Atom
01-13-2003, 09:28 AM
<p><font size="4" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">READ TOP PART FIRST!!</font>
<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">So as it seems, alot of people at FFS have no idea what AMVs (Anime Music Videos) are. So I thought I'd start up a lil thread to share and discuss them.
Basically, an AMV is a fan-made music video, using clips from anime (and sometimes games, like Final Fantasy), and putting them to music (not necesarilly their own music. Just any song that they think goes with that anime). AMVs started out as strictly an exclusive hobby done by serious otaku back in the early 80's/90's to show at anime clubs/anime conventions. Back then people normally just used 2 VCRs to edit together videos. Nowadays its all done on PCs (though there are still some who like the 2 VCR method). AMVs range from low-quality, pretty lame, non-motivated videos (the majority of AMVs using DragonBall Z are like this) to very high-quality, large scale, monuments of artistic achievement that play to huge convention audiences, and even sometimes on TV.
So, interested in checking some out? Well, I shall reccomend some to you:</font>
<font size="3" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">Part 1: Getting You Hooked!</font><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"> (aka, Where Atom gives you AMVs to download and watch)</font>
<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">
<font size="3">Required Viewing</font> (these are the cream of the crop. The one's that EVERY AMV enthusiast knows and loves. In no particular order)
Odorikuruu (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=912)
Anime: Various
Song: Elissa - Mamboleo
Genre: Fun, Dance
Creator: aokakesu (http://aokakesudigital.go.dyndns.org/)<br>
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for 'Odorikuruu'
Comments: Wow... Sorry, just had to get that out there. Anyways. Wow. This video = FUN! Released in 2001, Odorikuruu absolutely BLEW UP immediately and began winning awards all over the anime convention circuit, and taking home the Viewers Choice Awards on AnimeMusicVideos.org (and in terms of numbers of votes, probably the biggest AMV contest to date) for Best Anime Introduction, Best Effects, Best Fun Video, and Best Video of 2001, not to mention awards at Anime Weekend Atlanta (the biggest anime con for AMVs) & Anime Expo (the biggest anime con in North America). But enough with all that. This video just GETS IT. It takes an extremely catchy happy song and gives it the perfect anime visuals (using 34 different animes) to make the ultimate dance music video. The effects he uses are subtle yet effective (ha! get it? effective effects?.. heh...). There's really not much more that I can say about this video other than it's sure to put a smile on your face :) And if it doesn't then gees dude lighten up! :P<br>
<br>
<font size="3"><strong>NOTE: HERE'S WHERE THE GUIDE GETS FORMATTED ALL WEIRD. I REALIZE THIS AND IM SORRY BUT I WROTE THIS IN HTML TO USE ON MY SITE, AND SINCE VBULLETIN LIKES TO FORMAT IT ALL FUNNY, ITS GONNA LOOK LIKE THIS UNLESS I GO THROUGH AND RE-DO A BUNCH OF STUFF WHICH I DONT FEEL LIKE DOING. SO, LIVE WITH IT :P IF THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE, GO HERE (http://www.planetbrad.com/amvguide.htm) TO READ IT ALL NICE AND NEAT. :P</strong></font>
<a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=8259">Shameless
Rock Video</a>
Anime: FLCL (aka Frui Kuri, aka Fooly Cooly)
Song: Deep Purple - Speed King
Genre: Fun, Action
Creator: Ian Roberts (http://www.absolutedestiny.org/) (AbsoluteDestiny)
Download: Geh.. Not available on web or KaZaa : \ But if you can find
it, GET IT.
Comments: This IMO will win the VCA for Best Video of 2002. At least
thats what I plan on voting for. 2002 had alot of great vids, but this one just
takes the cake. In fact, I don't think I'd be too off base to say that <strong>it's
my curent all-time favorite AMV</strong>. Bleah. No more soapbox'ing Atom. The
song is an early 70's rock song by Deep Purple (Jimi Hendrix), and this video
does a fantastic job of encompassing that "feel". The effects that
he uses, while sometimes flamboyant are never un-necesarry, taking into account
the song selection and just the overall trippy-ness of FLCL. All in all, watching
this AMV is one of the best ways you could ever spend 5 minutes of your life.
Nuff said.
<a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=1838">Memories
Dance</a>
Anime: Various Miyazaki Films
Song: Loreena McKennit - Mummer's Dance
Genre: Drama, Director Profile
Creator: Vlad G Pohnert (http://www.celestravideo.com/Celestial-Realm.html)
Download: Click Here (ftp://amv.celestravideo.com/amv/Vlad_Pohnert-Memories_Dance.mpg) (66mb)
Comments: If you've ever watched ANY Miyazaki movie (for the un-informed,
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the all time greatest anime film directors. His movies
include Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor
Totoro, Kiki's Delivary Service, and most recently, Spirited Away), you know
how powerful and emotional these movies are, and just how beautiful everything
is. And not just from an art standpoint, but also the characters and storyline.
That said, this AMV is easily the best display of all the different aspects
of Miyazaki's work that you'll find anywhere. Though some come close (like Kusoyaro's
video 'Self-Titled' to Abbey Road by The Beatles), Memories Dance reigns supreme
as the king of Miyazaki Tribute AMVs. Though that may an over-simplification.
Regardless of your feelings for Miyazaki, you should certainly check out this
video.
<a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=423"><br>
Tainted Donuts</a>
Anime: Trigun & Cowboy Bebop
Song: Shakkazombie - Siroi Yami No Naka
Genre: Fun, Comedy
Creator: Weibelius (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_myprofile.php?user_id=21)
(Eric Kobet)
Download: Click Here (http://www.animeconnection.net/download10.html) (79mb)
Comments: When Eric Kobet made this video, I don't know if he knew how
much impact this video would have on the AMV community, and also how people
make AMVs. He took the concept of taking two seperate animes and basically combining
them into one. Here's the story. Cowboy Bebop is about a group of bounty hunters.
Trigun is about a much-wanted gunman named Vash. So in Tainted Donuts, the crew
of the Bebop is trying to capture Vash and collect on the bounty (a hefty $$60,000,000,000
bounty at that!). The editting in this video is downright awesome. Since then,
some more 'Tainted Donut-esque' AMVs have come about, ranging from more action-comedy
(Dragon Bebop Z, mixing Bebop and Dragonball Z), to drama-romance (Transcending
Love, made by Vlad Pohnert as mentioned above. He took 3 seperate shows: City
Hunter, Cowboy Bebop, and Macross Plus, and combined them in a way to make a
3-way love triangle between a character from each show. VERY well done). However
nothing has yet to top the original. So be prepared for much entertainment as
Spike and Jet race to find that mysterious red-coated man named Vash (who has
a serious weakness for doughnuts, btw).
