Help with Ordering Clips Together

RagnarokEnd · Post by **RagnarokEnd** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:44 am

I'm working on a serious/sentimental character profile amv and I have run into a very big problem. I have finished my initial run through of breaking apart the song and lining up a few clips with specific parts in the song that I want to match together. All that is fine. However, now I am left with the remaining footage that I have to use for the rest of the amv and I have absolutely no idea how to approach this.

I have searched for any sort of guides on this and found nothing that specifically answers my dilemma. My viewings of other successful and not-so-successful amv's has not given me the insight I had hoped for. I can look at one and tell what parts maybe should have been changed, or which parts are well constructed. But I am still unsure how to go from literally hundreds of one to ten second clips and arrange them into a coherent sequence.

My question is, what are good ways to go about populating the remainder of the amv with anime footage that is not specifically positioned to match lyrics/beats (I realize that matching mood will always be important throughout the amv)? And also, what are the things I should avoid that could potentially ruin my amv (in regards to populating remaining footage, not to all amv's in general b/c that would be one hell of a list)?

FoxJones · Post by **FoxJones** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:57 am

Let's see.. If I got it right what you are aiming for..

This is why I have said that having a solid concept throughout the whole song is very important

Now.. If there is a clear concept already in the parts that you have done you can either fill the empty space with stuff that supports this concept or something that drasticly differs from the rest of the AMV. First option is hard to give advice to since I have no idea what you have already done. If there's a plot in the finished parts then create a sideplot or something that supports or deepens it. Second option is easier. Hardest easy way is to create an effect filled blast that makes the viewer go "oo.. blinky" and ignore the fact that you just made a filler. Other way is to use some kind of trick combined with the first part to clearly separate it from the already finished part. Like making those parts grayscale (used quite a lot) or use some abstract images (requires creativity)..

Worst thing to can do is get lazy and just slam random scenes that at least fit the music (used a lot)

Hope this helps..

madbunny · Post by **madbunny** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:37 pm

If your key scenes are lined up in a linear fashion, EG: someone gets older, or a relationship develops during those points, you may want to use the time inbetween to flesh out your story elements. Build up to each scene, so that a person that has never seen the show can get an idea of what you're getting at without guessing.

Bakadeshi · Post by **Bakadeshi** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:16 pm

This method may be time consuming depending on how well you know the series your working with, but my technique is I don't use clips at all. I Import the entire epoisodes into premeire, and scrub through all of them as go to find the best scene in the anime to place in the song. ofcourse I already have a general idea of what kind of scene I am looking for for the particular verse of the song, so I just go to the episodes that I feel will have that kind of scene in it and look for the exact scene I need. I take it verse by verse, scene by scene.

so for example, if the first verse of the song says something like "Hold me now, I wish to be with you forever" (just made up for the purpose of this example) and the video is a romance about 2 characters, I'd look for a scene of them together, in a romantic atmosphere, either hugging, or holding hands and use that.

RagnarokEnd · Post by **RagnarokEnd** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 4:18 pm

Bakadeshi, the first thing I did (after choosing song and anime) was go through the ENTIRE anime plus the OVA and pull out the scenes I wanted. And yes that took a long time.

madbunny, I'm not sure how much explaining I want to do (or even can do given the nature of the anime I'm using), but a simpler build up that prepares the viewer for the key scene may be more doable.

FoxJones, that's very helpfull. Even though I'm doing a character profile that is mostly sentimental, there are a lot of action sequences in the anime (RahXephon) that have a lot to do with the character (Ixtli). So if I read your suggestion right, then I could have my "filler" instead be more of "hey, here's what else happens in the anime" though still keep it somehow related to Ixtli.

Thanks guys (and girls just to be safe). You're comments as always are greatly apreciated by someone like me who is still trying to break into amvs.

Denkyufan · Post by **Denkyufan** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:47 pm

Edit down the song??? Do you really have to play the WHOLE song?

On my next prodject the song is a long (7+ mins) piece with many instrumental parts and what I'm gonna do is que the audio of the animation up breifly to create a transistion and then go back to the music which has skipped a few minutes and is back at the next part of the lyrics. Done well enough the listener shouldn't notice the skip in the music too much.

After all, you are editing the video so why can't you also edit the audio?

RagnarokEnd · Post by **RagnarokEnd** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:37 pm

I actually have considered doing that. However my problem is not that I'm running out of quality footage, rather I'm just trying to determine how to piece it together. If I find that I am forcing anything then yes I will most likely revisit the idea of shortening the song.

SarahtheBoring · Post by **SarahtheBoring** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:48 pm

(Wow, this is "how do I make AMVs" at its elemental level, isn't it. My answer is "Uh...I don't know, you just do?")

Correct me if I misunderstand the question - is it kind of about bridging the "less important" parts of the song, then?

You might find less of a mental block if you don't think of the giant mass of clips and focus on the song instead. That may seem more manageable. It's only such-and-such long, after all.

On your next project... you might want to not do that. I used to build clip piles, and eventually morphed into a system more like Bakadeshi's because it was less constricting.

Might want to think about a transition between the parts that you already have done. madbunny's comment brought this idea to mind - if you have the beginning of a character arc in section A, and a middle part in section B, then run over the gap with the in-between parts of the story. Or look at the themes that are brought in during those parts (other people who affect the main character of your video? memories? events?) and set them up.

In the future I'd recommend a) mapping out the entire song, not just isolated words that seem to work and b) beat-matching, at least, all the time. Even if nothing "important" is going on, if your visuals fit the flow of the song, your audience is going to be less bored.

By A I mean something like "In this verse, we go over her childhood, then the chorus is about this event, then the second verse is about her love interest, second chorus this event, bridge is what she does about it, end with how she's grown as a person since the beginning." Something like that. A roadmap in blocks, so you are looking for categories of clips rather than specifics. Over-specificity can paint you into a corner sometimes.

But this is all opinion; there's no one answer. Ultimately, try some things and see what clicks with you.

Adv1sor · Post by **Adv1sor** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:36 pm

Without seeing anything of what you have or even knowing how long your AMV runs, I would take another look at Denkyufan's suggestion.

Let me take this opportunity to spam my opinion on most AMVs, that is that they would be much better at 3 minutes than at 5. Not all AMVs to be sure. Some of the really great ones are long ones. But most, and this may apply even more to the non-action, non-comedy gendre, most would be better at around the 3 minute mark.

I'm not saying your AMV should be 3 minutes. It may be one of the great longer AMVs, but it is, in my opinion, worth considering again.

DriftRoot · Post by **DriftRoot** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 2:48 pm

Yeah, I'd say that if you have a decent portion of the AMV done and it accomplishes what you set out to do, then anything else at this point is, by default, extraneous - case in point, you have no idea what to do with it. There's nothing wrong with editing the song - I can't think of any AMV I've worked on that hasn't had a good 30 seconds to minute-plus chopped out, just because I want to make things as intense and to-the-point as possible.

As an added bonus, if you shorten the song, you're suddenly almost done with your AMV!

I always listen to a song dozens and dozens of times and make DARN sure I know what I'm doing with all parts of it before setting down to work with it (or at least, will not be left scratching my head at 1+ minutes of emptiness). *shrugs* It's just part of the individual planning process for some people. I'm a control freak, I have a six-page spreadsheet for one of my AMVs outlining every timecode stamp, it's duration, the lyrics, the beats, the effects I want when and how... ok, fine, it's overkill, but at least I'm prepared!