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Cap-IM Remix Tips and Guidelines - How To Remix

This post will provide you with information about remixing and tips on how to get started.

You may be new to remixing or looking for some fresh ideas. Either way, there is no single answer to what makes a good remix. That might be daunting at first, but it’s also part of what makes remixing fun, so get stuck in!

  • What is remixing?
  • Remixing in the context of cap-ironman challenges
  • Getting started
  • Remixing techniques
  • Remixing Examples

    • What is remixing?


    A remix is the creation of a new fanwork, based on the transformation of an existing fanwork.

    Much like with song remixes and remix tapes, remixing a fanwork is your chance to create a different version of another person’s work. It is probably no surprise that the fannish practice of "remixing" came from Popslash Fandom and was heavily inspired by the practice of revising or adapting songs into new versions.

    Remixing a fanwork can mean switching POV or composition, changing the tone, riffing off the intonation and pauses of a podfic, expanding on a timestamp or drawing a missing scene, or even transplanting characters into a new universe. It is your invitation to take apart and pick some of a work's core components and mix them up, tease out different narrative threads or moods, and ask yourself: "How does this work look when it's done my way?"

    If you have already ventured into the AO3 collections to look at previous years' remixes, you might have wondered why so many of them have titles that include parentheses with secondary titles and the word "remix" in them. This titling practice started in the early remix challenges and was inspired by the way song remixes were titled. If you want to know more about the remixing and where it came from, here is the Fanlore Article on remixes.

    Remixing in the context of @cap-ironman's event


    The Cap-IM remix event is your chance to re-imagine, re-envision and re-create another person's work based on your own preferences, using different techniques (for example, changing the style, tone, or narrative voice) while maintaining some of its original core elements. Much like other fan creations, remixes can adhere closely to canon or diverge wildly. A remix can range from changing only one facet, such as the POV, to divergent adaptations that change many aspects or that have entirely new scenes or imagery based on the original.

    Rules on what can and can’t be changed slightly differ from challenge to challenge. In all three of the Cap-IM remix challenges, you should remember:
    • As our community runs Steve/Tony fests, we expect everyone to be aware that you should remix fanworks and create remixes focused on Steve Rogers and Tony Stark and their relationship, whether it is platonic, romantic or antagonistic. Please keep the focus of your remix on their relationship, whether they are broken up, together, or the epitome of the It's Complicated status.

    • You can omit side pairings in your remix, but don’t break them up.

    • Some of the core elements of the original work should be kept intact and connect the remix to the original work.

    Keep in mind that a remix is supposed to be derived from the pre-existing work. The Remix event is not where you create an adjacent, companion work (such as a R/BB collaboration would be), nor is it a challenge where you create a straight reading or a direct sequel or prequel work.

    The resulting remix should be a complete and new work that can stand on its own when read, viewed or listened to, but the fun of a remix is in its relationship to the original. As such, the full remix experience comes from viewing/reading both original work and remix as a set and identifying the overlap and the elements that were kept, left out, or changed; the ties between original and remix should be visible as more than remote implications.

    What if I don’t find a work to remix? What if I don’t like any of the works of my assigned remixee?
    While an original work might not be up your alley, consider whether any of the works you're free to remix has a premise or story elements that you are interested in transforming or adapting. Using those points, build your original work to reflect the way you would approach it (within the boundaries of remixing)—such as changing the canon or expanding one element or adding a scene to the original story. A remix is a respectful homage to the original, not a parody or satirical take on the original. Remember that while remixes are not a gift, the remixee will see them. Do not use your remix to mock the original or attack the original creator.

    Now, how do I get started?


    Your remix will be a new work that transforms an existing fanwork. Depending on which challenge in our Remix event you signed up for, choosing a work to remix will be your first step. (In Relay, the added challenge is that you are assigned a work and can’t make this choice. Be aware of this going in.)