Right Now Someone Is Reading This Title (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=3684)
Anime: Various Anime
Song: Van Halen - Right Now
Genre: Comedy, Parody
Creator: Doki Doki Productions (http://www.doki.ca/) (Tim Park)
Download: Download link is broken. Search on Kazaa for 'anime right now'
Comments: One of the more popular forms of AMVs have been parodies. They
range from parodying existing movie trailers (like Brad DeMoss' classic Star
Wars Episode 1 Trailer parody using Evangelion) to commercials (like Anime Mascots
Day Off, to the 'Wassup!' commercial made by Doki Doki Productions [ironically
enough]). But none of them top 'Right Now'. It could be said that this video
is the ultimate inside joke, as only anime otaku will get any of it :) Tim Park
is an absolute genius when it comes to comedy AMVs. This is his opus. Basically,
it takes the original Van Halen - Right Now music video (which consisted of
many different little scenes, with clever little "Right now"
comments with an associate video clip. Due to its originality and the popularity
of the song it became a very well-known music video in its time), and he re-did
every scene using anime clips and anime/otaku "Right Now" comments. Example:
"<a href="
">Right now Tokyo Tower is having
another bad day</a>" showing a clip of Tokyo Tower being destroyed (I believe
he uses a clip from X/1999). The joke is, Tokyo Tower gets demolished in many
different anime. Anyways, even if you're just a casual anime fan, there's still
alot to be admired in this video. Though if you're only a hardcore DBZ fan,
you might be offended by one or 2 of the jokes ;P
Believe
( I'm not providing links for the Kevin Caldwell videos since there's really not much info for them online)
Anime: Battle Athletes Victory
Song: Run Lola Run OST - Believe
Genre: Action, Drama
Creator: Kevin Caldwell
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for 'Kevin Caldwell'
Comments: Hailed by very many as the best AMV of all-time (actually,
in terms of my favorites, this is 2nd only to Shameless Rock). Kevin Caldwell
is often referred to as the "God of AMVs". Now, I certainly wouldn't
go as far as to say that, but the fact remains that ALOT of the current big
AMV creators out there got into AMVs in the first place as a result of seeing
Kevin Caldwell's work. While his work is nothing stellar by today's standards
(in terms of effects anyway), he still manages to always capture the total feel
of an anime and the song as well. In the case of 'Believe', he was able to transfer
the feelings conveyed in the lyrics to the main character of the show, Akari,
so well, that you truly believe that she is singing each lyric (and it helps
that he also very much pioneered the use of lip-synch in AMVs). He really draws
you in and makes you care about who you're looking at. Even if you've never
seen the show (though after seeing the AMV, I IMMEDIATELY began renting this
series. It's VERY good). So folks, do what you can to check out this music video.
It just might change you.
Caffiene Encopium
Anime: Kodoma no Omocha
Song: William Tell Overture
Genre: Action, Comedy, Fun
Creator: Kevin Caldwell
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for 'Kevin Caldwell'
Comments: Timing..... Timing, timing, timing.. Kevin Caldwell has got
it. And nothing shows it more than this absolutely upbeat, hyper, energetic
AMV known as Caffiene Encopium. The anime Komodo no Omoca (or just Kodocha,
or 'Child's Toy' in English) is about a very energetic young girl named Sana.
And after seeing this video, you will know what I mean by energetic. This video
has such a fantastic pace. It starts off nice and calm and serene, just like
the song. Then.... trumpets! She's awake!! Run run run run eat eat run jump
spin run ayeayeayeaye! SO much stuff is going on in this video that it's hard
to imagine just how much time was spent in putting this piece together. So if
you like really really fun to watch videos, definitely check out Caffiene Encopium
:D (and you'll probably be itching to see some Kodocha too. Hehee)
<font size="3">More of Atom's Favorites</font> (while all the above videos are in my favorites list, the one's below don't necesarilly qualify as being videos that every AMV enthusiast knows and loves).
With Every Light (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=11203)
Anime: Various Anime
Song: Smashing Pumpkins - With Every Light
Genre: Drama, Feel-Good
Creator: Hsien Lee (http://www.kusoyaro.com) (Kusoyaro Productions)
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for Kusoyaro
Comments: When writing out the genre part of this entry, I really couldn't
think of any other words (apart from the obvious Drama) to describe it other
than Feel-Good. Because thats exactly what this video makes you feel. Good.
:) It's got this great message of hope to it that just makes you want to give
yourself a big hug. It's just got such a huge amount of beauty. Hsien Lee is
easily one of my very favorite AMV creators (if not my #1). I kind of see him
as the Stephen Spielberg of AMVs, in the context that he is able to make great
action AMVs (like Spielberg = Minority Report, Indiana Jones, etc.; Hsien =
Transformation, Goin' Postal, etc.) and yet can turn around and make a fantastic
drama AMV (Spielberg = Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, etc.; Hsien Lee
= With Every Light, Self-Titled, etc.) He has just an awesome range. And personally
I see this as his best work.<br>
</font><font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><br>
Sappy Self-Indulgence (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=11203)
Anime: Various Anime
Song: Moulin Rouge OST - Elephant Love Medley
Genre: Fun, Romance
Creator: Hsien Lee (http://www.kusoyaro.com) (Kusoyaro Productions)
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for Kusoyaro
Comments: Guys, if you ever want to make your girlfriend melt, show her
this video (trust me I've done it :P). While it's got alot of funny parts, in
the end it's just really heart-warming and happy. It takes around 7 different
animes and sort of does a profile of the relationships in each. Alot of fantastic
editting is displayed here, especially in terms of lip-synch. The end montage
scene sends shivers up my spine with each viewing, and each time I watch it
I discover something new. Again, alot of stuff going on in this video. *sigh*...
Aye.... amor....
Hungry Like The Wolf (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=969)
Anime: Lupin III (various movies)
Song: Reel Big Fish - Hungry Like The Wolf
Genre: Fun, Comedy
Creator: Lee Thompson (http://lostboy.dynodns.net/) (LostBoy)
Download: Click Here (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/download.php?v=969&d=3806&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffgc.dhs.org%2F%7Elostboy%2FLostbo y-HungryLiketheWolf-ReelBigFish-LupinIII.zip) (25mb)
Comments: This was the first video by Lee Thompson that I ever saw, and
it's still my favorite (though his Video Girl Ai AMV to ELO's 'The Fall' is
another favorite, but I still like 'Hungry' more as a whole). It's part in due
to the song selection, as I'm a huge RBF fan, and their cover of Hungry Like
The Wolf is just classic. It was also my very first introduction to Lupin III,
who if you may not know, is easily one of the most well known and popular characters
and anime and manga in Japan (actually he's 2nd only to Doraemon). This video
really does a great job of showing the fun, quirky, energetic, slapstick side
of the anime (well, that's mainly its only side, hehe). This vid was actually
a big inspiration for my 'Instead of Going Under' video, as it was what prompted
me to pick up the Castle of Cagliostro DVD in the first place. Anyways, if you
want just a fun shot of entertainment, check this one out. <br>
<br>
Appetite for Dynamite (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=9101)
Anime: Cowboy Bebop
Song: Citizen Cope - Appetite For (Lightin) Dynamite
Genre: Character Profile, Action
Creator: Willem Milo (http://www.hypeodermicstudios.com/NewWonkasVids.htm) (Wonka)
Download: DivX5 codec (http://www.hypeodermicstudios.com/HypeOdermic%20Studios%20-%20Wonka%20-%20Appetite%20for%20Dynamite.avi">Click Here</a> (54mb) (<a href="http://www.divx.com/divx/) needed)
Comments: Wonka is actually an IRL friend of mine here in Austin. Both
him and his brother Jillian (Beowulf) make AMVs, and are both QUITE talented.
This IMO is Wonka's best vid, and probably my very favorite Cowboy Bebop video.
It's a character profile of Spike and Faye that really shows off their explosive
personailities. I do think however that one of the main draws to this vid is
the song. I had never heard (or heard OF) Citizen Cope before seeing this video,
but the next day after seeing it, I bought his album. It's such a great song
(and a great album for that matter). <br>
<br>
Evangelion Opus (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=759)
Anime: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Song: Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Genre: Drama, Action, Comedy, Character Profile, Everything!
Creator: <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_myprofile.php?user_id=1767">Weng-Cheong
Fung</a> (ShonenDizzyCow)
Download: Click Here (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/download.php?v=759&d=12508&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftharkun.dyndns.org%2Fmegaella%2FS honenProductions-EvangelionOpus.mpg) (81mb)
Comments: I used to think that ErMaC's 'The End Of Me' was the cream
of the crop in Evangelion videos........ Nu uh!! And you'd also think that using
a song as overplayed and cliched and silly as Bohemian Rhapsody would really
take away from the meaning. Wrong again. If there was ever a music video that
was able to capture the entire essence of a series, it's Eva Opus. This video
has everything. Great timing, great lip-synch, FABULOUS scene selection ("Because
I'm easy come.. easy go.." HAHA!!), funny parts, dramatic parts, and just all-throughout,
POWER. It's a VERY powerful video with a great message. PLEASE check this video
out. You shall not regret it :D
Come What May (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=3673)
Game: Final Fantasy 8
Song: Moulin Rouge OST - Come What May
Genre: Drama, Romance
Creator: June (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_myprofile.php?user_id=13568)
Download: Click Here (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/download.php?v=3673&d=6008&url=ftp%3A%2F%2Fjune%3Aleechers%4066.186.212.195%2 Fffviii-cwm.mpg) (46mb) (Might be buggy link though)
Comments: As many of you know, I also have my hands in making Final Fantasy
videos (some of the very first ones in fact), and however good I may think my
videos are, this one takes the cake as my all-time favorite FF8 music video.
