When to use lip synching...

Digitalex · Post by **Digitalex** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 5:49 pm

I've had a few discussions with non-editing-AMV viewers and the topic of lip syncing came up. They associated lip synching only with comedies or trailer parodies. They felt that it kills the mood or feels out of place on drama/serious AMVs.

What's your take on it?

Scintilla · Post by **Scintilla** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 5:56 pm

Try telling that to Hito (of Istiv)

Don't forget dance/upbeat videos, and I can think of at least one action video in which I've seen lip synching used decently (mckeed's "Gentrification"). But in general, I think yeah, lip synching is less likely to work in serious non-trailer videos than in any other genre.

SuperFusion · Post by **SuperFusion** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:00 pm

Use it whenever the hell you want even though we may disagree with which part of the AMV you use it on.

AquaSky · Post by **AquaSky** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:09 pm

I also tend to agree with the "lip sync is best utilized in comedy/fun videos" school of thought. I've seen quite a few serious videos that have included lip sync, and of those only one managed to not have it ruin the dramatic mood entirely. It's your call, but it's unfortunate to see a drama vid get laughs at a convention because there was sudden lip sync.

Zarxrax · Post by **Zarxrax** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:18 pm

I think the main thing about lip sync is DON'T just lip sync some random part of your song just for the hell of it! Lip sync works best with spoken dialogue. In general, the less musical the lyrics are, the better lip sync will work. Many songs will contain some spoken word or something that sounds differently from the main lyrics. This type of thing works well for lip sync.
If you take a song like "In the end", and lip sync random spots of it, then it will probably end up being crap. The only exception I can really think of is if you are doing a fully lip synced video. This type of video could really work with just about any song. It's when people try lip sync with musical lyrics, and use the lip sync apparently randomly that it usually turns out like crap.

That said, I'm not stating this as fact or anything, there are always exceptions to the rule. This just appears to be the case that I have witnessed over the years.

Digitalex · Post by **Digitalex** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:39 pm

Scintilla wrote:Try telling that to Hito (of Istiv)

Shounen Bushidou was the first video that came to mind! However, it follows Zarxrax's point about fully lip synching the entire video. I guess more often than not, drama/serious AMVs loses it's effect when LS is used.

genestarwind21122 · Post by **genestarwind21122** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:44 pm

I tend to think it could help a drama/serious video. I mean if you use it in the right part and it builds up the tension, that's a good time to use it. Yeah man do it whenever you think it would be appropriate and we'll tell you what we think of it. Don't be affraid to experiment with it. If you think it is the right place go ahead do it and see how it looks.

Digitalex · Post by **Digitalex** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:55 pm

genestarwind21122 wrote:I tend to think it could help a drama/serious video. I mean if you use it in the right part and it builds up the tension, that's a good time to use it. Yeah man do it whenever you think it would be appropriate and we'll tell you what we think of it. Don't be affraid to experiment with it. If you think it is the right place go ahead do it and see how it looks.

I guess it's on a case by case basis. My AMVs currently use it and they are drama based. To me, it seemed to fit but I was curious as to how others felt about it's use.

genestarwind21122 · Post by **genestarwind21122** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:16 pm

Take a look at Back to Paradise I used it in there and it actually helped the video I think. If it is used properly and it makes sense to use it in a video, go for it.

staces · Post by **staces** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:23 pm

Personally I don't think that people should feel aprehensive about using lip synch in their AMV just because it's a drama, I think that it can work really well. I do, however, think it works best when there is a line/a pattern of lines that stick out greatly from the rest of the songs lyrical pattern.

I also think that it's really effective when the speaker in the song is directly addressing someone like and having the image match with a dramatic scene from the anime where character A is yelling at character B. . .

I think a main problem with lip synch is that so many people don't put any thought into the facial expression that the character has and try to match it to the line being spoken. If it's a happy line have a smile, sad crying, etc.