Do people take the date an AMV was created into account?

aluminumstudios · Post by **aluminumstudios** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 9:23 am

I want to take a general survey, do people take the date an AMV was created into account when watching it? As a viewer, do you relax your quality or technical standards a bit when watching older videos versus new ones, or are you often unaware of the creation date (maybe because the date wasn't included somewhere obvious for you to see or something?)

I still get feedback on things I did in 1999 and I'm curious with what kind of eyes people are seeing these videos with.

My answer to this question is a partial yes - having been at it for a few years and knowing the resources that were available, the learning curve, etc., so I'm less critical of old videos and I generally try to know how old a video is when I watch it if the info. is readily provided where I download it from.

jonmartensen · Post by **jonmartensen** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 9:35 am

I shift my focus more heavilly to the content of the video when it is older.

Zarxrax · Post by **Zarxrax** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 9:43 am

I don't really think its fair to be less critical to older videos. I don't think whether you made a video in 1999 or 2004 really makes a difference. What makes a difference is the experience and ability of the person making the videos. In 1999, you weren't nearly as experienced, have as much knowledge, etc as you do now. The same thing still applies today. There are new people making amvs all the time, and they start out at the bottom of the barrel, no experience, no knowledge, etc.
Back in the day, I think it was a whole lot easier to become a well known creator, to be considered more experienced and all. Because no one made amvs back then. You had a few creators like Kevin Caldwell kicking everyone else's ass. These days, we have a LOT of really good creators that are kicking everyone else's ass, and the people who's asses are getting kicked are just waiting for their chance to join the ranks of the ass kickers. :p
I think some of the videos created back in the day are just as great as some of the best videos released today. And I also think that some of the videos that were considered great back in the day sort of suck in comparison to the stuff out there today. Because theres a lot more out there today, it creates more and more distance between the good and the bad than there used to be.

TobinHood · Post by **TobinHood** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:10 am

I usually prefer a video that is a couple years old. Alot of videos today have so many graphics in them that they seem to forget about it being an AMV. This seems to affect some people new to the hobby into thinking their video will be great if they put as much special effects into it as they possibly can. Which is why I enjoyed "It's Tricky to Make a Music Video" because it parodied this concept.

Chaos Angel · Post by **Chaos Angel** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:12 am

It depends. I think the pure construction element of vidding (taking Scene A and placing it before Scene B to create Point 1) is basically the same as it always has been. Granted, nowadays there is more control over the editting process so work is more refined (better equipment, removing lip-flap, able to do fast or on-the-beat cuts with greater ease), but such refinements are more of a custom than a requirement. The basic element of editting is still there. So, in that aspect, I don't think there is a whole lot of difference. The basic content and skillsets are still essentially the same.

If you are judging video quality, then it depends on how understanding you are of video source made from capture and not direct ripping. Especially VHS capture.

Flint the Dwarf · Post by **Flint the Dwarf** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 11:14 am

jonmartensen wrote:I shift my focus more heavilly to the content of the video when it is older.

Same here. I'd say more, but... I have to go to work.

VegettoEX · Post by **VegettoEX** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 11:28 am

While I absolutely try to look at a video from a perspective where I take its age into consideration, sometimes I find it very difficult to. It really all depends on the contest of my viewing.

For example, when I pop in an Otakon 1998 AMV Contest tape... I'm in 1998, and that's how I look at things. Everything I'm watching is from the same time-period, and I sorta shift my state of mind back to that time. On the other hand, if I'm going back and forth between present and past videos, I may not be as objective as I would like to be.

I think it helps to see all the VHS noise and such... makes me remember exactly where it's from ^^;;.

ProphetDK · Post by **ProphetDK** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 11:49 am

I am fairly new at the game but I can say that I look at the amvs in the same light, in terms of flow, dynamics and concept. The general feel of the AMV is and how well it was executed (Scene choice, eye movement).

The only time I really consider "when" is in A) quality (Cleaneness of footage) and B) Special effects/transitions.
Reasons: (My own opinions)
before the technological increase of home computers the way AMVs were made were less refined. The vcr2vcr method of recording and and cutting, not easy, I can say. And those lucky enough to have access with editing systems, they had limitations of a linear editing solution. (not the greatest but better than Play-Record-stop.. crap wrong scene.)

Because of the lack of powerful affordable video editing software for the home (Talkin 10's of thousands of dollars to get an editing computer that did just that, Avid, grassvalley, media100 to name a few), the quality in picture because of vcr quality was/is not the crisp clear you get from a dvd. Yes there were Video Laser discs, and they were not cheap either and I think the cleaner footage of the older vids were from these.

This also brings up effects. With vcr to vcr, unless you had a fader all you had jump/rough cuts everywhere. No easy flying dodads or cutting spike into someones glasses from another anime.

As each year passes the powerful computers are becoming a house hold thing. to play the games out now you need something that would be on par with the computers that computed pi back in 1989~

So yeah somethings can be more or less give and take depending on the age of the video, but no mater what if its a good video, it still should flow right, the eye should move in a coherent manor across the screen, and still have people enjoy it, today or tomorrow whether its their first video they've scene or the 100th.

sorry, didnt mean to lecture. or write an essay.
da.ab

Prophet

fyrtenheimer · Post by **fyrtenheimer** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:34 pm

Nope. I don't at all.

aluminumstudios · Post by **aluminumstudios** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 1:35 pm

Zarxrax wrote:I don't really think its fair to be less critical to older videos. I don't think whether you made a video in 1999 or 2004 really makes a difference.

In reply to a bunch of other comments too - if you take composition into account I agree that a good video that flows is the most important key to enjoying it (I think the concept of flow and good composition has only changed a little over time.) When I asked this question I was leaning more towards the technical side - do fuzzy VHS captures of older videos damage the experience for you after watching many clean modern videos? Can you forgive a little bit of mouth-flap or variable letterboxing and cropping to get rid of subs because the knowledge of how to fix them in general didn't really exist years ago. I was just curious if someone who had watched a lot of new, clean videos would be a little critical of older videos because of technical quality limitations and such or if it wouldn't matter to them.

Some of my personal favorite videos are old school ones by Duane Johnson. Their VHS distortion and such doesn't really dimish their appeal to me, maybe it could be a little nostalgia too.