2 new vids & 1 reversioned from Classic Rock

WesW · Post by **WesW** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:09 am

I have posted 2 new vids here at the Org; a Romance vid and a Sentimental/Romance vid.
I have also uploaded a couple of betas to my webpage. One is new, and the other is a totally re-worked version of Guns~n~Revy.
For the Org vids, please take a few minutes to read the Comments on the download pages. They'll help you understand the stories, my aims for the vids, and any technical problems that I ran into. In short, they'll help you enjoy the vids more.

For this vid, I wanted to evoke the feelings of watching an old romantic movie. Pay attention to what Aoi says in the prologue and how it ties in with the name of the song. Btw, there is no lip-sync in the vid. I also hope that the editing expectations for the Romance category fall more in line with my style than those of the action category.

I actually completed about half of this vid before I ever started on Butch and Sundance, and completed the rest after finishing v2 of that vid, over a week ago.
This is a lyric-driven pop-rock vid with a medium-slow pace which I hope people can appreciate.

Iron Maiden beta: http://s238908498.onlinehome.us/CRP_Iron_Maiden.mp4
Since volume three of Black Lagoon arrived a few days ago, I decided to rip it and see what I could come up with. I think it came out quite well for a pure action vid, provided you don't mind listening to a little ZZ Top.
The pacing and cutting are definitely faster than in any of my other vids, so I hope that you guys who have been suggesting I try that will like what you see. There certainly isn't any down time in the vid.

Guns~n~Revy v3 beta: http://s238908498.onlinehome.us/CRP_Guns~n~Revy.mp4
Much thanks to Mandi for showing me how to use the audio waveform to find the beats in the music. I felt like Helen Keller at the well. It was such a simple thing, but had never occurred to me to use it.
Almost the entire vid has been re-worked once again. It now contains many more cuts and scene changes, and of course the timing has been greatly improved throughout the vid. It still contains the basic four segments, but many clips have been re-arranged or added, and an additional 20 or so seconds have been removed from the vid to try keep the action flowing.

Past comments on Revy: Thank you to those who posted quick comments on v1 of the vid. To the guy who said it was the best BL vid he had seen, I hope he likes this one even better. To the guys who said I needed to work on my editing, I thank you as well, since you helped push me to become better, learn new techniques and do things which I didn't think I could do at the time.

For those of you reading this, I hope you keep this tab open, and return to share your thoughts and/or questions after viewing the vids.

Autraya · Post by **Autraya** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:31 am

o.o you've been bloody busy.

WesW · Post by **WesW** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:16 am

Autraya wrote:o.o you've been bloody busy.

Well, I've been feeling better than usual the last month, and I don't really have anything else to do at the moment. Plus, as frustrating as learning all the techincal stuff has been at times, I really love making these things. (Maybe one day I'll actually get good at it.)
My previous hobby was modding computer games, and I have been getting the same sense of creative accomplishment from this hobby as I did from that one in the beginning. Plus, you get the sensual joy of seeing and listening to your creation that game modding can't provide.

WesW · Post by **WesW** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:16 am

Re: Revy: I got an anonymous quick reply yesterday that said, while v2 was a big improvement over v1, I still needed to pay attention to the beats and flow of the music. I've gone back over the vid, and I just can't find what he/she is seeing.
I guess what I need is for someone to give me some specific instances where the vid is lacking, 'cause I'm pretty much at a loss for now.
I could see where the helicopter chase sequences might be a weak spot, but I couldn't really figure out how to edit to the type of music that was playing during that section. I also might be able to synch some of the speedboat battle a little better, but I worry about destroying the continuity of the overall scene.
I'd really like to get this vid nailed down, even if I only post it as a direct link, because I will most likely make the same mistakes with the next vids if I never learn what is wrong with this one.
Btw, I've read the SQ action guide, but I'm not interested in implementing the techniques described in it. I won't dispute the claim that they'd be effective at enthralling the typical teenage crowd, but when I watch vids I find the use of those techniques to be annoying.

Pherphq · Post by **Pherphq** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:03 am

I checked out one of them I watched the Everytime one nicely done with the mood. However some parts missed lip sync , when someone in there was talking missed lip sync , it seemed slow as well for a romantic type it was quite entertaining but could of been better.

