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I am weak...no, STRONG!
2010-11-16 20:05:53
XII
Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do [working title...this could be bad, my working titles tend to take on a life of their own]
Pre-Edit: 2
Edit: 0
Positive change is good, XII is bad. I've said it before - what the heck kind of crazy hobby do I have if it depresses, frustrates and drives me up the wall? That isn't a hobby, that's torture! No wonder I hate my hobby so much!
Yeah, yeah, I know...DUH.
So, I'm done with it - I gave XII a darn good shot...but I'm done with it forever. Anyone else wants my ideas, my concept art, my 60 GB worth of clips, they can have 'em with my blessing. I'm going to try and make an AMV that makes me smile. While it may not be very progressive of me or push certain boundaries - gosh darn-it, if someone laughs and has a better day because they watch a video of mine, then that's really all that's mattered to me. It's why I got into this schtick in the first place!
Where there's a will, there's a way - that was always my motto and it hasn't let me down yet. Bring on the COMEDY VIDEO WTFness!!!!
Note: this video could still crash and burn, but at least I am having fun with it. -
...
2010-11-14 17:22:06
XII
Pre-edit: 33 hours
Edit: 9
The Good: There is actually about 20 seconds of footage on my timeline for this AMV. I've gotten further than I've ever gotten before. Also, I solved the weird AR problem, and for once it wasn't my fault.
The Bad: This is not working out at all like it's supposed to. Perhaps I'm just too much of a control freak, but I don't see any point in making a video which isn't meeting or exceeding the plans I had for it. I'm giving it my best shot, but I know when I'm in over my head...
The Ugly: How bad off does someone have to be that they look at the nightmare that is Advent Children - what with all its lip flap, rotoscope-nulling, action-packed hideousness - and say "Gee, wasn't life simpler, then?" -
How I Edit
2010-11-13 17:47:09
XII
Pre-edit: 33 hours
Edit: 4
*fires up Adobe Bridge and Premiere*
*edit edit edit*
Bleh...
*shuts down Premiere*
No, must keep going...
*fires up Premiere*
*edit*
Bleeehhh....why the heck is this so annoying? I hate this.
*shuts down Premiere*
Oh come on, it can't be that bad...
*fires up Premiere*
*stares at timeline and twitches a few things*
BLEH!!
*shuts down Premiere*
*fires up Premiere*
(Mind, all of this over the course of 30 minutes)
*AMV.org journal post about lack of progress*
What I don't understand is why my aspect ratio is screwed up. This is standard 16:9 footage that I'm treating just like I do all my 16:9 footage...but round objects are definitely not coming out round. They need like an 11% increase in height to look right. -
State of the Org
2010-11-07 16:49:40
There is something to be said for the attitude "that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it." In my mind, that's better than existing in a state of limbo, where no one can decide on the best course of action because they don't know what they're trying to accomplish.
Has anyone questioned whether AMV.org deserves to survive? Is it a foregone conclusion that this site must exist? What it so almighty and essential about AMV.org that no one's willing to let it fall into disrepair and disuse? It's a simple function of survival of the fittest, which the Internet tends to do very well.
Ok, so the prevailing opinion is that it should not disappear. Why?
Knowledge: There's a lot of knowledge here, not just in terms of written guides and forum threads, but in the heads of the folks who frequent this site. AMV.org is a one-stop shop for just about any AMV editor, whether they're just starting out or have been at it for years. This kind of resource is not easily replaced, once it's gone or scattered all over the Internet.
History/Data: There is a huge amount of history here. This site is probably one of the few places the evolution of the AMV hobby can be clearly documented and evaluated, therefore discussed and understood. I personally believe that sort of thing has enormous value. This does not mean AMV,org is the be-all and end-all of the AMV hobby, however, or that - going forward - it cannot become less and less important in the overall AMV scheme of things.
