Pick an anime, or any general cartoon with a plot, and in fact most films that tend to attract the type of audience that tend to use the word “squee” in all seriousness. Enter it into youtube, or popular video website of your choice. At least two thirds of the first page results you get will be AMVs. Hooray to you, AMV creators!
I don’t give a shit that you think the latest My Chemical Romance song fits so well with a particular character. I am entirely uninterested in watching a clip show of your favourite character a) turning to look menacingly at the camera, b) turning to look happily at the camera, or c) dying horribly overdubbed with the latest hit of the day that just sums up their character, like, totally well. I am entirely unmoved by your ability to operate a video editing program and an audio program to the extent of cutting together random shit and then dumping a track over the top of it - and in the extra-special cases, using a SWOOSH EFFECT YAY.
See, I recognise that when I try to watch something on one of these sites I am essentially not really in the right myself (though I do generally buy the DVDs of whatever it is when they’re avaliable, I’ll admit that I do watch things online that I have no intention of buying). Perhaps filling up the search function with clones of the same fucking clips in a new and fun order and set to some random depressing and/or uplifting song is the universe’s way of thwarting my petty evil through the medium of fangirls. But it still annoys the hell out of me that in order to find something I’d like to watch I have to wade through AMV after AMV the makers of all of which seem to assume that everyone and their dog are interested in despite there being thousands of exactly the same thing on there already.
My one piece of advice to people who make them is this; you like the series in question. Perhaps you like a particular character, or a pairing. That’s fine. Now, when you watched that series, was it an intercut of those specific moments with an overwrought melody drenched over the top in an effort to sum up in music what you’ve just summed up twenty times already? I believe it was not. No, what drew you to like the series/character/ship was the series itself. Unless you genuinely believe that what you’ve created is better than it, howsabout you keep your doppelganger dreck out of the way so that people can watch that, hmm?
I don’t suspect this will be a popular thread. But hey, I felt like venting.
I like fanvids just because it’s a way of getting to listen to certain songs online for free I might not be able to find otherwise. Looking for almost any song with AMV in the search bars guarantees I will find something. Then I don’t pay attention to the actualy screen.
Dude, never just search for a series. Search for a specific episode.
Oh, and by the way, fuck you. Some AMVs are actually GOOD. Not that hosatchel* would show you that.
Yeah, I’m in no position to argue with you on any point in this rant, having done the same as well as being an AMV editor myself–which reminds me, where’d that Aqua CD go?
*a word used to replace YouTube on a forum where the site is very unpopular.
Generally what I end up doing, though it’s not always as handy if the episode name isn’t helpfully specific. And searching by episode number isn’t all that helpful either, because some people are oh-so-helpful and number their AMVs - presumably so that their massive hoards of fans can make sure they see all of those clips in as many different combinations as possible. :mad:
Oh, and shame to all of you. Seriously, I have no trouble with the good ones. It’s just that there are something like 1 good one per series, 2 if it’s a really popular one, and all of them are pretty much filled with “WOW so good come watch mine link” comments. Bah.
OK, I’ve been wanting to make AMVs all my life, but don’t quite have the know-how; I mean, I know how to operate video-editing equipment, but it’s been years since I touched an editing machine. Also, I feel a little embarrassed, starting to make AMVs at my age.
As long as we’re in the Pit, can all the 13-year-old kids who think it’s so fucking original setting Naruto clips to Linkin Park please fuck off and die (or at least close Windows Movie Maker and pick up a book with no pictures instead)? Thank you.
On a similar note, would all these dipshits who post their Winamp playlists to their insipid fucking worthless-ass content-free MySpace/LiveJournal/Geocities/free-hosting-for-idiots-o’-the-month pages kindly go throw rocks at pissed off hornets’ nests instead? When I’m looking for information on a b-side, live version or cover that was never commercially released, the last thing I need to know is that Joe Q. Indiepants once listened to it alongside his Modest Mouse, Godspeed! You Black Emperor and fucking Captain Beefheart collection.