If any of you have seen Moulin Rouge then you know how powerful a song Come
What May is, so it could just be that the song makes the video seem all that
much better, but I don't see it that way. What we have here is awesome scene
selection that really just takes the whole story between Squall & Rinoa (which
is a story that I personally really like, aside from popular opinion) and just
wraps it up in this masterpiece of a video. If you're anything like me, this
WILL send chills down your spine.
The Truth About Totoro (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=9421)
Anime: My Neighbor Totoro
Song: Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy
Genre: Action, Comedy, Parody
Creator: Jared Silvia (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_myprofile.php?user_id=12655) (SushiBoyJared)
Download: XviD codec (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/download.php?v=9421&d=18288&url=http://www.ijouhassei.com/download.php?loc=brina&file=Sushi+Boy+Jared+-+The+Truth+About+Totoro(XviD).avi">Click Here</a> (45mb) (<a href="http://www.divx-digest.com/software/xvid.html) needed)
Comments: Three words. What, The, Hell... Hehehe this video will
make you never see Totoro the same way again :D It's SO funny :) If you're already
familiar with the song and the anime, then you can see that the 2 aren't exactly
ALIKE by any means, but Zerophite did an awesome job of shedding new light on......
the TRUTH about TOTORO..... Scary :O
I could go on for a good while, but this should be enough to get you hooked :) For the videos that don't have a download link, ask me in chat and I MIGHT be willing to send you a couple :P Though keep in mind I'm only on DSL :P</font></p>
</p>
<p><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">Part 2: Getting You Creating!</font><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">
(aka, Where Atom gives you info on how to make your own AMVs)</font> <br>
<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><br>
So! You've been watching all these AMVs and you're like "D00D! I wanna
do that!!" Well, here's the good news. It's easier than you might think.
Though it DOES require work, and a good deal of patience. However, just about
anybody with a computer and access to anime DVDs/game discs, can make their
own AMV.<br>
<br>
Video editting as a whole can be a quite fun experience, and can be rewarding
in other aspects (be it technical knowledge, an artistic outlet, and even some
awards). What's more is that there is a HUGE community of AMV creators out there
who all try to help eachother out, whether it be viewing/critiquing your work,
or answering technical questions. The majority of this community is centered
around the <strong>web site AnimeMusicVideos.org (http://www.animemusicvideos.org)</strong>
(known in the community as just 'the org' since calling it amv.org is quite
incorrect, and nobody wants to say 'AnimeMusicVideos dot org' every time they
reference the site). The org has roughly 20-30,000 members, and is one of the
Top 20 visited anime sites on the web. It started as mainly just a catalog of
AMVs available on the web, but has grown in leaps and bounds since then (I have
been a member from the beginning, so I've seen its up and down days). Apart
from cataloging over 10,000 AMvs, they also have a huge forum for people to
discuss AMVs, get technical help, or just meet fellow creators. The org also
features some serious impressive and well-written guides which I will mention
later on.<br>
<br>
There is also the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amv/?yguid=90356178"><strong>AMV
Mailing List</strong></a>, which has been around since 1998. Much longer than
the org. Though since the org's forums, the mailing list has lost alot of its
momentum, but it's still a good place for discussion and announcements and such.
<br>
<br>
Also as you'd imagine, another big part of the AMV community is <strong><a href="http://www.fansview.com">anime
conventions</a></strong> (in fact, many creators ONLY show their AMVs at cons
and anime clubs and have no online presence whatsoever). At just about every
con nowadays you are going to see an AMV event of some sort (normally a contest
or at least a showcase). The AMV contests at conventions have grown very much
in popularity over the years as the artforms popularity has increased. At some
cons, the AMV contest is the biggest event in the whole con (see: Anime Weekend
Atlanta).<br>
<br>
So now that you're familiar with what the different aspects of the community
are, we can start discussing what exactly you need in order to make an AMV.
<strong>You basically need 4 (or 5) things.</strong><br>
<br>
1. <strong>Source Footage</strong> (Reccomended - DVD or 1st Generation VHS)
(NOT Reccomended - Downloaded footage, Any type of video with subtitles ON the
video [meaning, not removable]).<br>
2. <strong>Source Audio</strong> (Reccomended - Rip directly from CD) (NOT Reccomended
- Downloaded [but just for ethical purposes. It's still useable]).<br>
3. <strong>Video Editting Program</strong> (Reccomended - Windows: Adobe Premiere;
Mac: Final Cut Pro) (NOT Reccomended - Windows: Windows Movie Maker, Ulead Movie
Studio; Mac: iMovie)<br>
4. <strong>Video Ripping/Capturing Program(s)</strong> (Will go into more detail)<br>
(If using VHS footage) 5. <strong>Video Capture Card<br>
<br>
</strong>Now, I'm not going to go into alot of detail about every step you need
to take to make an AMV. That would take quite a while because it would entail
teaching you how to use Premiere and all that fun stuff. However, here's a VERY
basic TWELVE-STEP program you would want to go through:<br>
<br>
<font size="4"><strong>WAIT!! STOP HERE!!</strong></font><br>
<strong>Before I go any further, let me explain one very vital thing. An Anime
Music Video, is a piece of art. Meaning, it's really only going to be GOOD if
it's meaningful. If it was born out of true inspiration. ANYBODY can take Generic-Rock-Song
and throw a bunch of random clips from Generic-Action-Anime-Z (hehe) on to it
and have a Generic-Action-AMV, but all it's going to be is just frames and sound
with no meaning. A truly good video is going to be one that you can already
visualize in your head before you even start your project. So I'm BEGGING you!
Please don't just go head on into an AMV project without some kind of a plan.</strong></font><font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">
Anyways. back to the VERY basic breakdown of the steps you would take:<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 1: Get an idea!</strong><br>
As I said in the above paragraph, this is where everything needs to start. If
you're watching an anime, and you see a scene and then you hear a song in your
head and they just kind of clique, thats the spark that you need. That'll get
the juices going. Or if you're listening to a song and then in your head you
see Belldandy and Keiichi hug eachother, and then the rest of the vid just kind
of flows through you, then there you go. You have your plan in place.<br>
<strong><br>
Step 2: WATCH the anime!</strong><br>
This might be a skippable step if you've been watching it, but if it's been
like over a month since you've seen it, it's a good idea to watch the series/movie
over again so it's fresh in your head. Blind editting = no good.<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 3: LISTEN to the music, ALOT!</strong><br>
Put that song in a 1 track playlist and put it on loop and listen to it over
and over until you have every single beat of the song memorized to perfection.
This will be absolutely vital when editting time comes along.<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 4: Rip/Capture your footage</strong>!<br>
Okay. Here's where I get to be technical. Actually, before we go there, I want
to point you to a seriously priceless piece of text known as <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech/">AbsoluteDestiny
& ErMaC's Guide To All-Things Audio & Video</a>. This is THE guide to
refer to when you are preparing your source footage, and for when it comes time
to do a final encode of your video. So, if anyone ever asks me a question about
video thats in the guide, I'm going to respond with READFAG! :P Or I'll just
answer you and then say "Ya know, it's also in the guide, but have a nice
day anyway :)" And don't just read the parts about DVD ripping. Read EVERYTHING.
