Can action have any originality?

[Phantasmagoriat]

Let's assume Originality just means something new. Then in order to make an original action video, you can introduce new conflict.

see that'a where many ppl go wrong, originality doesn't mean something that differs from the original! If so your answer would fluctuate GREATLY over time. Say Elvis. Was he original with his rock and roll hogwash? Taking the same definition of originality, is he still 'original' now?? Is he even 'original' as soon as the next person to rock was made? The last two answers are 'no' when, when first asked the answer was 'yes'?? What kind of coccamamee question is that?! It's not, the whole method is WRONG! The only way you can get a consistant answer on what is original is if something is done RIGHT! Extra points if it's new AND effective. But if it's RIGHT you get 70% of the credit!

Wut no. I expected someone might react like this, so that's why I specifically said "Let's assume Originality just means something new."

Everyone has their own definition of words like "Originality" and "Action" and the answers to everything in this thread are going to be chalked-up to those definitions. Unfortunately the English language is full of words that have denotations and connotations:

Denotation = Literal meaning: Originality simply means something new (typically the first of it's kind) or
Connotation = Implied meaning: Originality means something that is both new and refreshing.

To use your Elvis example: If you use the denotative meaning, he is still original today; but using the connotative meaning, Elvis is not original anymore (... after decades of being played... unless you haven't listened to his music enough... )

In terms of AMVs, Originality won't necessarily mean a video is good, though there is a strong enough correlation that the connotation has been formed (rarely do you hear about a video that is original but unrefreshing; yet it's more likely to hear about a video that is original and refreshing; so most people just say that the video was original). However, using words for connotative meaning is an abuse of the English language because you're not saying what you mean, just implying it.

In short: I disagree with how most people use the term Originality.

[Knowname]

I'm glad we agree, facts are facts, they cannot be interchangeable. Thus the formers definition of Originality is just illogical. If you really expect your opinion to represent anything definite (as we do in our ops) you CANNOT use this definition.

[Pie Row Maniac]

If it needs some originality, you could just combine it with another genre.

[BasharOfTheAges]

The reason Action, Drama, and Comedy are at the top is because I believe them to be the true top genres from which other genres are formed. I've also been playing the Android game Alchemy an awful lot and the idea of adding stuff in to create other stuff is appealing to me from a teaching point of view.

I made a dramedy... it actually should be considered a romance, actually all romances are dramadys. Ala romantic comedy movies. I don't think a romantic movie outside of Casablanca could survive nowadays.

A lot of audio sources people use for romance are those kinds of songs. Dramady works well in a movie because you have to break tensions and hit a range of emotions to fill 90+ minutes of screen time. Average AMV is 3 minutes long though, so you're slightly less likely to see them - definitely not in sufficient numbers to define a category in a contest around them. If you do see them in a contest, they're usually put into Comedy because it's such a hard category to fill.

[EvaFan]

Be an Outlaw! is very much an action vid. Old school, but still, very stereotypically action. What's original about it?

The fact that he made it into a recruitment video. There are bits and pieces in it that emphasize this idea. I dunno about you but just that concept was enough to make it more interesting. Couldn't help but watch it with the feeling like "Where do I sign up? awww yaaaa".

I don't know what originality is to you. I guess this thread could be further broken down into, What exactly is originality? To me it's anything that is refreshing. This could mean that even though there is alot of action videos that look the same, as long as yours sticks out some way, its original according to what originality means to me.

To some people originality is new source/new audio. To some people it could be something they have absolutely never seen before. What's it mean to you specifically?

[Castor Troy]

Also let me clarify something. Action videos crossed over with another genre can be original. Action/drama is pretty common, and I know I've seen action/romance, action comedy, etc as well. Castor Troy for example has done several original things with crossovers both in series and genres. However, the original part of those videos is the other genre. The action parts of those videos are nothing more than what I've been talking about, effects and beat sync. When I'm asking about originality in action, I actually mean the action parts.

If it needs some originality, you could just combine it with another genre.

This.

I confess I really don't like making plain action videos and I have massive respect for those who can make them, especially in both quantity and quality. But when it comes to editing massive beat sync myself, give me back my polygonal lasso.

