Final Fantasy 13: Faster (Within Temptation)

[Dark Lord of Debate]

This is my 13th AMV, appropriately using footage from Final Fantasy XIII, and set to the song "Faster" by Within Temptation (first single from "The Unforgiving" album, 2011). This is a straight-up action vid, focusing mainly on Lightning. Following my usual style, all the clips are synced very precisely with the rhythm and lyrics of the song. I used more effects in this video than in my previous ones, but I still prefer more subtle effects rather than flashy ones that just draw attention to themselves.

Edited with Sony Vegas Pro 10.

Local download is 480p.
Direct link to 720p HD version here.

Please check it out and let me know what you think. Initially I was a little hesitant about doing a new action video, since my style tends to be a little less fragmented and flashy than what seems to be in vogue for that type of vid these days. But it turned out extremely well, with (IMHO) perfect pacing and intensity for the song. I'm hoping this might be contest worthy, and I'd appreciate any advice for improvement.

[AngelDragoon]

I liked the last FF13 video you did, so I made sure when I saw this at school I'd check it out.

It was quite good! The sync and pace were wonderful, and although it wasn't 'flashy' like many action videos, the footage made up for it. (It's flashy and shiny all on its own ). Loving the song this time too. A few little things could be improved upon, though. The transition of what was going on from the intro to the first verse seemed a little slow, as if it should have cut from the railway bit immediately to something else. Also, the masking on Lightening at :43 could have been cleaner. I know how difficult masking video game footage can be, but the white flickery aura around her bothered me a little. (Though, I've heard some versions of the new Vegas don't offer key frame masking, so maybe this was unavoidable). Overall, though, the video was nice! I hope you continue making more, (perhaps with 13-2? )

[Dark Lord of Debate]

Thanks for the input! Yeah, I had originally intended to cut directly into the first verse too, but thought that extra bazooka shot fit so well with the beat of the song that I didn't want to cut it out. That might be one of those cases where I was too reluctant to cut a scene I liked a lot but didn't quite fit with the flow of the video. So you think I should cut out the white halo around Lighting with the masking scene? I actually kind of liked that since it set her apart from the rest of the scene, but I can see how it might be distracting. I need to figure out how to make a cleaner mask though. I just used the chroma-key filter since she happened to be against a solid white background in that clip, and that seemed to be the best it could do since no matter what I did with the sliders it wouldn't cut out any more of the white. But the new version of Vegas 10 Pro I'm using does have manual masking ability, so maybe I'll use that for the version I submit to contests if people find that halo too distracting. Thanks for the suggestions.

Oh and I've already got a concept planned for a FF Versus 13 video whenever they actually release the game. Based on the trailers I've seen, it should work great once there's more footage to work with.

[AngelDragoon]

Most of the masking around Lightening was good with just the chroma, but I think it was the little blobs that stuck out on their own that bothered me the most. (In fact, the twitchy movement of the mask gave it a more interesting appeal, rather than a flat, potentially stuck out mask). I think if you just do a rough cut key masking around her to get rid of those blobs, rather than a specific cut that would take a ton of time to do, it'd look much better. Also, I can see what you mean now about the song cutting in suddenly with that beat near the verse. Perhaps if the bazooka shot was shifted to just before :25 instead, and the scene would then be switched out to a lead-in for the fal'Cie? Just my opinion. XD;

And VERSUS...Argh. I've had plans for that game as well, whenever it decides it wants to be released. But I'm glad to hear you're planning something! With the quality your videos have now I'd be happy to watch it in the future.