Double meaning/ambiguous viewpoint

[Fall_Child42]

Something Fishy - the majority reaction is totally the opposite of what i intended.

out of curiosity ... what did you intend?

[JaddziaDax]

Well I do know it worked for some people, as I do get the occasional comment that confirms it (which only makes me laugh), but I went into the video with the original intention to make something that was really super annoying. I didn't cut the song too much because I wanted to start a joke and keep on going and going and going... and then run it into the ground until it wasn't funny anymore.

The majority reactions is either people loving it, running around their house singing it (I've gotten at least two comments that says this), it getting shown at cons without me submitting it, it winning "best in show" in the three contests I entered it in (that really weirded me out), people thinking the video is actually funny, and people questioning which animes I used (which almost naturally comes with a multi-anime video).

I get the occasional person who seems annoyed or tells me it would have been better as "an amvhell clip" instead of a full video.

In truth I don't mind that people like it, it's just that I felt that it was rather strange that it got the opposite reaction I was originally intending.

[PStibbons]

Depends on if you're looking for critical analysis of the original source or a video that intentionally obfuscates a source which, if watched, is rather straight forward.

Both are good! I don't believe in sacred cows; if I enjoy a mangling of Hamlet ("2B OR NOT 2B? THAT IS THE PENCIL!"), then I'm definitely not going to get mad if somebody misrepresents a favorite character of mine. At best, it's playing to a troll, and at worst, it's completely missing the point of these exercises, which usually is to show how much you can change a story by taking scenes out-of-context.

I suppose that AMVs theoretically ought to respect their source material, if only because it seems like a jerk move to take a bunch of scenes from someone's work, without their permission, and undermine their original intent. But on the other hand, if it makes a more entertaining AMV, I say go for it.

Made serveral and what'll happen is one of three things, Somone will get what your videos doing, someone will have a completely different idea then what you even were trying to do. Third a person will be confused about whats going and probably go watch something with a bunch of After effects work done.

Two out of three ain't bad.

alot of people thought I was making fun of the anime used while others thought it was a very serious video. I guess that makes it kind of ambiguous.

Thanks for posting this one! I hadn't seen it, and it was ambiguous. If you'd been intentionally going for pitch-black comedy, I couldn't have possibly given you those 5 stars, because deliberately making fun of the tragic child death is a ghastly, sick thing to do.

But doing it unintentionally, and so well, that's another story altogether! If it's any consolation, it wouldn't have been funny if you hadn't been so technically skilled.

(The category listing would remove the ambiguity if it weren't for the song, which is the "Yakety Sax" of sentimentality.)

I don't know if you're familiar with Fushigi Yuugi, but I tried to portray the villains in a sympathetic light here:"

Not familiar with the original series, but the song sure states a legitimate grievance. It's difficult to be that sympathetic, though, without knowing the background. There are so many characters in a small stretch of video that I can't get oriented to who's on what side, who the oppressors and the oppressed are, and so on, without having seen the original show.

I think there's also a case where the video is played completely straight with the music and/or plot, but still has multiple subtexts to it because of that. I seem to have done that with Fate Against Will, which follows the plot of Re-Take and the lyrics of the song almost to a fault.

That's definitely a good point. When the song and source are ambiguous, then the video's likely to be ambiguous. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that making a totally unambiguous Eva video would be harder than making an ambiguous one. Maybe impossible; Eva is Ambiguity: The Series.

That Caldwell Eva Video, you know, That One, had a field day with this. Is it about Asuka being an unstoppable badass who beats up everything in her path, or about Asuka being deeply hurt and isolated, or both?

I intended it just to be a fun tribute with no story, but people were telling me how much they loved "the story" and how it motivated them to do better in life.

I think that's less "ambiguous" than "more awesome than you intended it to be." I saw a pretty clear-cut story there!

Young Forever

Maybe it REALLY didn't help that you have kind of a reputation for making hilarious videos? Because when I see dokidoki, I'm already primed to laugh, and... and...

I think my manga cartoonist friends will disown me if I arrange a Grave of the Fireflies Komedy Night.

Probably not, there isn't an expectations or desire for that because hey look it's DEATH NOTE ZOMG LIGHT LOLROFL.

