Video Information

Information

  • Member: MeriC
  • Studio: Temple O' Trunks
  • Title: Memory
  • Premiered: 2004-07-30
  • Categories:
  • Song:
    • Sugarcult Memory (Acoustic)
  • Anime:
  • Participation:
  • Comments: Title: "Memory"
    Song: "Memory" (Acoustic Version) by Sugarcult
    Footage: Sailor Moon (anime and live-action)
    Participation: Otakon 2004 Anime Music Video Contest - Romance/Sentimental category; AWA x (2004) Expo Contest

    Intro:
    This video is the result of my love for one of my oldest favorite series, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.... plus more! The creation of the new live-action J-Drama, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, has somewhat re-kindled my interest in the franchise. When something like THAT happens (read: getting re-obsessed with an old show), making a music video to it usually follows suit. :D

    The Story:
    The story of "Memory" is very simple, and focuses on the relationship between Usagi and Mamoru in both the anime and live-action versions of Sailor Moon. To cut to the chase and summarize things, here's the breakdown of the story I was trying to tell in my video:

    - Usagi and Mamoru meet, and are kind of awkward around each other.
    - Usagi and Mamoru begin to have flashbacks about each other regarding their past lives.
    - Usagi wants to begin and maintain a relationship despite their prior history, while Mamoru tries to *avoid* being in a relationship with Usagi, fearing their love may be doomed (as it was in their past). However, behind the tough front he puts up, Mamoru really does care for Usagi.
    - As Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, the pair is attracted to each other. Eventually, the two discovered each other's secret identity (in this video of mine, I try to make it seem as though they don't know that they know who each other really is).
    - When they DO discover each other's identity, complete memories of their past come to them in full effect, forcing them to realize that there is some sort of romantic relationship between them.
    - Mamoru still tries to avoid such a fate, while Usagi still tries to bring them together.
    - After some more flashbacks, Usagi desperately tries to get through to Mamoru. Fortunately, he finally accepts her love, and the couple lives happily ever after! (Whoa, a romance video made by me with a HAPPY ending!? Alright!)

    That's more or less that! I slightly twist the order and meaning of events that occur in the series to bend to my will (muwahaha!), but overall, this video exists as a simple love story.

    Why this video?:
    The other main reason I made "Memory" is because I wanted to try comparing the two versions of Sailor Moon. I thought it would be an interesting challenge to try to work with not only two versions of the same story, but also to work with two different types of media: animation and live-action. To my knowledge, something like this had not been done in an anime music video before (I could very well be wrong, of course), and I was curious to see what the result would be. Not unsurprisingly, it was very hard to find scenes that would work together and try to get the theme of the video across without looking extremely cheesy. I'll admit it, as much as I like the live-action version of Sailor Moon, I'm not in denial and am indeed aware that it's high on the hokey scale, so I tried to make this video as un-laughable as humanly possible.

    How did I make it?:
    I had originally envisioned a MUCH more elaborate video with snazzy masking and other effects. In the end, I lost to laziness and deadlines and stuck to mostly cross-dissolves and simple masking and feathering effects. The most notable masking effects I used are on the "photo" scene, when anime-Mamoru is gazing at a photo of live-action-Usagi and Mamoru. I also used a mask and a glowing feathering effect on the live-action-to-anime princess transformation scene :44 seconds into the video. Other than that, this video is pretty technically simple, especially compared to what I originally wanted to do (i.e.: shots of people's faces masked into windowpanes, split screens, etc.).

    Comparison of the two shows: things to look for:
    I used the technique of comparison as my main method of showing similarities between the two series. For example,

    - near the beginning of the video at :16, I showed a shot of Usagi and Mamoru sitting next to each other awkwardly on a couch, and then I cut to a scene of the two sitting next to each other looking awkward and sitting on a bench.
    - the "Usagi-as-Princess" scene beginning at :37 was also intended to show a lot of similarities between both versions of Usagi.
    - the "Mamoru getting up from bed" scene starting at :51 shows both versions of Mamoru waking up from nightmares caused by visions of a past life. I really liked how this section turned out.
    - one of my favorite comparative shots in the video takes place at 1:25, when the anime and live-action versions of Mamoru both snub and push away Usagi on the street. Ooooh, shot down!
    - 1:50 to 2:06, just general shots of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask looking longingly at each other in both versions of the show.
    - 3:25 to 3:30 could quite possibly be one of my favorite sections in the whole video, simply because the shots of Usagi and Mamoru in the anime and live-action shows are *so damn similar*, it's freaky! They're even in the same positions! Whoa!

    Conclusion:
    All in all, this video was made because I wanted to have fun and try meshing together two versions of the show that got me into anime in the first place. I wouldn't go as far as calling this a "tribute" video, but it is a little bit sentimental to me as a fan.

    I hope you can look past the obvious high corny factor of the video (i.e.- how silly the live-action versions of the characters look), and see the idea I was trying to get across. If you try looking at the video from a comparative standpoint, and say "hey, that's cool, those two scenes are very similar," then I'll be very happy and feel like my job was a success!

    I hope you enjoy the video! If not... I hope you think it's at least something unique! :D

Opinions (24)

  • Orig
  • Visual
  • Sound
  • Synch
  • Lip
  • Effects
  • Effort
  • Re-View
  • Overall
  • 9.65
  • 9.30
  • 9.65
  • 9.50
  • 9.45
  • 9.50
  • 8.85
  • 9.45

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