The limits of artistic license

[DriftRoot]

I am in the early stages of creating an AMV using only static (still) images. Yes, I know that animation is just a series of static images, but trust me, nothing's moving. Most AMV contests at cons have stipulations about how much footage can be non-anime (if any is allowed at all), and for the sake of my own sanity I'm wondering if my little AMV project is not really an AMV at all.

My ambition is, at the moment, to use as my source "footage" only three static images and have the casual AMV viewer unaware of this fact. So far, so good, the trick being that I will be animating these images (to one extent or another) by hand using Photoshop, Premiere Pro and perhaps AE. On top of this, I will be using various parts of these three images to create completely original stills that, again, will be animated to one extent or another.

Now. The crux of the matter is that my extreme manipulation of these stills is creating what a convention would consider "non-anime footage" and therefore tosses my project into the realm of questionable authenticity as an AMV. (NOTE: I have no ambitions of ever entering an AMV contest with this video!! I'll be extremely lucky if it even gets uploaded here.) What are you folks' general opinions on this? Am I being a bad person by inserting so much of my own artwork into an AMV? (After spending 40 hours in Photoshop creating 1 second of footage, I AM going to consider those frames my own creation) One could argue that I am doing nothing more than what is done to animated footage, with regards to the application of custom-made masks, filters etc., only this happens to be taken to an extreme.

p.s. My motto at this point is "Somebody kill me now." Those 40 hours in Photoshop? The end result didn't work out in Premiere and I have to start all over again...once I figure out what went wrong.

[Keeper of Hellfire]

If your source frames are from an anime, it's still an AMV following the rules of this site. It's called "Original Animation". You can completly draw an AMV yourself, as long as it's based on anime charas. As non-anime source is considered life-action, american cartoon and so on.

[kitsunebeolnet]

First off, even if 'questionable', you can list the AMV in the catalog. The only prohibition is uploading clearly non-anime videos to the server.

If you can list the source of your anime used, the mods will probably give it a pass to upload unless someone can clearly show the bulk of your footage is NOT from an anime source.

I can think of a couple of AMVs that were hand-drawn animations of anime characters BUT NOT TAKEN FROM ANIME that reside and are accepted here.

(Namely 'Anything you can do' and 'Jump in the line')

[DriftRoot]

If you can list the source of your anime used, the mods will probably give it a pass to upload unless someone can clearly show the bulk of your footage is NOT from an anime source.

Would someone be that mean? lol

Ok so...as long as (let's say) 50 seconds of the 1.37 minute AMV uses actual anime footage, then it would be ok? I'm a bit worried that people will see it and be annoyed when they realize how limited the source material was for the AMV (a deliberate choice!), then hold it against me for the lengths to which I went to actually animate these images. (aka, "Why didn't she just use animated footage, instead of messing around with non-animated still?")

Jeez, when I put it this way, my project really seems completely ridiculous. Thank goodness I can put my labors down to practical experience in graphic design. I swear, this is the only thing that's keeping me going.

[Scintilla]

I feel compelled to point out the example of Jarnik's <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... 3701">Once Upon a Time at the Bus-Stop</a>.

(Almost) completely hand-drawn, the characters aren't anime characters, it's 10 minutes long, and no one has a problem with it being on <b>LOCAL</b>.

Perhaps an even better example (but I don't mean toi say it's a better VIDEO) is Kamoc's <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... =35420">is that you</a>, also completely hand-drawn but showing nowhere near the same level of artistic ability as Jarnik's video. And no one's ever had a problem with it being on <b>LOCAL</b>.

So don't worry about having to have some minimum of actual anime footage.

[requiett]

Perhaps an even better example (but I don't mean toi say it's a better VIDEO) is Kamoc's <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... =35420">is that you</a>, also completely hand-drawn but showing nowhere near the same level of artistic ability as Jarnik's video.

I'll definitely vouch for it being one of the best videos I've seen.

[DriftRoot]

Thanks, I feel emboldened.