JOURNAL: Arigatomina

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  • doubtful, amv ramble 2006-06-27 18:52:12 First a smirk. I got a PM today asking what that hosatchel thing means. The person saw a thread I posted in and wanted to know about That Site. It was really funny. Go Intrigue! S/he figured it out before I got to read the pm, but it's still funny that my warnings in the thread selfactualized. Just by saying that having threads about The Site Which Shall Not Be Named would intrigue curious forum browsers, I inadvertently intrigued a curious forum browser. I don't know if my reaction should me "Oops," or "I told you so." I'm settling for a smirk. ;p

    On an amv note, I'm experiencing doubt. It's really annoying. I started a vid and paused after the first beta to browse the site. Then I tried to go back to the vid and stumbled over doubt. Really, really annoying. I went from giggling in enjoyment at the beta to wondering if anyone besides me will like the video. I'm not supposed to care. I didn't care when I started it. I know all the drawbacks the vid has, mostly due to the song and the content. I knew all that before I even started ripping. All of a sudden it just seems like a waste to make a video few will like - when I could easily be making a video a lot of people would like. It's not like I don't get vid ideas other people will like as much as I do. I just seem to default to the ones only a few will enjoy as much as me. Why? It's like a saftey net or something. Which is bad. Right? But it shouldn't matter because I like both ideas and no matter why I choose to do one and not the other, I'll still be doing what I like. That's my usual rationalization. Excuses. I don't like to think about stuff like that.

    I really wish making vids was as carefree as writing fanfics. People who don't like my writing style don't keep reading my stories. It should be the same way with amvs. I used to treat them the same. I'd make whatever I wanted, put it out there, those who liked it liked it, those who didn't went away, and I kept making what I liked. I never should have jumped into the whole community thing. On ffnet it was just me and my readers and my favorite writers. And the occassional spamflamer. Then I ended up playing with forums and looking at the big picture. Stupid picture. I'm really, really glad I got around to buying my own domain.

    I'm typing this up mostly to talk myself back into being enthusiastic about my project. I have hopes that my site will make it easier to re-distance myself from places like this. I just need to get some more of my old local vids deleted so I can replace them with direct links. If I'm not feeling indebted to the org (the community, the big picture), I won't feel obligated to care what "they" think. I can make as many of my 'spam' vids as I want. The good ole days. Fingers crossed. Here's hoping.

    I'm making a random video about wet bishonen. Mwahaha~!
    ^____^ 
  • Tsubasa RC & Detective Academy Q - anime stuff 2006-06-22 07:07:53 So happy! They're actually doing the Shura/Shara arc in Tsubasa. ^___^

    I thought for sure they were going to skip it entirely, when they went from the Outo episodes straight to the race episode. That arc is like esential for the Kuro/Fay shippers. Not to mention the Yasha/Ashura blurb. Really cute to see Syaoran all decked out in pigtails, too. ;p

    I'm very, very happy. The anime has some filler episodes already, countries that aren't in the manga. It's to be expected, but I rather like that some of them touch on things that could easily fit into the manga storyline. Like the episode with Fay and Chi. I was not expecting anything like that (been reading the manga first), but it was a really nice touch. And so pretty! Gagh. I never saw Chobits, if that's the anime Chi comes from, but just the fact that Fay cares about her (and created her?) makes me like her. She's really cute and pointless - like Sakura. No personality whatsoever. Just a pretty face. I used to hate pointless emotionaless pretty face girl characters like that, but I'm getting used to it now. As long as they're passive (like Sakura), they never get annoying. How could I dislike a pretty perfectly sweet and innocent face if she doesn't have enough personality to get annoying? I can't. So I like Chi just as much as I did Sakura, probably more since I don't have to see her with the same emotionless 'cute' expressions in every episode.

    Which reminds me, Syaoran is getting *less* emotional in every episode. I thought for sure they'd give him more personality as the anime went along. If nothing else, I thought the artists would get better at drawing emotions on his blank face after a few episodes. And yet...he's still wearing the same blank expression in every scene. I consider myself lucky if he frowns now and then. Even Kuro shows more expressions than that, and the entire point of his character is that he has a blank face (when he's not exploding in overdramatic fury). I can see where a 'token innocent' character like Sakura would have no emotion. It fits her 'blank memory-less mind' in the story. Plus, Clamp is known for having pretty little girls whose main expression is a wide-eyed blink and a soft smile. Their guys tend to be more expressive than that, though. After seeing Syaoran and Sakura in CCS so much, it's just so weird to see them emotionless in scene after scene after scene. And they're still doing the thing where the pause for a minute on someone's face - like if they wait long enough the viewer might imagine they see an emotion on that expressionless drawing. It makes me feel bad for the animators. I'm a fan of Clamp's work. I *know* they can draw emotions better than that, especially on a still close up. Sad.