Read up on video theory and what different kinds of video formats are and what
codecs and colorspace and telecining and compression is. Trust me this IS stuff
you will want to know. But if you'd rather just go straight into DVD ripping,
go to <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech/videogetb.html">this
page</a>. And if ya STILL don't get it, I guess just talk to me. Maybe someday
I'll write a newbie guide to DVD ripping for AMVs.<br>
<strong>NOTE! I know that alot of you are still going to end up using downloaded
footage, and I can't stop you from doing that, but at the very least, don't
use DivX files in Premiere. It WILL make it choke. You need to either convert
it to another AVI format (Huffyuv or MPEG-4 or some other MJPEG codec) or to
MPEG before you bring it into Premiere. That's just a handy bit of advice for
those that don't want your videos to look nice :)<br>
<br>
Step 5: Edit your video!</strong><br>
Well, here's where I'm not gonna be much help. It's going to be up to you to
teach yourself how to use Premiere (or whatever editing program you decide to
use). The help files that come with Premiere ARE useful. One thing I'll say
is, stay away from A/B editting. It can be useful if you're not doing a large
number of cuts, but these are music videos. Alot of quick transitions. A/B just
doesn't cut it. (You'll learn what A/B editting in Premiere is once you get
into it).<br>
<strong>NOTE! If this is the part where you're not able to go on and it's because
you lack any editting software, look into getting a cheap copy of Adobe Premiere
somehow (if a college student, you might be able to get a new copy for around
$150, which compared to the normal retail price of around $600, thats quite
good). However, most of you are not about to blow that much on a startup hobby
like this. SO, if this is the case, you CAN "acquire" copies of Premiere
online for free.. Now I'm not going to explain how to do this because, despite
how you may feel about software piracy, it IS illegal, so I'm not about to use
this site to condone it. But if you know somebody that is into that kind of
stuff, they should be able to get you a copy of it without any problems. Just
don't tell em I sent you :P</strong><br>
<br>
<strong>Step 6: Show it your friends!</strong> (haha ya like how they're all
excalamations?)<br>
This step is actually often overlooked, and is vital. Alot of people are so
in a rush to get something online that they just bang it on and show it to the
world... Nu-uh.. Show your first draft (Yes. That was your first draft. Did
you think you were done or something?) to other people (especially me. I'd love
to help you out by critiquing). And LISTEN to their advice if they think something
looks odd or if something might look better. Though in the end keep in mind
that you're making this video for yourself and not for others. So take advice
but without ruining the artistic intent (meaning, if you're doing an Evangelion
video to a dramatic song, and your friend Big Joe thinks there should be more
kick ass fight scenes, don't listen to him).<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 7: Edit you video, AGAIN!</strong><br>
Open up that Premiere Project (which you SAVED! and saved OFTEN!) and change
things around after getting opinions from people. You're going to need to repeat
steps 6 & 7 a few times before you get it just right.<br>
<strong><br>
Step 8: Make a Final Encode!</strong><br>
This is step is also going to draw from <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech/videogetb.html">AD
& E's Guide</a> (under the "Exporting Your AMV Ready For Compression"
section). And so I will not touch on it much, other than to say, don't be scared
to make it a large file. Alot of people think they're video needs to be less
than 10mb! GAH!! GROSS!! NO video (unless it's like around 30 seconds) is going
to look good at a file size under 10mb. Your first concern needs to be the quality
and playability of your video (by playability, I mean, you don't want to make
it SO high-quality that it's going to chug while playing on slower computers.
Some AMV creators don't get this >_<). And I reccomend going with MPEG-1
for your distribution video (you CAN go with DivX or XviD depending on what
kind of results you get and are happy with, but keep in mind that MPEG-1 is
going to almost always work on most computers and playback quite nice. So granted,
you might be able to squeeze more quality into a smaller file with DivX/XviD,
but what kind of sacrifices are you willing to make?).<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 9: Get it online!</strong><br>
This step is semi-optional, though almost all AMV creators nowadays end up putting
their AMVs online for people to download them. Though if you just want to make
this video for yourself, for friends, or for your anime club (if this is the
case, then you'll want to transfer to video, which I will touch on in a little
bit), then you're basically done. But if you're looking to get this baby hosted,
you have a few options. <br>
1. Pay for hosting - Unless you're already doing this for other things, this
PROBABLY won't be a feasible option, but in terms of reliability and control,
this will be your best option.<br>
2. Get a friend to host it - Know anybody that does hosting? See if they'd be
willing to put it online for you.<br>
3. Run your own server from your comp - If on a high speed connection (cable/DSL
is OKAY though you'll only to handle a few downloaders at a time. If on a college
broadband connection, then you're better equipped), you could set up an FTP
server and host it like that. No I'm not going to show you how to set up an
FTP server.<br>
4. The Golden Donut! - This option will be available come this summer, when
the org unveils their new service, The Golden Donut. It's basically going to
be a huge massive HIGH speed AMV host. Now I don't remember if it's going to
be free for everyone to host, but I think if you make at least a small donation
you'll be able to host for free. This will most likely be your best bet.<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 10: Transfer to VHS</strong>!<br>
This step is<strong> VERY optional</strong>, and would only really be used if
you want to submit to a con (next step), play at your friend's house, or at
an anime club, or whatever. But to go about doing this, you're going to need
a video card that's capable of outputting to your television (S-Video Out).
Then it's just a matter of using your TV for your computer monitor, going into
Premiere, opening your video (the actual finished product. Not the project file.
<strong>NOTE! If you have a higher quality version then your final encode, USE
THAT ONE! As your final encode is probably far from flawless</strong>), then
choosing Export Clip > Print to Video. Then you can choose to have a block
of black video play beforehand to give you time to hit record on the VCR. Go
for about 10-15 seconds. Then yeah, just let it play, hit record, and hope that
your computer doesn't choke on it while playing (turn off ALL other applications
and get offline if you can).<br>
</font><font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><br>
<strong>Step 11: Submit to a convention!</strong><br>
This step is also semi-optional, but if you're the competitive type, or if you
just want to show your video to a bunch of people on a huge screen at a con,
then here's how you'd go about it. On the org they have a <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/help/calendar/">Contests
page</a> that is a calendar of all the upcoming AMV contests (including online
contests, but I find those to be rather cheesey. Stick to convention contests).
On each convention's page, there will be instructions on how and where to submit
your tape. Some conventions allow submissions on CD-R. If you have a lossless
version of your video available that can fit on a CD-R after converted to a
high-quality/high-res MPEG-2 or whatever specs they give, do it like that, as
it'll be much nicer than the VHS version. Alot of cons have it so you don't
need to be present in order to enter the contest, though you might need whats
called a Proxy, or a person that will be at the contest and can vouch for you.
If any of you submit to a con and win anything, let me know :)<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 12: Relax!</strong><br>
Whew! Way to go :) You've just completed an AMV project! You rock! Feel good?
Feel tired? Well you're not supposed to do 30 hours of editting STRAIGHT!! Geees!
:P When I say relax, I mean it. Because remember, this is just a hobby. Don't
take yourself too seriously, or I promise you're going to get hurt. Not everybody
is going to like your videos. It's just a fact of life. But if you look at this
as nothing more than something that you do for fun, and it doesn't matter what
other people think, then awesome :) You're set to have a good time in the world
of AMVs!<br>
Well, that just about wraps it up for <strong>Atom's Anime Music Video Guide</strong>!
I hope you found it to be informative and useful, and most of all, I hope that
I get to hear from a bunch of you on how your project is going! Feel free to
drop me a line or talk to me in chat and ask me questions or get advice on whatever.
I've been in the AMV scene for over 2 years, and I still don't know everything,
so it's ok if there are things you don't understand right away. Just have patience,
have discipline, but most of all, have fun :) This is Atom, signing out.</font></p>
</body>
<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">So as it seems, alot of people at FFS have no idea what AMVs (Anime Music Videos) are. So I thought I'd start up a lil thread to share and discuss them.
