大象传媒

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, popularly known as 鈥榃olfstar鈥�, has been one of the most popular slash ships in the Harry Potter fandom since each of the characters were introduced. As is the case with many popular queer ships, they are not canon to the source material, but that has not stopped dedicated fan writers and artists. Currently, the slash ship has well over forty thousand works on AO3 (鈥淲orks in Sirius Black/Remus Lupin鈥�, n.d.), and the most kudos鈥檇 (liked) fanfiction of all time on the site features the ship as the central relationship (鈥淜udos鈥�, n.d.). Interestingly, there is very little canon information on the characters early life, giving fans the opportunity to fill the gaps in the narrative, rewriting the story however they like. In my own work, I was interested in using fan vidding to tell their story how I see it, utilising the tools available to me in my chosen medium. Through an analysis of my vid, 鈥淲olfstar x Cardigan鈥� (Arntorp, 2023), one can reflect on how fan vidding as a medium demonstrates the concepts of affordance (Hutchby, 2001) and intertextuality (Coppa, 2008).

To begin, it is essential to have an understanding of the canon story of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin in order to understand the narrative presented in 鈥淲olfstar x Cardigan鈥� (Arntorp, 2023). Sirius and Remus are both side characters within the Harry Potter series. Before the events of the series, they were both close friends with James Potter (Harry鈥檚 father) and Peter Pettigrew during their years as students at Hogwarts. During the first wizarding war, Peter Pettigrew betrayed James, giving up his and Lily鈥檚 (Harry鈥檚 mother) location to Lord Voldemort, who ultimately murdered them both. When Sirius found out about this betrayal, he went to seek revenge on Peter, but Peter was able to frame Sirius as both the betrayer, and as the murderer of thirteen people, including Peter himself (鈥淪irius Black鈥�, n.d.). This landed Sirius in prison, and led Remus to believe that Sirius was responsible for the death of their best friends (鈥淩emus Lupin鈥�, n.d.). Years later, during the events of Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Remus learns that Peter is not dead, and that he framed Sirius. Sirius escapes from prison, and he and Remus reunite as old friends (鈥淪irius Black鈥�, n.d.).

To continue, 鈥淲olfstar x Cardigan鈥� (Arntorp, 2023) reflects what Hotchby (2001) defines as affordance. An important piece of context when it comes to Wolfstar fan vids is that there is no movie or television show to use footage from when it comes to their early life. The Harry Potter fandom solves this issue by using scenes from other movies which feature actors who match the general physical description of the characters. In my case, I used a variety of clips with Ben Barnes as Sirius Black, and Andrew Garfield as Remus Lupin¹, and combined them with footage from the official series. As Barnes and Garfield have never appeared in a movie together, it was necessary to scour scenes from their filmographies in order to place cut together shot/reverse shot transitions that appear as though the characters are interacting with one another. Hutchby (2001), discusses how technology impacts our behaviour and limits users. As an editor, I was restricted to the scenes I was able to access in order to tell the story I wanted. Additionally, the editing programs I use both make it possible to create fanvid, and constrain the quality of video I am able to create. Just as Hutchby (2001) suggests, 鈥淎ffordances . . . are enabling, as well as constraining, factors in a given organism鈥檚 attempt to engage in some activity鈥� (p. 448), in this case, fan vidding. The technology used in vidding also impacts the way stories are told, often utilising the same techniques used in filmmaking. One such example is the transition between Andrew Garfield and David Thewlis portraying Remus being shown through a dissolve effect (Arntorp, 2023, 1:02). This portrays the passage of time. Another is the use of black and white to represent memories/flashbacks (Arntorp, 2023, 0:48). Throughout the entire editing process, the medium and technology used affects the way the story is told.

The medium of vidding features another aspect through which to tell a story. The music used in a vid can drastically change the story. Given that the video clips I was able to use were limited, I rely on music to lead the narrative. 鈥淐ardigan鈥� (Swift, 2020) features narrative heavy lyrics that parallel the canonical story of Sirius and Remus, but also contains a romantic element. Coppa (2008) discusses how music can be, 鈥渁n interpretive lens to help the viewer to see the source text differently, to provide new meaning to the source footage.鈥� (para. 1.1). In 鈥淲olfstar x Cardigan鈥� (Arntorp, 2023), the story of Sirius and Remus is recontextualized as romantic. This change strengthens both Sirius鈥檚 desire to escape, and the heartbreak that Remus experiences after Sirius鈥� imprisonment. The reunion between the characters during Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) is now a reunion of lovers. Similarly, the lyrics to 鈥淐ardigan鈥� take on a new meaning.

Most notably, 鈥淧eter losing Wendy鈥� (Swift, 2020) is recontextualized to be about James and Lily鈥檚 last moment alive together, and 鈥淐hasing shadows in the grocery line鈥� (Swift, 2020) helps solidify the scene where Remus spots Sirius in his animagus form in the bushes². As an editor, I found it to be important to include the lyrics as text on the screen throughout the vid in order for the audience to follow along with the narrative the song in combination with the video clips provides. Both the vid and the music work intertextually to recontextualize each other, creating a new, singular narrative for the audience (Coppa, 2008).

In conclusion, fan vidding is an interesting case study in narrative. The medium allows fans to reimagine their favourite movies and television shows in order to rewrite the narrative however they see fit. As evidenced by an analysis of 鈥淲olfstar x Cardigan鈥� (Arntorp, 2023), the process of fan vidding involves both affordance, as defined by Hotchby (2001), and intertextuality, as outlined by Coppa (2008).