Ek leaving... and maybe me too

[Chaos Angel]

I WILL BE THE ONE!

He IS "The One"...

Can you dodge bullets, Omnistrata?

[outlawed]

There's more to it than that, Joe.

Totally agree. You beat me to it StudioKZ. And for the record I also agree with Joe. Except I personally go a little farther in what I would prefer (no reviews and no linking to files from the database).

There's pretty much only one forum I actively watch and that is the convention contest one. Signal to noise in the rest sucks but there's not that much you can do about it when there are users in the five digits registered.

The problem with a lot of the new makers out here is that they approach from the wrong direction. I remember first seeing a post from someone on the AML ML about how they were going to take the AMV scene by storm quite sometime back. It was by that point that I had to laugh. "AMV Scene" WTF is that. And now it's gotten worse. You have all these people doing this just because they think it is cool to make an AMV (the in thing if you will). A lot of people would do themselves a lot of good if they didn't take this stuff so seriously. How the hell can someone go off about why they didn't get in a contest or how they were screwed? Perfectly fine to comment on others work but certainly not your own. Maybe the fact they didn't make the cut should indicate something to them.

We don't have many good new AMVs now because they come a dime a dozen that are all style and no substance. It's nice if your video has the fanciest effects and all but it's pointless if you don't start with a good idea or put your own emotion and creativity in it.
I'd rather see VCR edited stuff that's interesting than stuff with fancy effects or great editing that goes nowhere. Now I have no problem with people making AMV's and I think it is good that so many people are making AMVs (I remember a conversation I once had where I said I didn't care if everyone made only Eva videos). What I have a problem with is all these people busting onto this board shouting about how good they are and that you need to go download their videos. If you want people to download them that's fine but people used to earn this by word of mouth and conventions. Now everyone is trying to push their stuff onto you. I don't care if anyone sees my videos via the internet. If someone would like to see my stuff then I arrange it. That's what e-mails and personal websites are for. I don't like the idea of how this site seems to focus with many of you on getting hits to your videos. It's cool if it happens but so many are spending their time time

The Golden Age of AMV's online was 1999-mid 2000 on the AMV ML. A lot of great discussions and great information was shared by a lot of people. Where's that kind of spirit here? There aren't many people around like the Terry Chu's or Duane Johnsons' of the past.

Personally I would like to see reviews removed (yes I'm a radical). If someone wants to contact a person about a video then they can and their opinion or thanks would probably be of more use. The top AMV lists and especially links to files directly from the database serve only to increase the concept of getting hits to your video files. I can live with reviews though but I really wish there weren't direct links from the database anymore. I don't have a problem with the idea of links from reviews but in reality it's become such a negative that I think it adds to a growing cancer (fixation on getting downloads instead of actually making AMV's).

I think post-AX results will be very interesting. I'm curious to see how many crybabies there are about how they got screwed in the contest or how things should have happened. Before they cray about how they got screwed maybe they should contemplate what not getting in might mean.

I think the real big issue everyone should contemplate about is what type of image they want to represent the AMV community as. From the viewpoint of outsiders the online image is not good.

So go make AMV's, enter a con maybe, show them to your friends but don't expect that you've earned some right to get downloads or to become the greatest AMV creator of all time (because there isn't one). Learn to be happy in the fact that you made something. But don't look to something people like to call the "AMV scene" for fulfillment.

[Summanaro]

Okay from what I know(only read the first page) EK isn't exactly leaving, still going to be around, but just not going to be around much. That's what it sounded like to me in her journal..

[NPC3000]

Personally I would like to see reviews removed (yes I'm a radical). If someone wants to contact a person about a video then they can and their opinion or thanks would probably be of more use. The top AMV lists and especially links to files directly from the database serve only to increase the concept of getting hits to your video files. I can live with reviews though but I really wish there weren't direct links from the database anymore. I don't have a problem with the idea of links from reviews but in reality it's become such a negative that I think it adds to a growing cancer (fixation on getting downloads instead of actually making AMV's).

If we get rid of reviews on this site then the communal ideas that we have of what makes an AMV good or bad will be ruined, and part of the spirit of this website will be ruined right along with it.

Nobody is going to watch some newbie's crappy first video and take the time to write them an e-mail telling them in detail how to change their editing habits so they can make something better in the future. The only feedback anyone will get is if they make something excellent and get an "OMG you're a brilliant creator! this is a great video!!! etc etc etc". You know what that's called? Fanmail. Constructive criticism in AMVs will be gone.

Part of the purpose of this site is that we decide what makes a video good and bad and teach this to the newbies that submit them. Without the encouragement to think about these things we're basically a bunch of fanboys and fangirls. And the site will become nothing more than a list of every AMV in existence…with a fanbased chatroom and forum to accompany. At that point, if I were Phade, I'd seriously consider shutting the site off all together because, who really wants to waste their time maintaining a big AMV list that will just sit there and expand for all eternity?

