Review - Soul of an Angel - ErMaC

[godix]

This was one of the videos I loved when I started in the hobby. I just rewatched it for the first time in probably years. I think it still stands up, although it's slipped from "I *LOVE* THIS" to "Pretty good".

Cons
- For what it is, it's just too long. Several minutes could have been cut entirely without affecting the video at all really, and probably should have been
- The way he did the quick flashing like changes, it was rather hard on the eyes. Mostly because he didn't just switch from one scene to another quickly, he added a one or two frame white flash at the end of each scene.

Pros
- Variety of editing style. Yeah, I know it repeats a lot. Yeah, I know the flashing gets old. Still, he had different syncs for various parts of the music including parts that had no flashes/overlays at all. So while it was a sync to the beat repeating video, it still had editing variety to keep me interested.
- Buildup. While the way he syncs is pretty consistent throughout, the quick change of frames, he does it in such a way there's still a buildup of mood. Mostly this is through the background visual, with slow static scenes then the infamous Asuka fight as the music progresses.
- Very good job of directing viewers attention. Perhaps this is something I just noticed because my last project required me to think a lot of about that. What I mean is that ErMaC constantly adjusted the opacity of the flashing. Sometimes it's in your face and what the viewer follows. Sometimes it's very much a background thing and I'm focused on the scenes under the flashing. This doesn't require conscious thought either, it's just how the eye naturally follows it. So I really admire how he kept control of and directed the viewer attention.
- I like how complex this is for what is, really, a very simple trick. Technically speaking, it's nothing difficult. Anyone who has ever done a crossfade has the skills to replicate this video. Yet with little more than the opacity rubberband, he made something that appears complex, unique looking, and has multiple layers (both literally and figuratively). It's nice to see that in this day and age when it's assumed you have to be an AE wizard to do anything.
- I can not look at a Shinji and hear the words 'You have the bravest heart I've ever known, you have the strongest will I've seen' and not smile. I don't know if if ErMaC was going to ironic humor, but that's what he achieved.

So overall, it's a nice video. Due to how many sync videos came after it, I'm not age has treated it kindly. But still, I enjoyed it and admire how much he achieved with little more than '50% opacity here... 30% there...' Beowulf is right, if any video would benefit from remastering with bluray, this is it.

[Castor Troy]

I also have to give ErMaC major props for making this video in 2001 when Premiere 5.1 couldn't even copy and paste multiple selections. Having to copy/paste all of the overlays must have been absolutely grueling and was probably 80% of the effort.

[Knowname]

oh rubber bands

[Corran]

My feelings on this video are similar to Zarxrax's.

I've always really enjoyed Soul of an Angel. Its an exercise in listening to a song visually, and thats just fine by me.

I agree. This was one of the first vocal trance amvs I watched and being 2002 when I saw it, it was a rarity. Hell, it still is. If people such as Nostromo continue making trance videos that are "an exercise in listening to the song visually" then I support that. As far as I'm concerned they are filling a void most editors don't bother with.

[Sephiroth]

If i remember right people were pissed off that this ended up in action at AX that year and won.

[Koopiskeva]

I haven't watched this video in ages, probably only a few times when I first saw this circa-2002. I just skimmed a preview of it to try an recall what I thought watching it back in the day...

I believe I was initially impressed by this back then, but mostly because I was new to AMVs and was only starting to get my feet wet. That feeling faded though after subsequent viewings. I think it's still a good video, but just not as interesting as it once was. I'm pretty sure this had heavy influence on my Damaged Rei-mix video which I edited in 2002, and I know this whole "exercise in listening to the song visually" has been the basis of my effects-heavy videos ever since I started.

After just watching it again, my opinion of it hasn't really changed after seeing it all those years ago. It was an experimental video that had a bigger "mainstream" impact due to its complexity (in amv terms) nearly 10 years ago. However, nowadays most people see just how easy it is/was to make this sort of thing , but the experimental aspect still remains.