Hi all,
I was thinking... (it happens...) As AMV watchers, we just use our general feeling to tell if an AMV is good or not. But since we're also AMV makers and part of a community with its own sub-culture, our general feeling is influenced by lots of things that would not be taken into account by any anime fan who watches an AMV for the first time.
I mean, showing "Total Waste of 6min 35s" to someone who doesn't know about Lain or AMVs and wants to know more about both is a bad idea, though most of us here are likely find that vid hilarious.
Recently, on another anime forum, I found myself wanting to recommend a classical AMV to a fan of Evangelion, just so he can enjoy the mood of his favorite anime with a good editing on a good music.
So I started writing that down, then I found it interesting to extend the list to other animes for other people on that forum, i.e. people who "just" want to watch an AMV about their favorite anime, and not a postmodern AMV artwork masterpiece (don't misunderstand me, I like experimental and innovative AMVs too -- I just thing "classical" AMVs are being underestimated).
And I ended up with the following page, which was originally designed for that other forum, but since I thought you may find it interesting, I translated it into English.
http://www.bde.enseeiht.fr/~confeta/atv ... amv-guide/
(It's a preliminary version.)
You may be surprised to find together some well-known current creators and totally unknown ones from years ago. I just put vids I like to watch to remind me on an anime.
Of course, I haven't watched all 27000 vids listed on the org. So if you can suggest any vid that I should absolutely see, I'm interested!
Atvaark's Anime-Oriented Guide to AMV
- Atvaark
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 7:39 am
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Atvaark's Anime-Oriented Guide to AMV
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- rubyeye
- Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2001 1:45 pm
Not a bad idea. Although, your criteria of "AMVs that successfully recreate the atmosphere of the anime they feature, or that successfully deal with a given aspect of this anime," might be a little too specific as most amvs don't necessarily "summarize" anything particular about the given source (i.e. romantic Hellsing video).
Your selections of videos also looks more like a list of "best edited" as opposed to those which capture the essence of the anime. VicBond007's Charcoal Sketched Dreams for HAIBANE RENMEI is well crafted, but it's nothing like the show itself.
And for shows which crossover genres like TRIGUN, both a comedy and serious drama, well there isn't any one video you can single out. Same goes for complex or intellectual shows like EVANGELION or ALIEN 9.
Still, it's not a bad idea. But given the number of videos here, it seems almost futile as new videos are always uploaded. I think it would be better and easier to work with "obscure anime" or anime which few people have seen or heard of. Since you are wanting to make a database of anime, albeit in AMV form, for people to get an impression or remember a certain show, it makes better sense to look at those titles which get little exposure. Everybody already knows about Eva, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, etc. TV, websites and message boards promote the hell out of these titles (the ones the studios want to sell).
Look at Vampire Princess Miyu, Key:The Metal Idol, Iria:Zeriam the Animation, Shamanic Princess, Bastard, Gundam, Gatekeepers 21, BoogiePop Phantom, etc. Granted there may not be many AMVs which use them and they may not be the best, but it's an easier place to start. (Yeah, some of those titles I have used myself - shameless plug)
Your selections of videos also looks more like a list of "best edited" as opposed to those which capture the essence of the anime. VicBond007's Charcoal Sketched Dreams for HAIBANE RENMEI is well crafted, but it's nothing like the show itself.
And for shows which crossover genres like TRIGUN, both a comedy and serious drama, well there isn't any one video you can single out. Same goes for complex or intellectual shows like EVANGELION or ALIEN 9.
Still, it's not a bad idea. But given the number of videos here, it seems almost futile as new videos are always uploaded. I think it would be better and easier to work with "obscure anime" or anime which few people have seen or heard of. Since you are wanting to make a database of anime, albeit in AMV form, for people to get an impression or remember a certain show, it makes better sense to look at those titles which get little exposure. Everybody already knows about Eva, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, etc. TV, websites and message boards promote the hell out of these titles (the ones the studios want to sell).
