Which is harder to pull off...

[Ashton]

I am impressed by the Utena video Nightowl did in which he did both really well. The planning of the scenes must have taken a lot more thought but the effects look like they required some planning as well. That isn't a flash to the beat video though. It is multiple scene sometimes on the screen at once.

But there were things in that video that really ruined the mood (IE flowers placed over on of the characters crotch and nipples during a very serious scene.) I agree that the video is powerful, but there were some careless errors, and I could have done without all of the lip synching.

[MistyCaldwell]

Actually, I first enjoyed it as a comedy video. I couldn't help but laugh at a bunch of parts.

I'm not saying it's powerful or a flop, I just think it took a lot of effort to make it look ...right. It looks right to me. I've seen other videos that use bars or have multiple scenes on at once and they felt like the creator just said 'weeeeeee' and grabbed and spliced clips that had the character they wanted to show.

Overlays that use scenes that don't meld well are just as bad.

I still think it is a good example of effort on both points. My personal opinion of it, I liked it, but more so the more I watched it and paid attention to the editing.

[mexicanjunior]

A is harder for me but that's because I am effects inept.

[The Wired Knight]

B, because B requires a response from the viewers, and you can NEVER predict how they will react.

[Chaos Angel]

I would say that it is more difficult to create and maintain a certain mood in the video. However, effects aren't necessarily easy. Both require planning to ensure that they work properly and don't crap out at a key section of the video.

[Brolli411]

http://animemusicvideos.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=8322

[Nightowl]

Maybe if he happens across this thread he'll say something.

Wow. I am so late on this thread. See, this is why the vast majority of the AMV community is usually like "who in the hell is this guy?" I'm slow on the uptake in the forums. So, five days after the thread apparently died or moved to another section or something, I say something. Sorry about that.

I just couldn't pass up the chance to talk about Flowers in a public forum. Yeah. I win!

When I did Flowers I did plan out both scene placement and effects meticulously. What became a way to cover up subtitles became a jaunt into the territory one might call artistic interpretation, whatever that means. Yes, there are dramatic elements. And yes, there are comedic elements. And a lot of effects. And some failed lip-syncing. The video wasn't finished and I don't really care to go back to it. It was a week from completion and I wanted to get it shown at Otakon, so I figured, what the hell. People seem to like it sometimes, and I've moved on artistically.

In response to Ashton, the crotch/nipple flowers shot was actually an incredibly difficult decision - utilizing that pushed the video into slapstick for that particular scene rather than just dark comedy. But it got good responses, and eventually, gambitt convinced me to keep it in. I simply thought it would be fun to hop back and forth between dramatic and comedy, thus marking it dramedy, or satire, or... something.

In response to the thread itself, both are difficult. Depending on what you're going for one may be more difficult than the other.

And if you spend enough time making stuff and showing it to people, you can guarantee certain reactions more often than not. After almost ten years of studying audience reactions I feel it's fairly simple to manipulate certain audiences. If Vash is on the screen listening to a walkman doing a silly dance, you always get a reaction in the current climate. But why do that? Audience manipulation is possible, however, it's also pointless, so don't try it. Artistic vision is a far more important endeavor.

Okay, back to work.

-N