    But I'm still happy with the inclusion of the Shura/Shara arc. Naturally Fay's my main reason for watching the anime, and any excuse to pick at the old 'Ashura connection' is good to me. It doesn't hurt that he shows more emotions than any of the other characters, even if it's usually just a simple smile (like Sakura's, except Fay's simple blank smiles are combined with witty dialogue). Hopefully we'll get to see Kuro and Fay fight in the next episode or two. I've been wanting to see Fay with a bow and arrow, especially on horseback. I loved their 'fight' outfits in the manga. And I really want to see Kuro challenge Syaoran to a fight. Who knows, maybe Syaoran will get an expression on his face if he's surprised enough by the fight scene. I really miss expressions in TRC. Except the slapstick scenes, it's probably the most 'dull' anime style I've seen as far as the faces go. It makes me want to rewatch X and see if they were as bad at drawing emotions in that as they are now. Maybe it's just a different animation crew to blame and not the group itself. I don't remember thinking the manga was bland, and it isn't even in color.

    .
    .

    I'm looking into a cute little anime called Tantei Gakuen Q, or Detective Academy Q. I don't know much about it, but the storyline and episode guides make it sound a lot like Spiral. Where the main theme of the show is more about the individual 'challenges' - riddles, puzzles, in this case, murder mysteries - than any actual story. It looks like there *is* a story behind the individual episodes, something involving Ryuu's background, but I get the feeling it'll be a long time coming. I didn't really like Spiral that much, even though the animation and character designs were gorgeous. But I like murder mysteries. I'm going to give the series a shot. It's so hard to find new series that hold my interest these days.

    .
    .

    I'm about done ripping footage. I have a couple videos I can make with the footage I've collected. I don't know when I'll actually start editing, but it might be this weekened. Right now I'm fighting the urge to make a Tsubasa RC vid. ^_^;; I can't help it. There just aren't enough episodes to work with - I'm trying as hard as I can to wait, but I really want to see a Fay-centric amv. And I'm afraid to check the ones other people have made. I'm so darn spoiled when it comes to capture quality that I don't want to see a fuzzy subtitled video, even if it features the story I'm looking for. Ah...wanna make a bishonen-centric amv. I'm hungry for dramatic eyecandy. I keep jumping from anime to anime. It's been too long since my last amv. Seriously. I'm suffering withdrawal. ;p 
  • amv announcements, replies, and file formats 2006-06-17 01:08:00 I did a look-over to see if the file format made any difference. I don't think it did for me.

    From recent to old -

    "Title of thread" / Replies / Views / File format

    "shoujo action vid - Dangaizer 3" / 7 / 226 / avi
    "shameless smut, multi-anime" / 18 / 676 / avi
    "Digimon Adventures vid" / 10 / 264 / avi
    "Fan-animated video - Dark Half" / 60 / 1434 / avi
    "Ego Trip - 'I'm Too Sexy', bishonen vid" / 37 / 761 / avi
    "Flood - FY Chichiri profile vid" / 16 / 516 / avi
    "Aerosmith + YYH = profile vid" / 40 / 739 / avi

    ...onto older videos

    My first announcement to receive more than 2 unique replies:

    "new DBZ amv" / 17 / 276 / mpg

    ..............The reason it hit two pages...? I warned upfront that it was a yaoi dbz video. The guys here downloaded it anyway. ^_^;; After that one people on the forum seemed to remember me, for better or worse.

    ...and the really old -

    My first announcements, from the "Carrot days" back when local (hosting and download) was only available for those who paid $50 up front. Almost all the replies were from people complaining that they couldn't afford to download carrot (aka local) videos:

    "Stand Up - a new RK amv" / 2 / 110 / mpg
    "New Rurouni Kenshin video" / 1 / 57 / mpg
    "New YYH action amv" / 1 / 89 / mpg
    "yyh amvs" / 2 / 51 / mpg

    Note that while I used wmm exclusively, from the very beginning I converted my amvs to mpg. Why? Not because of quality or people not liking wmv. I did it just because I used winamp to watch my own videos on a playlist and winamp didn't like wmvs. Once I hit xvid, I still used mpg for my YYH videos because the people downloading those didn't have the proper codecs to play avi vids. Now I'm confident I can link them to the filters and help them to play any of my videos - I put that in the vid descriptions so they know to contact me if they have trouble with playback. I like xvid now because I like the filters in Virtualdub - they get better results than the noise filter I used to use with TMPGenc.

