The Importance of Video Titles.

[Arigatomina]

I don't like titles and never have. Most of the movies and books and stories I like best have simple, unobtrusive titles, and I like that. I've read fics and amv titles that are flashy, have nothing to do with the work, or worse, say exactly what the content of the work is to the point where I don't need to read/watch it - I can just look at the title. Those I tend to watch/read and pretend the title is something different (so it doesn't bias me). When I think of a title for something, I think, 'what is going to be a quick connection for the reader/watcher, if I had to pick one word that fits what I'm aiming for, what would it be, how do my favorite classics do titles for this sort of fic/vid?' And then I go with the first thing that comes to mind. Sure, it's lazy, but I'd much rather have a title like 'It,' or 'Beauty' than something my readers/viewers can't even pronounce. I've read too much to see it any differently. If the content of the novel can stand on its own, it doesn't need some tongue twister title. And if it's a simple story (or vid, or painting/sketch), then there's no need to grandize it with some mighty title that makes it out to be more than it is. If it's about Hope, then by all means, give it some title that refers to the concept of hope, not 'Awaking the Violet Abysmal'. Years in fandoms and I still can't stand reading/watching something with a title that promises originality and vivid imagination only to find the content could have been summed up with a single word.

/consider me lazy, I like what I like and will not change for you ^.^

[Voices_Of_Ryan]

Everyone who knows me (And most who dont) know my stance on this... No need to repeat.

[Undertow]

I try to put a lot of thought into the names i give my videos, but i suck at it. My most original would be "the Spicy McWolfwood Jig" i think, the rest is pretty basic, or just plain stupid. Alright, i suck, happy now?

[Katsumi_AMVs]

I suck with my vid titles

[burntoast]

I like to give my titles a bit of a "zing" to them.. Otherwise, they're relatively simple.

[Jnzk]

and after watching the video, the title becomes trivial. except for SSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOO-OOOOOUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLL GGGGGGGGGGGLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOO-OOOOO (dashes added to make the Os show up), which has forever tarnished my favorite videos page.

I hear you brother!

But on topic: I usually spend at least some time thinking about the title. I want to to tie the title with the song somehow. I take a word or two from the lyrics, modify them a little or add something and that's it. Or come up with something else that connects the two. I try to keep the titles relatively short to give them some punch.

[OhmGautama]

I just name my titles with the artist and animes used, I have never really thought about giving them special names It doesnt matter much to me personally about the title of the amv, when I search for amv's its usually by a song I like or anime I like, so the title doesnt mean too much to me, though I have nothing against people who choose to name their amvs

[TaranT]

Most of mine use the title of the song or just the first name of the character the video is about. Not very creative with these, although I thought "Dog Grrl" was a pretty good title for the one.

[Arigatomina]

I just name my titles with the artist and animes used, I have never really thought about giving them special names It doesnt matter much to me personally about the title of the amv, when I search for amv's its usually by a song I like or anime I like, so the title doesnt mean too much to me, though I have nothing against people who choose to name their amvs

You know, considering most of the videos here are made up of other people's work, there might be something to say for 'naming it like it is.' After all, the combination of the two (anime and song) is the only thing the creator of the video can honestly put a name to, and even then, some combinations have been done so many times that the idea of getting 'rights' to a combo by giving it an original title seems a moot point. A person could try and 'title' the idea for story vids, but if that story is based on either the anime or the song, it's just ego trying to claim ownership over that.

Still, it would be dull around here if everyone who used an anime named their videos after that anime, or the same for songs. If nothing else, looking at the titles in the more creative members' profiles is an interesting read. It makes me wonder what they'd do if they were making things up from scratch - whether the content would match the creative 'claim' in that title. I've yet to find a novel better written than 'War and Peace,' and that's about as unoriginal a title as you can think of. Imagine what a strangely original title would mean in terms of content. It's definitely an interesting topic to think about, even if we are talking about titles for fanwork.

[pen-pen2002]

"RNITTBS"

That just looks like someone with turrets pounded out a spasm on their keyboard. Not to take anything away from the video mind you, the title is just abhorrent.

I think Abriviation is something that only the popular editors have to worry about, but hey you never know when a video will become well known so it's probably a good thing to keep in mind.

I like one word titles... does this imply a lack of effort?

Not at all! One word titles imply more effort because it often gets down to the essence of what the video is about. They also imply that the video has a single, powerful, theme... and is therefore probably a good video. There are very few bad one word titles IMO.