Things I miss: originalilty (a special sort of it)

[Knowname]

Like many have said 'originality' is really hit and miss. For me there has to be a hint of relevance. Apparently many ppl are MUCH less picky To me originality is doing EXACTLY what (it seems like) you set out to do (your ORIGINAL idea). Oddly, in my opinion, originality has nothing to do with 'first'. Many times something that is original MUST be carried through a new concept, however... it doesn't always. Does that mean that every video is original?? mmm... yeah pretty much , but some vids that just seem TOTALLY pulled out of thin air (not concept videos, but those videos that seem to be pretty clips or an awesome fight to awesome music) are NOT. Anyway that's my opinion on the subject.

Now I hadn't made a list in a few years, but let me list some of the originals I'd come acrossed over the years just cuz folks like Bauzi can never get enough










(if only because this amv like INVENTED the mainstream AMV)




(originality according to my meaning ie the auther made me believe in his concept in one viewing)


(they're all intros)

(hahahaha! so NOT original -_- but by my definition it very much is)

[Nya-chan Production]

I have a section of my AMVs which I named "Experimental".

I think Bauzi would be interested in them

[qyll]

On the subject of sync: I don’t know about other people here, but I enjoy watching AMVs with all their characteristic effects and cuts. I find the AMV brand appealing because editors pay extreme attention to the song to try and sync it with the footage. Professional music videos look great because the cameraman shot the footage specifically for the video, whereas AMV editors have to improvise with what they have. Depending on how you look at it, making an AMV is harder AND easier than making a music video – harder in the sense that we have a limited amount of source footage we can work with, easier in the sense that we do not have to actually shoot the footage. And naturally, with fewer sources to work with, we place more emphasis on sync.

I don’t think sync is an arbitrary criteria for judging AMV quality. There’s something primal about good sync that makes it reusable and even abusable to instantiate the concept of the video, whatever that might be. There will always be a place for videos with good sync and nothing else. The worst you can say about those videos is that they are unoriginal, but you cannot call them poorly edited.

As for using effects to achieve originality: I agree with you there, Bauzi. No, it’s not always a great way, but it is a way, and as long as it works, people will do it. On the flip side of the coin, you have to give effects some credit. Effects can go way beyond creating just some “interesting visuals”. The realm of effects is a grand one and we (as a community) have barely scratched the surface of everything that is possible.

What godix said is very important, and I’ll quote it here:

...this is a hobby largely dominated by teenagers...

To actually tap into the level of effects you see in the Casino Royale intro, like you said, Bauzi, you need to be an fx-specialist, and last I checked, not many teenagers are fx-specialist. Even on this site, there’s just simply not enough talent and motivation to consistently pump out (exceptional) effects driven, well synced AMVs like the movie industry pumps out well shot, well acted movies. Why? Well, because making AMVs is a hobby after all.

So we’re stuck with what we have (for now): sync and low level effects. And for me, that’s okay – if it weren’t, I wouldn’t have signed up for this hobby.

[JaddziaDax]

Comparing movies to amvs..

Movies - they have TEAMS (sometimes several teams) to create those. I dare you to sit down and read the credits of a high budget effects movie one of these days, and you will see just how many teams went into creating effects for a movie. Not to mention each team is usually well organized and have already been given a layout for just what kind of effects they are going to do. Everything from the movement of the footage, and how the visuals are meant to look to set up the emotion of the scenes. And that is why they can pump out said movies in such a short time.

I highly doubt that the title sequence that you pointed out was done by one person alone - it COULD be done by one person who has a lot of time on their hands dedicated to do it, but it would take a lot longer than the time restraints of most film makers.

MEPs - Granted you can probably get something nice going in a MEP if you really tried. However you need people with more dedication than "this is just a hobby" on your team. You would need professionals who have "more at stake" than just wanting to make something that "looks cool". Not to mention most MEPs are poorly organized and spread across timezones, and MEP organizers are often afraid to "stifle creativity" which is why most MEPs end up looking disjointed and a lot of the pieces of said MEPs end up standing out as very different from the rest. You can usually see who did what piece if you are paying enough attention to it. (Or at the very least see where one editor ends and the next begins.)

Very few MEPs that I've seen hardly even have a central theme, aside from "this music artist", "this holiday" or "this mood", and since most people have different takes on what those vague concepts are, of course everyone is going to take a different approach. If MEP coordinators were to give more limits and restrictions and better solid ideas on what they expected from people, then MEPs could possibly come out more consistent.

I'm not saying that MEPs are bad because they aren't entirely consistent, but when compared to the way movies are made, MEPs don't usually have the same goals as movies even though you can say both concepts are made in similar ways - by teams.

AMVs - Most regular AMVs however usually have only one person working on it, and effects take time to make if you don't have a team. Not everyone has the patience to do the work required to make a video with decent effects - but due to the pressure, either they put on themselves or that they perceive the community putting on them, to have effects (or your AMV is worthless and/or uncreative), lots of people will often stoop to stock effects, or ideas that are easy to implement -stock transitions, lens flares, white/black flashing, etc, because it's the easy way out, or they just don't know how to do most of the effects they would like to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can understand getting inspiration from movies, but as far as process and motivation goes AMVs and movies have very different goals.

[Bauzi]

I have another "excuse" for amvs on how they actually are (still no reason to blame them):
It's the source. It's so static. Think of it. A 15 second long scene with no cuts of a life action person is way more enjoyable to look at than a 15 second long scene of an anime character in a music video. Because there is life! There is at least some small motion like breathing. I often try to compensate this lack of motion with small zooms or screen pans.

I don’t know about other people here, but I enjoy watching AMVs with all their characteristic effects and cuts.

Wow I'm somehow envy now. I'm not to cynic on this hobby, but I often don't find that much enjoyment in the characteristics. Today I'm more interested into amvs that achieve more with less.

About teams:
I see myself more as a visual executor. I think I can do a lot of things (think amv-fx-wise please), but I lack originality, creativity and designer abilities.

I highly doubt that the title sequence that you pointed out was done by one person alone.

Oh. No I didn't meant that.

New sort of MEP?
I think it would be interesting to see a project were people act as team and work on one video with certain roles:
-Concept/design
-Raw editing
-3D effects
-Compositing

etc.

That won't likely happen. You would need: organisation, communication and too many cooks are bad for one meal. However I think it still would be interesting if you work on some parts together like main concept, beta testing of the editing...

[mirkosp]

New sort of MEP?
I think it would be interesting to see a project were people act as team and work on one video with certain roles:
-Concept/design

That won't likely happen. You would need: organisation, communication and too many cooks are bad for one meal. However I think it still would be interesting if you work on some parts together like main concept, beta testing of the editing...

This... tried to make the "dreamcatcher mep", didn't go as planned, since it was apparently too complicated to be pulled off, or so most were saying.

[JaddziaDax]

having lots of cooks is fine, but you need a head chef willing to make the final calls and people with the motivation to finish a project.

[nommay]

I like this video.


And

[Kitsuner]

having lots of cooks is fine, but you need a head chef willing to make the final calls and people with the motivation to finish a project.

An Iron Chef?

[Infinity Squared]

having lots of cooks is fine, but you need a head chef willing to make the final calls and people with the motivation to finish a project.

An Iron Chef?

Give this man the million dollars.