AMV Research & Presentation Materials

[griffinspire]

It’s been a while! My name is Chris, though I also go by griffinspire across various social media platforms.
I’m a diagnosed schizophrenic, currently undergoing formal testing for dysgraphia and dyscalculia. I was born nearly albino, which makes visible light physically painful—compounded by schizophrenia, anxiety, and other birth-related conditions, plus a history of head trauma from sports and fighting. Personality-wise, I’d describe myself as a lawful neutral, level 2 rogue / level 2 warlock—think Garik from Star Trek.
Professionally, I spent years reading contracts aloud in the rental and financial industries, which sharpened my attention to detail. That skill helped me find deals, build tech teams, and lead Anime Banzai’s marketing efforts until I became fully disabled in 2020.
Since then, I’ve volunteered as a tech researcher focused on two questions:
1. Are AMVs legal?
2. If not, how could they be?
I began presenting my findings in Utah and the Pacific Northwest in 2021. In 2023, I joined the founding board of Hachi Con, where I helped build a strong foundation and successfully defended AMVs as a valid art form and historical medium during an IRS review.
I’m currently pursuing an Integrated Studies degree exploring the intersection of business and theater. I’ve also worked hard to temper my schizophrenia’s “red string theory” tendencies with Occam’s Razor, therapy, and medication.
My research now focuses on the broader societal forces in the U.S. that inspired many editors to create AMVs. I’ve also collected a trove of classic AMVs from the giants of the ’80s and ’90s that I’m reviewing—and I’d love feedback.
In the meantime, feel free to check out my (absurdly long but surprisingly funny) PowerPoint presentation:

https://1drv.ms/f/c/b02796e0c9e2b70b/Eg ... w?e=fdjMe6

Thanks for your time,
Chris

[griffinspire]

AMV History and fundamentals. A two-hour PowerPoint, approximately 90-minute mp4 that presents the basics of making an AMV by showing editors who have done them well and engaging you with infographics to help break down more complex concepts as relevant live action footage to show many broader market cultural influences on AMV editing.

Don’t panic, there is DBZ to Linkin Park.
And donuts at the end.
I was the guy who took down his presentation, Thank you for the feedback I will be publishing ongoing updates here.

Chris Allen

https://1drv.ms/f/c/b02796e0c9e2b70b/Eg ... w?e=LWK7AM

[Kireblue]

Since this is neither a guide nor a tutorial and is the same presentation that you posted last month, I moved your second thread from the guides section and merged it with your first.

[griffinspire]

Hi! Thanks so much for combining the two posts, I really appreciate it. I had been experimenting with different formats a few weeks apart and wasn’t quite sure where it fit best, so this helps a lot.
I’m a little confused about the classification, though. From my perspective, this presentation functions as a guide: it introduces foundational concepts for beginners , like why licensed media matters, what effect layers are, and how aspect ratios work while using examples from editors across decades to show how these rules have been creatively broken. It then brings everything together with a classic AMV that demonstrates multiple principles in action.
If the definition of a “guide” requires more narration or voiceover from me, I’d love to explore that further. I’m definitely open to feedback and discussion on how to make it clearer or better aligned with the category.

[Kireblue]

Hi! Thanks so much for combining the two posts, I really appreciate it. I had been experimenting with different formats a few weeks apart and wasn’t quite sure where it fit best, so this helps a lot.
I’m a little confused about the classification, though. From my perspective, this presentation functions as a guide: it introduces foundational concepts for beginners , like why licensed media matters, what effect layers are, and how aspect ratios work while using examples from editors across decades to show how these rules have been creatively broken. It then brings everything together with a classic AMV that demonstrates multiple principles in action.
If the definition of a “guide” requires more narration or voiceover from me, I’d love to explore that further. I’m definitely open to feedback and discussion on how to make it clearer or better aligned with the category.

The format, overall length, and generalization of much of the mentioned information is what causes me to classify it as more of a presentation than a guide. Guides are also typically either very concise or outlined to cover a series of specific and related topics that a person can scroll through to find the piece of information they are looking for. And so I don't believe that the structure of your slides and video aligns with that.

[griffinspire]

I completely agree with you about the length; it is on the longer side. That said, I’ve seen many reference guides that are quite extensive, which is why I included the PDF as a quick lookup tool to complement the full piece.
Regarding the generalization of terms, I’ve received feedback over the years that many guides felt too technical for new editors. My goal was to create a more approachable introduction to the concepts that other guides explore in depth.
Since this is a living document, I’m open to restructuring it for a more specific purpose or breaking it into smaller, more focused sections. My only hesitation is that when I’ve done that in the past, it sometimes led to people understanding what’s considered “good” without grasping the historical context behind it.
I really like your idea of adding a table of contents at the beginning—it would improve usability. Do you have any other feedback on the project?
Also, since your comment ties into the historical aspect, have you found someone to take on the documentary project? I’d love to be involved in that.


Chris Allen

[edwill]

This is a fascinating project. That kind of context often gets overlooked when people only focus on editing techniques or contest results. The current format reads more like a presentation than a traditional “guide,” but I think that’s actually part of its strength. it works well as an educational overview for conventions or newcomers who might not have time to read through multiple forum threads.

[griffinspire]

Thank you both for the willingness to debate more procedural aspects of the post.i double checked my own notes and the number of times the word "presentation" appears really drives home my error.
Short version I graciously concede the debate.

Chris allen

[griffinspire]

This is a fascinating project. That kind of context often gets overlooked when people only focus on editing techniques or contest results. The current format reads more like a presentation than a traditional “guide,” but I think that’s actually part of its strength. it works well as an educational overview for conventions or newcomers who might not have time to read through multiple forum threads.

I would love to present it at more conventions and get more people doing AMVs (shameless plug).:the live performance I pass out much of the hardwares discussed,already dead, so people can play around with it.i also interact with the screen to better dive home concepts in a shadow cast way similar to a rocky horror picture show shadow cast.

I think my focus on it being a guide was so it didn't get lost in the forum threads.in regards to the presentation, did you laugh, and if so did you expect to laugh going in?