WesW · Post by **WesW** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:13 am

Pherphq wrote:I checked out one of them I watched the Everytime one nicely done with the mood. However some parts missed lip sync , when someone in there was talking missed lip sync , it seemed slow as well for a romantic type it was quite entertaining but could of been better.

There was no lip-sync in the vid. The only talking scene was the one where the lady is lecturing the couple, to the lyrics "Some people say our love affair will never last." She was the "some people." I thought that, since she was looking at the couple, who were in the foreground of the shot, and didn't start talking when the lyrics did, that people wouldn't get it confused with a lip-sync attempt.
As far as being slow- my vids are mostly going to seem a little slow compared to the average vid around here. It's just how I like to make them. One will have to decide whether it's to one's taste or not.

Pherphq · Post by **Pherphq** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:52 am

I totally agree I was'nt being too constructive , as well for the lip sync attempt I don't have an issue with your editing style ether fast or slow but have reasons to post such feedback.

blabbler · Post by **blabbler** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:00 pm

I've just watched the babys' track. Hmm, I think by using the dubbed dialogue (ick) at the beginning, you set up the expectation for lip-sync, so that bugged me too.

I do think that the pace of the editing didn't always fit the song - e.g. 0:56, 2:00, 3:04, etc. I felt the pace should have picked up at these points, not necessarily scene changes, but just more edits, or faster pans and zooms. I feel this applies to your GitS video too.

The sheer ugliness (imo) of the anime art made it very hard for me to enjoy this, but I can see what you were going for, and I think you succeeded on the whole. If the animation had been prettier, I would probably feel much better disposed towards the vid.

Cheers,
blabbler

Kalium · Post by **Kalium** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:42 pm

There's something that bugs me about Gun 'n Revy. It was worse in the first version, but it's still here. You need to work on being consistent with your timing. There's a good example about 0:22 seconds in. You cut to the neon signs at what seems to be a random moment. It's a hard cut, but not timed to anything. You do something similar a little later at 0:29, where you time to one drum hit and then ignore the next one. The screenshake at 0:32 could easily be timed to a drum beat, and that would probably work better.

Let me introduce you to a trick for faster parts of a song with multiple distinct instruments. Pick one, and time to that. The guitar line, the bass line, the drum line, whatever. Pick one, and work predominantly with it.

Another thing to remember is that action demands fast pacing. Action relies on and requires fast pacing to work well.

Most of all, don't be afraid to use only bits and pieces of a scene. I remember the bar shootout, and it seems like you used just about every shot in the scene.

You've got the raw ability here. You know how to time and you seem to have the technical stuff down cold. Now it's all about technique.

WesW · Post by **WesW** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:30 pm

blabbler wrote:I've just watched the babys' track. Hmm, I think by using the dubbed dialogue (ick) at the beginning, you set up the expectation for lip-sync, so that bugged me too.

I do think that the pace of the editing didn't always fit the song - e.g. 0:56, 2:00, 3:04, etc. I felt the pace should have picked up at these points, not necessarily scene changes, but just more edits, or faster pans and zooms. I feel this applies to your GitS video too.

The sheer ugliness (imo) of the anime art made it very hard for me to enjoy this, but I can see what you were going for, and I think you succeeded on the whole. If the animation had been prettier, I would probably feel much better disposed towards the vid.

Cheers,
blabbler

The dubbed dialogue ends with the words "...every time I think of him," and the song's title is "Every Time I Think of You". That perfect synchronicity is why I included that scene.
I'll look at the editing again some day. I'm still learning about that part. Since this was the first vid where I was working without lip flaps, I felt like I was pushed to the limit to find the scenes that I did. Once I get better, I'll probably be able to compose better sequences.
Given the old-fashioned feel of the song, I was trying for a more old-fashioned, dreamy type of editing, like you would see in an old romance movie.
Sorry you didn't like the character designs for the series. If anyone has any suggestions for romantic series, I would be very grateful, since I only know of a few.
As for the Gits vid, I still think the sync is there, it's just that it's internal to scenes, rather than focusing on cuts.

Kalium Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:42 pm

There's something that bugs me about Gun 'n Revy. It was worse in the first version, but it's still here. You need to work on being consistent with your timing.

Well, you'll be happy to know that I have gotten some much-needed help with timing techniques and approaches to sycn from one of the members here, and am currently working on a third version of this vid. When I get it finished, I'll post it at my webpage and invite everyone to post their thoughts on it.