Just since it was mentioned earlier that people were looking for the self-congratulatory Oscar-type speeches...and for some reason I couldn't find the clip from Wayne's World 2 with the "I promised I wouldn't cry" bit...so I'll just have to put in a few words.
I will admit, I had essentially started my riffs in 2009 after hearing about the contest, and figured, "Well, why not? I should give it a shot." I sort of figured I had no chance of winning, even though that didn't stop me from trying. After all, look who was already out there...Quiptracks, Ronin Fox Trax, Hor-Riff-ic, Riff Raff Theater, Incognito Cinema Warriors, heck, even That Guy with the Glasses. Some guy coming out of nowhere, with a track for a movie barely anybody would have owned even then, by himself with no one to bounce gags off if, with a poster and thumbnail that were whipped up in five minutes? It was practically suicidal to even try. Still, it was a little disappointing to see I hadn't made it into the finals, but I thought what DID make it deserved to be there, especially after I bought them and tried them out. But what was even weirder, I didn't let it bother me that much, and even though the riff pretty much burnt me out, a week or so later I was already working on Mortal Kombat. Sure, it's hard work and there are times it doesn't seem worth the effort, it doesn't pay much, and sometimes it can be heartbreaking to throw everything you've got into something and only see a handful of sales. But, dammit, I admit it, even three years later it's still FUN. And I think through it all that's what makes a big difference.
I think that the saddest part of riffing is when truly talented people release their first riff, get discouraged that they don't immediately become a success, and then abandon it. There are a few ones I've seen that I thought were extremely well done, or at the very least well-written, and the riffer gave up and never released another one after that. It really is a process that needs to be done for the love of the game, because if you go into it looking to become the fourth coming of MST3K (following Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic, of course), it's certainly not going to happen overnight, unless you have the world's greatest luck...even if your riff is a work of unparalleled genius, somebody's got to listen to it, after all. As much as I like to give the movies a hard time, I don't think I well and truly hate any I've done (though Hackers and Legion are probably the most borderline)...if I did, I wouldn't subject myself to them over and over again, especially for a couple of cents per sale. If I was only in it for the money and the fame and glory, then I'm definitely in the wrong line of work.
But enough gloom. The point I most want to make with all this endless driveling on is, despite all this time, I still don't think of myself as a big name or anything, even though I've put up quite a few riffs. I still look at the boards and see Ronin, Hor-Riff-ic, Quiptracks, and even Riff Raff (despite being 'on-hiatus,' as I like to think of it) making the top sales and being the big winners of the riffing game. So, to find out that not one, but three of mine were considered among the top 50 iRiffs is still something I can't quite wrap my head around. Thanks to all those who voted, and to those who may be disappointed that they didn't make the lists, don't let that be a discouragement...there are a few I voted for that didn't make the list that I think are fantastic, and as long as you enjoy doing them, keep at it.
Also, I do want to make a very special thanks to Piobman. At a time when I didn't have much confidence in using Photoshop, he was more than happy to make posters for me, and they're damn good ones at that. Only a handful of them are not his work, and that's only because I made a promise that I wouldn't foist last-minute "can you do this for me in a day or so" projects on him, which the last two have most certainly been. He's been more than gentlemanly about them and even did a fantastic DVD cover for American Werewolf in Paris, one that puts my rush job sales poster to shame, and he deserves every bit of praise he can get.
Also, yes, I will be adding quotes for the Red Riding Hood riff shortly as well. However, it should be noted that, thanks to this riff, I would really love to see the movie, "No Country for Oldman," where Gary Oldman seeks out those who didn't like "Sid & Nancy."
Topic: Top 50 iRiffs (Read 104178 times)
