How did you start making AMVs?

[Arcane Azmadi]

We've probably had this one before, but I'm curious. I saw my first AMV at a friend's place in my later high school days. It was either 'When Senshi Deserve to Die' or'Hina Right Now' (both sadly defunct), I can't really remember which, but I thought it was great. I saw a number of AMVs after that and after a while, the same friend convinced me and Nyaa-Chan (my current amving partner) to form a group and make our own AMVs. We didn't have anything better to do, so we agreed- it really was that simple. Our friend decided we were going to do Vandread to 'Staring at the Sun', so we gathered some software, got our fansubs and started. After we finished (no small task for a trio of rookies), we settled on the name 'Dizzy Samurai Studios' and a legend was born (we wish!) Since then our original friend dropped out of making AMVs and Nyaa-Chan and I have been going at it together, with modest success, for the past few years.

How about everyone else?

[Mad_Cyric]

I'd been watching AMVs for quite some time before my brother's constant talking about making one himself got me interested in what that required. I decided to try it out so I could create something awesome to show at NDK over here in Denver, and I made some test projects to start learning AE and Premiere. After troubling over the simplest things and eventually becoming somewhere close to profficient, I decided to rip a movie just to see how that process worked. By that time I was spending hours at night thinking of all the AMVs I could make and I could hardly stand myself not being able to do it yet. I fought through the process with AD and Ermac's guide, and even though it was hard to learn everything I found I actually enjoyed the technical aspect and learning how it worked. The DVD I ripped was Ghost in the Shell, so I decided to try just making one of the little scenes I had dreamed up while thinking of AMVs I could make in Premiere, just to see what it would be like. I titled the project "work" as in my saying in my head "please just work dammit!" I decided "well what the hell I'm just going to make this video.

Using this site (primarily the avtech guide) I learned how to make each of my visions a reality in my video, and how to make it a high quality production technically. I periodically sent parts of my video to my bro to see what he thought, and that process refined it as I went. About 4 months into my editing (I was teaching myself *everything* I could, from image masks to avisynth filters), the stress caused by the amount of work I was doing academically and other such things caused me to lose my drive about 2/3 of the way through the vid, and then about 2 months later I started up again to finish what I'd started no matter what it took. In the end I finished it, and it will be debuting over at NDK in September (although they don't mind if I put it online before that)! So in the end my video took the better part of a year for me to make, but I consider it well worth it. I think the result is really a good video, anyway, and I think it will win one of the 5 awards at NDK.

In any case I found that video editing is something creative that I really love to do, and I'm going to keep doing it as long as I can; I'm already making my next video. And that, is how I started making AMVs. My first video might've taken a lot longer than most, but it's also a lot better than a lot of first videos, and I hope people can get past the stigma and not pass judgement before they even see it.

[Scandia]

AMV contests had been my favorite aspect of cons (before I started cosplaying, that is). When I got a laptop, I realized now I had more power to make AMVs. So one day they had the Dazzle 80 capture card on sale at Office Depot. I went to buy it and one guy that had been in Humanities class with me actually handled the sale. That day I made my first AMV- "It will last forever". My favorite anime/manga back then (it was early 2003) was still Magic Knight Rayearth, so it was to be expected.

I only made 3 AMVs in 2003. Did not really find inspiration to make another one till 2005 when I got a new computer. By then I also had a new favorite series. And I had wanted to make an AMV of "Dreams" by the Cranberries for the longest time, so that's when inspiration hit me.

[BlackDemonWolf12]

My friend from a Beyblade forum got me into it. He sent me and episode of beyblade and told me to try it. So I did and now I love making AMV's and stuff of the sort. Its fun.

[.:SR:.]

Back to those old KaZaA days, a friend used to download lots and lots of stuff, and one day (like 4-5 years ago from now) he showed me a DBZ Video that I thought was awesome (It actually sucks.. A Lot.) then on December of 2003, I got ill and didn't go to classes, that same day I browsed around some forums and figured out I could make a video using "Windows Movie Maker", I made like 2 or 3 videos (which actually sucked), then I learnt somewhat more about AMVs, and learnt how to use Premiere...

I still miss the old KaZaA days..

[Fall_Child42]

Well let's see, I've had intrests in AMV's for a long time, and it was only reacently I started making them. I did a couple of music videos with my old PC and Roxio, but it was taking like 5-10 minutes for a cut, so last year I got me a new computer, and premiere and have made my first official AMV on my first attempt at using Premiere, just in time to enter "the C-team" into the novice compitition at CN anime.

[x_rex30]

My school had equipment, so I used it. Then poof.. walla my first amv 5 years ago.

The manga video commercial is one of the things that got me into amvs. I was searching for it online and ran into a bunch of them.

[JaddziaDax]

its Eric's fault I blame him... but i have answered this in my bio, and on the forums before.

[LuluandAuron]

Well we got our first computer when FF7 came out (1 gig) and between crashing the bloody thing and revieving it, I managed to collect probably every picture and fanart from FF7. Put it on powerpoint and play music along with it. A couple years latter we got a video camera and I'd edit with 2 vcrs all the home videos of the the kids and send them out for presents. Our relitives were giddy with joy. So I thought, this would be way easier with a computer (120 gigs ).......and thus the beginning of the addiction. It's been three years and I have yet to do a family video.....I did hopwever do 1 wedding video.

[fizzucker]

Before I even knew what an AMV was, I started making music videos using downloaded wrestling matches via Kazaa. Then while on it I stumbled upon Otaku Vengeance's Samurai X video using Vast's "Touch" and instantly wanted to do that. That video still holds up and it should be on the org somewhere.