Kevin Caldwell Set The Standard...Now I'm Gonna Break It...

Dannywilson · Post by **Dannywilson** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 2:48 pm

Vlad's Trancending Love was the video I was talking about in my last post, and it along with Tainted Donuts, generally outclass most everything I've seen that claimed to be "rame By Frame"edited.

dokidoki · Post by **dokidoki** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 2:49 pm

The_Mad_Hatter wrote:
Dannywilson wrote:You have premiere 6.5,
Actually I'm using 5.5,

Here's a tip...

Don't ever say you're using Premiere 5.5, unless you want people to know you pirated it.

Adobe never released a version 5.5. It's a hacked version.

Ashyukun · Post by **Ashyukun** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 2:49 pm

I can't really comment on the video clip yet- my work computer a) doesn't have sound and b) won't play video back at full frame rate. I'll watch through it when I get home and have a better suited computer.

But- I would tend to agree that your attitude does seem a bit, well, overblown. Confidence in your capabilities is definitely a good thing but, whether it is intentional or not, your posts have come across as quite arrogant. Even if the first 35 seconds were the most mind-blowingly amazing piece of video editing that the AMV world had ever seen (which, by what I've read, it isn't- though I can't in all fairness say that without seeing it myself, and then that would still just be my opinion... but I think it will have a hard time beating a few of the videos I consider truly awe-inspiring), it largely comes across as sounding like you just couldn't wait to get all the acclaim that you believe should justly be yours.

The tone of your first post in this thread was (at least to me) 'Look at how cool what I've done was! And it's going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread when it's done! Everything cool that's been done before, I'll do better!'. If you had said 'I'm working on a new video, and I'd like to see what everyone thinks about it. This is what I'm planning on doing with the rest of it.' I think people's reaction would have been a bit different. Nobody, to coin a phrase, likes a braggard. While it is possible that you truly aren't bragging, that's the way it comes across at the moment.

I would concur with Dannywilson that sometimes simplicity is what stands out most, and the some of the best effects are those that aren't readily apparent that they -are- effects. In my opinion, humble or not, a really good video doesn't have you going 'Hey, look at that!' every couple of seconds- the whole video leaves you impressed, and the effects fold smoothly into the video. As for artistic vision- if you haven't already, watch this. This video, to me, is what artistic vision and editing talent combined are all about.

I'm not, however, going to berate you for ambition or for your love of CCS. I've not seen more than an episode of it on American TV, but I see nothing wrong with liking any particular series- even one that may have been originally aimed at young girls. Two of my favorite series are Hime-chan no Ribon and Battle Athletess Daiundokai, both of which fall rather solidly into the 'shoujo' category or anime.

If your subtitle removing filter is good, please by all means post it- we definitely could use more people capable of writing things like that. I feel for you doing your work on a system like you've got. When I first got started making AMVs 7 years ago, that's not too much better than what I had to work with. Having a group of us that worked on vids though made the time pass much more quickly, though. Wouldn't your DVD rips be in 720x480, not 640x480, though? Also, you might (if you haven't already) look into the MJPEG codec(s) to use for previewing- it might compress a bit more quickly than mpeg4 and should still play back on your machine without hiccuping (should- you'd have to test it)

The_Mad_Hatter · Post by **The_Mad_Hatter** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 3:11 pm

dokidoki wrote: Don't ever say you're using Premiere 5.5, unless you want people to know you pirated it.

Adobe never released a version 5.5. It's a hacked version.

Um...I'm the Mad Hatter...

You know, inventor of the Flonk, reg of AAVFFF, proprietor of the Mad Hatter Matrix fan club, featured in Wired magazine, been on the Inet since the mid 80s, considered by most to be one of the founding fathers of warez... o_O

dokidoki · Post by **dokidoki** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 3:19 pm

The_Mad_Hatter wrote:Um...I'm the Mad Hatter...

Oh! You're THE Mad Hatter. Sorry, I thought you were just A Mad Hatter. They come in six-packs, you know.

dokidoki · Post by **dokidoki** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 3:24 pm

Dannywilson wrote:God is borne in simplicity. You have premiere 6.5, _AT MOST_ he had premeire 3.5-4. The point being effects like frame rate changes and video reversals (essentially the same tool) weren't quite as simple as changing a little percentage in Premiere.

