AMV Review #42: Igor Utevsky's Lifetime

[quadir]

AMV-Review's goal is to foster a sub-community that critically analyzes videos and looks for deeper meaning in the creations editors make. It is hoped that through this process will viewers and editors alike come to better appreciate videos that are well thought out, well executed, and progress AMVs as a medium of expression.

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<strike>On Monday at 20:30 EDT (8:30pm) in #amv-review we have a moderated discussion on a recently released video.</strike>
On Thursday all evening in #amv-review editors present BETAs (come out and present yours!) to get initial feedback on AMVs in the making.

Come join us!

This week's discussion video:

Igor Utevsky (evilspider) - 2007 - Lifetime
Category: Character Profile
Anime: Various
Song: Tsukiko Amano - Ten

Please use this thread to discuss this video, there's no need to read the IRC log, just watch the video, and start talking about it! What emotions did it evoke in you? What do you think the video taught you about the character it features?

Archive of previous moderated discussions:
2007 December 041-24, 040-17, 039-10, 038-03 November 037-26, 036-19, 035-12, 034-05
October 033-29, 032-22, 031-15, 030-08, 029-01, September 028-24, 027-17, 026-10, 025-03
August 024-27, 023-20, 022-13, 021-06, July 020-30, 019-23, 018-16, 017-09, 016-02
June 015-25, 014-18, 013-11, 012-04, May 011-28, 010-21, 009-14, 008-07
April 007-30, 006-23, 005-16, 004-09, 003-02, March 002-26, 001-19

[DriftRoot]

This wasn't a bad video, it managed to capture on aspect of Paradise Kiss very clearly without even bringing (except briefly) one of the true sources of the main character's indecision into the picture. That's an interesting way to handle the romance of the series, most people would dive right for the obvious love triangle.

The major drawback I personally found was that I had no idea where the flashback sequences (if that's even what it was) were coming from, it didn't make sense to me in the context of this AMV. We see one side of the main character's personality up until the very end, then suddenly we're hit with all kinds of stuff that doesn't match up. I've seen this series, so maybe that's the problem, the editor was trying to make it seem like there's only one guy...but her behavior was just so different from the innocent schoolgirl the AMV depicts up until the flashback that it was hard for me to swallow.

I also don't know that it was necessary to use so many series - the differences in animation, though subtle, definitely through me off. (I actually forgot so many series were used until the credits rolled, so I kept wondering why the animation in one scene was gorgeous and then very unrefined in the next.)

It would have been helpful if the editor had provided an explanation of this AMV in the Comments section. I know some people ignore Comments utterly, but they are helpful to those who are questioning (like I am) the what and why of certain choices the editor made.

[evilspider]

I didn't really planned to bring this video up to ORG (mass announce it and everything), but thanks for your interest anyway. I decided not to explain all ideas I have put in this video (I've preferred to let the viewers decide that's this all about), so there's not much in Comments section. But I shall answer for your questions in this thread.

As I may guess, the main question is about necessity of many sources I have used for video. Well... I've heard many opinions so far, but you're really the first one, who even could see all this different sources there. ::) Not speaking about differences in animation style and all this stuff... The reason to use so many different sources is because I've got fully designed concept for this video BEFORE I even start to edit. So for the scenes, where Paradise Kiss (main source) cannot provide me with necessary footages, I've got to look for it in another series. Like in the flashback scene, for which it was necessary for me to find "younger versions" of main character in different sources (just because Paradise Kiss don't have such sequences).

"then suddenly we're hit with all kinds of stuff"

That's the main point! ::) It MUST have been sudden, frustrating and disturbing as it is. Speaking generally, all this video is about this only moment.

[purplepolecat]

I haven't done an op yet, but my take on it was that her "flashback" was of the things that could have happened to her in the future if she had lived longer. Because, as Driftroot said, in the anime Caroline starts out as a very straight-laced schoolgirl, and that's how we see her in the main part of the AMV. The theme is regret; regret that another girl got to kiss the boy she likes before she does, and regret for the mutiple exciting lives she will never live out because of the accident.

[Esc]

I haven't done an op yet, but my take on it was that her "flashback" was of the things that could have happened to her in the future if she had lived longer.

Flashback takes you back, not forward. Don't know where your idea comes from but the flashback obviously goes from her early childhood memories up to the events preceding the accident.

