AMV Editing: A dying hobby (?)

[ibabrak]

I actually just started making AMVs it takes alot of work and time if you can believe it. I've noticed alot of hate on the interweb lately. I just wanted to express what I could do, though I'm still learning my editing software I enjoy making my videos. No reason for there to be so much hate, all the normal places you should be able to go to just so much hate. But this is the internet so its to be expected. Not going to try promoting a specific video or anything but if you're curious of my page, you can message me. Only saying that because people seem to get annoyed.

As you said this is the internet and there is nothing but and cute kitten vids. The hate is just something you have to accept since there is not much you can do about it. Oh, well you can make better videos but that isn't that easy.
Anyway, I do agree that one of the main reasons that people stop editting is mostly like the simple fact that it takes a lot of effort and time to make something good. Not everyone wants to put up with people hating on their work that they hold dear. I don't really care personally, but I guess there are people that would rather do something more rewarding.

[Chained(E)Studio]

I don't this its any site in particular, I've seen many other sites lacking uploads for a few months now. I think its a mixture between contest and the generation in which AMVs was the most liveliest. That generation, which is us, is slowly growing out and editing less. While a few may remain and some new may come it doesn't equal the amount of editors that are gone now.

As for contests; more and more editors are starting to edit purely for contests as apposed to anything else. Sure, we can all say we love this hobby and blah blah but it can't be helped that editing for a contest can spark different interests, can be more exciting with competition or bring out new ideas.

[trythil]

What ever happened to the org's redesign? Remember a couple of years ago when people were talking about it but now the poor org is in some sort of limbo, unable to move forward.

I have been working on another project.

[Frostreturns]

In my opinion, I think it has to do with time. As with everything in life, things eventually die out and decay. Slowly, but surely, it will all come to a halt one day. So it doesn't much surprise me that some can assume, believe and otherwise think that this is the truth. However, from what I've observed, I think it's also a matter of factoring that a lot of the new-age editors are just shifting to alternative sources such as youtube. Since it's easier to use, has a wider audience and is perfect for newbie editors from an outsiders perspective.

Furthermore, with how complex and structured the org is, I can see this being intimidating for newer editors and seeing the heavy amount of good content posted here can make them stay in other places as well. So I'm not sure if it's editing as a whole that's dying, as from where the cycle is now, there should always be people ready and willing to take up the mantle. As even in my case, I've recently gotten back into making videos again after a 3-2 year hiatus.

Which leads to my ultimate point that was mentioned earlier in the thread: the org isn't the primary source for editing anymore, but rather, youtube is. When you couple the fact that some of the older editors are growing up, dying out (just found out Zetzu died. Feels bad man) or just stopping and falling off the face of the Earth; it's easy to see why you'd feel this way. So, at the end of the day, it's best to find a hard reason to edit these days. The reason I came back into it is mostly because I want to have some fun with it, increase my skills a bit and share my content with others. Took myself way too seriously before and burned myself out. I'd like to show others how far I've come along in these few years.

[MaboroshiStudio]

I must say after being away for essentially a decade coming back is interesting... some people warned me how things have changed. I have watched / judged 2 contests in the past couple months and it seems like current AMV creators are OCD when it comes to source more than they are concerned about editing / flow. Then I see amv creators bash people if their source isn't pristine HD... yet they will overlook poor editing in a pretty looking video.

lol back in my day it was about was it a good amv... see the forest for the trees people

[l33tmeatwad]

Basing it off the org listings for it being a "dying hobby" is completely stupid. The AMV community as a whole has shifted to YouTube and the complexity of this site most likely keeps some "less tech savvy" people from signing up. There is also the fact that there really is no publicity or advertising for this site, so unless we get the word out people will simply not know it exists! The hobby of making AMVs is not dying and threads like this happen every year...the hobby is alive and well and the only thing endangering it right now is unwanted and poorly written updates to copyright law.

As for video critiques, if you are getting comments about the quality of SD footage then you might want to re-evaluate how you are handling your footage. Learn from comments about the editing and flow of a video (these are IMPORTANT) and try to improve. What makes a video "good" is not just the concept, but also how you execute. If you edit a good concept poorly, don't get upset when you get complaints about the quality, however sometimes quality will be overlooked if the concept is good enough.

[BasharOfTheAges]

Yea, its a "searching for something to say that sounds constructive" conundrum. It's not that people are obsessed with it, its low-hanging fruit.

I've also seen people so obsessed with hating the idea of the HD revolution that they bias their perceptions and talk out of their ass regarding execution, so it cuts both ways.

[MaboroshiStudio]

I say people also have to consider the condition of the SD / source in question... like I said IMHO the current gen is very OCD in regards to source and place more importance on it vs the actual music / editing. I mean a 17+ year old source that was a crappy VHS transfer to DVD with bad interlacing issue will get bashed no matter what you do as it isn't going to look amazing. It is called being realistic / balanced, but I can understand being critical of a bad looking source that is out on HD.

Was 28 Days Later a crap movie because of the video quality? It looked pretty bad... but so what it was a great movie and the quality of the video didn't make me like it any less. It is my impression that if a video isn't pristine HD the bias of some creators won't even allow them to watch the video objectively.

Amazing looking video quality doesn't make a poor movie good or the editing of a AMV any better yet. Like I said see the forest for the trees...

[MaboroshiStudio]

Yea, its a "searching for something to say that sounds constructive" conundrum. It's not that people are obsessed with it, its low-hanging fruit.

I've also seen people so obsessed with hating the idea of the HD revolution that they bias their perceptions and talk out of their ass regarding execution, so it cuts both ways.

I love HD source... I wish everything was available in HD or had great transfers to dvd at least, but that isn't reality.

[Frostreturns]

When it comes to the whole HD VS Flow/Editing, I feel a bit of balance should be taken into consideration as well. On the one hand, you shouldn't focus ALL your time and effort on to getting the most beautiful quality possible. However, if it is within your power to possibly improve the video's quality, then by all means you should take that road. Which is why you should always take criticisms of this caliber with a grain of salt. It shouldn't stop you from editing altogether, as that would be discouraging to see. Instead, one should just try to find more ways to improve their style overall by taking this feedback give you. Eventually, from what you want to see in your videos, the advice given to you from the people here to help you enhance your videos and your overall experience from editing will eventually mold yourself into something of an amazing editor with a dash of time to make you grow more mature in your style.