    Look through the body of work available to you based on the assignment or challenge. You may come across a work where an alternate version for what happens immediately presents itself, or you might have different options to choose from.

    If thinking "what if?" brings up lots of answers, it helps to make a list and brainstorm the things you would have done differently to decide which would be the most interesting remix, and how long it would take to execute the way you want to. At this stage, it’s also a good idea to identify the core elements of the original piece you want to remix!

    A remix, while transforming the original work, should keep some of its core elements intact so that it is recognisably linked.

    What are the core elements of a work?
    You’ve likely had this experience: You went to see a film or play, or you both read the same book as a friend. In discussing the work, you realise that you are weighing the importance of certain dialogue lines, scenes and characters arcs differently. Stuff that stood out to you was relegated to the background by your friend, you picked up on different themes, you saw different subtext… What you're describing are the core elements as you saw them.

    It’s okay for the core elements that you identify to be different than someone else's — it's part of why remixes can vary so much, and why the comments they make on the original work can be especially interesting. But some of the details, the objective ones, will stay the same.

    To identify the core elements, consider the following:

    • What’s the work about? (Try to sum it up in one or two sentences)

    • Who is present?

    • Where are the characters?

    • Why are they there?

    • What is happening?

    • What are the defining moments or pivot points?

    • How is the work set out/structured?

    • What is the overall emotion and tone of the work?

    • Which themes or metaphors did you notice?

    • What stood out to you?
    You’ll end up with core elements that together make the work what it is, which you can now build on, adapt or tease out. By identifying the core components that you see, you'll be able to choose which ones you want to play around with, and what you want to keep the same or reflect from the original work. It's okay if the remix plan you develop doesn't come out as a 1:1 recap of the original.

    After you've identified the core elements, ask yourself what angle you're going to take with them.

    Comics and movie remakes do this kind of remixing all the time! How many reimagined origin stories have we seen for both Steve and Tony? And just like origins are reimagined, characters and their journeys are re-envisioned and events are adapted across different media and universes. It’s a common phenomenon in fiction: consider fairy tale adaptations, modernised reboots, and other re-imaginings.

    Creators sometimes incorporate dialogue, visual descriptions, or phrases of the original work into their remix, but you don’t have to. You can go any direction: take the plot, themes, composition, scenes and turn them inside out. Daring choices can make for the most interesting remixes! So be daring, take it far, don't be scared to try new things—but also remember that the more changes you make, the stronger the element(s) you keep need to be in order to maintain the connection to the original work.

    If you're not sure where to go with your remix, we encourage you not to discount the tried and tested techniques that at first glance seem to keep it too close to the original work; roll with them and find inventive ways to make them work in the most surprising ways.

    You’ll see, it’s fun!

    Remixing in action: The Roadtrip


    Now that you've read about what a remix is, let's see some in action! Consider this short fic, Roadtrip.

    What are the elements of this story?

    The canon is MCU, post-IW. The story is that Steve and Tony are planning to take a road trip; Steve is reminiscing about taking trips with Tony; Tony can’t get the car to start; they get called to a mission but don’t have to go and they attempt to restart the trip. Steve and Tony have an established relationship.

    Below you can find some remix examples of Roadtrip with descriptions of how they have been remixed. As you look and read, can you identify the transformation techniques?

    • [FANVID] Roadtrip by hollyandvice
      This remix focuses on three key parts of the original piece and expands on them. The fanvidder remixes the story by using a framing device (Tony suggesting a trip and Steve accepting at the end) and then uses flashes of images to convey what is behind Steve and Tony's desire for a vacation. By zeroing in on elements of the story for which approximate visuals already existed in canon, it transforms the original in a way that is conducive to the fanvid medium. The music overlay contributes an additional interpretative layer to what is going on in the story — the need to get away together.

