I've got a song that desperately needs a video.

[CronoDAS]

The song is Rich Fantasy Lives. (Lyrics and vocals by Rob Balder, music by Tom Smith.)

I met Rob Balder at a convention, and, after hearing him perform this song, I knew that it desperately needed to have an anime music video if it didn't have one already. When I searched YouTube, the only videos of the song I could find were live recordings made at conventions, and the sound quality often wasn't very good. I decided that if I wanted a music video for this song, I'd probably have to make it myself, so I did some research into how to make an AMV and found you guys. Now, I could try to make a video myself, but because I've never made one before and my anime collection isn't very big, I'm worried that I won't be able to do the song justice. I'm sure that many of you here could do a much better job than I could; does anyone want to give it a shot? It's a very beautiful song, and if you download and listen to it, I think you'll agree with me that a video is needed, badly. If nobody else volunteers, I will do it myself, but, as I said, I've never done this before and it could end up going horribly wrong.

(As for permission, I've already asked Rob Balder and he's basically given the OK. He releases all his music under a Creative Commons license anyway.)

- Doug

[CronoDAS]

So, um... it looks like I will be the one to do this after all?

Any suggestions for video sources? I was actually thinking of using clips from Office Space for quite a bit of it. It isn't anime, but I think it might be effective to contrast the boring "real world" with that of the character's fantasies (shown as anime). I could also try using scenes from Lucky Star or Genshiken (because they're about anime fans), but I've never watched them.

It might go something like this:

Open with scenes of Joanna the waitress (played by Jennifer Aniston) in the restaurant, waiting on Peter (played by Ron Livingston)...

That waitress at Pete's who took so long to seat you,
And left you to stand in the doorway,
With her stringy red hair and her thousand-yard stare,
In her mind, she's the Princess of Norway.

Dissolve into an anime scene - something to match these lyrics. I'd be looking for a scene of a woman on a white horse, preferably wielding a sword and fighting something. Any suggestions?

As she takes down your order, she's crossing the fjords,
Her white stallion spits foam like a madman.
Many Vikings have died, trying to take her as bride,
But her heart is reserved for a bad man...

Dissolve back to "reality" for the chorus, showing the scene with Joanna and Peter watching television together at his house?

Rich fantasy lives
Somehow she survives in a world she contrives;
Inhibited husbands and frustrated wives,
Lead rich fantasy lives.

Cut to scenes of Peter at work, in cubicles...

That guy from IT, resurrects your PC
With a boredom he barely suppresses.
Though he rarely converses, he has more universes
In his head than you've got addresses.

Dissolve to an epic scale battle scene (from Gurren Lagaan?)...

He wargames through weekends, leads armies and legions.
He doesn't care how well you putted.
He's browsing reality's infinite palette,
He's seen yours, and yours doesn't cut it...

I guess I should go back to "reality" again, to match the earlier chorus segment... maybe a scene of Peter and his friends around the table or something?

Rich fantasy lives.
He quietly thrives in a world he contrives.
Techno-drone insects in cubicle hives
Lead rich fantasy lives.

I really don't know what to do for the rest of the song, though.
Any advice?

We're piling up fears, but we're out of frontiers.
Some need to escape, but there's nowhere.
Can't go to the Moon, at least any time soon,
But an inner-space trip costs you no fare.

So don't be unkind to a wandering mind,
Just say it again if we missed it.
Some whispering poem was calling us home
To a place we know never existed.

Rich fantasy lives.
Our peace-bonded knives and our hyperspace drives.
Until that steam engine to Hogwarts arrives,
We have rich fantasy lives.

Rich fantasy lives.
Our quests and our tribes and our Babylon Fives.
Until something better than this world arrives,
We'll lead rich fantasy lives.
Rich fantasy lives.

[Êricō]

Check out 'Angel Beats!' I believe that the theme of the anime suits the song in an indirect way.