Essential videos

[CrackTheSky]

I'm someone who is very interested in the history of AMVs, and the AMV fandom itself, and specifically how it has changed over the years. I've been around for a while now but I haven't seen everything, and there are those of you who have probably seen thousands more videos than I have, and/or have been around for way longer.

So I'm curious...in your opinion, what are some of the most essential videos out there? Now, I'm not just talking about your favorite videos, so please don't just list videos you really like. I'm interested to know what videos helped shape AMVs into what they are today? Over the past 14+ years, what videos have been landmarks in AMV editing? What videos were revolutionary for their time? What videos started trends that shifted editing in a new direction? Most importantly, why, in your opinion, were these videos so important?

[TritioAFB]

I wrote back an article about history of the AMVs but didnt include a list of videos. This thread will help



Caldwell was one of the very first makers known for videos like this one in a time AMVs communities were starting.

Then:



One of the first crossovers in history of AMVs. Until the appearance of Umika and many other makers.



Lip Synch lessons

Anyone knows the first MEP?



Do I have to explain this video? Really?



If we could divide the era of crossovers, this is one of the best examples of the second era

[BasharOfTheAges]

@tritio probably not the first MEP but one of the earliest well-known ones was the DDR project.

[ngsilver]

I used to run a panel I called "AMVs A How To" where I basically showed off videos spanning 20 some odd years of vidding/amving/ect and teaching specific concepts and trends through watching videos that use them or started them. The last time I ran it was in 2010 and I'll post the video list below. I really need to update this list for the recent years of development in AMV making, new trends, ect. I don't remember the specific reasons each of these were added, even now while watching them specifically. Each one shows off one aspect or another about AMV editing, changes in trends, ect throughout the years. Beyond updating for current vids, these are what I would consider to be essential videos


[Douggie] AMV Technique Beat (x.264) v1.01
[Driftroot] Bustin
[Malificus]Rainbow Girl
[Oro$hi - Hello World]
[Perfect-Blue] - Quatro nAVI System CODE VECTOR Low Q
A Little Retrospect
A_Hellingly_Thrillish_Night
alldembigjunglecats-I've Had My Coffee Now And I Feel Great-FQ
AMV - Golden Boy - Blumchen - Bicycle Race
AMV - Gonna Make you Sweat(Every Body Dance Now)[DANCE!!!]
AMV_Utawarerumono-theTigerLillies-CrackofDoom
AMVNews.Alt.Opening.2009-Le.Chiffre-Ian.Flemings.Property.of.a.Lady
AMVNews.BC.2009-Aqwa-Q-Time
Atio -Jam Sports
C o c k t a i l [Planetside - Megamom]
Carry On
castor - VG4
C-Ko Total ecplise of the heart
Copycat_Revolver - Green Brain Problem
Cowboy Bebop – Stress
Daniel Lemberg - Star Hazard - Star Wars Cantina - El-Hazard - The Magnificent World
Derek Lieu - Animated Text - Liberi Fatali(FF8)
End
Great Teacher Onizuka - (Eminem) Without Me 'Without GTO' [S
Greenjinjo Studios - Little Tortilla Boy
GunnmChild
Happiness Dojo
Hawaii-AllPurposeCulturalCatGirlNukNuku-Legs
Jesmaster - Old School Anime Baseball
JNV - Everything to Everyone
JNV - Send Her My Love
JNV - Why Me(small)
Kevin Caldwell - El Hazard - Saber Dance
Kevin Caldwell - Golden Boy - Beautiful Life
Kevin Caldwell - Vampire Princess Miyu – Goldeneye
medieval - loss and love
Neon Genesis Evangelion – Engel
NoBrandVideos-Eden12-24-remastered
Nostromo_-_Auriga_432p@30
Patrick Himes - Shaggy - It wasn't Me - Urasei Yatsura
Qwaqa_Time
Ranma ½ - 500 miles
Ranma_edit_project
Sarah Brightman - Once In A Lifetime – Fixed
SBS (GQ) - Don't Stop Mahoro Now - MP4
Scintilla - The NERV Evening News with Dan Rather
Scott_Melzer-Ranma-Love_Stinks
Shame On Anime
StudioHybrid_SilentMobius
Tank
Tenchi Muyo In Love - Alchemy of Love
testosteROS
TotoroMAD
undiscovered-countries-xvid
Vlad_G_Pohnert-Gundam_0083 XviD
Vlad_G_Pohnert-Orange_Road-XviD
Worlds_End
Ymca
ZephyrStar – daydream
ZephyrStar - omgsuperluckyhappyfunvideoGO

[Kimberly]

Scorpions_Ultd - Whispers of the Beast
Sierra Lorna - Phenomenon
Bakadeshi - Zetsumo
tyler_yj - Jihaku
Chiikaboom - Attack of the Otaku
Umika - Our Tapes
Umika - Metamorphose
Koopiskeva - Twilight
Koopiskeva - Momentum
Koopiskeva - Skittles
silver_moon - From the Ashes
Nostromo - Magic Pad
Nostromo - Auriga

