Year of Slump

[AbsoluteDestiny]

I don't mean to "sandbag" for AWA or whatnot...but I think a big part of it is that so many contests have been run so poorly this year (Katsucon, AX, etc.)

Yeah, I'd definitely agree there.

For example Robert Cole's 'Everybody's free to watch anime', which so deservingly won an award at the awa expo, was entered into AX. However, since it's not really suited to categories it was swamped in the comedy category. I think all of the AX entries were unlucky to be entered into that contest as it did nothing to help promote the videos due to the generally negative feelings about the contest.

and yes, AX wasn't the only poor contest this year.

Ah well, it doesnt really matter, there was a great appreciation of the hobby at AWA so I think we'll see more great things next year.

[Big Big Truck]

I applaud Darius' "Careless Whisper" video for proving to us all that traditional videos can still rock the house. No super-fancy effects, no 2-week-old-only-in-Japan anime... just a good solid video. Great stuff.

[Fluxmeister]

If this year was a slump... then was last year the pinnacle of amvs?

Comparing last year and this year (uhm due to my own suicidal jump into
amving Jan of 2001)... Both were awesome. Last year saw the bloom of
a community, the explosion of interest, and many outright amazing videos.

This year has seen the skills of many editors honed and the standards raised (not just in editing but in methods etc.). If one thing stands out to me about this year, it's the dive into some of the most technical and imaginative effects... something I am not sure I played much of a role in! LOL!

Image Matte? Whazzzat?

This year has just as many amazing videos as the last. I stand by this especially after seeing many of the videos at AWA.

I try to equally appreciate technical videos and normal cut videos. Both, if implemented well, can be amazing. I hold a bit of a concern that some people pass up the 'normal cut' videos simply because they don't implement some new effect or attempt to revolutionize the world. If this is the goal of amv editing, then I must have forgotten to read the rules.

[Kusoyaro]

Image Matte? Whazzzat?

I try to equally appreciate technical videos and normal cut videos. Both, if implemented well, can be amazing. I hold a bit of a concern that some people pass up the 'normal cut' videos simply because they don't implement some new effect or attempt to revolutionize the world. If this is the goal of amv editing, then I must have forgotten to read the rules.

We AMVers need our own Dogma 95!! Who's with me??

[Nightowl]

I feel the need to actually post something in the forum due to the fact I've been a great part in describing this past year as the "year of slump." There are a couple of things I have to say about this... First, I always believed the "year of slump" began after AWA of last year. This is why I said I'd reserve my final personal (yes, personal, I'm not condemning the world, these are my personal opinions) analysis until after AWA of this year.

I must say, AWA8 had an incredible work turnout. The majority of you did some amazing work that I will not easily forget. For the first time in a long time, I once again have AMVs I actually enjoy watching on a daily basis.

This is not to say everyone sucked in the past year - there was some incredible work turned out. It's just that the bad outweighed the good. Yes, I'm severly judgemental, but that's only because I've witnessed this steady decline. I'm hoping AWA isn't the only place the goodness and happiness of conceptual video making will be present. Just because a contest is small doesn't mean it's not important.

In the end, this is all a hobby, and we should be a lot more laid back about the whole thing. Er, I. Well, we. A lot of people take a lot of things way too seriously. Yes, I can get bitter, but that's mostly because for me, this is simply a hobby, not a contest of popularity. I like to have fun with a video, and when some snot-nosed little dick waltzes in and claims my shit is no better than the rat turds he finds on 42nd, it miffs me a little, as I'm sure it does others as well.

I believe I was initially upset about this topic and the aforementioned "year of slump" mostly because I've come to hate the forums. I love the cons. I love the con atmosphere. I love partying with you guys. Ian, I never thanked you for allowing me to relive one of my favorite things to do back in my Brooklyn days. That was awesome. Everyone at AWA was great. It was fun, it was joyous.

Then I come back to these forums and while the majority of the people who attended AWA (and were able to finally put faces to the community) are rather gracious and in tune with a much more family atmosphere of a community, I still find a lot of petty, competitive people. Everyone was gracious and thankful at the con. The forums are another matter.

So, in the end, I suppose my real problem is that I love cons, I love hanging out with you guys, even if I don't know (or don't remember... ahem...) you. It's the forums I tend to loathe.

But then, what do I know. I'm a fuckin newbie.

-N

(do I ever shut up?)

[aluminumstudios]

I have to agree with much of what you said Nightowl. Even though my name as been associated with AMVs for a few years and many people know me, I've been all but absent from forms because of the negativity that I witness.

