JeremyNortham.net

When I made my first ever Jeremy Northam tribute video I had no idea that there would be more of them or that they would be on a website one day. I remember that it was a December day. I found a very easy-to-use video-editing program and I listened to a song, a funny version of Charlie Chaplin’s song Smile. As I was struggling with my thesis at that time, I suddenly felt the need to make something which would help me to survive that and cheer me up. So it was that the When Jeremy Smiles video was born. Then I uploaded it to YouTube and the first comments started to arrive and I was surprised how much people loved my video. Since then, I’ve made a number of videos and slideshows about various artists, films and shows.

It is always very important for me to find a song with lyrics which fit the video. I always try to choose and then edit lines of the lyrics and scenes of the video so that they run parallel. In most cases, I hear a song first which gives me the inspiration to make a video. For example, I remember that I heard the song Show must go on by Queen and, almost immediately, I saw in my mind a scene for almost every line. By the time I came to make the Death of a Martyr video I knew that I wanted to do something about Thomas More to O Verona. I just needed time to figure out how. Of course, in some cases I have the video idea first without fitting music. That’s the trickier part. And that’s how the idea of the “famous” (or infamous?) Bad things with Jeremy video was there long, long before the actual video came into being, I already had the possible scenes to use, but the song was missing. And then I heard the song from the True Blood soundtrack and I knew: “That’s it! That’s it!” and then the video was almost immediately ready. I also had such “problems” with The Winslow Boy video Words in the Eyes. A friend asked me to make a video about the film, and I really wanted to do it, knew very soon which were the possible scenes I wanted to use, what aspects I wanted to highlight. I wanted to show the hidden affection and feelings these two people had for each other. But I had no song to go with it! I listened to tons of song before I found the right one. I want to add that I always try to use songs which are not too popular or overused.

Those who know my videos realize that I only use a few effects in my videos. There is more than one reason for this: I use a relatively simple editing program, but the main reason is that I don’t want effects dominating the story. I usually just use coloring and transition effects. The most difficult editing challenge ever was to create the Thomas More and Anne Boleyn video, Tragic Fate which – I have to admit – was an idea of a very tired mind. But how can you make a love story video of two characters who only had one (!) shared scene in the whole of The Tudors? So the first task was to find all the usable tiny scenes where they are alone, or are talking to someone else. Some were just one-two seconds long. In the first round there were more than 700 such tiny clips. Then the circle became narrower and narrower, I tried to match parts to seem real, with matching lights, colors, etc and to create a story around it. It was like a puzzle game. I loved it although sometimes I wished the whole thing to hell. And in the end I had the usual dilemma. The video was there and I searched for a fitting song for ages.

But there is one very very very important thing to add. I made these videos just for fun and I had no idea how much they would and do mean to some people and how richer my life would be because of the wonderful new friends I have found through YouTube. And not just friends but many other things. So, although it sounds maybe too dramatic, YouTube changed my life.

So thank you all, and because the whole thing started because of him: Thank you, Jeremy Northam.

You can see the other tribute videos mentioned above here or on Agi’s YouTube Channel Princess Amerigo’s World. Agi’s most recent video was again inspired by Jeremy Northam and is her first for his role as Doctor Matt Proctor in CBS’ new hit medical drama, MIAMI MEDICAL, Friday 10/9c. You can watch it here or on her YouTube Channel:

Agi Stier currently works as a translator and, even as recently as a year ago, had no idea that she would appear on a site like this. Life is full of surprises. She currently expresses her creativity through making YouTube videos, mostly about Jeremy Northam and the TV show, The Tudors (currently in its fourth and final season) but on many other topics as well. She goes under the name of Princess Amerigo on YouTube. However, she hopes that she can one day return to writing, as well. Her short writing To Become a Child Again was recently published in the creative writing anthology: Take Off: Creative Writing by Hungarian Students

While Agi doesn’t guarantee that a video will be made, she welcomes suggestions for both music and video ideas you may have and you can email her at agi@jeremynortham.net  And, if you have a favourite video, let Agi know which one it is, and why, by posting a comment below.