Opinion wanted for Attack on Titan AMV

[DopplerDo]

I would love feedback on the video posted below. I used to be on a-m-v.org as Akashio and have come back after a decade to use my updated skillset. Of course, I am happy to reciprocate if you give me a link!

Thanks, everyone! Love this community and I'm glad to be back!



Details

[Rider4Z]

Heya I'll give a little feedback. FYI, my specialty is more in storytelling than technical work.

I think your storytelling is really strong here. It was easy to follow and it made sense with the lyrics and energy of the song. I felt the second verse was awkward tho and I'll explain why. The story in the second verse is a direct continuation from the previous chorus. I understand you were matching visuals to the lyrics and they really were a great match as in individual segment, but as a whole there's a state of energy there that was never dropped. AMVs, and typically all other time oriented pieces of art (movies, songs, tv) have 3 segments - an introduction, a reminder, and a payoff. And each one works like a wave. It peaks and then dips down, each segment having more energy than the last. And when you overlap direct storylines like that it can be emotionally confusing to the viewer. Granted you could take it as artistic merit but you really only should if you don't give a crap what other people think which is perfectly fine in its own right.

The second verse is forgivable, however I have to tell you it is a downright crime how you ended your story. The whole video from the very beginning focuses on Eren. He is our character, he is the one we are to follow emotionally. I was totally with you the whole time on this. But then in the last act suddenly Annie was a critical element in the story. Where did that come from? I don't recall seeing her in the beginning at all. You tried to cram her whole story into the finale. And the last scene you leave us with is her falling from the wall to the ground in defeat. Your ending should always come full circle. You should have ended with Eren in triumph, not so much having defeated Annie but having tackled the titans in general and surviving. If you leave your ending open ended like this then your story won't (and doesn't) feel finished.


I hope this is helpful to you. You definitely have a strong sense of storytelling so I think these tips will make sense. As far as tech issues, do what you can to avoid lip flap if possible. Especially in still shots where it's obvious. Some of your cuts (timing) became predictable at times so you might try to avoid that as well. You don't want your vid to be predictable. Predictable means boring. There are always exceptions to rules tho but you better be sure you're making one of them and not taking it for granted Good luck with future projects!

[DopplerDo]

Hey Rider4Z,

First, my apologies for the extremely late reply. I am new to the forum and thought I would get notified if I received a reply. I am very happy to have checked today and seen comments from you, of all people. I watched you kick ass in the SC Iron Editor competition and was inspired.

Your feedback is 100% appreciated and I absolutely love getting relatively unadulterated criticism. It helps me learn a lot faster.

I'm not trying to bait you into writing a guide for me, but 1) given that you structure your AMVs with and introduction, reminder, and payoff, how do you approach structuring your videos before you start editing? How detailed do you get before you start prototyping your ideas? And 2) What exactly IS a "reminder" in this context -- simply a furthering of a tight theme in a way that triggers memory of the introduction overall?

[Rider4Z]

I'm not trying to bait you into writing a guide for me, but 1) given that you structure your AMVs with and introduction, reminder, and payoff, how do you approach structuring your videos before you start editing? How detailed do you get before you start prototyping your ideas? And 2) What exactly IS a "reminder" in this context -- simply a furthering of a tight theme in a way that triggers memory of the introduction overall?

Typically I structure my videos based on the initial scenes that come to me while listening to a song. I try to build as much of the video in my head before I start editing to save time on scene selection and prep. (Scrolling through footage can be really tiresome and frustrating.) And I try to "feel" the energy out while at the same time finding lyric sync.

Here is an older guide of mind on how to create a certain flow of energy in your video - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=110534
It doesn't go into intro/reminder/payoff tho but I'll try to explain that using Gloria Fortis Miles as an example:


In this case it focuses on Ikoma (the main character). The beginning of the video shows several pieces of him working in his shed on weapons - the intro being that this person is somehow important. Then we don't see him in the first chorus. The (1st) reminder comes during the instrumental between the first chorus and second verse at 1:08 and we see Ikoma baiting a Kabane to follow him. We haven't seen his true purpose yet but this is a hint that he has some story here, in other words a crucial reminder to the payoff I bring in later. I actually have a bit of a second reminder during the bridge at 2:08. The instrumental that follows was critical for how I told the story, but waiting all the way until 2:31 and then suddenly jump in on him would have been too abrupt for how much time was spent NOT on him. The audience would have been like "oh yeah that guy", but Ikoma is critical to the story in my video so I needed the audience to keep him in the back of his mind. That's what a reminder does. Ideally you want just a 1, 2, 3 step and not add extras so the audience doesn't get overwhelmed by hints that they just become like "yeah we get it" - but with this particular song I didn't really have a choice. The payoff then begins at 2:31 and goes until 3:01 when I finally reveal why he was such a crucial element ending with the text on screen "I'm Kabaneri!". And then everything that follows is a continuation of the lyrics "We, we will resist and bite" being that I couldn't focus solely on Ikoma. The lyrics are "We" so I had to show the group effort in conclusion.

Hope that helps~

[DopplerDo]

This is excellent advice! Thank god/science for a solid example! I have definitely struggled with overloading the audience with what I now know as "reminders" in other art forms and holy crap does it help to have you explain the concept to me -- AND to see an awesome example of two reminders being effectively used. I have also never seen an amv use text this effectively like at 3:01 and the Gloria etc. text throughout. ...I may have just put Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress on my watch list

I addition to everything, I really like that you follow your own advice by keeping your edits unpredictable and therefore exciting, like ~0:18 where the bridge comes just before the 4th beat in the measure. For the rest of the video, I find myself open to all sorts of timing and it really works to your advantage.

Thanks again for the advice! You rock!