    • Four Times A Ride and One (Road Trips Remix) by navaan
      The remix author retained the canon, but expanded on the relationship beats from the original and changed up the structure from a straight narrative to the “5 times” structure (and trope). With this shift in structure, the remix explored the relationship between Steve and Tony and how it develops over time by expanding on the original’s brief mentions of past activities; in the original, the relationship is more background. In addition, the remix uses a unifying frame of cars and road trips to pull the whole story together and this frame reinforces the connections to and the influence of the original story.

    • No Place Like Home (The Holidays Are Over Remix) by laireshi
      The remix author changed the canon from MCU to 616. Other changes include a shift in time, as Steve and Tony return from vacation instead of setting off as in the original, and a change in location of where the car starts to not work. Even with all these changes, the remix author retained the spirit of the original fic (Steve and Tony don’t usually get time off because of their work) and the main story element of Steve and Tony in a car whose AI doesn’t work. This creates a distinctive new work which can be clearly linked to the original story.

    • Remix by dapperanachronism
      The remix author changed the POV from Steve to Tony. This switch in POV allows for an exploration of what Tony wants from their getaway and his own feelings about Steve. The remix also gives Tony’s reasons for why he picked this particular car to use for their trip—all reasons and motivations that we did not get from Steve’s perspective in the original. The remix also shifts the timing of the elements of the fic so that the emphasis in the remix is on Tony’s anticipation of the trip and his interactions with and feelings for Steve. The way the remix is written doesn’t preclude the car not working; it enhances Tony’s side of the original and is clearly inspired by the original fic.

    • Remix by faite
      By changing the focus, the remix artist focused on the relationship between Steve and Tony and the contrast between the promise of the morning (“let’s take a trip”) to the disappointment later (car breaking down). The art includes a nuanced interpretation of Steve’s reaction to Tony’s angst. Art remixes are not illustrations of the original fic. This remix demonstrates how to do that by reinterpreting elements of the original in a different way (changing the focus); the remix reveals how Steve feels for Tony when the car doesn’t work and Tony is disappointed while the original doesn’t focus on how Steve reacts to Tony.

    These are just a few examples of how a remix can work — there are so many other perspectives out there! Want to try our hand at your own version of remixing Roadtrip? We want to see it! Whether it's for a warm up or just for fun, if you want to come back to the original fic and add your own remix to it, go for it. Don't forget to post your remix on AO3 and link it to the original work by filling out the “This work is a remix, a translation, a podfic, or was inspired by another work” information in the Associations section of your work so we know it’s there!

    Remixing techniques


    Here are some strategies for remixing that work across various work types:

    Change the POV character
    Changing the point of view (POV) is often considered the "go to" in remixing. By changing the POV you can look at events and emotions that weren’t accessible to the POV character of the original work. If the piece originally reveals Steve's inner thoughts, then shifting the narrative, art, fanvid, or podfic voice into Tony’s POV will shed light on his side of things and give you a whole new set of emotions and motivations to explore. And what was Tony up to in all the scenes he didn’t share with Steve? It’s your chance to move what was off screen into focus. You could also change the POV to an outsider's perspective—maybe Natasha thinks they’re both being idiots and interferes? Perhaps a bystander notices them being in love?

    Change the setting, canon or time frame
    When remixing, you can shift to a different time period or time frame within the original work to explore how changing the setting would affect the characters or how the story unfolds. Try shifting the events so they happen at a different time in your work—how does that change the character's actions? For example, if in the original work Tony and Steve have an argument that starts on the helicarrier, maybe in the remix, the argument doesn’t start there; maybe it simmers in the back of Steve’s mind for a lot longer before the proverbial camel’s back breaks. If you're setting the story in a different time period, say the Regency era, then using visual elements, musical cues or a specific writing style to evoke the time period can be a great touch. Consider how changing sound effects or imagery can also affect the audience's understanding of the time frame or the setting.

