Reflections on 2002

mexicanjunior · Post by **mexicanjunior** » Sat Dec 14, 2002 9:54 pm

Wonka wrote:(MJ only likes us in a physical sense).

Good time, good times.

You know it! *AIM KISSY FACE*

Kai Stromler · Post by **Kai Stromler** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 1:54 pm

iserlohn wrote:
Another noticable trend this year was the increased visibility of mediocrity in AMVs, especially on the con circuit. With much of the better work held off for AWA, many videos which would have failed to make a contest two years ago found themselves on the big screens, and unless the community collapses on itself, is going to continue. Truly bad videos seem to be on the decline, but truly great ones aren't showing up in droves either. Sturgeon's law is becoming Sturgeon's bell curve.

<slams hand up> I would like to sincerely apologize for any part my production pace played in this! Hopefully, in 2003, I will be a little more selective with what goes out the door, and leave the rest for CD-release! Thank you! <bows, sits>

What happened on my end in 2002:

January:
Finished eight videos including four for spring demo and a 9-minute epic. What the hell is up with that?

February:
Gave the hell up on trying to get the watermark off my Boys Be.. episodes and made 'e vol ve'.

March:
In an attempt to install the trial version, Premiere nearly kills my system and permanently gutfucks my capture card drivers. GO TO HELL ADOBE!

July:
I rejoin the .org after a year's absence, and finish 'D I S A R M'.

August:
I enter a bunch of contests, and win Best Action at CNAnime for 'D I S A R M'. In related news, Canada considers decriminalizing marijuana. Two videos are hosted on marcyu's FTP (RIP) for about fifteen seconds before his/her provider forces the service down.

September:
I unintentionally start a fight in a post-AXNY thread and use the opportunity to pick people's brains about community values. Conclusion: I really do come from another planet. I make 'Prelude to Apocalypse' front-to-back in Virtual Dub as a proof of concept, and vow never to do that again. 'e vol ve' impresses some people at AWA.

December:
I finally get the hang of AviSynth and start thinking about getting a DVD drive, with the Anime Boston deadline looming and me getting more and more frustrated with my system's intractability. trythil cites me in this thread as an experienced creator on an alternative setup. High praise for a bass player who stumbled across some video gear.

Planned for 2003:
two videos that will attempt to kill the audience in their seats, the most foul-mouthed comedy video ever released, and probably about 35 or so others, some of which will be good, and some of which will be forgettable. Also: lots more unjustified belligerence, superfluous metal advocacy, and bizarre value judgements.

hails,

--K

Machine · Post by **Machine** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 2:21 am

iserlohn wrote: Almost every major convention's event, short of Otakon and AWA (and I believe A-Kon, can someone confirm?) have had either massive technical or organizational problems

[/quote]

The Brad DeMoss Boner!

SpPANDA · Post by **SpPANDA** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 2:46 am

Castor Troy wrote:
SpPANDA wrote:i got into amvs this year.
i think the upside was all the people i got to talk to or meet at conventions.
and the encouragment form people who appreciate your work means the most.

thanks all.

I LOVE YOU MAN!

i love you more... ~_~;

trythil · Post by **trythil** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 3:08 am

iserlohn wrote:drama is the easiest of the three categories to produce.

I would appreciate it if you would provide some further justification for that statement. You seem to be saying that it's easier to (1) produce an original plot and (2) edit/composite/reanimate/synchronize footage to (3) communicate the storyline and (4) evoke an emotional response from the audience than it is to do (2) and (4) alone, which is the case in most action videos. Your words also seem to connote that drama is, somehow, a "lower" art form than comedies or parodies (which are dramatic in nature themselves, but never mind that...)

Maybe I'm feeling defensive.

re: tendency of art to parody itself --

That is an interesting statement, but I'm not sure if I like it or not. (I'm trying to think of examples in which this pattern doesn't work, but searching from the visual arts to the literary world, I've yet to find a real trend-breaking pattern...)

Back on topic, my reflection on 2002, and a prediction for 2003:

2002: I unleash massive horror upon the AMV community by doing everything deemed unholy in the AMV Editor's Bible: lip-movement in instrumental scenes, lots of dissolve transitions, using canned transitions, using MJPEG masters, editing with DivX, massive numbers of colorspace conversions, and not editing with Adobe Premiere. Many people find a new flame target. Others keel over and die from the poison that is my idiocy.

