"I Ain't Marryin' No Friggin' Horse!!!" (all song n dance)

[Willen]

It was entertaining even though I'm not a big fan of the song.

I'd agree with some of the other people here that after a bit it felt stretched. At least for me it's probably due to you stretching 1 minute of Haruhi ED footage with a bit of Lucky Star footage into a nearly 3 minute video. I have to admit that I was impressed by how much work needed to be done to change up scenes, adjust lip-flap (although there were a few places that I thought the mouth shape was wrong for the words being lipsynced), and how you stitched it together. And the end credit sequence amused me.

What it comes down to is that while this video has dancing (and singing) and is very good in the technical aspects, it's not a video that would make me want to go dance (and sing) along with. Part of it is the song and part of it is the lack of, as Koop stated, "dynamic footage". At least for a video of this length.

[Prodigi]

As for all the many 'it not having enough visual stuff going on'... oh well. Like theater vs movies. Some have the attention span for the former, some don't. Some just can't get by without something shiny to hold their attention-span. *jangles a set of keys* Oooooh, prettyyyyyy.

I disagree with this. I go see plays, I go see musicals, and I thoroughly enjoy most of them. Plays, theatre, and musicals all make use of scenery, back drops, props, etc, etc, to help the audience get into the story a bit more, rather than a bunch of people standing around in casual clothes on a blank stage. The same applies for this video. The sync is good, the transitioning is good (Lucky Star seemed out of place though), however as it is the same thing throughout there's no real momentum. It's not about "ZOMG SHINY", but more about mixing things up a little. Doing something as simple as rotoscoping a few of the dance routines into a different backdrop would have made a significant difference. Another example is that you could have had a short 10-15 second dance part where you drew (and you are quite good at drawing), a few stills of the characters in motion and have each image fade from one to the next as a sort of segway between scenes. There are no limitations on what you can do to maintain viewer interest, and it is never a case of "attention span", or "effects", or having something "shiny". It's just about looking at things from an outside perspective and thinking "well I have limitations with the source as there's only so much dance sequence, and I'm going to need to repeat certain pieces of footage, so perhaps if i did this (insert magical idea to maintain more interest)"

I'm not saying the video is boring, I just really passionately disagree with what you're trying to say and prove.

I found the video fun, and I'd probably watch it again. However I echo everyone else's sentiments when I say that because you are having to repeat certain things, and because it is the same 2-3 backgrounds that everyone has seen before in any video using either of the two sources, it is a bit of a drag at times. I liked the matchup of the audio with the source, and I really like the concept. I know you put a lot of work into it, but I personally feel that little bit extra would have done so much for the video in terms of having something a little fresh in it to make you go "wow" and hold on to the video for a long time.

It's not a bad video. It's good. Very good. But there's just no way you can expect to hold the attention of the people for such an extended period of time with the same thing. My thoughts. I'd also hate to think that my comments will gather the usual "he's wrong, what does he know, blah blah blah" that I noticed on the DZX forums the other week directed at the comments left by other people (especially when there were some semi-personal attacks rather than arguments of logic - reminds me why I left).

Overall I'd give it a 7.5/10.

You've been improving consistently throughout your videos and I'm very interested to see what you come up with next.

(In case you were wondering, this is Prodigi).

[Hagaren Viper]

Despite my feelings on seeing Hare hare Yukai in every Haruhi AMV, I actually liked this vid. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it is a lot of fun. And the song made me lol.

I kinda wish you had mixed more Lucky star in there though, as it just comes out of nowhere then promptly dissapears. Actually, when I saw the banner, I thought there would be more of the Haruhi gang and the Lucky Star gang dancing together, so I was a bit dissapointed.

But either way, I'll be keepin' this.

[Sonydjsnmix]

Loved it! Lucky Star in there felt like a filler to kill time. Should have chopped the song shorter. Great editing! I didn't know there were so many moves in the Haruhi dance until now!

