VCA Videos

JazzyDJ · Post by **JazzyDJ** » Tue May 15, 2007 9:48 pm

I've been watching a few of the top videos from the VCA lists of the past 2 years and I can't believe how proffesional they look.

I'd like to know how these video's were made, and how long it took to make such great videos. It seems like there's so much footage and effects on top of footage and effects, you would need a studio to pull all of that off. How did they do it?

FYI, if you were wonder which video's I saw it was Shounen Bushidou, jahaku, as well as Before I forget, and Toushi.

It just looked like layers on top of layers golore, maybe with some cutting and pasting into the same scene. There was just so much. How were all these types of footage put together?

I know about editing and adding certain touches here and there, but that appears as though only Pros would have the equipement to do what they did.

And whle I got your attention could anyone reccomend their favorite video using Masking (so I can learn) and hybrid footage using the official band's video footage with the AMV?

Minion · Post by **Minion** » Tue May 15, 2007 9:54 pm

did you see the awsome effects in this one?
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... p?v=126502

it won best no FX this year. cool huh????

Org Profile · Post by **Otohiko** » Tue May 15, 2007 9:57 pm

Well, the fact is... most of it is actually effort rather than technology. Some editors use fairly advanced programs like After Effects; others use mspaint and Magix (~$60). And then there's stuff like Blender. Hardware-wise, I don't hear many people with particularly killer rigs or special-purpose equipment here.

You can do a lot with fairly little, but effort needs to be proportional. Most of the layering you see is done literally by hand, frame-by-frame. If you are looking for a 'magic program' of some sort that'd let you do these things on the fly - sorry to disappoint, but while AE might make it a little less hair-raising, you won't go far without putting in a lot of time into fairly mundane technical labour.

Personally, I don't care much for the technically-impressive stuff myself. My view is that the footage you get is generally rich enough visually to start with. But people have done impressive things with it.

Brad · Post by **Brad** » Tue May 15, 2007 10:21 pm

It all boils down to creativity and determination. The days of needing huge professional computer rigs in order to create excellent videos are long gone. Anybody with the right tools (which really are not that expensive anymore) and the right drive and vision can create pretty much whatever they want.

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Tue May 15, 2007 10:56 pm

Otohiko wrote:I don't hear many people with particularly killer rigs or special-purpose equipment here.

I'd like to think I have a pretty decent set up... or did you mean good editors?

Org Profile · Post by **Otohiko** » Tue May 15, 2007 11:01 pm

BasharOfTheAges wrote:
Otohiko wrote:I don't hear many people with particularly killer rigs or special-purpose equipment here.
I'd like to think I have a pretty decent set up... or did you mean good editors?

Well... the average dedicated AMVer let's just say, and even the average prize-winning editor. I'm sure there's a bunch of us who do have $5,000+ machines, high-quality DV cams, tablets, and heck knows what other video processing monstrosities - but most of us don't. A pretty good general-purpose computer is what most of us have, whether we make killer videos or not. Which as I know, hasn't stopped people from producing technically-complex videos.

OropherZero · Post by **OropherZero** » Wed May 16, 2007 1:08 am

Koop proved that the most powerful AMV making program is Adobe Photoshop O=

Orwell · Post by **Orwell** » Wed May 16, 2007 1:12 am

OropherZero wrote:Koop proved that the most powerful AMV making program is Adobe Photoshop O=

It never took koop to prove that. When you can edit each frame individually you have a LOT more power over your work.

Jasta85 · Post by **Jasta85** » Wed May 16, 2007 1:13 am

i got a computer that barely runs my adobe primiere pro 2.0, fortunately i'm gonna burn 3,000 bucks on a new comp that will be fitted out to handle both the new games comming out as well as demanding editing software, ive been wanting to get get adobe after effects for a while but never got around to it

but yea, the really awsomely well done amvs are a matter of effort put in, they use regular effects that anyone can use but they are applied with extreamly close detail not to mention having lots of effects layered on top of each other in some cases, now if you do use lots of effects then you will need a decent computer simply so you can edit properly as effects can ruin the viewing of your timeline if you overdo it (probably why i dont use many)

but there are a number of examples of great amvs that dont use tons of flashy lights and colors, "hold me now" uses internal sync very well as does "hale's mom". ive seen some amvs with awsome effects implimented but the amv itself was rather boring, so you can throw as much glitter and gimmicks as you want on an amv but in the end it's the content, not just the editing that makes an amv

Esrhan · Post by **Esrhan** » Wed May 16, 2007 4:31 am

Minion wrote:it won best no FX this year. cool huh????

Its propaganda I tell you!