God of a New World (Death Note)- AFO 2013 Best Drama Win

[Dext3r]

Video: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... p?v=192747
Category: Drama

Animes: Death Note
Black Cat

Songs used: Shadowlord
Shadowlord: White-Note Remix

Creator: Dext3r

So this is a video that just won the Best Drama Category in the AMV Contest for Anime Festival Orlando in 2013. Honestly I wasn't expecting this video to win anything because I've submitted it to several contests already [one where I was the only contestant (FAE) and another where it didn't even play (FSC)].

Audio Section

I spent a lot of time setting up the audio for this because the sections of the song I use are split all across the video:

0:00-0:20 - White-Note Remix Version
0:21-2:40 - Original Song
2:41-3:23 - White-Note Remix Version
3:24-4:16 - Sound mix of both Versions
4:17-4:28 - Original Song

Also, at 2:03 I cut out 30 seconds to simplify the video between when it premiered at FAE and when I had submitted it to FSC.

The whole point of the first half is to lull the viewer into a false sense of security, and then to upend the rug on them when the White-Note Remix kicks in at 2:41; and by the time the Sound mix kicks in at 3:24, its a roller coaster.

I worked closely with an anonymous (by his wishes) friend of mine who helped me combine the two songs together to create a harmony between the piano and the choir for the finale. Most of it is simply combining the two songs so that it sounds seamless, however there's a few portions where I specifically had things done to emphasize the piano, such as the moment at 3:36 when I sped up the video and brought the piano to the forefront.

Another example of this is from 3:52-4:16, the piano has been emphasized more, but you can still hear the choir in the background; until 4:17 where the original version comes back in for the final moments.

Video Section

The video itself is a character relationship piece between Light and L, so I have the video divided into different sections:

0:00-0:20 Character Introductions (Light, Misa, Ryuk, L, Creed [The Devil])

The piano representative of the Devil's influence, and so it's inclusion at the beginning ending with the apple is symbolic of the seed (Ryuk) being planted in Light's mind that will be triggered by the Death Note to create Kira.

0:21-0:54 Light (Solo)
0:55-1:21 L (Solo)

These first two sections are here to illustrate the social differences between Light & L, showing Light is surrounded by friends: Misa (Light) and Ryuk (Darkness); while L is surrounded by no one, with only Watari to console him.

1:22-1:50 Light & L (First Meeting)

This next section is the beginning of a friendship between Light and L that is born when they are brought together by the Death Note's entry into this world.

1:51-2:01 Light (The God Complex)

Once Light is given the power of life and death by the Devil's servant (Ryuk), he begins to get these ambitions in his head about what he could do with it and builds his own God Complex.

2:02-2:40 Light & L (Light's First Kill/First Step into Corruption by the Devil/L begins to suspect Light)

This next section is showing Light stalking his first kill, contrasted with Watari and L discovering that there is a serial killer named Kira that will soon become a threat. The music builds in intensity as it builds to the moment that Light kills her.

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After this, the piano becomes a dominant force in the music and is representative of how Light's first kill has now let the Devil into his mind and his music is in his ears to transform him into Kira (symbolized by the piano moments). So everything from here on out is of a completely different tone, and looked at from within a different "light."

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2:41-3:23 The Tennis Match

Now this next sequence is mostly internal, the tennis game is simply a metaphor for the Cat & Mouse Investigation/Killings going on between Light/Kira and L. There are small moments when what is actually going on peeks its way through:

2:55 L witnesses a murder by Kira/Light
3:00 Light murders another innocent victim
3:08 L is still investigating Kira/Light

Beginning at 3:11, the serial killings have begun to interfere with Light's personal life, shown by the argument between Light and Misa, that leads Light to decide that he no longer needs her (the light in his life) and decides to kill her and falls into darkness. This stroke is what leads to Light winning the tennis game/competition between Light and L, and this is why the music kicks into overdrive once Light has led Misa to commit suicide by jumping (symbolized by Light's fall at 3:22, the shot of "Misa's" body at 3:26, and the shot of Misa's innocence at 3:28).

From here on out, Kira has won and everything is thrown into chaos as the devil's corruption of Light has completely taken over. Light killing Misa has revealed to L that Light is Kira and completely destroyed the bond they had formed throughout the rest of the video. The killings have turned into mass murder and from here on out the video is essentially a celebration by the Devil of what he has created in Kira.

The video comes full circle at 4:06 where the images of L's loneliness from the beginning (0:55) being transformed into color are showing the friendship the beauty of the friendship that was born between Light and L was destroyed by the Devil (4:09).

At 4:10, the devil's original servant (Ryuk) is celebrating his success, leading to the final moments where Kira is unveiled as the Devil's servant in all his glory, as the "God" of his false new world, and the final piano strike shutting off the music is showing how Light is truly under the Devil's control and he can be stopped by him at any time.

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Hopefully all this doesn't come off as too pretentious, but it is what I intended when I created this video.

[l33tmeatwad]

I really liked the concept, the music and anime really fit well together. That said, I feel like the execution was a bit weak. Parts of it really hit the mark, while others completely just fell off. A lot of the screen splits seems a little unnatural, and the overall flow of the video was not solid. While some of the high points felt spot on, other parts felt out of place and it threw off the entire video as a whole. This video definitely had some potential, but could have used some beta testing to really find out what parts did and didn't work so they could be changed before finalizing it. Also, it's not a good idea to mix credits into the video, it would have been better without the opening text.

[Replay Studios]

I really liked the concept, the music and anime really fit well together. That said, I feel like the execution was a bit weak. Parts of it really hit the mark, while others completely just fell off. A lot of the screen splits seems a little unnatural, and the overall flow of the video was not solid. While some of the high points felt spot on, other parts felt out of place and it threw off the entire video as a whole. This video definitely had some potential, but could have used some beta testing to really find out what parts did and didn't work so they could be changed before finalizing it. Also, it's not a good idea to mix credits into the video, it would have been better without the opening text.

basically agreed as well