Obsessive sync and loop - by Atvaark

[Snowcrash]

The following article is an approximative translation of an Atvaark’s post on the AMV-France forum. I tried to do the most correct english translation. I apologize in advance if some sentences sound weird to you. ^_^°
- Snowcrash -

We’re going to talk here about videos which use the image as a musician uses an audio sample. In other words : using loops, repetitions and be attentive to the synchro and timing. Those videos develop often an obsessive and pounding side, and it’s not a coincidence if they used often electronic musics (which have the same characteristics).

Here is the story about the obsessive loop and synchro in AMV…
A story whom the protagonists are Willow, Nostromo, Kragdrim, Jack Herer, Toff and myself (Atvaark).

I’ve searched about this AMV style, but I didn’t find anything before Anthem which I can quote here. I am going to start impolitely this article in quoting myself.

Then, in November 2003, encouraged by Willow who watched a preview of my video few month ago, I released Anthem on the org. The video was receipt in different ways but even the negative opinions were kind of enthousiastic which let me think I did something interesting and unusual (it’s during this period that the ouclipo was born but that’s another story…).

In June 2004, Willow claimed to be inspired by Anthem for his new video UntitledZeroOne which was ranked 4th at Japan Expo 2004. We formed during a long time a R&D duo together : when I was doing the Research, he Developped further my concepts to reach the public with funny videos.

Even if there is a gap between this video of Nostromo and the obsessive loop concept, we can see in HypnoToad a quiet obsessive synchro pushed at the extreme because he only used still sequences. Nostro himself said : « Things which pushed me to start in AMV-making are the videos of Willow and Atvaark » (and after that he kept going and crushed us terribly ^^).

Then was the Variations episode (a story told by Gwench on his blog) where Kragdrim parodied Variations and Anthem in only one video : Variation Forever.

A « family ressemblenace » with the awesome Super Mega by Willow in August 2005. Extrem visual synchro, loops, self-derision… Hapiness.

Same month, the virus infects Jack Herer who released the very good Audience Under Brain Control.

And for the JE 2006, this is the polemic about the double participation of Kragdrim and Nostro because there were editors on the Bucephalous Bouncing Recursive AMV (BBR) with which Willow and me were participating at the contest. Polemic again about the ranking of the video (last place). Some people had headache, others said it’s genius. I can affirm both of them are not incompatible . We are not really anymore in the « extrem synchro and loop » concept but the idea of loop suggests the main concept of the video where each part re-used only the previous one. So the source getting worse and worse. The video became more graphic, more mecanic. And it’s always the same idea which comes out.

Autunm 2006, G.A.M.E. contest. Toff develop the concept in using a non-electronic music with the video Pulse, ranked 3rd. The G.A.M.E. contest gave theses instructions to the editors : « get off the beaten track » ; it was an excellent memory in general.

December 2007, I created an editing software after several months of work, a « bot ». During the french IC 15, I demonstrated its capacities in asking Nostromo to choose a music one hour before the end of the Iron Chef (after to have finished my own video). Less than one hour later, we got nouveau clip whose we can’t say the synchro was 100% « obsessive » because it was entirely created by a machine named « Ouclibot ». We can’t really talk about visual sampling or loops but it’s maybe the next possible and logical step.
During this same IC, Kragdrim offered us The Next Iron Chef where audio and video sampling are completely bound. 1st rank.

We finish this article with Milwaukee Road which use again the bases of Anthem, but with live-action sources and a better choice of visual samples in order to convey an idea of lateral scrolling, as if we watch it from a car or a train for example. And its reception was similar as Anthem or BBR.

But finally, unless I forgot a lot of them, we can be surprised that very few of these AMV were not released in 6 years.

Atvaark.
2010 March 7th

Addendum : for the Akross 2009, Artofeel released the excellent Bustled up which is the perfect illustration of the obessive sync and loop, but in adding a storyline.

[Lirinis]

VJing must be mentioned in this thread.

And I wonder if vjing had any influence on these sync&loop fans. Or did they reinvent the thing for amvs?

[Nya-chan Production]

January 2001, ErMac's Soul of an Angel
January 2009, my Just Passing By

I know there was one more recent from SEL and some others, but these come to mind first ;x

[ngsilver]

January 2009, my Just Passing By

Don't you mean

[Nya-chan Production]

January 2009, my Just Passing By

Don't you mean

I see what you did there

[Snowcrash]

Few adds in this thema :

2004 : by Subrunker
2009 : by Ileia

[Atvaark]

It feels weird to be a translated author. Too bad I'm unknown.

Thanks, Snowcrash!

I must add that many editors featured in the article could be further cited, as I just chose their most emblematic "sync & loop" videos, although they often made more in the same genre.

Also, the style was often an subject of parody, as such music videos are both easy to dislike (boring loops!) and easy to imitate (A: loop random stuff; B: goto A). Many funny videos. Nothing really mean. Good memories.

Still, when you think about it, life is a big set of loops. Sun & moon cycles, repeated daily routine, iterative mechanical noise of home appliances and transportation systems, sexual movements, seasons, ringtones, any music, patterns on manufactured objects, city blocks, stirring your coffee… Just loops and repetitions. We can only love them, can't we?

[Atvaark]

VJing must be mentioned in this thread.

And I wonder if vjing had any influence on these sync&loop fans. Or did they reinvent the thing for amvs?

Good point.

I've always been curious about VJing, I have even VJ'ed once using home-made software at a party, but I've never seen a VJ performance myself (I kind of hate night clubs and such places. I would gladly watch a VJ performance in a theatre, though).

I must add that I used to code computer demos (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demo_(comp ... ogramming)) before I got into AMVs. And this is a very, very obsessive kind of art. I only realized recently that I drew a lot of inspiration from demo-making in my AMV-making. Though, next to those demos, Anthem looks like an episode of Baywatch.

(Sorry for double posting.)

[Snowcrash]

Oh an Atvaark here

It remains me to add another creation of Willow here: released in 2007. He used only the AMV of Tyler as his source to do this AMV.
Always the concept of loop + BBR concept = brain melted XD

[Shui]

I have to say - none of the amvs really represent any kind of retriggering like in music production.
Just looks like a more repetitous amv to me.....