[dreamawake]

> Originality

Everything we do as artists is inspired by something else be it a conscience or unconscious inspiration.

[gotegenks]

> Originality

Everything we do as artists is inspired by something else be it a conscience or unconscious inspiration.

While it might not be true originality it's about being relatively new looking or feeling. A combination of your own inspirations that hasn't been combined before is what we think of as original. Also, a creation inspired by influences that you've never been influenced by. A painter paints a picture of her obscure little village and that can new to people that don't live in that village.

But, godix, it sounds to me like the only thing you consider before deciding how original something is is the message. If the video presents an idea you've never heard or heard in the way they present it then it's original for you, right? If that's the case then design as a whole is nothing but a copy of a copy of a copy because a combination of colors doesn't tell you "killing is wrong" or anything else because it's only designed to look pretty or cool or mellow or bland, and nothing else. Action videos as a genre are designed to look cool or awesome or badass or some combination of the three. The way they go about that though can be different, but it's almost always by changing the aesthetics or using different clips or different effects or transitions but beauty in design seems to mean nothing to you if it doesn't say something.

So I guess the answer to your question is "not if you don't think so." That's really the answer to any question having to do with opinion because our opinions are the only truths we know for sure.

[CorpseGoddess]

The last few con contests I've attended, I've seen a lot of crossover between the categories. Videos I would have personally characterized as "action" have ended up in the drama category, and vice-versa.

And I have to agree with what Judge said---a lot of other categories tend to be the "same old, same old". In my opinion, it's one of the reasons that drama/romance is not necessarily the most anticipated segment of a contest; you can be sure that there will be a lot of videos using long, slow songs with long shots of people looking lingeringly at each other or sunsets or the like. I'm absolutely not saying they're all like that, but it certainly tends to be the norm.

Personally, I like an action video when it uses internal sync rather than just straight beat sync. Here's a recent example of what I mean:



I really enjoy it when the action *inside* the scene syncs with the beat, rather than with scene changes or flashing or whatnot.

I think the issue might be that there are certain types of songs and certain ways to edit to those types of songs to convey whether or not it's "action" or "drama". But something like comedy videos rely on a much more intangible and ephemeral "something" to succeed; often the concept is very much in the mind of the creator, and they only work when that "something" bridges the gap between the creator and the audience.

[godix]

Everything we do as artists is inspired by something else be it a conscience or unconscious inspiration.

If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.

Carbon copying something means it's unoriginal, but just being inspired by something doesn't mean it's unoriginal. It's possible to be inspired by something and work with it to create a unique video. Look at AMV hell for example, it had absolutely nothing new. Comedies had been done before. Even short comedies have been done before. Yet the way it was put together was highly original (at the time) and spawned it's own sub-genre.

But, godix, it sounds to me like the only thing you consider before deciding how original something is is the message. If the video presents an idea you've never heard or heard in the way they present it then it's original for you, right?

Message is one way originality can pop up, but it is by no means the only way. You're right that an idea I never saw is original for me, but 'idea' is a whole lot more than 'message'. An effect, a way of presenting mood, or even just a skillful and unusual way of scene selection can show originality.

And I have to agree with what Judge said---a lot of other categories tend to be the "same old, same old". In my opinion, it's one of the reasons that drama/romance is not necessarily the most anticipated segment of a contest; you can be sure that there will be a lot of videos using long, slow songs with long shots of people looking lingeringly at each other or sunsets or the like. I'm absolutely not saying they're all like that, but it certainly tends to be the norm.

True, but I can point to recent drama vids that are original. Not many of course, there aren't all that many editors with original concepts after all. However I can point to some. Decoy's vids are about the last action vid I can point to as original though, and those are years old. Since then, the entire genre seems to be nothing but rehashing the same concepts over and over again. Sometimes they're done well, as you think 150% Lobotomy was, but I'm not asking about quality. I'm asking about originality, and 150% Lobotomy wasn't really anything new.

But something like comedy videos rely on a much more intangible and ephemeral "something" to succeed; often the concept is very much in the mind of the creator, and they only work when that "something" bridges the gap between the creator and the audience.

Yes. But is it impossible for action videos to also have that 'something' as well, or is it just far more rare than other genres?