Look at Vampire Princess Miyu, Key:The Metal Idol, Iria:Zeriam the Animation, Shamanic Princess, Bastard, Gundam, Gatekeepers 21, BoogiePop Phantom, etc. Granted there may not be many AMVs which use them and they may not be the best, but it's an easier place to start. (Yeah, some of those titles I have used myself - shameless plug)
- Atvaark
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 7:39 am
- Location: Doesn't matter. Everyone is connected.
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Of course, that's mostly a matter of feeling. For instance, I think Eva and hard rock from the 80s or early 90s go well together since Eva is mostly focused on adolescence, rebellion and fight. But that's still a personal thing, because I see the same message in that kind of music.
This kind of listing cannot be universal, and at best I can only hope that most of my impressions can be transposed to other people.
Probably, many people think that classical music would be more suited for Evangelion since it's much used in the anime. This kind of advice cannot be discussed, it's purely a matter of feeling. I don't pretend to have <b>the</b> list, that's why I put my name atop of it. (And I'm ready to discuss it.)
Also, I'm don't think an AMV has to "summarize" an anime, to convey the same kind of impressions as the anime does. I hesitated to put Hellsing in the list since I only watched the first 4 episodes, yet a romantic Hellsing vid would have had its place in the list, because there is, even if not shown, something romantic in Hellsing.
For Haibane Renmei, I admit I put VicBond's video because I found none that would be closer to the series (no offense, VicBond, I love this video).
I don't get your point about popular vs. obscure titles. Maybe everybody knows about Eva (and still, I would like to know the huge number of people who discover it everyday), but that doesn't mean they know about AMVs, and that doesn't mean they don't want to recall the feelings they had while watching it.
Besides... I can only judge an AMV against an anime if I have watched the anime, so for most of those "obscure" anime I won't be able to tell if the AMV is well related to it.
There are animes I like about series you mentioned, yet I haven't seen any of those series
This kind of listing cannot be universal, and at best I can only hope that most of my impressions can be transposed to other people.
Probably, many people think that classical music would be more suited for Evangelion since it's much used in the anime. This kind of advice cannot be discussed, it's purely a matter of feeling. I don't pretend to have <b>the</b> list, that's why I put my name atop of it. (And I'm ready to discuss it.)
Also, I'm don't think an AMV has to "summarize" an anime, to convey the same kind of impressions as the anime does. I hesitated to put Hellsing in the list since I only watched the first 4 episodes, yet a romantic Hellsing vid would have had its place in the list, because there is, even if not shown, something romantic in Hellsing.
For Haibane Renmei, I admit I put VicBond's video because I found none that would be closer to the series (no offense, VicBond, I love this video).
I don't get your point about popular vs. obscure titles. Maybe everybody knows about Eva (and still, I would like to know the huge number of people who discover it everyday), but that doesn't mean they know about AMVs, and that doesn't mean they don't want to recall the feelings they had while watching it.
Besides... I can only judge an AMV against an anime if I have watched the anime, so for most of those "obscure" anime I won't be able to tell if the AMV is well related to it.
There are animes I like about series you mentioned, yet I haven't seen any of those series

Recent vid: Millions de Forêts
Featured vids: Anthem * Zombie * Chase After Your Life
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- Atvaark
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 7:39 am
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I just reread what I wrote and that's partly wrong. There IS a romantic message shown in Hellsing. But I meant an exclusively romantic vid would enter in my second category, the one of AMV <i>that successfully deal with a given aspect of this anime</i>.ambroise wrote:I hesitated to put Hellsing in the list since I only watched the first 4 episodes, yet a romantic Hellsing vid would have had its place in the list, because there is, even if not shown, something romantic in Hellsing.
Recent vid: Millions de Forêts
Featured vids: Anthem * Zombie * Chase After Your Life
Featured vids: Anthem * Zombie * Chase After Your Life
- Atvaark
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 7:39 am
- Location: Doesn't matter. Everyone is connected.
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1. I meant AMVs, not animes (tired of a rainy week-end...).ambroise wrote:There are animes I like about series you mentioned, yet I haven't seen any of those series
2. I just realized two of the vids I was thinking about are yours !

Recent vid: Millions de Forêts
Featured vids: Anthem * Zombie * Chase After Your Life
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