Basically, an AMV is a fan-made music video, using clips from anime (and sometimes games, like Final Fantasy), and putting them to music (not necesarilly their own music. Just any song that they think goes with that anime). AMVs started out as strictly an exclusive hobby done by serious otaku back in the early 80's/90's to show at anime clubs/anime conventions. Back then people normally just used 2 VCRs to edit together videos. Nowadays its all done on PCs (though there are still some who like the 2 VCR method). AMVs range from low-quality, pretty lame, non-motivated videos (the majority of AMVs using DragonBall Z are like this) to very high-quality, large scale, monuments of artistic achievement that play to huge convention audiences, and even sometimes on TV.
So, interested in checking some out? Well, I shall reccomend some to you:</font>
<font size="3" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">Part 1: Getting You Hooked!</font><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"> (aka, Where Atom gives you AMVs to download and watch)</font>
<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">
<font size="3">Required Viewing</font> (these are the cream of the crop. The one's that EVERY AMV enthusiast knows and loves. In no particular order)
Odorikuruu (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=912)
Anime: Various
Song: Elissa - Mamboleo
Genre: Fun, Dance
Creator: aokakesu (http://aokakesudigital.go.dyndns.org/)<br>
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for 'Odorikuruu'
Comments: Wow... Sorry, just had to get that out there. Anyways. Wow. This video = FUN! Released in 2001, Odorikuruu absolutely BLEW UP immediately and began winning awards all over the anime convention circuit, and taking home the Viewers Choice Awards on AnimeMusicVideos.org (and in terms of numbers of votes, probably the biggest AMV contest to date) for Best Anime Introduction, Best Effects, Best Fun Video, and Best Video of 2001, not to mention awards at Anime Weekend Atlanta (the biggest anime con for AMVs) & Anime Expo (the biggest anime con in North America). But enough with all that. This video just GETS IT. It takes an extremely catchy happy song and gives it the perfect anime visuals (using 34 different animes) to make the ultimate dance music video. The effects he uses are subtle yet effective (ha! get it? effective effects?.. heh...). There's really not much more that I can say about this video other than it's sure to put a smile on your face :) And if it doesn't then gees dude lighten up! :P<br>
<br>
<font size="3"><strong>NOTE: HERE'S WHERE THE GUIDE GETS FORMATTED ALL WEIRD. I REALIZE THIS AND IM SORRY BUT I WROTE THIS IN HTML TO USE ON MY SITE, AND SINCE VBULLETIN LIKES TO FORMAT IT ALL FUNNY, ITS GONNA LOOK LIKE THIS UNLESS I GO THROUGH AND RE-DO A BUNCH OF STUFF WHICH I DONT FEEL LIKE DOING. SO, LIVE WITH IT :P IF THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE, GO HERE (http://www.planetbrad.com/amvguide.htm) TO READ IT ALL NICE AND NEAT. :P</strong></font>
<a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=8259">Shameless
Rock Video</a>
Anime: FLCL (aka Frui Kuri, aka Fooly Cooly)
Song: Deep Purple - Speed King
Genre: Fun, Action
Creator: Ian Roberts (http://www.absolutedestiny.org/) (AbsoluteDestiny)
Download: Geh.. Not available on web or KaZaa : \ But if you can find
it, GET IT.
Comments: This IMO will win the VCA for Best Video of 2002. At least
thats what I plan on voting for. 2002 had alot of great vids, but this one just
takes the cake. In fact, I don't think I'd be too off base to say that <strong>it's
my curent all-time favorite AMV</strong>. Bleah. No more soapbox'ing Atom. The
song is an early 70's rock song by Deep Purple (Jimi Hendrix), and this video
does a fantastic job of encompassing that "feel". The effects that
he uses, while sometimes flamboyant are never un-necesarry, taking into account
the song selection and just the overall trippy-ness of FLCL. All in all, watching
this AMV is one of the best ways you could ever spend 5 minutes of your life.
Nuff said.
<a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=1838">Memories
Dance</a>
Anime: Various Miyazaki Films
Song: Loreena McKennit - Mummer's Dance
Genre: Drama, Director Profile
Creator: Vlad G Pohnert (http://www.celestravideo.com/Celestial-Realm.html)
Download: Click Here (ftp://amv.celestravideo.com/amv/Vlad_Pohnert-Memories_Dance.mpg) (66mb)
Comments: If you've ever watched ANY Miyazaki movie (for the un-informed,
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the all time greatest anime film directors. His movies
include Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor
Totoro, Kiki's Delivary Service, and most recently, Spirited Away), you know
how powerful and emotional these movies are, and just how beautiful everything
is. And not just from an art standpoint, but also the characters and storyline.
That said, this AMV is easily the best display of all the different aspects
of Miyazaki's work that you'll find anywhere. Though some come close (like Kusoyaro's
video 'Self-Titled' to Abbey Road by The Beatles), Memories Dance reigns supreme
as the king of Miyazaki Tribute AMVs. Though that may an over-simplification.
Regardless of your feelings for Miyazaki, you should certainly check out this
video.
<a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=423"><br>
Tainted Donuts</a>
Anime: Trigun & Cowboy Bebop
Song: Shakkazombie - Siroi Yami No Naka
Genre: Fun, Comedy
Creator: Weibelius (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_myprofile.php?user_id=21)
(Eric Kobet)
Download: Click Here (http://www.animeconnection.net/download10.html) (79mb)
Comments: When Eric Kobet made this video, I don't know if he knew how
much impact this video would have on the AMV community, and also how people
make AMVs. He took the concept of taking two seperate animes and basically combining
them into one. Here's the story. Cowboy Bebop is about a group of bounty hunters.
Trigun is about a much-wanted gunman named Vash. So in Tainted Donuts, the crew
of the Bebop is trying to capture Vash and collect on the bounty (a hefty $$60,000,000,000
bounty at that!). The editting in this video is downright awesome. Since then,
some more 'Tainted Donut-esque' AMVs have come about, ranging from more action-comedy
(Dragon Bebop Z, mixing Bebop and Dragonball Z), to drama-romance (Transcending
Love, made by Vlad Pohnert as mentioned above. He took 3 seperate shows: City
Hunter, Cowboy Bebop, and Macross Plus, and combined them in a way to make a
3-way love triangle between a character from each show. VERY well done). However
nothing has yet to top the original. So be prepared for much entertainment as
Spike and Jet race to find that mysterious red-coated man named Vash (who has
a serious weakness for doughnuts, btw).