    Or consider using a different canon universe. Cap-ironman's remix challenges allow you to play around with and reflect on the differences of the many Marvel universes, celebrating our multiverse. After all, Civil War worked out differently everywhere (it's a great example of what a themed series of remixes looks like). Shifting the setup of the original work to a different universe will change how the story, or moment of the story you choose to depict, turns out—Steve and Tony might end up married, or they might end up getting in a fist-fight. Using visual elements from different canons in art or vids immediately signals universe changes.

    Change the structure
    You can tell events backwards or non-linearly, such as starting at a point where they aren’t on speaking terms, and then revealing why, or create an oral story-telling type of podfic. You could also explore the events that lead up to Tony and Steve having a fight, or how they might (or might not) reconcile, especially if the original work only depicts a moment in time. You could also frame the original up as a dream or as a story one character is telling to an audience far in the future.

    Change the focus of the work
    By changing the focus of the original work, you can explore or expand on different themes and situations in your remix. For example, focussing on the backstory for why Steve and Tony go on vacation as opposed to concentrating on the road trip itself. Using specific vocal emphasis or effects in podfic can bring attention to different parts of the work, changing the importance of story elements and drawing attention to characters' emotions and how that affects their decisions.

    This technique is connected to changing the structure: maybe Tony and Steve’s argument isn’t the main plot of the original, maybe instead it’s a flashback or minor scene that you expanded on. Maybe there was a brief reconciliation in the original, and you think it would be great if one or the other was more contrite (or conversely, more stubborn). Or maybe the original doesn’t have the reconciliation and ends on a sad note, and that's what you reverse with an artwork that gives us a happy ending.

    Change the genre/trope
    Consider changing the trope—maybe you want to play up the angst and give Tony something he’s hiding and feels he can’t share with Steve (like an injury or a secret identity). Or maybe you want to use it to set up some belligerent bedroom antics that were only hinted at in the original work with a joke or a raunchy lyric.

    You can also change the genre of the original work. Maybe the original was action/adventure: you could recast the work as gothic horror or rom/com. Switch an AU to be more canon based, or vice-versa. All of this is possible within the bounds of remixing.

    Tips for art


    Remixing into art may seem intimidating at first. After all, a fic, fanvid or podfic might cover a lot of ground and tell a plot that spans years or centuries!It's all about picking a scene and re-imagining or placing importance in it, condensing a story into one or two pivotal moments, or examining an artwork's scene from a different angle.

    Play with the medium: What would it have looked like in water colours, or as line art? Detailed illustration? Make it a page of a comic with dialogue, or stick art that a character draws to describe something! You can also use the art as a framing device—for example, pick a scene from a sequence and make it a detailed painting that appears in Avengers Mansion and becomes part of Steve and Tony's memories.

    Play with the lighting: What happens if the scene happens in daylight, rather than the middle of the night? What sort of atmosphere does the scene have if it's chiaroscuro, or sepia-toned? Turn darkness into light or vice versa to shift the mood.

    Rearrange components visually. They kissed on the mouth, but what happens if it's a kiss on the brow? Make it happen, but keep the backdrop of the scene. Change who's performing the action or where it's happening or to whom. What's something you would have done differently? Maybe Tony would've cried at that moment, or Steve would have smiled in another.

    Refocusing: Maye Tony's sad face is the center of a piece while Steve's back is turned. You could make Steve the center of your piece, focus on both of them standing before a detailed background or step out of the picture entirely to make it a sketch drawn by Steve in his notebook.

    Playing with details: Secretly married all along? Sure, if you add rings! … Actually the background you didn't see was a church all along… Whoops, where did their clothes go in this picture?

    You can see examples of remixes of art remixes in our Roadtrip series, in our list of examples below, and in the Cap-ironman Remix collections over the years.

    Tips for fanvid


    Fanvids offer ways for remixing that are similar to art and podfics, but different because of the visual moving media.

    Consider the impact of song choice. Song choice is a great way to change connotations of scenes from happy to sad, or ramp them up from happy to delirious, or make them ironic by putting actions against song lyrics. Have fun lyric matching from part of the original work and seeing what that inspires.

