I know making AMVs is about the fun of it and not winning competitions...but

[Animetrix Videos]

I've been making AMVs, if you can even call them that, lol, since I was 12, first with using blurry photos and terribly exported mp3s on my school laptop, so for a full 6 years now.

I've won a few competitions over the last two years, which is nice, but damn does it sometimes feel like I haven't progressed that much at editing when I never even get semi-finalist, lol. As soon as I look at others' works, it doesn't feel like I should even submit my videos to the competitions anymore because it feels kinda pointless for me.

But no matter what, I'm glad I've come this far with my editing. Idk if I'm suffering from burnout, but making AMVs right now just hasn't been like, as satisfying for me as it once was.

[Katranat]

I'm going to be super cliche and say that comparison is the thief of joy. It's true though! I can't speak specifically on the competition aspect as I don't engage with those myself often (there are other people on this forum who will be able to talk about that better), but there will always be other editors/videos out there that are "better" than yours, and this is something that most of us feel at some point, even the people who appear to be at the top and winning all the awards etc. It can suck a lot sometimes, but the best thing to do is find a way to learn to be happy with yourself and what you are creating. A few suggestions which have worked for me over the years:

Talk to other editors! Find an editing community that you gel with and just talk about editing (this site can be good for that, though it is a bit quiet, also Discord has a few communities). It can be really eye opening to see what other editors struggle with, and how they think about the editing process. You might also find a lot of help and support, and you might have some knowledge that could help someone else!

Know that someone out there will love your work regardless, whether it becomes a finalist in a competition or not - like me! I adore your videos! Your Transfiguration video using multiple Magical Girl anime was one of my top favourite AMVs that was released in 2023!

It's hard to judge your work yourself sometimes, and again this goes back to talking to other editors, but in this case you don't need a whole community, if you find maybe one or two other editor friends they will be able to help you critique your work more impartially, and you can bounce ideas off of each other too!
(you are definitely improving btw. Your latest Madoka AMV is stunning and I would say it's technically better than your Transfiguration AMV. Note however that I would consider both of these videos to be very good - the level of technical ability is not usually what makes a video "bad" or "good")

Try to reframe any of those moments where you see a video where you think you might never acheive the same level of editing, and instead look at it as a source of inspiration! So, think of it as a "how can I do that?" rather than "I'm never going to be able to do that". Even if you try and do the same thing it doesn't turn out as you wanted, the process of trying will help improve your work, and over time you can incorperate lots of little bits and pieces you've seen in other people's videos, and make them your own!

Burnout is also valid. If you are genuinely at a point where nothing seems to be motivating you to edit and you're not enjoying it anymore, then it's completely fine to take a break. It can be quite refreshing to just go away for a bit and come back to it later.

[Animetrix Videos]

Man, I seriously needed to hear this. I keep forgetting that I started editing as a passion project, and not just to garner attention online. Sometimes it feels wrong to be disappointed because well, I have a really supportive community on my youtube channel and that just a few years ago, I didn't even have that, lol. It feels so weird that there's always a new goal to reach, and I've been losing right of that.

Seriously, thank you for your support these last two years. It means everything to me, it truly does. Jealousy stinks a bit, but geninuely wanting to improve has always been my main motivation.

Thanks Katranat

[TnAdct1]

Trust me. This isn't a problem that only you have.

As an editor, I usually enter an AMV into contests in hopes that it can find an audience first, as I know my limits (and realize that some videos are just that good) and can tell when I'm up against a superior video. What discourages me is that with it being easy to send a video to a convention, the same stuff is always showing up at every con, which makes me reluctant to send some of my works at certain because I feel that it would get lost in the crowd while the ones that have been showing up at almost every other con makes it in.

At the same time, as I continue to edit, my skills do start to improve, as I learn some techniques that some editors use for their works (i.e. the Ken Burns Effect) and gotten used to using masking to create certain scenes that aren't part of the original source and handle some lip syncs. Also, don't underestimate any projects that you may consider "small", as you'll be surprised to see how they can end up making the finals (and even winning) at some of the bigger cons (with me also being surprised at some of my AMV Hell 8 contributions making the final cut, as I had my own self-grading of them, and some of them were on my lower tier in terms of how likely I felt they would make the project).

Meanwhile, I do agree that burnout can affect things, as I myself have been losing interest in anime cons due to me getting older and the lack of variety that I've been seeing at most of them. Also, an idea that you may think will work will probably not get off the ground when it's time to actually edit the video, while some ideas (like my most recent one) may take some years to properly develop, as more footage could be required before all the pieces can fit into place.

[TritioAFB]

Dont you worry about that we all have been in the same situation as you do