Right Now Someone Is Reading This Title (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=3684)
Anime: Various Anime
Song: Van Halen - Right Now
Genre: Comedy, Parody
Creator: Doki Doki Productions (http://www.doki.ca/) (Tim Park)
Download: Download link is broken. Search on Kazaa for 'anime right now'
Comments: One of the more popular forms of AMVs have been parodies. They
range from parodying existing movie trailers (like Brad DeMoss' classic Star
Wars Episode 1 Trailer parody using Evangelion) to commercials (like Anime Mascots
Day Off, to the 'Wassup!' commercial made by Doki Doki Productions [ironically
enough]). But none of them top 'Right Now'. It could be said that this video
is the ultimate inside joke, as only anime otaku will get any of it :) Tim Park
is an absolute genius when it comes to comedy AMVs. This is his opus. Basically,
it takes the original Van Halen - Right Now music video (which consisted of
many different little scenes, with clever little "Right now"
comments with an associate video clip. Due to its originality and the popularity
of the song it became a very well-known music video in its time), and he re-did
every scene using anime clips and anime/otaku "Right Now" comments. Example:
"<a href="
">Right now Tokyo Tower is having another bad day</a>" showing a clip of Tokyo Tower being destroyed (I believe
he uses a clip from X/1999). The joke is, Tokyo Tower gets demolished in many
different anime. Anyways, even if you're just a casual anime fan, there's still
alot to be admired in this video. Though if you're only a hardcore DBZ fan,
you might be offended by one or 2 of the jokes ;P
Believe
( I'm not providing links for the Kevin Caldwell videos since there's really not much info for them online)
Anime: Battle Athletes Victory
Song: Run Lola Run OST - Believe
Genre: Action, Drama
Creator: Kevin Caldwell
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for 'Kevin Caldwell'
Comments: Hailed by very many as the best AMV of all-time (actually,
in terms of my favorites, this is 2nd only to Shameless Rock). Kevin Caldwell
is often referred to as the "God of AMVs". Now, I certainly wouldn't
go as far as to say that, but the fact remains that ALOT of the current big
AMV creators out there got into AMVs in the first place as a result of seeing
Kevin Caldwell's work. While his work is nothing stellar by today's standards
(in terms of effects anyway), he still manages to always capture the total feel
of an anime and the song as well. In the case of 'Believe', he was able to transfer
the feelings conveyed in the lyrics to the main character of the show, Akari,
so well, that you truly believe that she is singing each lyric (and it helps
that he also very much pioneered the use of lip-synch in AMVs). He really draws
you in and makes you care about who you're looking at. Even if you've never
seen the show (though after seeing the AMV, I IMMEDIATELY began renting this
series. It's VERY good). So folks, do what you can to check out this music video.
It just might change you.
Caffiene Encopium
Anime: Kodoma no Omocha
Song: William Tell Overture
Genre: Action, Comedy, Fun
Creator: Kevin Caldwell
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for 'Kevin Caldwell'
Comments: Timing..... Timing, timing, timing.. Kevin Caldwell has got
it. And nothing shows it more than this absolutely upbeat, hyper, energetic
AMV known as Caffiene Encopium. The anime Komodo no Omoca (or just Kodocha,
or 'Child's Toy' in English) is about a very energetic young girl named Sana.
And after seeing this video, you will know what I mean by energetic. This video
has such a fantastic pace. It starts off nice and calm and serene, just like
the song. Then.... trumpets! She's awake!! Run run run run eat eat run jump
spin run ayeayeayeaye! SO much stuff is going on in this video that it's hard
to imagine just how much time was spent in putting this piece together. So if
you like really really fun to watch videos, definitely check out Caffiene Encopium
:D (and you'll probably be itching to see some Kodocha too. Hehee)
<font size="3">More of Atom's Favorites</font> (while all the above videos are in my favorites list, the one's below don't necesarilly qualify as being videos that every AMV enthusiast knows and loves).
With Every Light (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=11203)
Anime: Various Anime
Song: Smashing Pumpkins - With Every Light
Genre: Drama, Feel-Good
Creator: Hsien Lee (http://www.kusoyaro.com) (Kusoyaro Productions)
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for Kusoyaro
Comments: When writing out the genre part of this entry, I really couldn't
think of any other words (apart from the obvious Drama) to describe it other
than Feel-Good. Because thats exactly what this video makes you feel. Good.
:) It's got this great message of hope to it that just makes you want to give
yourself a big hug. It's just got such a huge amount of beauty. Hsien Lee is
easily one of my very favorite AMV creators (if not my #1). I kind of see him
as the Stephen Spielberg of AMVs, in the context that he is able to make great
action AMVs (like Spielberg = Minority Report, Indiana Jones, etc.; Hsien =
Transformation, Goin' Postal, etc.) and yet can turn around and make a fantastic
drama AMV (Spielberg = Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, etc.; Hsien Lee
= With Every Light, Self-Titled, etc.) He has just an awesome range. And personally
I see this as his best work.<br>
</font><font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><br>
Sappy Self-Indulgence (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=11203)
Anime: Various Anime
Song: Moulin Rouge OST - Elephant Love Medley
Genre: Fun, Romance
Creator: Hsien Lee (http://www.kusoyaro.com) (Kusoyaro Productions)
Download: Not available on web. Search Kazaa for Kusoyaro
Comments: Guys, if you ever want to make your girlfriend melt, show her
this video (trust me I've done it :P). While it's got alot of funny parts, in
the end it's just really heart-warming and happy. It takes around 7 different
animes and sort of does a profile of the relationships in each. Alot of fantastic
editting is displayed here, especially in terms of lip-synch. The end montage
scene sends shivers up my spine with each viewing, and each time I watch it
I discover something new. Again, alot of stuff going on in this video. *sigh*...
Aye.... amor....
Hungry Like The Wolf (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=969)
Anime: Lupin III (various movies)
Song: Reel Big Fish - Hungry Like The Wolf
Genre: Fun, Comedy
Creator: Lee Thompson (http://lostboy.dynodns.net/) (LostBoy)
Download: Click Here (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/download.php?v=969&d=3806&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffgc.dhs.org%2F%7Elostboy%2FLostbo y-HungryLiketheWolf-ReelBigFish-LupinIII.zip) (25mb)
Comments: This was the first video by Lee Thompson that I ever saw, and
it's still my favorite (though his Video Girl Ai AMV to ELO's 'The Fall' is
another favorite, but I still like 'Hungry' more as a whole). It's part in due
to the song selection, as I'm a huge RBF fan, and their cover of Hungry Like
The Wolf is just classic. It was also my very first introduction to Lupin III,
who if you may not know, is easily one of the most well known and popular characters
and anime and manga in Japan (actually he's 2nd only to Doraemon). This video
really does a great job of showing the fun, quirky, energetic, slapstick side
of the anime (well, that's mainly its only side, hehe). This vid was actually
a big inspiration for my 'Instead of Going Under' video, as it was what prompted
me to pick up the Castle of Cagliostro DVD in the first place. Anyways, if you
want just a fun shot of entertainment, check this one out. <br>
<br>
Appetite for Dynamite (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=9101)
Anime: Cowboy Bebop
Song: Citizen Cope - Appetite For (Lightin) Dynamite
Genre: Character Profile, Action
Creator: Willem Milo (http://www.hypeodermicstudios.com/NewWonkasVids.htm) (Wonka)
Download: DivX5 codec (http://www.hypeodermicstudios.com/HypeOdermic%20Studios%20-%20Wonka%20-%20Appetite%20for%20Dynamite.avi">Click Here</a> (54mb) (<a href="http://www.divx.com/divx/) needed)
Comments: Wonka is actually an IRL friend of mine here in Austin. Both
him and his brother Jillian (Beowulf) make AMVs, and are both QUITE talented.
This IMO is Wonka's best vid, and probably my very favorite Cowboy Bebop video.
It's a character profile of Spike and Faye that really shows off their explosive
personailities. I do think however that one of the main draws to this vid is
the song. I had never heard (or heard OF) Citizen Cope before seeing this video,
but the next day after seeing it, I bought his album. It's such a great song
(and a great album for that matter). <br>
<br>
Evangelion Opus (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=759)
Anime: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Song: Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Genre: Drama, Action, Comedy, Character Profile, Everything!
Creator: <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_myprofile.php?user_id=1767">Weng-Cheong
Fung</a> (ShonenDizzyCow)
Download: Click Here (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/download.php?v=759&d=12508&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftharkun.dyndns.org%2Fmegaella%2FS honenProductions-EvangelionOpus.mpg) (81mb)
Comments: I used to think that ErMaC's 'The End Of Me' was the cream
of the crop in Evangelion videos........ Nu uh!! And you'd also think that using
a song as overplayed and cliched and silly as Bohemian Rhapsody would really
take away from the meaning. Wrong again. If there was ever a music video that
was able to capture the entire essence of a series, it's Eva Opus. This video
has everything. Great timing, great lip-synch, FABULOUS scene selection ("Because
I'm easy come.. easy go.." HAHA!!), funny parts, dramatic parts, and just all-throughout,
POWER. It's a VERY powerful video with a great message. PLEASE check this video
out. You shall not regret it :D
Come What May (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=3673)
Game: Final Fantasy 8
Song: Moulin Rouge OST - Come What May
Genre: Drama, Romance
Creator: June (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_myprofile.php?user_id=13568)
Download: Click Here (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/download.php?v=3673&d=6008&url=ftp%3A%2F%2Fjune%3Aleechers%4066.186.212.195%2 Fffviii-cwm.mpg) (46mb) (Might be buggy link though)
Comments: As many of you know, I also have my hands in making Final Fantasy
videos (some of the very first ones in fact), and however good I may think my
videos are, this one takes the cake as my all-time favorite FF8 music video.
