Lack of Meaning!!!

[downwithpants]

the difference between downloading past videos and downloading current videos is that when you download past videos, the best videos tend to be filtered out from the rest (based on popularity, number of reviews, sharing over p2p programs), so it is easy to find good meaningful videos. however, when you download new videos, there hasn't been enough time to filter out the best, so you have to go through more videos to find the ones you like. but its still interesting to go hunting through them (new vids) anyways.

[VegettoEX]

Umm... this also tends to be the slow season for AMVs. Everyone's just getting over their AWA / Katsucon editing, and gearing up for their ACen / Otakon editing. You've gotta give people time to actually make those outstanding videos!

Saying there's a lack of outstanding / meaningful videos when it's still only February is jumping the gun a little bit, I think ^^.

[Atvaark]

the difference between downloading past videos and downloading current videos is that when you download past videos, the best videos tend to be filtered out from the rest (based on popularity, number of reviews, sharing over p2p programs)

So you expect other people to have the same taste as you... Yeah, you'll get all the blockbuster videos, but they're usually not the most meaningful ones. I think it's the same for videos and for movies: the best ones (I mean the ones you or I prefer, not the ones prople prefer) have their lovers and their haters. Therefore they're never ranked best.

So you'll get most of the good ones and you'll miss most of the best ones. Don't have other people define your standards.

[Atvaark]

Umm... this also tends to be the slow season for AMVs. Everyone's just getting over their AWA / Katsucon editing, and gearing up for their ACen / Otakon editing. You've gotta give people time to actually make those outstanding videos!

I'm not sure Tetsuo was talking about those videos formatted for contests when talking about meaningful videos.

Just look at the VCA laureate this year... If you can find any meaning in that vid, I'd be glad to hear about it.

Not a bad vid, but geez... best of the year... that more than anything makes me believe that the best vids are definitely not among the top rated ones. With a few exceptions, of course.

Though it's always difficult to discuss that, because "good" and "best" are personal judgements.

[shumira_chan]

Has anyone noticed the lack of new/meaningful AMV's to come out yet. You know, the amv's that give you goosebumps and say words like wow, or that was neat?

As someone said, part of it is the fact that of the older videos
only the best survive. There's also the novelty factor, I was
pretty much in awe of all AMVs when I saw my first few in
1995. Finally, the entry barriers are so much lower now that
practically anyone with a computer can make an AMV, while
people who had to use two VCRs or use spare studio time
had such commitment that their passion just shows in their work.
But I think the number of good videos being made is still
high because there are so many of them. That is, even if only 10%
of the videos being made now are really good, that number is
still higher than the number of good videos being made ten
years ago, even though back then perhaps 90% of videos were
good. At least, that's my theory.

So you'll get most of the good ones and you'll miss most of the best ones. Don't have other people define your standards.

The problem lies (as you mention) in the fact that the original
poster's question is impossible to answer because "meaningful
AMVs" are by definition meaningful to you personally.
The best we can do is to talk about "good videos" being those
that were on average more meaningful to more people, if
that makes any sense...

I think it's actually cooler to love that little special AMV no one
talks about :)

[Bote]

[quote="ambroise]Just look at the VCA laureate this year... If you can find any meaning in that vid, I'd be glad to hear about it.

Not a bad vid, but geez... best of the year... that more than anything makes me believe that the best vids are definitely not among the top rated ones. With a few exceptions, of course.

[/quote]

If you think Euphoria didn't deserve those then you're just rebelling. Any?
You watched the anime? I wasn't respecting it so much before I've seen Rah. The video made the anime look awesome and yet it was a huge dissappointment for my viewing. That's a huge "+" for the video! And how much time did he spend just picking the clips? Those clips were thoroughly searched and chosed. The story of the video was completely twisted in a totally new one which is again a + for the video. As for the meaning...those 2 girls in the video were very desireable for the boy in the anime. Reika(yellow dressed girl) was never HIS girl, but the video made it look that way. My only objection to it are the last 10secs seconds and nothing more. If it's not best of the year I wouldn't know which one would take it's place.

[OtakuForLife]

Yeah, vision, meaning,feeling are subjective... So there are
major differences in meaningfulness of certin videos.
However, I have to agree with the polrization of videos between
artistic and concept.It probally has something to due with the increase
of AMV contests and building of certain catagories. Then it probally
trickled down to the general public that a video must be made one way
or the anthor.Hopefully, people will start making videos they enjoy again
and it will trickle down to the newbes in this now overally staturated hobby.

Or will reach are #(counter) number of LP videos and crash
the server.

[Crzy_Tetsuo]

Yeh, I guess I know what you mean. Like with some of my videos. On Review, I got a 10 from one guy and a 6 from another. So I guess meaningful videos are a personal taste I guess you could say. At the same time, if a vid is meaningful, like TRULY meaningful, most everyone who watches it will get it. Of course there are good amv's and great amv's. I saw an evangelion AMV that went to the Blue Oyster Cult song Fear the Reaper that was easily noticable that it was his first video, but the video had meaning to it. It showed promise, I guess thats what I'm trying to get across. I've been seeing less and less videos that show promise and more and more vids with clips just thrown together with a few neat effects.

[dwchang]

I really don't think so; I have seen quite a few wholesome & good AMV's of late. But generally, I do detect a bit of a growing polarization between 'tech' videos and 'art' videos. Although I'm still yet to see a video that does one without the other, there's still a growing number of creators who choose to wow people with extremes of sync, effects and other technical things, and a smaller movement where editors forego the uber-tech stuff and just try to make simpler, but satisfying and unusual videos. Those that manage to do both equally well are indeed praiseworthy...

Still, it's a matter of looking, and I think there's plenty of vids out there for anyone's taste, and yep - older vids do often bring up long-forgotten simple-but-good ideas.

I don't mean to sound either overly-humble or arrogant here (ha two opposites), but I don't tend to do either of those. Just look at my videos and you'll easily see that i'm not very proficent at the technical side of things nor am I overly artistic.

I think if anything, I fit in this "smaller movement" since the majority of my videos are fairly simple, but at the same time, I put A LOT of effort into these "simple" (and to some, trivial) things. I've been known to tweak a cross-dissolve for over an hour before (I shit you not). I know most people can't pinpoint such things, but I'd like to think it translates in a positive way and yet people can't necessarily say what it was.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that "Glory of Love" took over 100 hours and yet it is 95% straight cuts and dissolves. I think scene selection, appropriate timing/lyric sync can go a long way and if effects aren't necessary to portray whatever it is I want to "say," I don't choose to use them. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I think I succeeded with that video. I know you guys can't pinpoint every minor frame-by-frame tweak, but I think you still 'feel' it or go "yay that was good" or something...well hopefully .

I guess I'm rambling, but I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm a fool who uses simple techniques because I can't do the other stuff .

[Otohiko]

Oh no, I fully believe that. I didn't mean the simpler stuff is easier to make or takes less effort per se; I just meant 'simpler-looking', without tons of overlays and floating boxes.
Of course, anything can take huge amounts of effort if you want it perfect, even if it's cross-dissolve only.

Frankly, I sometimes wish cross-dissolve was the only available effect