1. What motivates you to make AMVs?
basicaly it boils down to a love for anime and music. im also one with a creative side. so the chance to mix two of my favorite passtimes is something id love to do.
2. Everywhere I look I see contests, opinion boards and various AMV critiquing, would you say that the growth of the AMV community is built primarily upon competition and if so, why?
the amv comunity is built upon varios things. one of theys things is the fact that amv's are all similar to the stuff we grew up, and are growing up with. theX generation (born 1960-79) and Y generation (1980-2000) grew up with music and video being imprinted into the very basics of their lives and culture. also, the Y generation grew around a higher technology, seeing varios flashy and, at the time amazing visual effects. this was a constant feast for thier eye's and they grew into it. the emergence and groth of anime in western culture gew into having a comunity of its own, one which was, and is constantly growing. also, the advent of music videos helped alot to start the amv comunity. all (presumably) amv'ers grew up watching videos that played to their favorite songs. the ability to make music videos has exited many people, and anime fans love the idea of seeing their favorite shows be put in a video with some music. for thoughs of us tht are amv'ers or aspire to, it just seems like some sort of fantasy at first. to be part of this elite group of anime fans that can create theys amazing things which all other anime fans watch in aw. its this idea of being part of a unique and special comunity that has made people wana join the amv comunity. competition is not in any way related to the growth of amv's. sure, when entering contests people do want to do thier best, and presumably beter everyone els. but the drive to create amv's, esspecialy once you've settled down into the notion of what they are, how to do things and the reality of it all, (like, making an amv doesnt instantly make you cool, it doesnt help you get girls iether
) you realise the real drive of the amv comunity and the reason for its growth is a pursuit for creativity, for art. for making something thats damn good and which you can call your own
3. Does the wider availability of video editing software account for the large amount of growth in cutting edge AMVs or is it rather a product of the competitive nature of making AMVs?
no no no no no, stop thinking that amv's are so competitive. i mean, as long as people like/love your video. as long as you get people complimenting (or even giving some constructive criticism) then most people couldnt give the shit wheather they win some competition or not. making amv's is something that evolves with you. like any other hoby or passtime, the more you spend doing it the beter you get. the ebter you get the more chalenges you want, the more you want to improve your skills, the more you want to show people how good you are, you more you want to create, to be creative. amv's isnt about competition, its about creating art. its about creativity (my god, how much times have i said that allready, do you get my point ? )
4. What are the most popular video editing techniques and how have they developed over the past 5 years?
as an ameture amv'er and one thats only bein doing it for a year (actualy i didnt even start geting serios about it till late last year) i cant comment much about techniques. however, one thing i have realised is that no mater what, your ability to sync video to audio is what will mater in the end. the beter your sync the harder it is for people to notice things such as video quality (or lack off), audio quality and other things whech may put the video down
5. When you make AMVs and use such video editing techniques, are they achieved simply by the video editing software or are the basis and execution of them derived and evolved from other AMVs that you have seen?
anyone can pick up a paintbursh and move it over a canvas. but it takes someone with skill to create a masterpiece. even the most basic video editor being used today (windows movie maker 2 im presuming) is not as restrictive as most people think it is. an amv'ers ability to create something amazing depends far more on thier level of skill that the video editor. if talking about influence, then yes, amv'ers can be inflenced by other amv'ers work. amv'ers evolve by increasingly upping the scale for ourselves. and we do that by creating increasingly more technicaly and creatively amazing amv's. however, the best way to evolve and up the scale is not allways to look at the last best thing and try to beter it. sometimes the best way to evolve is by doing things differently, by being outlandishly original and doing things that no-ones even thought off.
6. Who do YOU think is ONE of THE BEST AMV creators and why?
well, unlike most people, im not gona be tempted to choose a well known editor, because well, i have unique taests
. one of my favorite editors is a guy called Braveliver . unlike almost all other amv'ers that seem to sync using many, and a varied amount of scenes in thier vids, this guy does it differently. he uses a small amount off long scenes (some pushing over a minute) in his amv's and syncs them to perfection. its beautiful in a way ive never seen in any other amv. and no, he doesnt just plot a few scenes and finish the thing within minutes. thier are lots of small edits in his amv's to make sure they perfectly sync. thing is you dont reaise theys because the long scenes feel mroe natural like thiers no editing at all. thats part of the genius of it all. you dont notice most of his edits, leaving the amv feeling more natural. its a unique style, and its an amazing one.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Remember, none of these questions has a "right" or "wrong" answer, they are YOUR opinions on how YOU view things.
actualy, your wrong their budy. you see, im allways rights. never wrong. thier are people that dissagree with me, but thier just idiots and you can ignore them. all sane and moral people know im right and instantly adjust their views and beliefes once they hear my oppinion on a certian subject. however, thier are some sad people that for some stuid reason dont think im right. theys people, im sad to say are imbeciles and deserve to be shot.
I wrote this like at 3 o'clock in the morning after watching Penn&Teller's BULLSHIT on Showtime, so I was just venting my thoughts and frustrations ... thank you Penn & Teller!
BWAHAHAHAHAH!