld.org
Robin
Events Staffer
Posts: 3072
Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2014 3:15 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

Re: Stuck, stuck, stuck, stucker than stuck

Post by Robin »

I'm getting closer to finishing! YAY!

Just one question: one of my pages is going to have a ton of embedded videos from Youtube on it. How do I keep the page from going all squirrelly and refusing to scroll quickly and easily? (I've had this happen on a number of my sites--the more videos you embed on a single page, it seems, the harder the browser has to work.) If there's a way I can maybe hide some of the videos until a link is clicked without having to put them all on separate pages, that would be cool.
~ a dream is a wish your heart makes ~
withinmyworld.org
nyxmidnight
Communications Staffer
Posts: 1078
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 7:55 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Stuck, stuck, stuck, stucker than stuck

Post by nyxmidnight »

Would just disabling autoplay work?
Join in the Tale, in the Blight, of Conquest and Lies
Come the Sun, to Tarnish in the Sky
Vow that we shall Tear the Light - Dark seizes the Throne
Lost in thoughts, all alone
Post Reply