If any of you have seen Moulin Rouge then you know how powerful a song Come
What May is, so it could just be that the song makes the video seem all that
much better, but I don't see it that way. What we have here is awesome scene
selection that really just takes the whole story between Squall & Rinoa (which
is a story that I personally really like, aside from popular opinion) and just
wraps it up in this masterpiece of a video. If you're anything like me, this
WILL send chills down your spine.
The Truth About Totoro (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=9421)
Anime: My Neighbor Totoro
Song: Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy
Genre: Action, Comedy, Parody
Creator: Jared Silvia (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_myprofile.php?user_id=12655) (SushiBoyJared)
Download: XviD codec (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/download.php?v=9421&d=18288&url=http://www.ijouhassei.com/download.php?loc=brina&file=Sushi+Boy+Jared+-+The+Truth+About+Totoro(XviD).avi">Click Here</a> (45mb) (<a href="http://www.divx-digest.com/software/xvid.html) needed)
Comments: Three words. What, The, Hell... Hehehe this video will
make you never see Totoro the same way again :D It's SO funny :) If you're already
familiar with the song and the anime, then you can see that the 2 aren't exactly
ALIKE by any means, but Zerophite did an awesome job of shedding new light on......
the TRUTH about TOTORO..... Scary :O
I could go on for a good while, but this should be enough to get you hooked :) For the videos that don't have a download link, ask me in chat and I MIGHT be willing to send you a couple :P Though keep in mind I'm only on DSL :P</font></p>
</p>
<p><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">Part 2: Getting You Creating!</font><font size="3" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">
(aka, Where Atom gives you info on how to make your own AMVs)</font> <br>
<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><br>
So! You've been watching all these AMVs and you're like "D00D! I wanna
do that!!" Well, here's the good news. It's easier than you might think.
Though it DOES require work, and a good deal of patience. However, just about
anybody with a computer and access to anime DVDs/game discs, can make their
own AMV.<br>
<br>
Video editting as a whole can be a quite fun experience, and can be rewarding
in other aspects (be it technical knowledge, an artistic outlet, and even some
awards). What's more is that there is a HUGE community of AMV creators out there
who all try to help eachother out, whether it be viewing/critiquing your work,
or answering technical questions. The majority of this community is centered
around the <strong>web site AnimeMusicVideos.org (http://www.animemusicvideos.org)</strong>
(known in the community as just 'the org' since calling it amv.org is quite
incorrect, and nobody wants to say 'AnimeMusicVideos dot org' every time they
reference the site). The org has roughly 20-30,000 members, and is one of the
Top 20 visited anime sites on the web. It started as mainly just a catalog of
AMVs available on the web, but has grown in leaps and bounds since then (I have
been a member from the beginning, so I've seen its up and down days). Apart
from cataloging over 10,000 AMvs, they also have a huge forum for people to
discuss AMVs, get technical help, or just meet fellow creators. The org also
features some serious impressive and well-written guides which I will mention
later on.<br>
<br>
There is also the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amv/?yguid=90356178"><strong>AMV
Mailing List</strong></a>, which has been around since 1998. Much longer than
the org. Though since the org's forums, the mailing list has lost alot of its
momentum, but it's still a good place for discussion and announcements and such.
<br>
<br>
Also as you'd imagine, another big part of the AMV community is <strong><a href="http://www.fansview.com">anime
conventions</a></strong> (in fact, many creators ONLY show their AMVs at cons
and anime clubs and have no online presence whatsoever). At just about every
con nowadays you are going to see an AMV event of some sort (normally a contest
or at least a showcase). The AMV contests at conventions have grown very much
in popularity over the years as the artforms popularity has increased. At some
cons, the AMV contest is the biggest event in the whole con (see: Anime Weekend
Atlanta).<br>
<br>
So now that you're familiar with what the different aspects of the community
are, we can start discussing what exactly you need in order to make an AMV.
<strong>You basically need 4 (or 5) things.</strong><br>
<br>
1. <strong>Source Footage</strong> (Reccomended - DVD or 1st Generation VHS)
(NOT Reccomended - Downloaded footage, Any type of video with subtitles ON the
video [meaning, not removable]).<br>
2. <strong>Source Audio</strong> (Reccomended - Rip directly from CD) (NOT Reccomended
- Downloaded [but just for ethical purposes. It's still useable]).<br>
3. <strong>Video Editting Program</strong> (Reccomended - Windows: Adobe Premiere;
Mac: Final Cut Pro) (NOT Reccomended - Windows: Windows Movie Maker, Ulead Movie
Studio; Mac: iMovie)<br>
4. <strong>Video Ripping/Capturing Program(s)</strong> (Will go into more detail)<br>
(If using VHS footage) 5. <strong>Video Capture Card<br>
<br>
</strong>Now, I'm not going to go into alot of detail about every step you need
to take to make an AMV. That would take quite a while because it would entail
teaching you how to use Premiere and all that fun stuff. However, here's a VERY
basic TWELVE-STEP program you would want to go through:<br>
<br>
<font size="4"><strong>WAIT!! STOP HERE!!</strong></font><br>
<strong>Before I go any further, let me explain one very vital thing. An Anime
Music Video, is a piece of art. Meaning, it's really only going to be GOOD if
it's meaningful. If it was born out of true inspiration. ANYBODY can take Generic-Rock-Song
and throw a bunch of random clips from Generic-Action-Anime-Z (hehe) on to it
and have a Generic-Action-AMV, but all it's going to be is just frames and sound
with no meaning. A truly good video is going to be one that you can already
visualize in your head before you even start your project. So I'm BEGGING you!
Please don't just go head on into an AMV project without some kind of a plan.</strong></font><font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif">
Anyways. back to the VERY basic breakdown of the steps you would take:<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 1: Get an idea!</strong><br>
As I said in the above paragraph, this is where everything needs to start. If
you're watching an anime, and you see a scene and then you hear a song in your
head and they just kind of clique, thats the spark that you need. That'll get
the juices going. Or if you're listening to a song and then in your head you
see Belldandy and Keiichi hug eachother, and then the rest of the vid just kind
of flows through you, then there you go. You have your plan in place.<br>
<strong><br>
Step 2: WATCH the anime!</strong><br>
This might be a skippable step if you've been watching it, but if it's been
like over a month since you've seen it, it's a good idea to watch the series/movie
over again so it's fresh in your head. Blind editting = no good.<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 3: LISTEN to the music, ALOT!</strong><br>
Put that song in a 1 track playlist and put it on loop and listen to it over
and over until you have every single beat of the song memorized to perfection.
This will be absolutely vital when editting time comes along.<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 4: Rip/Capture your footage</strong>!<br>
Okay. Here's where I get to be technical. Actually, before we go there, I want
to point you to a seriously priceless piece of text known as <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech/">AbsoluteDestiny
& ErMaC's Guide To All-Things Audio & Video</a>. This is THE guide to
refer to when you are preparing your source footage, and for when it comes time
to do a final encode of your video. So, if anyone ever asks me a question about
video thats in the guide, I'm going to respond with READFAG! :P Or I'll just
answer you and then say "Ya know, it's also in the guide, but have a nice
day anyway :)" And don't just read the parts about DVD ripping. Read EVERYTHING.