[Kimberly]

Scorpions_Ultd - Whispers of the Beast (do I really have to say why?)
Sierra Lorna - Phenomenon (same as above)
Bakadeshi - Zetsumo (created own story)
tyler_yj - Jihaku (live action)
Chiikaboom - Attack of the Otaku
Umika - Our Tapes (crossover)
Umika - Metamorphose (changing the story)
Koopiskeva - Twilight (live footage)
Koopiskeva - Momentum (5cm for everyone)
Koopiskeva - Skittles (crazy effects everybody do the same)
silver_moon - From the Ashes (changing storylines)
Nostromo - Magic Pad (trance trance everybody do the same)
Nostromo - Auriga (trance trance everybody do the same)

Woooooopssss, forgot to include why.

[Shui]

I'm doing an amv history panel in about 2 weeks and will post the results in here. It's basically a show of the most influental AMVs with some tad bit of history here & there.

[Gene Starwind 21122]

Here are some I consider a classic and a must watch in AMV History



Great timing and sync for such an early video.

The next video how can we forget this amv from our founder Phade.



This is the reason the org is here. One of the first ever videos posted on the org.

Then this amv here one of the earliest amv's I know of using CG.



One of the best Romance AMV's I saw back in 2003 at Otakon. This guy I consider the best Romance editor in the org history. Now I have been away for a while but in my opinion he knew how to make Romance videos.



I can go on and on. I've been around for 12 years and have seen so many videos and been apart of so many contests. I'm happy to be back and reliving some of these memories and making new ones with everyone here.

Gene Starwind 21122

[Bollocks]

In my opinion the greatest artistic accomplishment and piece of storytelling in AMVs.



The start of something extremely prominent in the AMV world.



Sorry if this is too recent, but If I were to name one video that people will still regard as important 7 years from now, it would be this one.

[seasons]

This is not an exhaustive list of "essential videos," but I honestly believe that any essential list would be terribly incomplete without any of these.

Jim Kaposztas -- All You Need Is Love (1982)
Doesn't seem to be on the Internet. I was given a copy of this by someone here a couple of years ago but since they never uploaded it to Youtube or anywhere else themselves, I'm assuming they've got reasons not to do so so I've resisted the temptation to do it myself. This AMV is not very good but you've got to start somewhere. I suppose it's pretty funny, actually.

Kevin Caldwell -- Engel (1999)
The most notable video from the now-reclusive editor who pretty much dominated and defined the late 90s. His work did not represent the "beginning of AMVs," as I understand that they'd been a big part of anime conventions throughout the 90s, but his videos definitely stood head and shoulders above what everyone else was doing at the time in terms of overall quality. Countless editors have aspired to make "epic" AMVs, but usually fall victim to a certain kind of phoned-in dreadful seriousness that's dull and and usually pretty boring. "Engel" is not only technically marvelous for its time, it combines action that's truly epic in scale with unexpected comedy, carving out a niche of its own that it's occupied more or less all by itself for the last 15 years.

dokidoki -- Right Now Someone Is Reading This Title (2001)
Big Big Truck -- Failed Experiments in Video Editing (2001)
Whether or not these are "important" AMVs, I couldn't tell you. But they really set the bar high for comedy AMVs with great concepts and, for their time, really high production values, and have aged really well over time. They're certainly influential and definitely famous, having become convention staples and definite must-watch AMVs for any aspiring editor. Or at least I'd like to think so.

Koopiskeva -- Euphoria (2003)
Not the first video by this editor, not the last, and some people might even say it's not even his best, but it might just be his most notable and it's definitely one of those videos that's brought up every time people discuss what the best AMVs of all time might be (here's a hint, √Bestamvsofalltime doesn't know shit). The early 2000's was probably the golden period for the hobby, at least in terms of the booming popularity of AMVs, the general excitement around them, and the innovation that was happening in them at the time, and that's all captured in this video like no other. This video is currently #1 on our sorrowfully neglected all-time top AMVs chart.

Zarxrax, ssgwnbtd -- AMV Hell (2004)
This series wouldn't really hit its stride or reach its full potential for another two installments, at which point, many fans might tell you that the entire concept had been run into the ground, but it all started here. AMV Hell was not the first "parody" AMV and probably wasn't the first compilation-style AMV, but it created a template that would be copied more times than anyone really knows, and turned short attention-span viewing into an art form, or at least an obsession that would come to take over the entire hobby one short clip at a time. Two weeks from today, this video will turn 10 years old (or at least will mark the 10th anniversary of when it was uploaded here, which was the only game in town at the time).

If there are any obvious titles missing here, well, there's a few AMVs I've been waiting to watch until after I finish the series that they use, so that's why they're not here. And there were a lot of AMVs that I wanted to include, but even though I think they're really great, they're just some of my favorites made between 2000 and 2005, and everyone has their favorites from that time and I don't know what would make one more "essential" than any of the others. As for newer AMVs, whether or not "PencilHead" is essential, I cannot say.

Most of these were already mentioned so you already know.