Opinions, comments, feedback: What do AMV makers want?

[rubyeye]

Any reaction that compels you to "engage" in some kind of online discourse after watching a video you just downloaded .... just makes me smile.

[trythil]

In short: what do AMV editors want to hear from the masses of non-AMV-making viewers?

"That was cool, I think I'll make my own vids now."

[SarahtheBoring]

In short: what do AMV editors want to hear from the masses of non-AMV-making viewers? Nothing? Something? And if something, what? I'd love to know.

I'm not an editor, but as a viewer, my impression is that part of it depends on how much feedback they already get and how well they know the craft already. If you're one voice in a thousand, you're better off shutting up. If they really need help, or even a nudge in the right direction, you could make a difference. When I started editing, the only reviews I got were from somebody's sockpuppet account that was apparently created to realistically and respectfully school newbs, no matter how wretched. They were very patient and concrete. It was immensely helpful, and I'm still impressed that they bothered.

The catch here is that you have to bother watching bad AMVs. Makers of good AMVs don't need your help. Makers of bad AMVs do. So if you have an urge to feel useful, try something that's not very good by somebody who wants to improve.

Or, you can just say what you think. If people bitch about the kind of feedback you give them, they're acting just a little stupid.

Reminds me of the freetalk column in a manga I read - in one column after another, the only thing the author wanted to talk about were her extremely specific rules for what type of fanmail was to be sent to her. How they were to address her, what they were to say, the type of stationery that they were to use, the handwriting they were to have, etc., etc., etc.... My lasting impression after reading that was "I love your series, but you, ma'am, are a wanker."

It's like that.

[jbone]

I want people to stop talking about "their art."

It's not art. It's design, and in most cases it's half-assed design made by people who don't realize they're just duplicating other peoples' efforts.

There's nothing "new" out there, in spite of what people insist upon saying.

[SarahtheBoring]

Just thought of something else.

If you're afraid of offending someone, I think the best route is to look over the video description/notes and maybe the editor's profile before you write feedback. With most people, you'll get a sense of what their boundaries are. If they seem to take their Craft/Calling/Art/Magical Talent very seriously, they may want very long, very detailed feedback from super-experts. If they're new, make not so good videos, are rabid fans of their source material, etc., they may just want shoutouts from fellow fans. If they fall in between, as most people do, they may like some combination of the two.

So, y'know. It depends. Case by case basis.

One thing I'd recommend across the board before posting a long critique is a look at the timestamp and the editor's profile, to see whether s/he has made other videos since. If they've moved on and have already corrected the mistakes you painstakingly point out, you're just going to embarrass / annoy them.

[Sierra Lorna]

If you've been watching lots of AMVs from the site for years, you're probably more knowledgable than half the AMV creators on here. I really don't care if someone who gives me an op makes videos or not. I do, however, think it's good to be constructive. I find comments like "that was ok" or "zomg that wuz awsm!!!!111" don't really help me. If you just write a little about what you think you like/don't like about the video helps me most. I want to hear feedback from the AMV viewing audience, so it doesn't matter to me if you know everything there is to know about codecs and editing programs. It's not like AMV creators' views are any more special than everyone else's (unless you happen to be one of my favouritest editors, of course )

But you definitely shouldn't think we don't want to hear from you. I think most of us editors feel the more feedback, the better. Even if it's not the most amazingly helpful comment ever, it's good to just hear what everyone thinks.

[BlaCk_PeArL_27]

For it really helps me to improve my work of my previous AMV but of course I want to here to other's too on how they think my works (I didn't listen to crap like your work is very horrible or more than that) so I can do more as the best as I can ^_^.

As I see all the AMV creator wants to know of course about what Audience will say to their AMV has made. It's not bad at all to get those "praising" thing from audience who watch AMV also the creator will be happy to those good op they get it makes feel worth it hearing to viewers that they like/loved the AMV they made.

[downwithpants]

i like to hear personal reactions

x2
what emotions you felt. how convinced you were.

[requiett]

I want SHORT.

[Arigatomina]

If you just write a little about what you think you like/don't like about the video helps me most.

That's my take on it, too.

You don't have to go into extreme detail, but if you write "I liked it" you can probably name one or two of the reasons you liked it. That's probably the only thing that distinguishes ops from QCs these days, at least for me. Reviews are more likely to tell me why. That's what I'm curious about the most - why the viewer had the reaction he did.

I think most people would be happy to get any feedback, no matter what kind. But if you want to be careful what sort of ops you leave, try checking their profile. Check their average scores to see where their vids fall. If they're low in the capture/sync/effort ranges, they probably need detailed advice from people who have more experience editing or who've seen a lot of well edited videos. If it's the originality/overall/reviewable scores that are low, chances are you're one of the few people to like the concept - in which case they're probably hungry to hear from a like-minded person and experience at editing/criticizing doesn't matter - they want your *opinion* more than your advice. You can also check the video itself - if it has a crapload of ops, you're a drop in the bucket (like Sarah said) and while they won't mind some more feedback, they won't appreciate it as much as they would if you opped one of their vids with no feedback at all.

Then there's always the easy way to go about doing ops. Start a free op thread in the Opinion Exchange section. You'll find dozens of people who want feedback (or high scores) within a matter of hours. It's scary how fast those threads hit 3+ pages. And it doesn't seem to matter if the ops are detailed, by experienced editors, or an unknown reviewer - free ops are free ops and everyone wants some of those.