Oh Noes! The Outlaw is posting. I need to preface this post with a few quick points.
1) I did not submit this year
2) I did not see this year's entries
3) No I will not explain who I am =p
Why am I posting? Besides the fact I figure I'm a great troublemaker I feel I have some legitimate content/advice I can offer to this discussion.
First a few quick shout-outs:
Ashyukun wrote:This actually provided far more amusement for me than I expected when a number of people who were
at ACen didn't remember that it was my video- including the contest coordinator.
Dat one weird Ghibli show no one knew? That was you?! Fire the contest coordinators they have shitty record keeping. Rumor has it their tech randomized the vidoes by putting everyone's mail entries on his living room floor in a pile =p
Vlad G Pohnert wrote:Actually I like the video as you included Doctor Who
SailorDeath has always shamelessly gone for the geek vote! Have him show you his Acen intro from this year. Totally dedicated to AMV Legend Quu (R.I.P.)
Beowulf wrote:In short: LEARN 2 PLAY NUB
My advice to people who play frantic videogame shooters like Soukyugurentai and Dodonpachi has always been: It's pretty simple just don't fuck up and let the bullets hit you. I like the easy way of explaining things.
Illia Sadri wrote:Not sure if this is good or bad, but we don't have any incredibly risque vids. The worst we get are bouncing boobies (bouncing Eiken boobies no less.) No Unclefucker or Internet is for Porn or enormous penis. It seemed.... strange. I am so used to having that hard come up at least once warning this is a vid that is 18+ and the reason we sign the damn sheet.
The horror of the comedy + XXX combination of Celine Dione and Urotsukidoji has been forgotten. This is probably a good thing.
Illia Sadri wrote:And on that note: What has happened to comedy over the year; not just here but cons in general? Have all the good ideas been done? Now it seems almost all of them are amvhell style videos.
From my perspective comedy has often been pretty weak consistently over the years. It's just now it seems very few people are even trying to do AMV style ones. Before we'd see videos that tried hard and at least got a few laughs but were ultimately a stretched joke. Now I get the impression that if people don't think they can pull the killer project off then they won't try to submit something half-assed. From a creator point of view this is logical but to the audience it would be a different story I think.
Ok on to my rambling tirade now I guess.
The topic of weaker content in contests this year has been a re-occurring one. Some consider copycat videos to be a big part, others drive home the strong interest in drama videos as affecting contest diversity which lessens opinions of the overall contest, some blame blipverts, others deride the increase of videos focused around editing and tech rather than plot and the emotional. The largest concern to me though is not any of these nor remotely related. My concern is related to mindset of the amv creators who are submitting to these contests. The big problem I have seen is that we are losing diversity in the way people approach this little hobby. The AMV has become so big that it has spawned into its own thing. No longer are AMV creators just anime fans who like to make AMVs. The AMV creator has grown into its own. Before his/her primary interest was not only in AMVs but the anime itself. How many of you have taken the time to see more of the classics of yesteryear? How many of you know at least 50% of the new shows which will begin airing in the next anime season come October? How many of you are seeking out information about anime from Japanese sources? Chances are very few. The AMV creator is surrounded with anime and sources that were previously unavailable to those back in the day and with this the labor of love towards particular shows has lessened and/or changed in its manner.
I consider myself one who makes an AMV based on a set concept or an AMV to fit the theme of the anime itself or its characters. These days I am somewhat of a dying breed. Everyone wants to put characters in situations they would normally not be in whether it be a crossover or a various video set to a theme. In general the focus shifted from the anime to the video as I see it. I am not saying this mindset is bad or wrong. Without a balance though you begin to become bored of the repetition. Good editing and technique will only carry you so far. Eventually that drama video about relationships in general that meant so much to you translates to just another amv to many others. I have particularly found this problem with videos focused 100% on the song and using their favorite anime rather than drawing on anime that fit the mold. Use the themes from the anime itself /gasp ? Call it obvious. I call it an understanding of the anime. The similarity between songs in the same genre can easily impact the overall impression everyone is taking from the contests this year as well. Are we diverse? If the mindset is too similar then most people are going to approach AMVs in the same way.
As an AMV creator I've been seen as many things over the years. Hack, unrecognizable, and asshole might come to mind =p. I've never heard anyone say unoriginal though. I'm an anime fan first and foremost and AMV creator secondary. I was here for the beginning of the online breakout that came in 1999 with AMVs. I've never had the output or recognition that a lot of my "peers" have had over the years despite my own successes in the early acen contests. This is because ultimately I never gave a shit about the "amv community" or its opinions or my online amv presence. I know there are people on this site and other amv sites who desperately want to "be known." My advice to you is to forget it. The very amv community status you seek can only limit you. I don't need someone to tell me what to do. Acen 1999 put a call out for AMV panelists. A first time submitter sent in that he'd sit on that panel and promptly got a good laugh from the panel organizer. You know what though? That same organizer thought maybe they did need some people with that type of attitude submitting. You know what I wish? That I or Julius got an e-mail like that during our 2006 acen work. People seem to be yearning for better videos. Myself I'm not looking for better videos I'm looking for different concepts and ideas. We may yet see some new comedy videos if people weren't concerned with the quality of the editing and the opinions of people on this site, the internet in general, the contest staff, and the fans. If you've got the guts and the balls then fuck worrying about the quality of your editing and work the concept. You may very well be surprised with what you find. That is the problem as I see it. A lot of the new creators in the last few years probably spent too much time looking at all the seasoned veterans' videos and paying too much attention to the opinions and stats that are generated on this site. AMV creators are poor examples to use as influences or learn creativity from when there are much better sources to immerse oneself in.
I've always marched to the beat of my own drum and will continue to do so. My only wish is that others out there will discover they too have their own drum.
Now somebody pass me the Negra Modelo because I've forgotten wtf I was responding to.
