A Way

[BasharOfTheAges]

Another new vid from Bashar? What is this madness?



I figured I'd get this up since it's airing this weekend. I finally tried my hand at doing drama (as opposed to accidentally falling into it while trying to do action).

I've shied away from drama for a long time. I've had the opinion that bad or half-assed drama just told you how to feel and expected you to listen, while good drama made you feel. I didn't want to make something without keeping that in mind. Did it work?

[Rider4Z]

I have to admit the first time I watched this it didn't really grab me. Could be just because I'm not a johnny cash fan (don't dislike him, just not a fan). But after having watched it several times now, I really appreciate the storytelling. It has a very eerie feeling that gives me chills (and even man-tears). I like the hard cuts which give even more a sense of edginess.

So to answer your question, I think you succeeded. This one doesn't scream drama in your face. It's subtle and can be missed if you don't pay attention, but once you find it you're nicely rewarded.

well done

[DriftRoot]

I had a somewhat similar reaction as Rider, although it occurred over the length of the first watch-through rather than multiple viewings. A lot of opportunity for watching and thinking in this video, which for me is a two-edged sword. If I'm thinking, I'm not as wrapped up in the AMV as I could be. If I'm watching, it means it's all working fine and when it's over I can ponder what I just viewed.

What the hell are you talking about, Drift? Well, in the beginning I was trying to get settled and figure out what you were up to, appreciating the editing, examining how well the lyrics and the story you were showing were matching up. Halfway through I caught myself thinking "Hrm, how long is this? Well, there's still more to tell, so I guess it's ok that it's not done, yet. Is more of that editing style with the blurry blurs from the beginning going to come back? Not really? Hrm..." When the video was wrapping up, I was fully invested, glad to have taken the journey and ready to give the thumb's up.

Homura's story is a tough one to depict without simplifying things to the point that the details get lost. What I liked here is that this AMV is very much done from her perspective. That said, this is definitely not a video for folks who haven't seen (and understood) the series and in that regard is not as accessible as it might be.

[BasharOfTheAges]

@Rider4Z: Thanks. "Subtle" really does resonate with what I wanted to pull off.

@driftroot: Having to know the anime to understand anything was something I actually tried to avoid; I went out of my way to find more people who hadn't seen the series than those who had for feedback and tried to use as many generic "happy" and "sad" scenes as I could. I might have fallen in the "nice friends providing feedback" trap a little bit though. When all the dramatic scenes either require context to make sense or show the same characters dying multiple times, there are questions that are hard to avoid. I really felt Homura's story was tragic and painful and really wanted to show things from her point of view. I managed to get all of of my betas that hadn't seen the show yet to tell me they were interested in it though; so that's a plus.

[Bollocks]

I recognised both the song and the anime in one second and initially thought that this wouldn't work at all. Man was I wrong. I found that as the video went on, the video and audio began to merge together more and more, although there were some parts of the song I still don't think really fit.

Unusually for a drama video, it's the structure and pacing that make this video really stand out. I love how you built up the drama through the verses up until the chorus. This build up is so effective, and every time it gets to "And you could have it all", I get chills. It's a really powerful video in that sense, and that's largely thanks to the structure. Also, your storytelling is really solid, although I agree that you'd need to have seen the anime in order under to truly understand what's happening in the video. However, this is a drama video, and drama videos are about how they make the viewer as an individual feel, so as someone who has seen the anime this wasn't a problem.

I'm generally not a massive fan of plain drama videos, but this is easily one of my favourites, just because of your apparent emphasis on pacing and structure rather than just emotionally exploitative imagery. In your own words, you made me feel as opposed to telling me how to feel.

[Replay Studios]

nice ^^

[Rider4Z]

this received a LOT of votes at conji

[BasharOfTheAges]

@MouseBollocks - Thanks. I've noticed the Drama vids that have the most impact on me like to lean heavily on the song to really create a mood. The rise is what really sells the song, so I focused on that.

@Replay - Thanks.

this received a LOT of votes at conji

That's extremely encouraging - it was the first contest that it made it into.