I made my first video in Spring '98 with Premiere 4.2, and it was that simple. (Fluxmeister still uses 4.2) I think I got 5.1 the next year. Anyway, Caldwell entered AX '98, '99, '00, so 4.2/5.1 were available around then.

The_Mad_Hatter · Post by **The_Mad_Hatter** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 4:30 pm

Ashyukun wrote: I can't really comment on the video clip yet- my work computer a) doesn't have sound and b) won't play video back at full frame rate. I'll watch through it when I get home and have a better suited computer.

It's a nice lil clip, I'm mainly interested in what people think of the lil spot of lip synch. Does it look too perfect? Should I do what that other guy suggested and make it less than perfect? The rest of the clip doesn't matter since I've already changed it around. Like I didn't like how Sakura's outfit didn't match what she was wearing in the other clips...so I changed it.

But- I would tend to agree that your attitude does seem a bit, well, overblown.

Good, then people won't hold back when critiquing.

I would concur with Dannywilson that sometimes simplicity is what stands out most, and the some of the best effects are those that aren't readily apparent that they -are- effects.

I'd say unintentional ones too. Like I didn't even notice it up until a couple hours ago but the in the first clip, with the birds flying, the change in music right as the last bird stops gliding and starts flapping it's wings. I didn't even mean to do that. ^_^

I'm not, however, going to berate you for ambition or for your love of CCS. I've not seen more than an episode of it on American TV,

o_O

No that wasn't CCS, that was CC. I feel sorry for you...I mean you actually sat through a whole episode of Cardcaptors? *shudder* If it was possible to rip a soul out of somebody...what Nelvana did to the Cardcaptor Sakura anime would be a good comparison.

If your subtitle removing filter is good, please by all means post it- we definitely could use more people capable of writing things like that.

Still needs a bit of tweaking. Basically it works by selecting the color of the subtitle as well as shadow color and then uses a color seeping technique from the surrounding areas. It's smart about it though in that it traces contours of surrounding objects so the color seeping isn't just random to the nearest pixel. The filter is loosely based on various red eye removal filters, except instead of masking one color with another it bleeds in the surround areas.

It's not entirely perfect though, there are some instances where it doesn't work as well as I want it too, which is why I'm trying to incorporate a second phase to it. Basically not only identify the main color and shadow of the subtitles you'll also be able to pick the font and size. Using that information it'd be able to do a near perfect job of covering it without making any mistakes....haven't quite got it that far yet. Programming isn't exactly my forte.

I feel for you doing your work on a system like you've got. When I first got started making AMVs 7 years ago, that's not too much better than what I had to work with. Having a group of us that worked on vids though made the time pass much more quickly, though. Wouldn't your DVD rips be in 720x480, not 640x480, though?

Actually upon closer inspection they're actually 544x400. Anime-Galaxy DVD to MPEG4 rips.

Also, you might (if you haven't already) look into the MJPEG codec(s) to use for previewing- it might compress a bit more quickly than mpeg4 and should still play back on your machine without hiccuping (should- you'd have to test it)

Nah, I've found the format doesn't matter, if it's bigger than 352x240 it'll start frame skipping...that might have to do with the elcheapo 1998 4mb graphics card I have. I actually went out and bought an ATI Radeon 9000...but first it sucked up too much power and I had to buy a new power supply...and then I found it wouldn't even work properly in my system because my motherboard is such an outdated piece of crap. So it's sitting in it's lil box until I get around to upgrading the motherboard and CPU.

The_Mad_Hatter · Post by **The_Mad_Hatter** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 4:41 pm

Ashyukun wrote: As for artistic vision- if you haven't already, watch this. This video, to me, is what artistic vision and editing talent combined are all about.

Uh...how can I get that video? Can't find it on KaZaA and there's no link to it on the video information page you gave. o_O

Koopiskeva · Post by **Koopiskeva** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 5:45 pm

/me waits for the video...

Koopiskeva · Post by **Koopiskeva** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 6:03 pm

oh.. ya.. how come nobody pointed out SSI yet..