Review - Hold Me Now - Alkampfer81

[godix]

1.)The video will not be posted by the creator (we have announcement forums for that).
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3.)The thread creator should post their thoughts on the video to initiate discussion.
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Review master thread




Odds are you've heard of this video, if not seen it. The persistent claim about it is that when it first premiered at a con, the audience liked it so much so that dealers sold out of the anime. I don't know if that's true or not, but it's a nice story so I'll go with it.

Videos that cross genres are very common, it's pretty typical to see action/drama for example. This video is probably one of the only dance/drama combinations though. It sounds like a stupid combination, but it actually works rather well. There's a nice balance between an upbeat pace and fairly upbeat song with a dramatic story. I've never seen the anime, but I can follow what the video presents without little problem.

The editing is this videos high spot. It has sync, but doesn't get in your face about it. You can sit back and watch it without being hit with a damned flash every few seconds. The video has effects, but doesn't get in your face about it. If you look for it, they're there, but if you don't look for it they aren't so obvious you go 'knock that shit off'. There is a story being presented, but as with the other stuff it isn't so obvious that you can't overlook it if you don't feel like paying attention to it. Overall, the video has a balance that's pretty rare. It's possible to enjoy it as a dramatic story, a straightforward dance video, or a pretty tightly synced action vid without any of those being so overpowering that they majorly distract from whichever you choose to view the video as.

In fact my only real complaint about this is the chibi duck just looks stupid. A fucking chibi duck running around just kinda kills the mood. I kept expecting Charlotte and Wilbur to pop up next (Charlotte's Web, you illiterate buffoons). However, I think that flaw is from the anime rather than something added with this video.

[Fall_Child42]

The editing is this videos high spot. It has sync, but doesn't get in your face about it. You can sit back and watch it without being hit with a damned flash every few seconds. The video has effects, but doesn't get in your face about it. If you look for it, they're there, but if you don't look for it they aren't so obvious you go 'knock that shit off'. There is a story being presented, but as with the other stuff it isn't so obvious that you can't overlook it if you don't feel like paying attention to it. Overall, the video has a balance that's pretty rare. It's possible to enjoy it as a dramatic story, a straightforward dance video, or a pretty tightly synced action vid without any of those being so overpowering that they majorly distract from whichever you choose to view the video as.

You know I agree with all of this, and this is why I really like the video.
However, I'm not sure why people seem to think that this video is more "artsy" than any other.

I have heard many different people Hold this video above all others as proof that AMVs can be art but I just don't see it.
I mean I agree it's art, and I like the video, but I just don't get how it's more ART.

Perhaps someone can explain that to me.

[BasharOfTheAges]

The persistent claim about it is that when it first premiered at a con, the audience liked it so much so that dealers sold out of the anime. I don't know if that's true or not, but it's a nice story so I'll go with it.

I was there with people looking for it - the claim is true. By Sunday it was gone.

[dwchang]

You know I agree with all of this, and this is why I really like the video.
However, I'm not sure why people seem to think that this video is more "artsy" than any other.

I have heard many different people Hold this video above all others as proof that AMVs can be art but I just don't see it.
I mean I agree it's art, and I like the video, but I just don't get how it's more ART.

Perhaps someone can explain that to me.

This is going to sound mildly racist, but my guess is because the song is in French. Also the fact they used a non-popular source about ballet. Those two things are just "artsy" to people, which is dumb.

Personally? I think those reasons are stupid. Like you, I think all AMVs are technically art and this one is no more art than any other video.

With that said, I do enjoy the video quite a bit so don't let my reasons above make you think that I think otherwise about the quality of the video.

[godix]

I have heard many different people Hold this video above all others as proof that AMVs can be art but I just don't see it.
I mean I agree it's art, and I like the video, but I just don't get how it's more ART.

Perhaps someone can explain that to me.

I think dwchang is right, it's the ballet thing. People in tutu's = art. Nevermind that, even if true, it would mean the SOURCE is artistic, not the video itself.

[Castor Troy]

I really like this video and how intense it makes the source look. The art style doesn't look intense, but the editing, song, and scene selection literally turns this into something far more than what I think the source is.

[Kireblue]

In fact my only real complaint about this is the chibi duck just looks stupid. A fucking chibi duck running around just kinda kills the mood. I kept expecting Charlotte and Wilbur to pop up next (Charlotte's Web, you illiterate buffoons). However, I think that flaw is from the anime rather than something added with this video.

I find it funny that this video makes it seem like the duck was randomly thrown into the anime, but its actually the main character. (the duck transforms into a girl named duck and then transforms again into a princess named tutu)

Anyway, I very much agree with everything you said (except for the duck part), and I feel that this AMV will become a classic. I rented all of princess tutu simply because this AMV makes it look so awesome. I then bought the complete series because I liked it so much.

[McDirty]

This AMV serves a very good purpose, because it makes the watcher want to both watch the anime and listen more to the music artist. There are very few AMVs that can accomplish that successfully.

The persistent claim about it is that when it first premiered at a con, the audience liked it so much so that dealers sold out of the anime. I don't know if that's true or not, but it's a nice story so I'll go with it.

That's something I respect if an editor is able to make that big of an influence.

Thanks for recommending the vid. This is actually my first time watching it. (I know, I need to start attending cons so I can jump on the ball.)

[CodeZTM]

Any video that gets as many spin offs as this one did must obviously have something right.

I really enjoy this video, and would love to see something very similar. Something extremely dramatic and artsy [read:dance] that's more like an act in a play/performance than an AMV.

While I never thought of it before, the duck is a little silly in hindsight. Although I don't mind it so much that it ruins the video for me.

[Warlike Swans]

This is going to sound mildly racist, but my guess is because the song is in French.

The song is actually in Swedish.

Not sure if other people looked up English translations of the lyrics.... they don't really make much sense with the video... but clearly the beat worked well.

I think since all AMVs are post-Warhol's Cambell soup cans we can all feel included under the pop-art umbrella and ignore anyone who feels inclined to make pretentious "art" "not-art" judgements.