    When it comes to the files I download...as long as I can play it I don't care. I HATE-HATE-HATE real media and quicktime and that new mp4 format because I have to reinstall filters and players - and then I have to reset my computer because once I install the proper codecs to watch those videos, none of my old xvid amvs are playable. They screw up everything. If I decide to keep vids in those formats the first thing I do is convert them to a more compatible format, capture quality be damned. >.<

    What determines replies in announcement threads for me is whether I download the video (durh) and whether I like it. Sometimes I'll reply just to say I'm downloading - because I like the editor and because it'll be a day before I get a chance to watch the video. Most of the time I don't even click the title unless it looks like an anime I like, or if it advertises itself as a comedy/bishonen-centric/non-slutty shoujo video. I'm picky about the videos I watch. Even if it's my favorite editors posting, I won't reply unless they're using an anime or concept I'm pretty sure I'll like seeing in a video. That's assuming I actually see the announcement thread. I'm lurking now, so I tend to miss them a lot. ~_~;; 
  • stupid questions don't require spam responses 2006-06-05 18:49:45 http://www.animemusicvideos.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=68317

    That thread makes me embarrassed for everyone who calls himself a 'forum regular.' It got way out of hand, way too fast. And frankly, the new member was a lot more reasonable and 'adult' than the so-called intelligent people smacking him down and calling him a 5 year old. Hell, he was actually patient compared to the people responding to him.

    How many times do you have to say "If you can't answer my question, don't post" before a person realizes, "Oh! He's talking to me! Sorry about that."

    It's all good and well to tell a person why their question was bad, why laziness is bad, and why he shouldn't expect a very helpful response to a dumb question. It's entirely different to go on and on like a broken record. The first response should have been enough - tell him his best bet is to use the search function if the recommend thread doesn't help. If you feel obligated to respond to his admission of willful laziness, just say, "well, there's your problem right there" and leave it alone. If he doesn't get it the first time, he'll never get it. Posting the same crap again and again and then having others jump on to post the exact same crap makes us look like the morons.

    If I started a thread asking for YYH video recommendation, I refuse to believe I'd have been spammed like that guy was. I've seen the YYH recommendation thread. I've seen every vid on it. I've done lots of searches by star score and op count to find the 'top' videos for the anime. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with me asking for people to tell me if they have other YYH amvs I might like - favorites of theirs that aren't quite great enough to make that "YYH recommendation" thread. Those threads ARE for the best videos. It even says that in the forum description. Anyone who wants videos not listed on that thread is looking for videos that aren't the best. That's not stupid or pointless. It's just having a slightly lower standard that lets you enjoy videos shy of perfection. And don't tell me no one would be willing to post recommendations in the thread if I started it. There are a lot of YYH videos that are favorites without every having been listed in that rec thread. There are a lot that people like that aren't at the top of the star or op count sorting when I use the super search. THERE IS A VALID REASON TO ASK PEOPLE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS OF VIDEOS NOT FOUND ON THE REC THREAD FOR THAT ANIME. IT IS NOT FUTILE TO ASK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPERFECT AMVS FOR AN ANIME YOU LIKE.

    Yugioh isn't a popular amv on the forum. Most of the people using that anime never come to the forum. Chances are he never would have gotten a response because the people he needed to talk to - fans of amvs for that anime - don't go to the forums. He still had a right to try. He had a valid reason to try. He had as much right as I have to ask for recommendations for an anime I like.

    Now tell me you'd call me a 5 yr old newb if I made that thread and patiently asked you - again and again - to stop telling me the same thing over and over and to leave my thread alone so someone with a similar taste will have a chance to post. Would you? Call me a newb for trying? Insult me and tell me (repeatedly and repetitively) to search on my own like I don't already know how? He said he'd already searched, so you already knew he knew how to do it. If I say I'm not finding the needle in the haystack when I search, you won't tell me to keep going through the database one video at a time. You'll either recommend a video to me (if you know of one), or you'll go post in a thread where you have something to contribute and leave my thread for those who can help me find what I'm looking for.

