Spare me the After Effects!

[Split pea soup]

I was at Otakon 2003 this year at the AMV contest and I felt that after the first video, that beautiful Escaflowne one, everything else seemed saturated with too much After Effects. Like, while watching a video of any sort I shouldn't have to watch it and be constantly reminded that After Effects was used to make the video. What happened to good 'ole video editing? Too me, utilizing good video editing will always make a much more powerful statement then all the aftereffects that one could ever pull out from their computer.

Like, AfterEffects should be used when it would be most effective and powerful to the piece, not to create the whole entire thing unless for special cases where you are going for a certain effect. Like transitions are good to use when they are necessay not after every cut, because then after a while, their effect seems to lose purpose once you've watched so many of them.

What I've been seeing has just been pure abuse more than anything else. I think that many video creators should remember the important things that make a good video, which is more than just a vision or idea with a ton of AfterEffects. It's about your ability to convey a message or story that will move, affect, and touch your audience.

[Kusoyaro]

You're gonna hate DDR3

[Dannywilson]

Is he(she? it?) referring to the program or use of effects in general?

[iserlohn]

There is one shot that someone AE'ed for me in my video (the Kodocha one). And trust me, you don't notice it. It was done to knock out a visual distraction.

[Zarxrax]

It's about your ability to convey a message or story that will move, affect, and touch your audience.

It sounds like you only care about drama videos, as i seriously can't see any other type of video fitting that description.
For me, making a video is all about having a vision, and then doing whatever in your power to make that vision a reality. If that requires using After Effects, then so be it.

[AbsoluteDestiny]

It's about your ability to convey a message or story that will move, affect, and touch your audience.

It sounds like you only care about drama videos, as i seriously can't see any other type of video fitting that description.

Hentai?

[Split pea soup]

Is he(she? it?) referring to the program or use of effects in general?

I am referring to the over saturation of After Effects. I don't mind the program at all. Think of it as like the LENS FLARE filter epidemic in Photoshop. Remember when eveyone was using that? There was such an oversaturation of that Photoshop filter and so many others that it became some unwritten rule somewhere that the best way to use Photshop is to make it look like you didn't use it at all? Like to make it look natural or so that people can't go..."Ok they used the Colored Pencil filter"? I mean it's ok to use the program...but you can't forget the basics of video editting either. Like for the people who use Photoshop, yeah it's all great and everything, but there are still basics to making a picture and a design that one can not forget as well as with making film, music videos or anything else for that matter.

[Split pea soup]

It's about your ability to convey a message or story that will move, affect, and touch your audience.

It sounds like you only care about drama videos, as i seriously can't see any other type of video fitting that description.
For me, making a video is all about having a vision, and then doing whatever in your power to make that vision a reality. If that requires using After Effects, then so be it.

Umm...I thought I said that if your vision requires After Effects be used, then it's all good, but at the same time, lately, I feel as if the actual editting that makes the piece stronger is being lost or overpowered by the overuse of After Effects. This applies to not only drama videos, but eveything that utitlizes video editing. So it's that uneccessary oversaturation of the medium that makes the video a bit unbearable to watch.

Sometimes it works and many a time it doesn't.

[Castor Troy]

How about us who use After Effects without using all the fancy glow effects and lens flares?

I consider AE a convienience.

[dwchang]

Semi-off-topic post incoming:

I was at Otakon 2003 this year at the AMV contest and I felt that after the first video, that beautiful Escaflowne one

O_O

The contest this year? The first video in romance?

HOLY CRAP!

That was MY video. Wow thank you very much.

You are correct in that I didn't use after-effects and only use two "effects." One is Black & White (hardly an effect) and the other is a simple image matte/gradient.

Back on Topic:

I guess I *somewhat* agree with you that there is an oversaturation of flashiness and effects, but it's not necessarily After Effects fault. I might also add that I can name a lot of other videos that didn't use After Effects, but my main point is effects in general.

It seems to me that people are using them to cover-up lack of concept, content or shotty scene selection.

My philosophy (which you don't have to believe in) is that the scene matters more and if an effect can ENHANCE that scene, then do it. If the effect is done just to be "cool" then it doesn't really add anything to your concept and thus is useless.

I guess I'm slightly angry since there seems to be just too many videos that go for that when the foundation itself is weak.

I guess I'm coming across as high and mighty and I do apologize for that, but it's how I feel about the majority of videos lately.

Lastly, I do wanna say (since people might mis-interpret) that I liked *a lot* of the videos in the contest (some ahd effects too and used them well IMO). So don't think I hated every video in the contest other than mine.