[DriftRoot]

As I may guess, the main question is about necessity of many sources I have used for video. Well... I've heard many opinions so far, but you're really the first one, who even could see all this different sources there. ::)

The first one who could see them or the first one who pointed out that the differences caused a little head scratching? It wasn't glaringly obvious, but since I had suffered a brief moment of complete amnesia regarding all the sources I'd just read you used (this happens to me regularly when my thyroid gets feisty, time to up my meds, I guess) I wasn't even looking for the different sources and I could still tell something was a little off. I rewatched the AMV a few more times with this knowledge and it still bugged me, just in a different way (because I was watching for the differences). I completely understand why you did it, and it was nicely done, I'm just not sure that I personally would resolve the problem of not having footage for certain scenes by reaching out to a variety of other series that bear no relation to the main source.

"then suddenly we're hit with all kinds of stuff"
That's the main point! ::) It MUST have been sudden, frustrating and disturbing as it is. Speaking generally, all this video is about this only moment.

Oh, you got that sequence down perfectly, it was great, I really liked the momentum building up (it wasn't just really fast clips strung together) within the flashback. The problem was, again, what was most disturbing was that some of the content of the flashback wasn't explained. Nothing previously in the AMV hinted at the source of those scenes (I'm trying not to throw spoilers around, forgive my vagueness) ... so if the reaction you were seeking was:

"Whoah, OMG! What the heck...she slept around? SHE'S a mega tramp?? And now she's upset because he's just kissing some other girl?! The nerve!! DIE BITCH!"

...then two thumbs way up, because that's honestly exactly what went through my head. I was quite pleased when she got bumped off.

btw, I will op your vid when I get a chance...

[evilspider]

The first one who could see them or the first one who pointed out that the differences caused a little head scratching?

Mostly both of them. ::) Most people just believe it was only one anime in video, and kind of surprised to see many sources in credits (as I can guess in their opinions of course).

I myself don't think it's too obvious really. Paradise Kiss itself can look completely different in it's own various episodes.

I'm just not sure that I personally would resolve the problem of not having footage for certain scenes by reaching out to a variety of other series that bear no relation to the main source

Well.. OK. Teach me. ::) That would YOU do?

The problem was, again, what was most disturbing was that some of the content of the flashback wasn't explained.

I don't know really what needs to be explaned here. It's just some random memories of her past. Most memorable from her point of view. I could not recreate a WHOLE girl's life in 20 seconds, if that's what you wanted.

so if the reaction you were seeking was: "Whoah, OMG! What the heck...she slept around? SHE'S a mega tramp?? And now she's upset because he's just kissing some other girl?! The nerve!! DIE BITCH!" ...then two thumbs way up, because that's honestly exactly what went through my head. I was quite pleased when she got bumped off.

I cannot see anything funny in this strange interpretation, sorry... Maybe I'm just a bad storyteller if you can't catch up even some really simple things in this video.

[quadir]

I haven't seen the paradise kiss. Nor can I understand the lyrics in the song. So I'm not sure if either are particularly important.

I rather licked the pacing in this video, and while it was beatmatched to a high degree, I didn't feel like it was too construed, or too quick. Scenes really flowed from one to another and nothing seemed really out of place.

purple: I'm glad you brought this up, turning a video up on it's head is really interesting, and brings the video away from the "my life flashed before my eyes" before death expectation. It's weird because the flashback sequence reveals so much more about the characters relationship that was not obvious already, we just don't see her interacting even close to that intimitely before now. So your thought that it could be a future posibility has some ground. All we know up to that point is that she seems to have a crush on him.

Drift: Since I haven't seen this anime, I can't say I noticed the different sources, infact when I went to put the video in the thread, I looked for 'anime used' and saw eight, I went 'WTF? where!'. The masking in the video is rather well done, and the colours don't really clash. Your complaint seems more a "You basterdized my source!" then a real complain about the work done. Obviously since the scenes in the video are constructed, this video cannot be canon. However from what I can tell it really didn't use that as an excuse to go into completely new territory, just to make the flow work in the condensed format. So is this video alternate universe? really?

I think the flashback sequence really worked out well. So often flashy flashy flashy scenes ruin a video, and despite a flashback there being predictable, I really have no complaints. I really enjoyed how the lip flap at the start of the video totally fit in with the song, when you have a song with so much mumbling, the characters doing a bit of nonsense just fits.

