AnimeMusicVideos.org

Wow! To see how far I've come in such a short while, compare this thread with this ! Anyway, I've got my hands on a copy of Premiere 6.5! :D I've even finished the first verse and chorus, and I am happy with the results thus far. However, I am running out of hard drive space with the method I am usi...

I am currently working on my first video, which is to an older song. Of course, I'm an older guy. :P (Well, 27 in a few weeks. So not terribly old, but I imagine I am older than the mean of a-m-v.org.) ...Wow! I just googled it, and I am only a year older than the song I'm using! But anyway...I imag...

Thanks, turboneko . I was just recently getting the impression that using DivX for the editing was a nono. I will have to see if this InterVideo that I am using will edit with the huffyuv codec. That seems to be my missing link. I just hope this darn POS Intervideo doesn't pixelate me to death if it...

...a dangerous thing.

OK, OK. I admit it. I am a n00b. I am working on my first amv right now. Here is a short (?) tale of my woes:

First I started with learning how to rip a dvd. I think I pretty much have this part down. I am currently using Gordian Knot 0.28 for all of my ripping needs. It seems to fit the bill rather well at this point in time. I like the fact that I have my choice of several different codecs. I've been using the Divx 5 codec, but it seems that the general consensus on these boards is that Divx 3.11 is better for amv work. Am I right here? If I am, why is 3.11 better than 5? I mean, more is better, right? At any rate, I am ripping so that a 23 minute anime episode comes in at just over 300 MB without sound. The quality seems to be pretty darn good, if not as crystal as a DVD.

OK, so I learned how to rip a dvd. Next, I was lent a copy of Avid Xpress DV 3.5 by a friend who wasn't using it. (No, really! I have the dongle and everything! He isn't using it right now, and has no plans to. He knows I am trying to make an amv and he is quite supportive, so he lent it to me on a pretty long-term basis.) So I try it out. Well, first thing I realized about Avid is that it only likes its own codec. I don't. See, I ripped two test scenes, about 5 minutes each. One was from Eva D&R, and the other was from End of Eva. The aspect ratios are different. So when I observed these in the test window of Avid, I found that the sizes of the two were radically different. The EoE scene was about half the size of the D&R scene. This obviously just won't do. Combine this hassle with the fact that Avid is obscenely slow when importing a file (in its own codec, none-the-less), and the fact that my music is choppy to the point of unlistenable when I try to watch the timeline, and it seems like it isn't the program for me. Oh, and I am a n00b, so I am not exactly finding the interface to be less than intuitive.

So I scrapped Avid offa my hard drive. (no worries, I still have the cd and dongle if I choose to reinstall it) Oh, and it isn't like I am totally underpowered, either. I built myself a pretty decent box. (P4 2.8 Ghz, 512 MB 2700 DDR RAM, one 60 GB and one 40 GB hd, GeForce 4200 128 MB video card, SoundBlaster 16 PCI) Sure, I could use another 512 of RAM, but who couldn't?

I tried Windows Movie Maker for about 30 seconds. Heh.

Then I remembered that I got some swag with my video card. Aha! Intervideo WinProducer 2.0! It isn't professional software like Avid, Final Cut Pro or Adobe, but heck, it beats the snot outta Windows Movie Maker. It even has some basic transition effects, like fading and wiping.

So I was finally able to put some video to some music, and I was pretty happy with the results. Until I used a major action sequence. Very kinetic, lots of activity. In the rip, the interlacing is pretty heavy in this scene, which I could accept for the time being. But what Intervideo did when exported it out to take a look is pixelated the scene all to hell. I mean bad. 1/4" chunky blocks.

Frustration insues. Computer is spared by the strongest of willpower. And my baseball bat was upstairs at the time, so it's good that I'm lazy.

So that's where I'm at right now. I will spare you my lip-synching woes, etc, because I understand that most of it just takes practice. If anyone has any suggestions, or just commiseration, it would probably help me alot. Please try not to Read ErMaC & AbsoluteDestiny's Friendly AMV Guides me, b/c I have. Perhaps I don't have quite enough experience for it to sink in totally.

I might get other software, but it has to be reasonable in price. I have seen the suggestions and lists on this board, and I am interested in Vegas and a few others. I'd love to get my hands on a copy of Adobe, but I'd really love a new car too.

I know that this is a long post, so I thank you for trudging through it for me. You guys all rock, and do great work. My goal is to have a video that is good enough for competition at Animazement come next May. With your help, I know I can realize that goal. Thanks!