(1:1 xchg) Would like feedback on my WIP AMV: "Cold Silver"

[EnQuatre]

Hey folks!

I've been working on a new action AMV, tentatively titled "Cold Silver", and I wanted to get some feedback from other editors! I'm looking largely for people's thoughts on the overall feel, composition, and pacing, but I'd welcome any technical feedback as well!

This version is still a WIP... I'm planning to do some post-processing and fix a few glitches that popped up here and there (you'll probably notice them when you see them). That said, please evaluate it pretty much as it is--I'm not planning on adding any flashy effects, etc... as I typically don't use them and prefer to rely on hardcuts and basic transitions.

I will do my best to return feedback given at a 1:1 ratio or better, but I may take some time to post a review, as I'm a busy busy student... That said, I do write very detailed reviews, so hopefully that's a bit of an incentive!

Thanks so much!

Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjOJbq7UVGw

Anime: Claymore
Music used: Assassin's Creed Theme (ft. Lindsey Stirling)
Software used: Cyberlink Powerdirector 12

[8bitcritr]

The only effects I noticed were at 2:09 with the eye zooming thing. It was a good effect and it fit well

Some of timing throughout the video needs improvement. But this is still a WIP so I guess your still working on that.

The timing at 1:06 with the corpses falling especially looked off. There were two corpses falling and two distinct notes. I don't see why you didn't time them to fall to the beat.

Other than that this is a good video. The scene selection is good and I like howthe action gets more intense. The song is a really good choice too

If you could do an OP on this video for me that'd be great

[EnQuatre]

Some of timing throughout the video needs improvement. But this is still a WIP so I guess your still working on that.

The timing at 1:06 with the corpses falling especially looked off. There were two corpses falling and two distinct notes. I don't see why you didn't time them to fall to the beat.

Other than that this is a good video. The scene selection is good and I like how the action gets more intense. The song is a really good choice too

Thanks for giving it a look! Yup, this version is still practically in alpha, so the sync will need to be tightened up considerably... I do want to decide whether or not I currently like the overall composition though before I commit to it.

The moment at 1:06 has been fixed! Matching the music at that instant was my goal all along, but I hadn't gotten around to it... It works quite well now!

If you could do an OP on this video for me that'd be great

Nice! It's a Shinsekai Yori AMV!? I'd be delighted to! Thanks again for the feedback!

[knage]

So I watched it, first I would like to say that I really dislike the anime style that Claymore has, I won the DVD months ago and watched all of it and while I guess I kind of liked the story, the animation was too off putting for me that I never want to watch it again.

So I watched you're AMV though, I think how it begins I can see how you're getting into it, nothing of strong impact yet, just working through everything, I think that is pretty good. It the picks up with the music and at the point I lose the sense of story, what I seen was attacking, fighting and many close ups, and I don't really understand it. Again i think the speed of the clips is fine just maybe it's the transitions at least, when you started to rapidly go through a bunch of scenes I think the hard cuts didn't work too well, I see that you said you're not into many effects but maybe a cross fade and a slow zoom of some kind may help? I still had the feel with the music and scenes, like I get what you were trying to do. Since you're not done yet I know there is more to do so keep working at it.

I hope this help and please look at this AMV:

[Tigrin]

Hello! I took a look at your video. I'm not familiar with Claymore at all. It seems to feature some strong women, and that's about the most I understand from the video.

Using scenery for softer parts is one of my favorite techniques and I think would work well for you, but right now you're using a lot of straight cuts for them that feels a bit jarring for such a soft part of the song as the beginning... the best way to make action feel action-y, I think, is to create contrast, and softening up the beginning will make it feel more impactful when the action kicks in. Easiest way to do that is with some slow cross-fades. I'm not sure if you sped up any of the footage, but you might also consider making some of the pans slower to make them feel softer... just slow down the speed of the clip. I'm not familiar with the program you mentioned so I'm not sure what it's capable of, but hopefully it can do time remapping.

Timing a video without lyrics has got to be tough. I recommend if you start timing to something to stick to it. For instance, for a brief period in the beginning you are timing scenery cuts to each change of octave in the voice. This is cool, but at the end of each phrase you ignore the last octave change, which feels weird. Either hit every one, or be consistent about hitting every other one. The fade to the girl is late at :26 when the violin kicks in... since the violin is holding long notes it might make sense to keep up what I was saying above with softening it and using longer fades.