My biggest complain has to be the filtering, it just felt really overfiltered and too "clean". But if that's what it took to make the sources work together, so be it. It may be a result of the original animation style as well. I just found myself craving detail while watching it. What I liked most is continuity, the story really came through for me, and that's an amazing property.

[DriftRoot]

Paradise Kiss itself can look completely different in it's own various episodes.

Your complaint seems more a "You basterdized my source!" then a real complain about the work done.

I didn’t say it was obvious and I didn’t say it was poorly done - I think ES did a great job (I said that, right?)…but as I mentioned in my first post, because I had forgotten how many sources ES used, I was initially confused as to what wasn’t adding up, visually - why some scenes had one style of animation and other scenes another. It was subtle enough that I assumed (somewhat correctly) it was because PK’s animation varies, but as it turns out, that was the wrong assumption. What I was reacting to WAS different sources and that’s just a simple fact – even before we get into whether I like or dislike the reasoning BEHIND using different sources. My little bout with temporary amnesia kinda proves my point, I wasn’t watching this AMV the first time through thinking “ok, where are all those sources and why the heck did he use them??” I was thinking it was all PK and couldn’t figure out where my vague uneasiness about the footage was coming from.

Well.. OK. Teach me. ::) That would YOU do?

I would not presume to teach too many people anything about AMVing...but an op's and op, we all have to pretend we know best... Anyways, I'd work with the footage I’ve chosen to construct the entire AMV around. If you hadn’t, theoretically, had all those other sources to pull from, would you still have made this AMV? Was the footage pool so limited that it was absolutely impossible to complete this AMV unless you went with other sources?

If I needed a crowd scene and PK wasn’t providing, my line of reasoning would not be “Ok, so what other series have crowd scenes that I can take advantage of while pretending it’s all PK,” my line of reasoning would be “What can replace the crowd scene/how can I get a similar concept across?” If the lack of appropriate footage that means I can’t make the AMV, or it doesn’t turn out exactly as I’d envisioned…well, that’s one of the hazards of making AMVs. Many people do not have the luxury of picking and choosing from other sources when they’re faced with simply not having the exact footage they need, you were really lucky that you did and that you had the skill to pull it off as well as you did.

The aforementioned vague uneasiness was my gut reaction to the different animation styles, not your choice to use different sources...but I can't help but wonder if such a drastic (in my mind) solution to the lack of perfect footage was necessary. Hope this clears that up.

I cannot see anything funny in this strange interpretation, sorry... Maybe I'm just a bad storyteller if you can't catch up even some really simple things in this video.

What confused me was that some of her behavior in those flashbacks was quite different from all the other behavior we’d seen and there was no explanation for why this was so. The AMV, up until that point, gave me the impression that Caroline was a straight-laced, innocent schoolgirl with a crush. In the flashback, she’s obviously is NOT a straight-laced, innocent schoolgirl with a crush. This was quite shocking to me, along the lines of: Eh?? What? Is this the same person we’re talking about, here? Is she only PRETENDING to be an innocent schoolgirl? If so, what else is she pretending?!

*shrug* I’m just stating honestly what my reaction was to that scene. If that wasn’t your intent, then that’s fine, my reaction was completely off base, but that was my reaction. That this “flashback” perhaps also continued into the present and on into the future (like purplepolecat interpreted it) also ran through my mind when I tried to come up with a rational reason for the discrepancy. If you don’t see it as a discrepancy, then that’s probably why you’re so confused about my confusion - you either don't see a problem with the discrepancy (seems to be the case, given you said you only had 20 seconds to present some important moments in her life) and/or don't see any discrepancy at all.

Editors only have so much control over how people interpret what they’ve done, I think we discussed this in one of the AMV Review sessions…how an editor can be pushing really hard to get a certain concept across, but for a whole bunch of reasons some people can fail to get the concept or come up with all kinds of others the editor never intended. It's not necessarily anyone's fault when that happens, in terms of either the editor doing a poor job or the viewer not paying attention, it's just a clash of personalities, backgrounds and beliefs.

I think you're storytelling is quite good, I agree with quadir on that, I just happened to get a different story out of this AMV than you intended.

[Unlimited Rice]

Driftroot: I can see how you got that reaction, but maybe you're trying to read into it too much? When I first saw it I was like, "Ah cool, life flashes before your eyes. Happy things, sad things, fun things, serious things, seductive things... I can see alot of stuff has happened up until the end." My impression was that nothing really needed to be explained. It's just there. Simple like that.

Just my 2 cents