    What's really sad is that the people posting were the 'patient' ones. How did that happen? We used to tell the impatient flame-spammers that if they didn't have anything to contribute, if they didn't have the patience to be helpful and and non-flammatory, then they should leave the threads alone. The patient people would get to them eventually, and they wouldn't have to get their panties in a twist dealing with the newbs. Do we have to tell the patient ones the exact same thing now? Fine. If you can't be patient, help where you can, and hold your tongue where you can't, then don't post at all.

    The thread could have died for lack of a response if what you guys posted was true and no one on the site had any favorite Yugioh videos to recommend. There was no need to spam it into lockage. But, really, if you're going to do that, at least do it so you look like the "bigger man". I can't stand seeing a "supposedly dumb noob" come off looking like the bigger man while the self-righteous forum regulars look like the impatient, stubborn, redundant newbs.

    Thread recap:

    Newb: Anyone have any more videos I might like?
    Righteous regular: Do a search. Check the rec thread. Stupid noob.
    Newb: I've already searched. I can't find anything and it would take too long to check every video here. I'm too lazy to watch every video here.
    Righteous regular: Do a search. Watch every video here. I'd do it if I were looking for a video I might enjoy watching. Really. Lazy noob.
    Newb: If you don't know any vids, please don't post in my thread.
    Righteous regular: Do a search. Wow, you're stupid. SEARCH, DAMN YOU, SEARCH! Why should I search for you if you're too lazy to do it yourself?
    Newb: I'm not asking you to search for me. I don't even want you to post in my thread. Please stop. I'm looking for someone who might have more videos I'd enjoy watching.
    Righteous regular: Do a search. Are you a stupid 5 year old or something? Jeeze. SEARCH, DAMN YOU, SEARCH!
    Mighty Reg #2: Yeah. Search, noob. What's wrong with you? We already said to search. We won't help you. Stop asking us to help and search, already.
    Newb: If you can't help, stop posting! Jesus, what's wrong with you people?
    Mighty Reg #2: We're not here to help people who ask stupid questions like you. Do a search.
    Newb: Oh, my God, you guys are as annoying as hell. What are you, automatons? Do a search, do a search, do a search. I already did. It didn't help. Leave me alone!
    Righteous regular: Shut up and do a search. Do you know how stupid you are? Search for yourself. We won't do it for you.
    Newb: Trying to get rid of you people is like committing suicide by pulling your fingernails off and stabbing your eyeballs out with them. I give up. You people are stupid.
    Mighty reg #4: Wow, even the patient people are spamming. IT'S PICTURE TIME! WHEE!
    Secret Mod: Stupid Newb Vanquished. Thread Locked.
    Forum Regulars: We're so cool. Heh, we sure showed him who the mature people are. Yeah, us. 
  • old anime 2006-05-19 07:23:04 I got an interesting QC for one of my YYH videos. It read:

    "nice twist on an old anime - good quality"

    Old anime. That's what makes me blink. YYH is like from the 80s, I think, but it didn't get licensed until a year or two ago. I'm curious about the person who wrote it. Did s/he say old because the anime has been used so much in the last year here, or because the anime is dated - the coloring, animation style, and quirks are seriously dated for the 80s, or maybe even the light hippie 70s. I'm not actually sure of the original date, but it does have a lot in common with Ranma as far as the style goes.

    If s/he meant old as in overused, I'd take the comment as a compliment and move on. But if s/he meant old as in ancient anime, I'm very curious what s/he thinks about shows like Prince of Tennis. PoT started years ago, but it's just now getting licensed (slow progress, but they made statements) and the ovas are just now being produced after being talked about for years. I guess I figured anyone who watches/buys US licensed anime view old as shows like Digimon and Sailor Moon that were aired earlier - back before they advertised themselves as 'anime' rather than just more early morning cartoons. Or stuff like the mecha shows and Harlock Saga that played on the psyfi channels at 2am sometimes. I found out about anime really late (19), so that's the stuff I picture when I think of 'old' anime.

    I didn't realize I was so Americanized. Right now Prince of Tennis is old in Japan. But once it hits the US for the first time, it will be new. I'll think of it as being fresh and new dispite the original creation date. That makes me a bad Otaku, right? I never really thought about it before. 
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