Advanced skillz

Kai Stromler · Post by **Kai Stromler** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 11:45 am

ErMaC wrote:Yea coming from the guy who made Soul of an Angel and Closer to God this is gonna sound really dumb, but I think lotsa of effects can hurt a video.

I think the best thing that can go into the technical aspect is solid, tight editing. If Soul of an Angel had just been a mash of effects it would've sucked - what people appreciated (I think) was the solid editing on every layer which synced to the music.

<snip>

I think the focus should always be on the editing, and if there are effects you can use which accent or bring out the precision of the editing, then they can be beneficial.

Amen. EDIT IS LAW. And the way to improve editing is....drill drill drill drill drill. The only way to become better is more practice, whether it's spending a ton of time on one video to get the edits absolutely perfect, or making video after video with a deliberate eye on improving in every outing.

<bad analogy alert> When a band goes into the studio to record, the first thing that goes on tape (or onto disk, now) are the drum tracks and the main riffs of the songs. After that's done to optimum/perfection, they move on to recording solos and vocals. That's how vids need to go together, at least conceptually; if you spend all your time composing effects and don't have a rock-solid edit foundation, the final product is going to be just as rough as a song with perfectly recorded vocals and kludged beats.

--Kai

ErMaC · Post by **ErMaC** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 11:48 am

I like that analogy. It's very true - I think the core has to be really solid before you can add on the bells and whistles.

Fluxmeister · Post by **Fluxmeister** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 12:28 pm

Also never let one of your videos discourage you. If it ends up either not working out or is highly criticized then take away the experience and move on. There is no point in fighting with people over a video. I know I don't like having the ole 'my video rules' shoved down my throat as much as the rest of the world.

Truly I think my #1 says it all. Make videos, duh!

As ErMaC and Kai pointed out, EDIT IS LAW... or the focus should be on editing. Spend the time to aquaint yourself with your given editing program and work those syncs frame by frame.

Your hard work will be rewarded. You will also be pretty happy when you make those little previews and think 'damn that's fine.' 8)

Another important note is that you can't please all of the people all of the time. I am sure there are some great editors with videos that I simply won't like. I extend a great amount of respect to the effort, but may simply not like the work. Never EXPECT anyone to like your videos. Make your videos how you want to see them. If you are out to win awards or popularity contest I think you personally are doing this for the wrong reasons... I don't even want to imagine what the AMV world would be like if this was for money...

Send your works to conventions. You will likely receive feedback and enjoy knowing that a room full of people were trapped and had to watch your video. (hehe) Share your work, don't shove your work.

Enjoy the works of others on this site and be sure to let them know what you think. Also if you want more feedback be sure to take advantage of the review swap forum.

... most importantly, you need to have a good time. Once you are in pain from editing... it's a job, not a hobby!

mexicanjunior · Post by **mexicanjunior** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:47 pm

Kusoyaro wrote:
I just move clips around with the mouse until they look good. I don't know how to do anything fancy.

That's what I do. I couldn't pull off an effect to save my life. =P

Castor Troy · Post by **Castor Troy** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 4:17 pm

I still have much to learn.

Paul Kievits · Post by **Paul Kievits** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 4:31 pm

Feeling the music is an advanced skill. Once you get a hang of the music and have a solid timing you have a solid funding and could get far. Of course having a good concept also accounts for quite a lot, good timing but crappy concept is still = null. But what am I talking about I'm green as grass.

Aneino_Kaijin · Post by **Aneino_Kaijin** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 8:25 pm

As someone with approximatly 0 skill at the AMVs at this point, I'm just running on what I see.

I think the person who has "mad skillz" *erk, brain freeze, I used a "Z"* is the person who's going to try something new each time. I don't care if your first video is an editing masterpiece... if all you ever do from then on is editing masterpieces, you're a hell of an editor, but overall skill? You gradually learn *I hope* how to use different effects you see used in other places, and the technical side grows almost infinitely.

On the other hand... the people with skill are the people creative to do something old in a new way. Then we all breathe an admiring sigh and say "Why can't I do that..." And THAT is skill too,

Org Profile · Post by **Vlad G Pohnert** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 9:16 pm

I agree it's not easy to juggle digital effect and not have then distract from the video itself. I myself have been walking that line by integrating digital effects with Drama of all things.

The trick I find is to have the video come first and the effects second. I've just seen too many effects drive the video in some cases. Both my last big projects over the past few years have been an attempt to do this and yet make a video where effects don't dominate. This can be a nightmare or straight forward depending on how you look at it. I just hope I don't come up with something even more carzy in the future...

One thing I learned, I love After Effects and it's not as hard as people think.

Vlad

Hitori · Post by **Hitori** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 9:36 pm

Yes, after effects is a fun program!!
All you have to do is sit and have fun. Play around with all the features.

As for having skills, practice!! That's what I've been doing lately. Also, have fun while making your videos as well. If you put too much into a video and expect sooo much from it, you'll be disappointed. I don't make videos to become a master, I make them for fun and have fun making them. ^_^ Another thing about having skills is to think out side the box of 'your' world. Think about other aspects of life.. Other perspectives... Think differently from what is in your mind. What are the possibilities... Don't try doing something different, DO something different! And have fun!

NicholasDWolfwood · Post by **NicholasDWolfwood** » Mon Aug 19, 2002 10:05 pm

To practice, I play around with effects and crap in videos. Like for instance, I just got into doing rubberband transitions in Premiere. For the past 2 days or so, I've been playing around with the rubberbands, and I've been learning how to use them, etc. I'm trying to do some effects in this new video of mine, but at the same time, this is a learning experience for me. Goddamn, I wish I had a laptop to take to school, a few times a month at recess I'd sit down and work on a video, or in-between classes, or at lunch, etc. I'd do it, just to finish a video within an amount of time. I want this one video done by the end of October at least, because I've been working on it for a time-frame of a month now, and I've only got about a minute of footage in, out of 3 mins 31 seconds.