Read up on video theory and what different kinds of video formats are and what
codecs and colorspace and telecining and compression is. Trust me this IS stuff
you will want to know. But if you'd rather just go straight into DVD ripping,
go to <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech/videogetb.html">this
page</a>. And if ya STILL don't get it, I guess just talk to me. Maybe someday
I'll write a newbie guide to DVD ripping for AMVs.<br>
<strong>NOTE! I know that alot of you are still going to end up using downloaded
footage, and I can't stop you from doing that, but at the very least, don't
use DivX files in Premiere. It WILL make it choke. You need to either convert
it to another AVI format (Huffyuv or MPEG-4 or some other MJPEG codec) or to
MPEG before you bring it into Premiere. That's just a handy bit of advice for
those that don't want your videos to look nice :)<br>
<br>
Step 5: Edit your video!</strong><br>
Well, here's where I'm not gonna be much help. It's going to be up to you to
teach yourself how to use Premiere (or whatever editing program you decide to
use). The help files that come with Premiere ARE useful. One thing I'll say
is, stay away from A/B editting. It can be useful if you're not doing a large
number of cuts, but these are music videos. Alot of quick transitions. A/B just
doesn't cut it. (You'll learn what A/B editting in Premiere is once you get
into it).<br>
<strong>NOTE! If this is the part where you're not able to go on and it's because
you lack any editting software, look into getting a cheap copy of Adobe Premiere
somehow (if a college student, you might be able to get a new copy for around
$150, which compared to the normal retail price of around $600, thats quite
good). However, most of you are not about to blow that much on a startup hobby
like this. SO, if this is the case, you CAN "acquire" copies of Premiere
online for free.. Now I'm not going to explain how to do this because, despite
how you may feel about software piracy, it IS illegal, so I'm not about to use
this site to condone it. But if you know somebody that is into that kind of
stuff, they should be able to get you a copy of it without any problems. Just
don't tell em I sent you :P</strong><br>
<br>
<strong>Step 6: Show it your friends!</strong> (haha ya like how they're all
excalamations?)<br>
This step is actually often overlooked, and is vital. Alot of people are so
in a rush to get something online that they just bang it on and show it to the
world... Nu-uh.. Show your first draft (Yes. That was your first draft. Did
you think you were done or something?) to other people (especially me. I'd love
to help you out by critiquing). And LISTEN to their advice if they think something
looks odd or if something might look better. Though in the end keep in mind
that you're making this video for yourself and not for others. So take advice
but without ruining the artistic intent (meaning, if you're doing an Evangelion
video to a dramatic song, and your friend Big Joe thinks there should be more
kick ass fight scenes, don't listen to him).<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 7: Edit you video, AGAIN!</strong><br>
Open up that Premiere Project (which you SAVED! and saved OFTEN!) and change
things around after getting opinions from people. You're going to need to repeat
steps 6 & 7 a few times before you get it just right.<br>
<strong><br>
Step 8: Make a Final Encode!</strong><br>
This is step is also going to draw from <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech/videogetb.html">AD
& E's Guide</a> (under the "Exporting Your AMV Ready For Compression"
section). And so I will not touch on it much, other than to say, don't be scared
to make it a large file. Alot of people think they're video needs to be less
than 10mb! GAH!! GROSS!! NO video (unless it's like around 30 seconds) is going
to look good at a file size under 10mb. Your first concern needs to be the quality
and playability of your video (by playability, I mean, you don't want to make
it SO high-quality that it's going to chug while playing on slower computers.
Some AMV creators don't get this >_<). And I reccomend going with MPEG-1
for your distribution video (you CAN go with DivX or XviD depending on what
kind of results you get and are happy with, but keep in mind that MPEG-1 is
going to almost always work on most computers and playback quite nice. So granted,
you might be able to squeeze more quality into a smaller file with DivX/XviD,
but what kind of sacrifices are you willing to make?).<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 9: Get it online!</strong><br>
This step is semi-optional, though almost all AMV creators nowadays end up putting
their AMVs online for people to download them. Though if you just want to make
this video for yourself, for friends, or for your anime club (if this is the
case, then you'll want to transfer to video, which I will touch on in a little
bit), then you're basically done. But if you're looking to get this baby hosted,
you have a few options. <br>
1. Pay for hosting - Unless you're already doing this for other things, this
PROBABLY won't be a feasible option, but in terms of reliability and control,
this will be your best option.<br>
2. Get a friend to host it - Know anybody that does hosting? See if they'd be
willing to put it online for you.<br>
3. Run your own server from your comp - If on a high speed connection (cable/DSL
is OKAY though you'll only to handle a few downloaders at a time. If on a college
broadband connection, then you're better equipped), you could set up an FTP
server and host it like that. No I'm not going to show you how to set up an
FTP server.<br>
4. The Golden Donut! - This option will be available come this summer, when
the org unveils their new service, The Golden Donut. It's basically going to
be a huge massive HIGH speed AMV host. Now I don't remember if it's going to
be free for everyone to host, but I think if you make at least a small donation
you'll be able to host for free. This will most likely be your best bet.<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 10: Transfer to VHS</strong>!<br>
This step is<strong> VERY optional</strong>, and would only really be used if
you want to submit to a con (next step), play at your friend's house, or at
an anime club, or whatever. But to go about doing this, you're going to need
a video card that's capable of outputting to your television (S-Video Out).
Then it's just a matter of using your TV for your computer monitor, going into
Premiere, opening your video (the actual finished product. Not the project file.
<strong>NOTE! If you have a higher quality version then your final encode, USE
THAT ONE! As your final encode is probably far from flawless</strong>), then
choosing Export Clip > Print to Video. Then you can choose to have a block
of black video play beforehand to give you time to hit record on the VCR. Go
for about 10-15 seconds. Then yeah, just let it play, hit record, and hope that
your computer doesn't choke on it while playing (turn off ALL other applications
and get offline if you can).<br>
</font><font size="2" face="Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif"><br>
<strong>Step 11: Submit to a convention!</strong><br>
This step is also semi-optional, but if you're the competitive type, or if you
just want to show your video to a bunch of people on a huge screen at a con,
then here's how you'd go about it. On the org they have a <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/help/calendar/">Contests
page</a> that is a calendar of all the upcoming AMV contests (including online
contests, but I find those to be rather cheesey. Stick to convention contests).
On each convention's page, there will be instructions on how and where to submit
your tape. Some conventions allow submissions on CD-R. If you have a lossless
version of your video available that can fit on a CD-R after converted to a
high-quality/high-res MPEG-2 or whatever specs they give, do it like that, as
it'll be much nicer than the VHS version. Alot of cons have it so you don't
need to be present in order to enter the contest, though you might need whats
called a Proxy, or a person that will be at the contest and can vouch for you.
If any of you submit to a con and win anything, let me know :)<br>
<br>
<strong>Step 12: Relax!</strong><br>
Whew! Way to go :) You've just completed an AMV project! You rock! Feel good?
Feel tired? Well you're not supposed to do 30 hours of editting STRAIGHT!! Geees!
:P When I say relax, I mean it. Because remember, this is just a hobby. Don't
take yourself too seriously, or I promise you're going to get hurt. Not everybody
is going to like your videos. It's just a fact of life. But if you look at this
as nothing more than something that you do for fun, and it doesn't matter what
other people think, then awesome :) You're set to have a good time in the world
of AMVs!<br>
Well, that just about wraps it up for <strong>Atom's Anime Music Video Guide</strong>!
I hope you found it to be informative and useful, and most of all, I hope that
I get to hear from a bunch of you on how your project is going! Feel free to
drop me a line or talk to me in chat and ask me questions or get advice on whatever.
I've been in the AMV scene for over 2 years, and I still don't know everything,
so it's ok if there are things you don't understand right away. Just have patience,
have discipline, but most of all, have fun :) This is Atom, signing out.</font></p>
</body>