Cardcaptor Sakura - Heaven

[Halkio]

This is my second time posting a video here. Please feel free to share your feedback with me.

[Kionon]

Well, that felt a bit like going back in time 20 years. I expected a new CCS (Clear Card) video, with 1080p 16:9 and whatnot. This wasn't that. I also expected a strong sense of coherence, and this was a bit more like some of those "teaser music videos" sometimes used in the 90s and early 00s to promote a series. Although that was typically from the licensors (if English) or original publishers (if Japanese). I'm not sure I would call this an AMV in this current connotation of the term, but it certainly is a good promo for the original series.

[Halkio]

Well, that felt a bit like going back in time 20 years. I expected a new CCS (Clear Card) video, with 1080p 16:9 and whatnot. This wasn't that. I also expected a strong sense of coherence, and this was a bit more like some of those "teaser music videos" sometimes used in the 90s and early 00s to promote a series. Although that was typically from the licensors (if English) or original publishers (if Japanese). I'm not sure I would call this an AMV in this current connotation of the term, but it certainly is a good promo for the original series.

Thank you for your feedback! In the future I think I should work on presenting a more coherent message/feeling/story

[vkamv]

I had to watch this AMV several times to appreciate some of the choices you made and direction you took.

On first watch it felt a bit boring because it seemed you used long scene sequences and there didn’t seem to be any real message.

On second and third watch I began to perceive the internal sync you were using. I could tell it wasn’t all random, and it left a better impression on me. It had an interesting mix of humor, magical wonderment, and slice of life. The song was a good choice as well. Really fit with the anime and made me believe it was part of the Cardcaptor OST.

Overall, the AMV felt like an opening or ending to an anime without any text or credits. I did think you did a good job capturing the feel of the anime and highlighting its themes of humor and slice of life.

[Halkio]

I had to watch this AMV several times to appreciate some of the choices you made and direction you took.

On first watch it felt a bit boring because it seemed you used long scene sequences and there didn’t seem to be any real message.

On second and third watch I began to perceive the internal sync you were using. I could tell it wasn’t all random, and it left a better impression on me. It had an interesting mix of humor, magical wonderment, and slice of life. The song was a good choice as well. Really fit with the anime and made me believe it was part of the Cardcaptor OST.

Overall, the AMV felt like an opening or ending to an anime without any text or credits. I did think you did a good job capturing the feel of the anime and highlighting its themes of humor and slice of life.

Thank you for your feedback, this kind of thing really helps me a lot! Do you think that shorter sequences creates an amv that is more interesting or holds your attention better? I want to try something different for my next AMV and I'll try to keep this feedback in mind and try to make a more obvious theme!

[seasons]

As someone who would rather watch AMVs edited to older series than those made with most new anime (all other editing factors aside, I mean, I could clarify this ridiculous-sounding opinion but it's actually irrelevant in trying to discuss this video), this kind of thing just naturally clicks with me but I have a hard time justifying why. There are some beautiful shots here, aesthetics that just seem to be lost to time and lost on anyone actually creating anime in the 2010s, and just letting them play out like you do, editing with straight cuts, this very simple approach just cuts through the bullshit and gives me what I crave, a video that feels timeless and has a laid back vibe that approaches a certain sense of hazy nostalgia but without any of the visual effects that editors often reach for the achieve this.

The way you sync some of these clips to music is really clever and subtle. The use of masking is thankfully dialed back from your previous video. Being unfamiliar with this anime outside of just watching AMVs made with it, there's one shot here that I'm 98% sure has some masked footage in it but I'm not completely sure, uncertain mostly because if that's really what it is, I really can't understand what purpose it serves here, but I guess the fact that I'm uncertain about it whatsoever is evidence that it was done effectively.

I like this quite a bit, hope to see more videos like it from you...hope to see more videos that aren't like it from you too.

[Halkio]

As someone who would rather watch AMVs edited to older series than those made with most new anime (all other editing factors aside, I mean, I could clarify this ridiculous-sounding opinion but it's actually irrelevant in trying to discuss this video), this kind of thing just naturally clicks with me but I have a hard time justifying why. There are some beautiful shots here, aesthetics that just seem to be lost to time and lost on anyone actually creating anime in the 2010s, and just letting them play out like you do, editing with straight cuts, this very simple approach just cuts through the bullshit and gives me what I crave, a video that feels timeless and has a laid back vibe that approaches a certain sense of hazy nostalgia but without any of the visual effects that editors often reach for the achieve this.

The way you sync some of these clips to music is really clever and subtle. The use of masking is thankfully dialed back from your previous video. Being unfamiliar with this anime outside of just watching AMVs made with it, there's one shot here that I'm 98% sure has some masked footage in it but I'm not completely sure, uncertain mostly because if that's really what it is, I really can't understand what purpose it serves here, but I guess the fact that I'm uncertain about it whatsoever is evidence that it was done effectively.

I like this quite a bit, hope to see more videos like it from you...hope to see more videos that aren't like it from you too.

Thanks so much, I'm glad you had a chance to watch my video! Your opinion really means a lot to me, you were the only one who bothered to give me any feedback on my last video. I think you're right about the masking and "less is more" most of the time. I think the scene you're thinking of is where after she jumps on the bird. It was suppose to look like she was rolling into my next clip, but it didn't really turn out as well as I imagined in my head. I tried to add some shadow to make it blend better but it didn't really "work". And i'm right on board with you on those 90's anime, the clean computer drawn anime just doesn't capture the same feel/aesthetic as the old stuff and that what I like working with the best.

[seasons]

I mean, she does roll into the next clip pretty well. Although I didn't really pick up on how this connected the two shots until you mentioned it. If she wasn't wearing different clothes in the second shot, it might have recognized what you were going for here. (This says more about me as a lazy viewer than anything about your editing, really.)

I'm still confused as to why there are two Sakuras in this shot, but then I remember that it's just a music video and you can do whatever you want!

[vkamv]

Do you think that shorter sequences creates an amv that is more interesting or holds your attention better?

It all depends on the type of AMV you're making and song you're using. It seemed like longer clips were okay here because the overall feel of the song and mood of the work as a whole wasn't upbeat, but more chill, which works with longer scene.

Of course there's a limit. You rarely wanna go over 10 seconds with any scene shot, or even uncut sequence of scenes from an anime because it can come across as boring or lazy. I think the average scene shot length in AMVs is in the 2-4 second range.

The scene that felt long to me here was at 0:17 to 0:28 with Sakura skating. It's not a bad scene choice but it is a bit repetitive and I felt it would have benefited by being shorter.

[Kireblue]

Well, that felt a bit like going back in time 20 years. I also expected a strong sense of coherence, and this was a bit more like some of those "teaser music videos" sometimes used in the 90s and early 00s to promote a series.

I was thinking the same thing! It really does feel like a ADV or Geneon DVD extra. The video is loosely edited by today's standards, but it works really well that way. Everything about it screams old school, but not in a bad way. I think that the better word would be vintage