Hmm. You know, an ambiguous video that focused on Kira's fans, that might be cool.

Alot of the people here may be looking for it because you actually make vids, your used to eating a lot of chocolate cake all the time, you might like to try the vanilla cake with nuts because you don't get that nearly enough.

I don't make videos! Haven't made one ever. Don't assume that we passive viewers just want vapid adolescent stuff! Some of us want clever vapid adolescent stuff.

but I went into the video with the original intention to make something that was really super annoying.

It would have been more annoying if it had been just a little less funny and just a little more repetitive. As with Castor Troy's case, I'm not sure this is ambiguity as much as it is the author underestimating their video.

[Kionon]

Both are good! I don't believe in sacred cows; if I enjoy a mangling of Hamlet ("2B OR NOT 2B? THAT IS THE PENCIL!"), then I'm definitely not going to get mad if somebody misrepresents a favorite character of mine. At best, it's playing to a troll, and at worst, it's completely missing the point of these exercises, which usually is to show how much you can change a story by taking scenes out-of-context.

In fact, I do not believe VegettoEX or MeriC (who I consider both friends and excellent editors) were trying to do anything really but accurately portray the way Kyosuke feels about Madoka. In that way, I do not object at all to the video. Madoka does have a history of delinquency and she certainly has a less than ideal home life that she needs "saving" from. This is why, honestly, I like most of the video. The issue I have with it is that the literal use of the lyrics in the opening segments intentionally present Madoka as... well... a slut. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, Madoka has a great fear of intimacy and while she may be found in "pick up" locations, she would never actually be picked up. In the end, I became upset because of the 10% inaccuracy in a serious drama video with 90% accuracy. I have no issue with rewriting all the details to present an entirely different story, but that isn't what happened here. The video would have stood without taking the lyrics so literally as to suggest Madoka's past was anything other than it actually was. It was unnecessary.

I suppose that AMVs theoretically ought to respect their source material, if only because it seems like a jerk move to take a bunch of scenes from someone's work, without their permission, and undermine their original intent. But on the other hand, if it makes a more entertaining AMV, I say go for it.

I don't think there is anything wrong with videos that totally rewrite the details of the show. In fact, I think this can be quite funny if done well. I personally much prefer videos that present the ambiguity already present in a series more, but I consider both to be viable editing philosophies.

[outlawed]

Heh, you thought was a joke when I was being serious...

But isn't that what makes it funny?

/ducks

[Fall_Child42]

This video I feel is probably the most ambiguous of all of my videos. I made it so it could be interpreted many different ways, and from the comments on it I know it has been. Did I make it to annoy people? Is it an existentialist exploration? Is it a love story?



Some people Seem to misunderstand this video even though I thought it was Pretty blatant and straight forward.

[Qyot27]

Thanks for posting this one! I hadn't seen it, and it was ambiguous. If you'd been intentionally going for pitch-black comedy, I couldn't have possibly given you those 5 stars, because deliberately making fun of the tragic child death is a ghastly, sick thing to do.

Besides, that's what AMV Hell is for. Especially 0 and /0.

[PStibbons]

Thanks for posting this one! I hadn't seen it, and it was ambiguous. If you'd been intentionally going for pitch-black comedy, I couldn't have possibly given you those 5 stars, because deliberately making fun of the tragic child death is a ghastly, sick thing to do.

Besides, that's what AMV Hell is for. Especially 0 and /0.

... okay, you win. How about "deliberately making fun of tragic child death in historical firebombings is a ghastly, sick thing to do"?

(But knowing this bunch, I've just inspired the creation of, I don't know, Grave of the Fireflies Caramelldansen.)

[Beowulf]

As direct as this video is, I would call it quite ambiguous. I don't even know how to explain its ambiguity, (I've spent 7 minutes trying and erased it all), so just watch it I guess.

[Knowname]

So... Ambiguity is when you mean one thing and it is taken as another? But does it count when you make a video contrary to what the song is commonly thought of as saying? I present to you these two,
first is a metal(ica) song that EVERYBODY knows set to a romantic setting

second is a love song set in a more gothic setting