4/5

[Ishbalan]

[ZaCloud]

I disagree with this. I go see plays, I go see musicals, and I thoroughly enjoy most of them. Plays, theatre, and musicals all make use of scenery, back drops, props, etc, etc, to help the audience get into the story a bit more, rather than a bunch of people standing around in casual clothes on a blank stage.

Well yes, but then there's tons of plays where the props are really simple, and invite the audience to use their imagination, or to just focus on the characters and acting. That's how things were done in the old days, and when some of the best plays were written (Shakespeare anyone?) ...Not that mine's anything like that though, in fact it's meant to be the opposite of deep. ...Anti-Shakespeare

The same applies for this video. The sync is good, the transitioning is good (Lucky Star seemed out of place though), however as it is the same thing throughout there's no real momentum. It's not about "ZOMG SHINY", but more about mixing things up a little. Doing something as simple as rotoscoping a few of the dance routines into a different backdrop would have made a significant difference.

Woulda taken me another two years to finish though. And this vid was not about backgrounds. It was about dancing. I coulda had it against white and it'd still be about the dancing. I would know what I want my own video to be about. It even comes with a 'warning' of thus in case one might not like it, cuz I don't want folks to waste their time on it if they're not gonna enjoy such a simple thing. (And no, it's not that I just want positive reviews, it's that I don't want to be rude and take a few minutes out of people's lives for nothing)

Another example is that you could have had a short 10-15 second dance part where you drew (and you are quite good at drawing), a few stills of the characters in motion and have each image fade from one to the next as a sort of segway between scenes.

Well, I did that, except with the existing frames. I used frames from multiple parts to do the segways. This was also about improvising. Adding stuff would have taken away from the challenge of improv.

There are no limitations on what you can do to maintain viewer interest, and it is never a case of "attention span", or "effects", or having something "shiny". It's just about looking at things from an outside perspective and thinking "well I have limitations with the source as there's only so much dance sequence, and I'm going to need to repeat certain pieces of footage, so perhaps if i did this (insert magical idea to maintain more interest)"

I went "Well, I have limitations, bla repeat bla, so perhaps if I string the scenes together in a different order to create new sequences of moves..."

I'm not saying the video is boring, I just really passionately disagree with what you're trying to say and prove.

Okies, you can disagree, but that still doesn't make this video any more or less than what I wanted to do. The day one starts defining their own personal artwork by what other people expect, is the day it's no longer their own, personal, art.

I found the video fun, and I'd probably watch it again. However I echo everyone else's sentiments when I say that because you are having to repeat certain things, and because it is the same 2-3 backgrounds that everyone has seen before in any video using either of the two sources, it is a bit of a drag at times. I liked the matchup of the audio with the source, and I really like the concept. I know you put a lot of work into it, but I personally feel that little bit extra would have done so much for the video in terms of having something a little fresh in it to make you go "wow" and hold on to the video for a long time.

Thanks for the compliments. Ummm... why's it so easy to reply so much to negatives but then there's so little I can gush about compliments? Maybe that's why people have a hard time getting along in the world, hmmm...

It's not a bad video. It's good. Very good. But there's just no way you can expect to hold the attention of the people for such an extended period of time with the same thing.

Well, that depends, it's held the attention of plenty of others. I think it's just personal taste, as I said. This is just not everyone's "thing", but it may be for some. It seems like people have gotten so objective about AMVs nowadays in the 'professional' realm, analyzing the technical aspects, and how well in a technical way that the "emotions" of a video work. It's like folks forget that this is just as much as subjective realm. I guess too many videos are all done in a similar way. This one's different, it doesn't try to be anything other than what it is. To that effect, some will like it, and some won't. Trying to explain it in objective terms won't actually yield useful results.

