First time I saw my video on a screen in front of others was I think a hentai showing at the first Ushicon I went to in like 2001 or 2002. Seeing PFS on the big screen was very cool...
Your right Castor in that there is nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your videos being shown in front of a big audience at a convention. The butterflies in your stomach and anticipation, it's truly something every AMV editor should experience at least once. I have been fortunate enough to have experienced that and the adrenaline rush of winning...good times indeed.
The reactions of people in at a con are addictive. AMV making and exhibition at conventions are a low-risk way to express yourself and gain some feedback. Art needs to be shared with a community to have any value to the culture at large (value on a personal basis being a different story entirely of course), and the nature of a convention gives an editor a great amount of feedback in a short amount of time. This is beneficial to the culture as it produces a positive feedback loop with behaviours that are pro-social and creative.
Seeing your video up on a screen at a convention is the closest thing you can get to the feeling of being on stage without actually being a performer. Low-risk as it may be, a positive reaction to your video feels much better than a so-so reaction. A win is one of the most energizing and invigorating things you can experience in this life. There are few things that compare to it in feelings of pure unbridled excitement, confidence in your ability, and determination to feel it again next year.
Once you've tasted it you want it again and again. We evolved to be good at communicating ideas as a species, that's what these ridiculously huge brains are for. Art is just a projection of our collective heart and mind. It only makes sense that we get such a huge high out of making and putting our works out for show because our species is built on it.
I agree with just about everyone else. The jitters you get when your title screen comes up, anticipation of the audience response, and the applause afterwards make the editing process worth it. It was fun to watch my daughter when she watched her video play at a con the first time, and see her reactions as people cheered.
My first AMV contest to attend was A-Kon 2006. I was lucky enough to be there with JaddziaDax, Jade-eyed-angel and Scoob. I remember that one of my vids made some fangirls cry (Alchemist's Regret), and my Ghibli Girls got a great response. I was hooked after that, and attend as many cons as I can to be there for the contests. (Getting a call from Rina telling me I got Best in Show was serious icing on the cake. Having my trophy licked by other editors, now THAT was awesome.)
When i submitted Attack of the Otaku to Anime Evolution i will never forget the group of guys in the back who screamed "FUCK YEEEEEEAH!" when the video title appeared.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRoiDlhh_F8 I was actually at animethon but only on the second day :( and judges choice/fan fav were announced on the third. Wish i was there to see it win orz
I've only seen videos of mine on the big screen twice so far. Both times I was awash in terror and embarrassment. The idea of it sounds nice, but for some reason I dont react to it like I would expect. If anything, I enjoy the process of making my AMVs more than watching them. Although, I can watch AMVs made by other editors and enjoy them forever, I tend not to be able to stand the sight of my own stuff, especially when other people are present. I think I have issues.
"Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere."
The first full length AMV that I ever submitted to a con was my at AWA 2008. I'm pretty sure that I requested it to be shown, but I don't remember the experience. This may be due to the fact that I only spent 5 days working on it.
The second full length AMV that I submitted to a con was my at AWA 2009. I spent 5 months working on it, so I was so excited to see it on a big screen. The best description that I can think of for that experience is tense and numbing. Not a single person clapped for it. This it to be expected though. I went through a period of time when every video I made was dramatic and extremely depressing. As the title suggest, my goal in making that AMV was to make people cry.
My most memorable experience happened at Otakon 2010. I submitted my , and it was exhilarating. Right when the title card was shown, someone l shouted out "Yes!". There is just no words to describe the level of joy that moment gave me. And when the AMV started playing, I immediately took out my video camera and started recording it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcB5xHTb ... ture=feedu And the way the crowd clapped at the end is priceless.
On the other hand, that same AMV was shown at AWA 2010 without a title card. Unlike during Otakon, nobody knew that the audio was from Pocahontas. So people actually got offended by the AMV, and it was a slighty okward expeience. I'll never forget when the AMV got to the "the pale face is a demon" part of the song. A white girl shouted out loud as hell "What?", and I was like "oh shit"
I do not recall the first time I saw one of my videos on a contest screen. I DO recall AWA Pro 2006, and when the entire theatre had no reaction to Popularity. None at all. Not negative, not positive. Just ignored it. That was a pretty shitty feeling. I think I would have rather'd everyone just vocally hate on it.
So far, I have not yet had another chance, being in Asia from 2007-2010, to have seen one of my vides on a big screen. But I hear my other projects have gotten a quite a bit of audience interaction, and I have had audience members actually contact me about Boy at the Piano, Obamanation, Shadow, and Minmay 2.0, so I know that at least, those contest audiences were not entirely dead.
