Themes and how they are overrated

[Evildeaddave]

Ok a note on Themed videos. It seems that most people only care about a video if it has some theme to it, i even heard a chick say that a themed video should beat out a nin themed video any day in a contest. Rarely does anyone make their own theme up for a video. Most themed videos just take the main or even side theme out of the anime and make the video to that. How is that being creative? taking an existing theme from work that was not thought up by you and then just re-editing it to tell the same story but your way. What really counts is how well you edit the video, to the beats, the lyrics, and lip synce and effects if have any in it. Only time a theme video is unique is if you try to make a new theme that wasn't initialy introduced in the actual anime.

[Tom the Fish]

What really counts is how well you edit the video, to the beats, the lyrics, and lip synced and effects if have any in it.

But this is an antithesis to my belief that substance is always better than style. Especially now that computers make editing, adding effects and lip-synching almost no work at all.

But of course, your opinion is just as valid as mine.

Tom

[Dead_Pool]

You also have to remember that AMV making is a subjective art form, what you get from a certain AMV I might see something totally different, I really think people should relax on how they view AMVs, but thats my op which is different than yours.

Now if you draw the anime yourself then and make up the song then I can say that you made up a theme, but since we are all hacks, what the hell make them and view them as you wish and who cares what other people say. 8)

[WhereNext]

well here is my 2 sense on the whole theme issue.

I have seen people say that a themed video automatically beats a non themed video even if the the themeless video is better in every other way. I feel that is a stupid comment.

My main complaint about themes is though, that if you create a themeless video that is just meant to be fun, people think your video isn't as good because it doesn't have a theme, i think people need to look at the AMV from more of the perspective of what the creator set out to accomplish and how well he/she did it, not..."well, yr video was very well done, but the only thing hurting it is that it doesn't have a theme"

Look at the video for what the creator intended it to be, not what you think it should be.

[dwchang]

What really counts is how well you edit the video, to the beats, the lyrics, and lip synced and effects if have any in it.

But this is an antithesis to my belief that substance is always better than style. Especially now that computers make editing, adding effects and lip-synching almost no work at all.

But of course, your opinion is just as valid as mine.

Tom

I'm with you on this Tom. Concept/Theme and following-through on it means a lot more to mean than flashy effects with nothing behind it.

I've told plenty of people at panels, that you can make great videos with only straight cuts, fade-to-black and cross-dissolves. If you have good theme/concept and do good scene selection (with acceptable timing/editing), that is superior to me than flash/style.

[Otohiko]

What really counts is how well you edit the video, to the beats, the lyrics, and lip synced and effects if have any in it.

But this is an antithesis to my belief that substance is always better than style. Especially now that computers make editing, adding effects and lip-synching almost no work at all.

But of course, your opinion is just as valid as mine.

Tom

I'm with you on this Tom. Concept/Theme and following-through on it means a lot more to mean than flashy effects with nothing behind it.

I've told plenty of people at panels, that you can make great videos with only straight cuts, fade-to-black and cross-dissolves. If you have good theme/concept and do good scene selection (with acceptable timing/editing), that is superior to me than flash/style.

Exactly, it's not that a themed video is AUTOMATICALLY superior - it's just that usually, themed videos are much more effective. Themes tend to engage the viewer in ways other than just making them stare at the footage/effects that the creator used.

Besides, noone said that you HAVE to take the theme straight out of the anime. You can bend the themes as much as you want - even come up with new themes yourself. Just that the obvious ones lend themselves more easily to the creator and the audience...

Plus, you can trust dwchang on this one - he did both kinds of vids superbly...

[BishounenStalker]

My $.02....

Theme is a factor, just like everything else. To me weighing videos in quality for myself is kinda like weighing any kind of art. Skill and intent are what matters.

By intent, I mean what the creator intended to do with the video. I'd prefer a non-themed fun or action video over a drama or romance that tried to have a theme and screwed it up. It all depends on execution. If a video is well-done, it's well-done. No matter what its "theme" (or lack thereof) may be.

[WhereNext]

well, my last two vids i did, one was themed and one isn't. My themed vid got lots of good reviews, and thats great, and my non themed vid is also getting good reviews, but what bugs me about it is when people bring down the scoring because the video doesn't have a theme.

Personally, I will look at the video for what it is. If it is a non themed video that is what i will look for, i won't say that its was good but it would be better if it had a theme. And personally, i think making a non themed video is harder than making a themed video. When you say i am gonna make a themed video, you already limited yourself on the clips to use. When i make a non themed video, i still have the entire anime to choose from, and try to keep a continuity to it and not make it look like randomly chosen clips. To me this is much harder.

[AbsoluteDestiny]

Ok a note on Themed videos. It seems that most people only care about a video if it has some theme to it, i even heard a chick say that a themed video should beat out a nin themed video any day in a contest. Rarely does anyone make their own theme up for a video. Most themed videos just take the main or even side theme out of the anime and make the video to that. How is that being creative? taking an existing theme from work that was not thought up by you and then just re-editing it to tell the same story but your way. What really counts is how well you edit the video, to the beats, the lyrics, and lip synce and effects if have any in it. Only time a theme video is unique is if you try to make a new theme that wasn't initialy introduced in the actual anime.

It's been a while since I've read a serious post about amvs that I've disagreed with so much. I can understand the logic behind it, but I think it's incorrect.

If there's anything I've learned from contests this year is that EVERYONE is becoming very technically precise. "how well you edit the video, to the beats, the lyrics, and lip synce and effects if have any" as you say... well everyone is getting good at this. At Jacon I was very hard pressed to find a video that I felt had many/any technical flaws.

But they weren't *all* mindstoppingly good videos - they were just all very well edited. The videos that are winning the contests are the ones with the best concept.

I honestly believe that nowadays there are plenty of creators who can edit as precisely as anyone else. You don't even need to be experienced - newcomers can be just as good at actually editing as anyone else. The things which are making the difference are the ideas, the concepts. It's things like this which make one video better than another and a large part of that is theme.

Theme is essential these days if you want a video to stand out because the quality of editing is so high that it no longer makes the significant difference that it used to. Very stylistic videos can stand out... but again, that's conceptual not necessarily technical.

[dwchang]

Plus, you can trust dwchang on this one - he did both kinds of vids superbly...

Thanks!

As for what Ian says...he's 100% correct. I was at the contest at JACON and it was easily the highest quality contest I've seen. At the same time, the most effective videos were the ones that had a very defined concept and followed through on it.

Not to be mean, but well...what is a video without substance/theme? Now before I get flamed, I know there are "fun" videos, but even those to a degree have a point/theme yes?

I somewhat fear the direction the community is going since I am seeing a lot more emphasis on effects and little on the actual substance behind it...and when I say behind it I mean it in a literal sense too...would you agree Ian? Anyone?