I assure you, O Emo One, nobody gives a flying fuck what your tastes were back in August of '03. Unless you’re actually discussing the music – given what you’re trying to pass as “deep thoughts” on your oh so artsy black-and-hot-pink blog, I’ll give you a pass on actually saying anything intelligent about it – just do the world a favor and keep the contents of your fucking iPod to yourself, 'kay?
As for AMVs, they’ve never gotten in my way; I usually just do as Jayn_Newell suggests. Once in a bit I’ll go watch some of them, just to see if anyone’s bothered to insert anything entertaining among the mass of randomly edited shit set to Linkin Park and Nickelback. It has about the same success rate as YTMND does lately, but still, I press on. Hooray for the internet, eh?
The AMVs on Youtube are usually quite horrible, but some aren’t. If I’m in the mood for a good AMV I usually head over to Anime Music Videos .Org - Home. They have some good ones that actually fit the anime (or don’t at all for comedic effect).
I wanted to add to my post, but missed the edit window. There are 3 songs that seem to have AMVs for every live-action TV show or animated show, whether anime or U.S. animation:
Every Time We Touch - Cascada
Butterfly - Smile.dk (or Aqua, I forgot which)
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne.
There ought to be a moratorium on making AMVs out of these songs. If anyone wants to add to this list, feel free to do so.
On the other hand, I haven’t found any AMVs using Matthew Sweet’s “Girlfriend,” other than the original music video for the song, that is.
Of course, this was all started by Matthew Sweet and his video for Girlfriend. Ah, the early 90’s when our entertainment needs were solely met by giant faceless corporate conglomerates. How we miss those days. (Okay, not really, though I do miss the days when a certain cable channel with the word “Music” in it’s name actually, you know, played music, instead of endless hours of “reality” TV.)
YOu missed In The End. Or, well, every Linkin Park song. Or Evanescence song. It’s kind of sad really, because good editors generally avoid overused songs (or series), so it’s virtually impossible to find decent AMVs for them. Hence all the Linkinball Z dreck.
A lot of them avoid the 'tube as well, for a number of reasons (one of them being that it’s against the TOS–I know one who removed hers after they were flagged) so you tend to only find the worst of the worst or some of the really, really well known ones that have been uploaded (and occasionally claimed) by others.
I have never seen an AMV, but I have met some likely culprits of the tweenage “I’m so hardcore, just check out my shitty music” variety of which you speak, and I couldn’t agree more. Go read a book. Or kill yourself. Whatever it takes to remove you from inflicting your tardation on innocent folks.
Scribe poking her nose in to say: we actually have a fun time, at work, watching our work get butchered by squeeing fangirls (invariably, the worst offenders seem to be female) and their shipping fan music videos. Legal doesn’t mind them, apparently. We giggle at the choice of music and the subtext they pick up where none was actually intended.
It’s great fun when we find a particularly glurgy, totally-off-the-mark one and show it to an actor. I’ve had one respond with “Ew! Ew ew ew ew ew. Ew!” before…
Can I just say one thing here? You simply must, I repeat, must record an instance of this and upload it to YouTube. It would be freakin’ hysterical for the people who are absolutely certain that actor X really feels this way, only to find a video of said actor nearly wretching when they’re presented with some fanwankers efforts at illustrating this belief. (Where’s an evil smilie when you really need one?)
Hey, these are fangirls we’re talking about. The lesson of “Hey, actor-in-question actually saw your video and found it horrible” will be magically transmuted in their mind to “Hey, actor-in-question actually saw my video!”.
And THIS is the reason why we’ve never EVER done a reaction video. It’s also why many bloopers never make the fan reels. The “fan wanking” would be unbearable.
Seriously, I have no trouble with the good ones. It’s just that there are something like 1 good one per series, 2 if it’s a really popular one, and all of them are pretty much filled with “WOW so good come watch mine link” comments. Bah.