2003, however, will be the year that people stop laughing whenever somebody mentions Linux as a platform for video work that John Q. AMV Editor can use.
I plan to do everything I can to make that prediction a truth.

iserlohn · Post by **iserlohn** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 1:15 pm

trythil wrote: I would appreciate it if you would provide some further justification for that statement. You seem to be saying that it's easier to (1) produce an original plot and (2) edit/composite/reanimate/synchronize footage to (3) communicate the storyline and (4) evoke an emotional response from the audience than it is to do (2) and (4) alone, which is the case in most action videos. Your words also seem to connote that drama is, somehow, a "lower" art form than comedies or parodies (which are dramatic in nature themselves, but never mind that...)

Alright. (1) is uncommon. A large proportion of drama videos are taking the existing plot and setting it to music. As you said, (2) is everywhere, (3) tends in drama more than any other category to rely on prior viewing by an audience than the other categories, and (4) is truly rare. Drama is not a lower art form, but it is MUCH easier to present, ask any actor. Action is the simplest work to do conceptually, but requires something which drama videos have less of a need for - pacing. Action videos get really boring if the pacing's off, whereas drama videos with bad pacing go into a slow lull. Comedy videos need strong concept AND strong pacing and more and more strong work on behalf of the editor (it appears that the what used to be a comedy video is now more of a "fun" video when lacking heavy modification). While drama is considered the ultimate form of theatrical expression (think about the greeks and the drama:comedy ratio and the fact that macbeth is said to be the ultimate role for an actor), for film/video all it means is that someone's not trying to be funny. True drama in film takes a lot of skill to pull off because everything has to click EXACTLY right or you've blown it. I have learned this lesson personally.

[quote='"tythril"]
re: tendency of art to parody itself --

That is an interesting statement, but I'm not sure if I like it or not. (I'm trying to think of examples in which this pattern doesn't work, but searching from the visual arts to the literary world, I've yet to find a real trend-breaking pattern...)

[/quote]

It is, isn't it. Give it a couple years and we'll be back to action again.

[quote='"tythril"]
Back on topic, my reflection on 2002, and a prediction for 2003:

2003, however, will be the year that people stop laughing whenever somebody mentions Linux as a platform for video work that John Q. AMV Editor can use.
I plan to do everything I can to make that prediction a truth.[/quote]

Linux needs some fundamental shakeups before amateur A/V people will go near it. First is more hardware support, secondly is a way to hide all of the complicated things (i don't give a §()$§ about bashing ./ shell and 50,000 text promting things), and third is to make a killer app which can beat what's already out there...but this is an argument for the hardware forum.

trythil · Post by **trythil** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 2:36 pm

iserlohn wrote: True drama in film takes a lot of skill to pull off because everything has to click EXACTLY right or you've blown it. I have learned this lesson personally.

Alright -- I think I see what you're getting at: drama is easy to present, but really hard to pull off the "right" way. I'll agree with that statement, having tried to pull off even semi-original plots in my AMV projects three times and failing each time.

Way off topic: Isn't it Hamlet who is supposed to be the ultimate role for an actor? Or did I get that mixed up, like everything else?

iserlohn wrote:Linux needs some fundamental shakeups before amateur A/V people will go near it. First is more hardware support, secondly is a way to hide all of the complicated things (i don't give a §()$§ about bashing ./ shell and 50,000 text promting things), and third is to make a killer app which can beat what's already out there...but this is an argument for the hardware forum.

Hardware support isn't really so much a problem as it has been in the past. One of the few exceptions is video capture device support (hell, for that matter, the Video4Linux API) isn't really quite there yet, but I'd expect to see that come along pretty soon.

Regarding text-based configuration: I don't really see how it's fundamentally any harder than using a mouse to click and select various options. The only reason why the latter seems to be easier is because (1) Windows is the dominant desktop OS and (2) Windows uses the point-and-click paradigm almost exclusively. I believe that if you teach people, they will learn, which is why I'm working on this

iserlohn · Post by **iserlohn** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 3:20 pm

interesting guide so far...but it's already got the evil phrase mentioned that makes every non-CS person out there cringe:

"recompile the kernel."

Does MacOS X run all this software? I bet Apple's found a way to make the hardware changes easier...this is, btw, the trick to getting people over to a *nix based system (MacOS X and no more having to understand how to code to run the OS).

And no, it IS Macbeth...pity, really. I got to play Macbeth during a reading in English class once and other than being allowed to brandish a rusty sword for about 5 minutes in class towards the end, it was really a hideous experience.