Can an amature do it?

General discussion of Anime Music Videos
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FastFive
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Can an amature do it?

Post by FastFive » Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:30 pm

So here's my question... I've been checking out AMVs lately, and I have seen some amazing work. Like, professionals couldn't do better. This leads me to think that a lot of these great vids are put together by people who, in some form or another, are doing this kind of work for a living... or at the very least have been trained to. Is that the case?

Can someone with no technical skills (read: me) in the field, but with good ideas (at least I think they are...), put together a decent AMV?

What would I need to do it?

FAQs are all fine and dandy, but they're just words on a screen until I sit down and actually start doing. I really have no clue what they mean until I get my hands dirty.

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Scintilla
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Post by Scintilla » Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:45 pm

There are some professional video editors around here, but they're very rare. The vast majority of us are mere amateur hobbyists.

You're going to have to learn some technical stuff in order to make AMVs; it's a rather technical hobby by its very nature. But as long as you have the will and ability to learn, you can do it.

And you're right, there really is no better way to learn than by doing. The guides are good guides, but they're no substitute for actually working the programs to produce the result you desire.

I myself didn't know a thing about digital video only three years ago, so.
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FastFive
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Post by FastFive » Wed Oct 19, 2005 6:41 pm

Wow... I'm pretty amazed. And I guess shocked too. I suppose I have some learning cut out for me then.

I've got some anime (more coming, and more still in my Amazon.ca cart) and plenty of music (no Linkin' Park though, I promise). I also DL'ed a DVD decrypter last night... All that's left is a video editor. Anyone have suggestions for one that's simple enough for a n00b?

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Scintilla
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Post by Scintilla » Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:06 pm

Have you tried the Software List sticky (it's in the Video Software Help board)? Many of the programs on that list have demo versions freely available for download, so you can try a bunch and see which you like best.

If you have Windows XP, then you already have Windows Movie Maker, and you can upgrade to WMM2 by installing Service Pack 2 or going to download.com and finding the standalone version of WMM2. It's quite easy to use (if somewhat restricted), and many people around here get good results with it.

It's also recommended that you pick up <a href="/guides/avtech/amvapp.html">the AMVapp</a>, as it contains many very useful programs and plugins for pre- and post-processing.
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FastFive
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Post by FastFive » Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:27 pm

I haven't had a chance to read all of the forum yet, but thanks, I'll head there now.

I also started reading the How-To Guide entitled VicBond007's Guide to Working with DVD Footage... and then subsequently had a brain melt-down by page 9. :? I think I need to start a little lower down the ladder than that one.

Incidentally, my computer (according to what I've read thus far) is pretty well built up on the hardware side and should handle video editing decently enough. Win XP, SP2, Pentium 4CPU 2.69 GHz, 1GB RAM, ATi Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card, DVD-ROM etc.

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Post by pinky75910 » Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:04 pm

Traditionally, unless you're lucky or blessed, your first vid will not be your shiniest or proudest. Do your easiest idea first, learn the software by doing one full amv. I learn something new with every vid, experimentation. They're not all winners, but hopefully the next one will be better. Once you got the software and your footage, Go to it! See what you come up with!
Making an amv, is rather like being the director of a Broadway show, where you have a million dancers and each of them only knows one step.

http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... hp?v=50239

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FastFive
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Post by FastFive » Wed Oct 19, 2005 10:22 pm

pinky75910 wrote:Traditionally, unless you're lucky or blessed, your first vid will not be your shiniest or proudest. Do your easiest idea first, learn the software by doing one full amv.
LOL Yeah, I figured as much. I'm thinking if I can come up with a compilation type vid that is only marginally messy I'll be lucky enough. If transitions actually match the beat more than once during the song I'll even give myself a cookie. Hell, I haven't even sorted out how to convert a DVD into a workable file type yet, let alone edit and cut. :shock:

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Ruan
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Post by Ruan » Thu Oct 20, 2005 12:29 am

My suggestion is this:

Get yourself a rough idea for an AMV, get the footage, get the song, and start tinkering. I personally go brain-dead when I try to "read" how to do things on a program from a manual. Tutorials with diagrams and such - piece of cake to read. But trying to understand something from writing - not so easy. So my suggestion is to get the program and start messing around with it. That's how I learned to use Photoshop, and how I've learned Vegas Video as well. Go "now what's this button do" and try it out - if it does something you like, figure out how it works, go spiffy! and move on. Granted, you might not learn some of the extreme technical things that way... but you learn your own techniques, and you know how to use them. And by the time you are ready for the extreme technical stuff, you'll be familiar enough with the program to understand them.

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Post by pinky75910 » Thu Oct 20, 2005 12:39 am

On my first vid, I looked at the lyrics, and thought, what scene does this line remind me of? I matched things together that way. Then editing: Hey, wouldn't it be cooler if I had this explosion at this earlier symbol crash? Let me just shave off this clip. Or, ooh, I wanna have this character at this part of the song, but I don't have a clip of he/she/it doing anything appropriate. I know - maybe I could fade these two scenes together... Some ideas are easiar than others. These are just the thoughts running through my head in my first vid. With practice, you can start doing some crazier more interpretative things. Personally, I think my top three vids I didn't even pay attention to lyrics but went closer to the music.

Start with a plan, be prepared, and then be prepared to change your plan as you go along! Have a begining, middle, and end to your vid. Say Something!
Making an amv, is rather like being the director of a Broadway show, where you have a million dancers and each of them only knows one step.

http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... hp?v=50239

unspokenamerican
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clips

Post by unspokenamerican » Thu Oct 20, 2005 1:54 am

All of your tips are great, but I've got a huge and fairly stupid problem.
I don't have a clue how to get clips. I've got music and loads of ideas, but no idea how to go about getting clips. Not to mention I'm pretty technically challenged. Can somebody help me out?
When life gives you lemons-
Throw them back and say
"Make your own lemonade!"

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