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Information

• Member: CrackTheSky
• Title: Get Better
• Premiered: 2015-09-23
• Categories:
  • Drama
  • Character Profile
  • Fun
  • Romance
  • Sentimental
• Song:
  • bleachers i wanna get better
• Anime:
  • Tatami Galaxy, The (TV)
• Participation:
  • Anime Weekend Atlanta 21, The Professional Awards (2015-09-26)
• Comments: The origins of this video stem back to early 2015, when my then-girlfriend (or she may have been my fiancee already at that point, I don't remember) showed me this song and said, "Hey, you should make a video to this!" And I said "Yeah maybe" and inside I was thinking "Yeeeeeah, maaaaaaybe", but I had other ideas and no real anime that would work with it so I just kind of forgot about it for a while.
  
  Then, in summer 2015 I went through this huge '80s-influenced modern indie pop obsession where I was only listening to bands like Walk The Moon and The 1975 and stuff, and I decided to get Bleachers' album Strange Desire because I had read that it was in the same vein and I liked the song "I Wanna Get Better", and I ended up being very surprised by how good it was. (Seriously, if you like this style of music, check out that album -- so awesome).
  
  Then around the same time I watched The Tatami Galaxy, and all the pieces fell into place in my head. This is a series that, as an editor, I had to make a video with. Over the years, I've come to appreciate visually stimulating anime as potential source material, and The Tatami Galaxy is one of the most striking series I've watched in that respect -- you can't look at this series and not stop what you're doing and give it your full attention. It's utterly beautiful and unique and creative. Layer a wonderfully perplexing, engaging story on top and this is one of the few anime I've seen that approaches perfection.
  
  The combination of this song with this anime seemed so natural that I couldn't ignore it, and so I edited this together shortly after the idea formed (and immediately following Do You Wanna??) for AWA Pro.
  
  I was expecting this to be a relatively straightforward video, with little story or purpose, but I've come to realize that I just can't edit videos that way. As I got into the process, the video started to become way more focused and personal than I had ever intended, or expected.
  
  I've never suffered from clinical depression before, but my dad went through a really bad time last year and almost ended up committing suicide himself, so I've had some experience in dealing with it, even if only secondhand. It's not something I ever want to experience myself. What struck me about that whole ordeal was that the only reason my dad pulled through was because he made a decision -- that he wanted to get better. He checked himself into a mental health facility and went through therapy and now he's happier than I've ever seen him. But it started with that decision.
  
  Now, I know perfectly well that it's not that simple in all cases -- and I really don't purport to think that that's how it will work for other people suffering from the same thing. But that worked for him, and it never would have happened without his decision to seek help.
  
  His is an extreme example. I've seen plenty of other people (and have several friends like this right now) who are suffering from sadness or disappointment or something (not necessarily anything clinical) -- and have been for years because they're stuck in this endless loop of self-loathing and pessimism. I don't claim to have the answers to their problems, but all I know is that in many cases, the avenues they've tried -- hobbies, drugs, alcohol, sex -- haven't worked, and yet they continue down those paths with the expectation that at the end is a solution.
  
  This video is an exploration of that concept. It doesn't offer any answers. It probably won't help anyone who finds themselves relating to things I've said above. But I think that at the root of any solution to any problem like those mentioned there must be a seed of desire to "get better". For many of my friends, I sometimes doubt whether they actually want to get better from the things they're being tormented by. Some of them use their situation as an excuse to indulge in their vices, which always puts them in a worse place than they were before. I've been there, so I get it, but I don't think that makes it okay.
  
  In any case, this video ended up being very cathartic for me, in a weird way. I was going to explain this further but...nah.
  
  As for the video itself, I really like it, to be honest. It was a lot of fun to make, because The Tatami Galaxy is just one of the most entertaining sources with which I've ever edited -- just look at the animation, the movements, the facial expressions and such. How could you not have a blast with this source? I'm frankly surprised at how few Tatami Galaxy videos there are out there...oh well, maybe that'll make this one stand out a bit more!
  
  If you don't know what "internal sync" is, you'll get a crash course by watching this video. I fit in as much internal sync as I could because I love that style so much and the anime really allowed for it. I hope you enjoy this video -- it's one of my most personal videos from the last couple years, and hopefully one whose meaning and purpose extends at least a little to others. If nothing else, I hope you walk away from this video feeling slightly uplifted. No matter how dark things get, there's always a light somewhere...you just gotta find it.
  
  Technical notes:
  Edited entirely in Sony Vegas 8.0. Total editing time was...I dunno, 10-15 hours, I'd guess. I should probably try and keep track of this one of these days. Also it's worth mentioning that this is my attempt to make a Copycat_Revolver video. I've always loved his editing style, and he's one of the editors whose works I've been drawing inspiration from lately, so if you're familiar with his videos and this feels...familiar, there's a reason for that. Same with PieandBeer. This is like a Pieand_Revolver video. Or something.
  
  P.S. Thanks to everyone who provided constructive feedback in the AWA 2015 Pro thread, as you ended up helping me improve this video between the Pro contest viewing/voting and the final release. There are several minor differences between this version and the one I sent to Pro, including a few complete scene changes. I think this one ended up being better because of all your input, so thank you very much!