However, cons have been the opposite. There is a real sense of mutual respect there. I love hanging out with people. I've even made friends with several people at cons who I wasn't completely friendly with on-line.

So really understand where you are coming from Nathan.

One of the resons I'm here now is because I put faces to SO many names at AWA and everyone was so decent. I'm kind of giving the on-line community a second chance because the sampling I got at AWA was such high quality (in terms of the people and what they were doing.)

While there are many others who've been around much longer than me, I showed up before the on-line AMV explosion. In that time much has changed. I think it might be better to describe this past year as a year of growing pains for AMVs rather than a slump.

[DiemondDagger]

Wow, I kinda don't want to destroy the whole Karma on this post. All these good AMV creators. And then...I post.

But anyways no time like the present, so I disagree with Ian.
Only in my opinion though. I always get ideas but for some reason I can't bring myself to make them. I think it's because my expectations for myself are to high for my ability. I read some of the Adobe guide that my friend 'mysteriously' found recently and most of it flew over my head.
I picked up on little quarks that make my editing life easier but some of the more complex tricks, (that are in many videos by the following creators who have posted) just, perplex me. I get confused with the numbers and times. I haven't given up on editing. By far no. But instead of going about and flopping around on a video, and only discouraging myself, I decided to take a Communications course, which deals with editing video. When we get into it further I'll ask him about Adobe Premiere, and perhaps he has heard of it.
Then maybe after being taught by someone physically here and someone who has more expertise in the subject, i'll be able to go about editing much more differently.

[AbsoluteDestiny]

I'm not actually sure how you are disagreeing with me.

I never once specified that technical expertise was a prerequisite to great amv making. I know my videos have recently become synonymous with "effects" (which is a word I really hate) but essentially all I was saying was:

'Many thought this year was full of crap amvs, but I went to AWA and loads of amvs ROCKED!'

I didn't specify anything about technical acheivements, although there have been a few notable ones, I was just commenting on the overal quality of the videos in general. My favourite videos this year are very simple but there are some very very good highly technical videos too.

My point is that the popularity of the hobby has not swamped over creativity in the way that some people predicted.

[DiemondDagger]

Hey if I say I'm disagreeing with you...I'M DISAGREEING WITH YOU!

^-^

[paizuri]

I'm just here because I'm an AMV creator groupie. 8)

I don't particularly a year of slump. I've been attending contests since '98, and way back then, you were lucky to get one or two well-edited videos. Now, EVERY video is well-edited. The quality of the editing is hardly an issue any more 80% of the time. I think we're just so used to seeing universally decent videos nowadays, it's much less of a rollercoaster ride, and we're less enthused when a truly good video comes up. Or something.

I'm not sure if we're seeing universally decent videos so much as mediocre videos. I don't know about you all, but I think a good music video needs to be able to evoke some sort of feeling within me as I watch it. Whether this be wonder, excitement, longing, fear, nostalgia or what have you, it is this ability that sets apart a video that is merely well-edited from a great video.

I think the problem is that people are focusing too much on the technical side of things to the detriment of the artistic/conceptual aspect of their videos. Editing music videos isn't just about "beat-matching" or "image matting". These are just techniques. Tools. Just because it takes a bit of effort to achieve an "effect" doesn't necessarily make it EFFECTIVE. Yes, timing is important, but so are well-placed scenes. And by good placing, I mean scenes that flow together or not (depending on their purpose). Does this mean that every video needs to tell a story? No. But if you're trying to make an action-oriented video, don't make it lag. If you're trying to make a dramatic video (which DOES need to tell some kind of story), think about exactly why you put one particular scene after another. When making any video, think why you are using any particular effect on it and what you hope to achieve in the viewer with said effect. Hell, just think about if the overall video seems to have the desired impact that you want to give it.

And what is this preoccupation with getting a good song/show combination or with making the visuals follow the exact wording of a song? If that's what you're trying to do, that's fine, but that doesn't mean you HAVE to. If you like a particular song and a particular anime, but they don't seem to "fit" well, then MAKE the footage fit the song. Isn't that what video EDITING is about? And if it doesn't fit it 100%, what's the big deal? Do live action music videos make 100% sense and match the lyrics exactly? No! So why should AMVs be any different?

Anyways, this is threatening to go off-topic I think (I should of stopped a couple paragraphs ago), so I'm just stop soon. The bottom line is: if you're not sure what exactly you're trying to do with your video, you may very well end up with a mediocre video.