You're suggestion about removing reviews from the website to me, seems like it will be more harmful to AMV making than helpful. Yes it will cut down on competition but it will also cut down on the number of creators working to make good videos and the rate at which creators progress. Believe it or not, reviews are helpful to some of the people on this website as is the site itself. I really doubt I would be making AMVs myself without a-m-v.org and the forum and reviews that it provides.

[MaboroshiStudio]

If we get rid of reviews on this site then the communal ideas that we have of what makes an AMV good or bad will be ruined, and part of the spirit of this website will be ruined right along with it.

and my point is that the lack of objective reviews DEVALUE this system so imho it is already tainted / ruined... with a lot of these so-called reviews which are just praise imho. These reviews skew what is considered to be good and creates a bad stereo-type of the ideal video. You can love a video, but that doesn't mean look beyond the faults of that video which I feel a good percentage of reviews do. I understand your point, but you are talking in regards to a perfect world... where all reviews are insightful, objective, and unbiased. Simply put that isn't the reality of a-m-v.org and why we feel that it is currently hurting the amv community in our honest humble opinions.

[Zarxrax]

Joe, let's sit back for a second here and take a look at the situation. I just went back and read your original post again. Basically you say that this community is quite pointless merely because people write pointless reviews that are merely pointless praise. Now on account of this, you don't think you want to be a part of the site.
Do I have this correct?

Now let's take a further step back. What is the purpose of this site? For people to get in-depth reviews? Hell no! The whole point of the site is to help create a database of every AMV known to man. Now are you saying that you, one of the most influential people in the AMV community, would totally screw Phade's site over by refusing to add in your videos, simply because people don't write detailed enough reviews for you??? Come on now! If you don't like the reviews your getting, no one is making you read them! Rather than getting all huffy and leaving, wouldn't it be more mature to simply ignore all your reviews, but still input your info for the good of the database?

[NPC3000]

[quote="MaboroshiStudio]and my point is that the lack of objective reviews DEVALUE this system so imho it is already tainted / ruined... with a lot of these so-called reviews which are just praise imho...I understand your point, but you are talking in regards to a perfect world... where all reviews are insightful, objective, and unbiased. Simply put that isn't the reality of a-m-v.org and why we feel that it is currently hurting the amv community in our honest humble opinions.[/quote]

I certainly didn't acknowledge the fact that a lot of reviews are pretty lame and unhelpful, but as you stated, some of them are Maboroshi. I've seen plenty of video introductions that thank various reviewers for helping them become better AMV creators. There's also me, I write reviews that try to be helpful and unbiased to aid the creator. Also, some of the reviews I've gotten have been very helpful and interesting.

I don't think the solution to the review problem is to get rid of reviews all together. This is for the reasons that I have stated previously. If reviews are sucky then we should find ways to encourage people to write them more intelligibly.

You may disagree with what I'm saying but I think that some constructive criticism is better than none at all and that this site is better off when we get to give each other our opinions on our videos.

[Chaos Angel]

See, I don't like the idea of taking away reviews completely, because constructive reviews are what has helped me to become better at the technical aspects of AMV crafting. My video image quality has become better through constructive reviews and asking intelligent questions.

True, the short and pretty much useless reviews are a bit annoying, but, if that's how people choose to express themselves, more power to them. The review is a place for them to give their opinions, and if that's all they have to say, then that's good enough. Maybe not for everyone, but it's enough for me to just get feedback, regardless of what kind. True, the long, involved reviews are great and helpful, but the short ones are nice too. "FRIKKEN AWESOME VIDEO, MAN!!" feels good. It's not helpful, but it feels good to hear.

[MaboroshiStudio]

[quote="MaboroshiStudio]and my point is that the lack of objective reviews DEVALUE this system so imho it is already tainted / ruined... with a lot of these so-called reviews which are just praise imho...I understand your point, but you are talking in regards to a perfect world... where all reviews are insightful, objective, and unbiased. Simply put that isn't the reality of a-m-v.org and why we feel that it is currently hurting the amv community in our honest humble opinions.

I certainly didn't acknowledge the fact that a lot of reviews are pretty lame and unhelpful, but as you stated, some of them are Maboroshi. I've seen plenty of video introductions that thank various reviewers for helping them become better AMV creators. There's also me, I write reviews that try to be helpful and unbiased to aid the creator. Also, some of the reviews I've gotten have been very helpful and interesting.

I don't think the solution to the review problem is to get rid of reviews all together. This is for the reasons that I have stated previously. If reviews are sucky then we should find ways to encourage people to write them more intelligibly.

You may disagree with what I'm saying but I think that some constructive criticism is better than none at all and that this site is better off when we get to give each other our opinions on our videos.[/quote]

Maybe I wasn't clean enough... I meant the rating / number system and the top 10. I have no probs with the reviews and think they are good to have, but when the review system is used as a popularity contest for people's fav videos then the rating NUMBERS devalue the system.

[Rozard]

Well, I just want to say that if you don't like someone's review, or all reviews, then ignore it. If you are making AMVs for yourself, and not for mass appeal, then you shouldn't get all uptight if someone doesn't get/like every nuance in it.