Usually, I adore getting critique that points out where I can improve, because I know I have a long way to go in terms of technical prowess. Hard critiques help me grow as a person, and I always love to add more knowledge to my yet rather empty shelves. (...which need some dusting... is that a spider web on the third one?... )

But, this particular video is just one of those things where you like it or you don't (though of course with some variation). While it's perfectly logical to point out where it falls short as an expected AMV (such as my banner being a little too indicative, sorry Hagaren Viper, or the repetitive backgrounds being repetitive), this video just wasn't about most of the shortcomings that come up.

Let's say this is fruit.org. The majority seem to agree that oranges are the superior fruit and so we're flooded with people bringing all sorts of oranges and critiquing the sweet vs sour vs tangy vs texture vs shade of the oranges. But then I come along with an apple. And so most folks set about telling me how it fails as an orange. When in fact it's a half-decent apple. A few folks who like apples are like, "Mmmm, pretty good apple."

You can't compare apples and oranges. Some people just plain like them, some people don't. Analyzing why you dislike a certain food generally will get nobody anywhere. Not that I want people to shut up, y'all can continue critiquing or pointing out if you didn't like it, that's what freedom of speech is for. Just saying I can't really learn a whole lot from most of the critique that's being offered in this one, particular, singular case.

Backgrounds: Yes, true, but not a factor, it's about the dancing.
Repetition: Yes, true, but not a factor, most dances are WAY more repetitious than this one, and it's about the stringing-together of the moves, not the moves themselves, cuz you could argue that all dances have at least half their moves repeated throughout 40% of the routine (such as returning to stances or certain bridging moves, etc)
Too long: No, not even true. It's the song. Had I shortened it, it'd be a summary of the song. This is a vid featuring dancing set to the song. If it feels too long, then it's just not your cup-of-tea, and you should say to the video, "You're not the one for me!"

Just wanted to bring forth the song's energy, with dancing set to it, improvising with limited material. Dat's it. And dat's what it is.

I'd also hate to think that my comments will gather the usual "he's wrong, what does he know, blah blah blah" that I noticed on the DZX forums the other week directed at the comments left by other people (especially when there were some semi-personal attacks rather than arguments of logic - reminds me why I left).

The only person who said anything about others' critiques, was my little sister. She'd of course be defensive of me. I've already explained to her verbally that she generalized far too much and it wasn't proper of her.

And by the way, she's mentally handicapped and can't function properly in social situations. So, I'm sorry if she offended anyone, but she's incapable of learning where to draw the line and gets really passionate sometimes. My apologies.

[ZaCloud]

Other folks:

Loved it! Lucky Star in there felt like a filler to kill time. Should have chopped the song shorter. Great editing! I didn't know there were so many moves in the Haruhi dance until now!

4/5

Well, guess you could call it a cameo. That was the word I had in mind when I threw 'em in there. They're sister-series, so I figured eh, why not, plus it'd reduce the repetitions anyway. And yeah, once you analyze the moves there's a lot they can do if you string them together just right, which was where the challenge was.

Despite my feelings on seeing Hare hare Yukai in every Haruhi AMV, I actually liked this vid. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it is a lot of fun. And the song made me lol.

Yaaaay, tankooo, fun's where I tried to go.

I kinda wish you had mixed more Lucky star in there though, as it just comes out of nowhere then promptly dissapears. Actually, when I saw the banner, I thought there would be more of the Haruhi gang and the Lucky Star gang dancing together, so I was a bit dissapointed.

As I said above, kind of a cameo. I actually hadn't originally had them together until late in production. Maybe I should have tried to pull it off more... But then it'd have taken so long to finish and I'm more of an emotion editor than technical, so this one was killing me as it is. And as I said somewhere up higher, sowwy about the banner, I got carried away with teh 'shop. That is definitely a mistake I concede to.

But either way, I'll be keepin' this.

Yaaay! Just glad I found a couple apple fans to eat da apple before it gets rotten.

that pic

........................Haruhi, if you keep insisting "Nooooo, No. Noooo, No-No-No" then I suggest you start running.