    Zero in on elements of the work for which approximate visuals already exist in canon. You can pick through other films that the actors have appeared in to expand your options, and this info can help you piece together a remix that transforms the original in a way that is conducive to the fanvid medium.

    Remixing into a different universe or sending our heroes universe hopping based on the comic panels/MCU scenes available to you is therefore a solid bet. Using imagery/scenes from different visual properties can have an immediate impact on remixing a narrative.

    Take advantage of the visual and audio aspects of fanvidding! You can overlay text to emphasize certain lyrics, edit sounds out and in so that they enhance the tone or set the mood of the fanvid or insert voice overs to highlight a specific canon moment. By changing the colours of footage or adding effects to panels, you can imply that they are flashbacks, memories, or something that's happening in a different universe. Go widescreen, or narrow the focus of the vid and zoom in on a certain aspect of a scene.

    Tips for fic


    There are so many ways to remix works into fic—just look above at the general techniques we've described above. Here are a few more tips for you:

    • Use nuggets—a gem of a description, a particularly vivid line of dialogue, a lyric that resonates with you, a scene that makes your heart sing—from the fic, fanvid or podfic that you're remixing and transplant them in a different context, or build a scene around them.

    • If you're remixing artwork, look beyond just the scene depicted, or narrow your focus into that one moment and explore all of its intricacies.

      • Use different narrative tools: try incorporating epistolary or diary type entries, or use only dialogue or script format. Use an AO3 skin to create a text conversation, or translate a podfic into a TV show format.
    • Create a refrain: repeat a scene in different ways, translate an artwork into a repeated dream that changes a bit every time, have Tony or Steve find themselves listening to the same song in different scenes. See how you can elevate an object into a symbol, or carry across a metaphor that began as part of the original work

    Tips for podfic


    Remixing works into podfic may seem intimidating at first, but you don’t always have to write an entire remixed fic and then record it—in fact, if you like ad libbing, you don't have to write anything at all. You can create an audio!notfic, or set about retelling a story or scene as if describing it to a friend, or you can re-work existing dialogue and narrative parts into a different whole.
    Translate the work into a different audio format. Talk into the mic and try a stream-of-consciousness type story as you describe the core elements of the work. You could also remix the original work into a phone conversation, monologue, dramatic diary readings, a podcast, interview, or radio play.
    Consider playing with soundscapes. Does the story take place in a different location? Are there different background noises? How can you show different tone and rhythm changes with different sounds or pacing? Maybe you want to try doing voice impressions? Maybe Steve is leaving Tony’s workshop, and you can show that with different noise elements. Or maybe Tony is the one to pick the music when they’re on a trip.
    Try changing the mood. Turn darkness into light. Make them cry when they were laughing, or the other way around. Try different background music or musical breaks that enhance or help set up the mood of the work.
    Chop'n'change: By omitting some scenes, changing the narrative order, or otherwise shifting a story, comic or fanvid's established storyline can be a great way to create a seemingly unreliable narrator, create a non-linear—or linear—listening experience, and more. Rearranging scenes is a great way to remix. Switch up who is doing what; change the meaning by changing the order of events.
    You could also create filk, which includes:
    • Traditional folk tunes with new words
    • Popular tunes with re-written lyrics of fannish topics
    • Poems or passages from your written work set to music
    • Original tunes with lyrics addressing some aspect of fandom. (From the Fanlore definition of Filk)

    Still not sure where to start with your podfic remix? We have an example Stevetony podfic remix here to help with that! You can also check out the multifandom remixapod challenge for more examples.

    Annotated @cap-ironman remix event work examples


    Still not sure where to start, or want to do a bit more exploring? Below you will find a range of remixes that demonstrate various techniques mentioned above. Go read, look and listen — not only are these fantastic works, but by getting more familiar with remixes and seeing remix strategies in action, you may pick up on what it is you'd like to try for your remix.