I like that there's some variety in the intensity of the clips in the action part, and that the cuts get faster as it goes. I feel like it gets a bit anti-climatic towards the end, though? I think if you want to keep it feeling exciting, it might be good to build up a progression in the intensity of the clips (how much they're moving as well as how fast the cuts are)... this would kind of create a story of the stakes being raised. A lot of the most intense fighting is actually at the beginning of the action section and it goes backwards towards longer shots where not much happens other than the camera shaking. Try flipping it around.

Anyway. I think this video could be really cool once you've worked on it some more! I think the music is very fitting.

If you could, I also have a video I'm working on, and I'd love to get your feedback on it... https://www.dropbox.com/s/91kho72a64ur2 ... 6.mp4?dl=0

[EnQuatre]

I hope this help and please look at this AMV:

Reviewed and submitted! Sorry about the wait!

If you could, I also have a video I'm working on, and I'd love to get your feedback on it... https://www.dropbox.com/s/91kho72a64ur2 ... 6.mp4?dl=0

Hey Tigrin,

I enjoyed this!

Your use of lyrics is pretty damn clever... I chuckled out loud at points throughout your AMV. Your scene choice is highly appropriate! In particular, your use of some of the more surreal shots from Death Note (Blue/Red, Light/L) was quite artistic, and I was always waiting for the next connection between the song and visuals. From what I can see, your sync is pretty on-point as well!

You've clearly thought this through, and that effort shows up throughout your AMV. It's a pretty unique concept you're tackling as well, and I have to give you kudos for originality!

That said, my biggest issue with your AMV throughout was a bit of mood dissonance... I frankly couldn't tell with great certainty, and still can't tell, if your AMV is intended as a tragic ballad, a comedy AMV, or as a serious drama video. This might also be a symptom of a larger issue of pacing or overall structure, but I was never really quite sure as a viewer what to feel at several points in the video... Given the song choice alone, I would have expected a humor AMV, but given the scene choice you actually used, I was left a little confused...

Another issue I'm noticing is that your video never really alters its visual pace. Scenes flicker by at a more or less constant rate, without acceleration or significant pause. Your scene choice is great, but each clip just kind of slides on into the next without fanfare, leaving the visuals somewhat flat. Take what you did with the tennis match at 1:05 and find opportunities to pick up the pace a bit!

Those are the major points I'm having trouble with. Otherwise, your internal sync still needs a little cleanup, but that's to be expected from a beta version, so I won't comment too much on that. I can tell what you're aiming for, and once you put the work in, everything should be fine on that count. Likewise for video quality--the Dropbox download isn't exactly DVD quality, but this is obviously far from the final encode.

A few minor points:
--your transition at 2:35 seems to need a little cleanup, and a few errant frames slipped in right at 2:39

Overall, you've done some solid work! I've never seen someone approach a Death Note AMV in this way before, and your use of the lyrics really is creative to the first degree. Sure, there's work to be done still, but I look forward to seeing the finished product!

[EnQuatre]

Also, I just thought I'd make a note that I've released the finished version of my AMV. Thanks for all of your input, everyone!

To any late-arrivals, my offer of 1:1 feedback still stands--I'd be happy to look at one of your videos in exchange for your opinion of my finished AMV here:

[Tigrin]

Thanks for your feedback! I'm a little busy at the moment but I'd love to see your finished video and leave an opinion maybe sometime this weekend.

For your feedback on my video, I've been getting notes about the pacing, so I'm a little concerned about how to fix it... is it enough just to vary the timing sometimes, or does the whole video need to be faster? I'm not entirely sure what to do about the tone... originally I planned on making a funny Light/L video, but once I introduced Misa into the middle, it kind of became a more general story. To me, tragic/comic/dramatic kind of describes Death Note... I know it makes sense to pick one over the other, but I'm not sure which... in any case it would involve completely changing the video, so I'm a little lost as to what to do there. Any suggestions?

[EnQuatre]

I think varying the pace of clips will help substantially! I'd just re-listen to the song track and make some firm decisions about when you want to hit the high notes, so to speak.

Hmm... given that you began the AMV as a humor piece, it might not be a bad idea to just go with that. It would definitely entail some work, but the song helps you in that regard. I interpreted a lot of the latter half of the song as a tongue-in-cheek look at Light and Misa's relationship issues. Ultimately, though, it's up to you!

One trick that I find helps me sometimes is to put the AMV away for a couple of days, then come back to rewatch it--often you get a whole new fresh perspective on your work. There's no easy way around it, I know, but good luck!