We're the god damn AMV.org! It was a great thing that Phade did, recognizing and taking the opportunity to create a Web site like this. I assume that he and the community which created this site wanted to establish something bigger and better than themselves, something that would continue even after they'd moved on and the torch was passed to someone else. Ok, so the original plan for this site didn't work out quite as expected, but you can say that about an awful lot of Web sites. The point is, this is animemusicvideos.org - the one and only animemusicvideos.org.
There's no mention above of viewing videos, discussing videos, rating videos, sharing videos or uploading videos. Will this site implode if these things cease to happen here? I don't know. A lot of people currently manage to do all of those things without AMV.org, which suggests that this site would require a massive overhaul, huge loads of money and a crack team working 24/7 to even dream of ever reclaiming its former status as AMV viewing/discussing/rating/sharing/uploading central. AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
This isn't to suggest that this site can't try to make it as easy as possible to view, discuss, rate, share and upload videos, I just don't think one can reasonably expect this site to do it better than anyone else. Those things are all pieces of the puzzle, but they are not the most important things because - quite simply - they are completely out of reach (see aforementioned overhaul, money and crack team, plus huge attitude shift). If everyone just realized and accepted this, it would be much easier to discuss and set realistic goals.
So much time and energy is wasted around here on what "should" or "could" be done to improve this site. Yes, that's the side effect of a volunteer, community-minded Web site like this, but really, is this the best way to get things done right now? In forum threads read by a handful of folks who aren't even in agreement about what we should be trying to accomplish? How can we discuss anything unless we know what the goal is? Why should we go through the effort of debating and implementing changes if we don't know of what value those changes will be to this Web site? Why do I have to waste my time asking these sorts of questions, when I could be trying to answer much more productive ones?
To pull something completely out of my hat (I swear, I have no idea if anyone has proposed this) - it's fine and dandy to ask for a better/different journal system...but is that going to help this site? Really?? Do we want to waste time and resources on something like that? If so, convince me, tell me why the journal system is so integral to this site that it not only must be maintained, but improved? How does the journal system fit into the site's overall mission and what form should it take to best support that mission? CASE IN POINT: How much time have I wasted IN MY JOURNAL when I could have been discovering new videos, participating in discussions about videos and, in general, not complaining in a vacuum whereby I only feel like a part of this community if someone sees fit to PM me about a journal post or I catch a glimpse of someone else's journal response? REALLY? Is this journal thing the best we can do around here?? Is this really the only place where I feel comfortable asking these types of questions? Ok, perhaps it is a big failing of mine, but the bottom line is that I am not going to waste my time bringing it to the forums. That is a tedious, cumbersome and ineffectual sort of place to get anything accomplished in, so why bother? *dusts off hands*
Argh...and then I have to go to work tomorrow and continue this sort of thing, only I'm on the receiving end of it. But at least there I get paid for my time. ^_^' -
Progress...?
2010-11-04 20:22:14
XII
Pre-edit: 30 hours
Edit: 2
It is a little bit disheartening to keep adding up the "pre-edit" hours like this. Then I remember that I've spent years trying to figure out how to make this AMV, and 30 hours suddenly doesn't seem so bad.
Only thing I have to report is a shift in gears hehehe... er hem. Rather than take the risk of my optimism getting me intro trouble *dripping sarcasm*, I am culling through all my clips to make sure that I really believe this video can be made before I jump into actually making it. I haven't created enough videos to preach to other people about "the best" way to edit, but I do know that I go at it from two different standpoints: knowing exactly what I'm up to and how to go about it, and knowing what I'm up to but not how to go about it, yet still managing to come up with surprising results which don't necessarily bear any resemblance to what I thought I was up to. This XII thing...doesn't really fit either category, so maybe I finally have to storyboard, is my thought. :| Blick. Oh well. It's definitely my most creative endeavor yet. Just got to keep my eyes on the prize...
JOURNAL: DriftRoot (Lauren C.)
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