AMV Salad 4: TV Dinner (next stop - Nekocon)

[moonbunnychan]

I was thinking about it, and I can understand not wanting to cut it. I get that way about my stuff too.
I can actually understand the audio just fine, but then I also grew up a fanatical fan of that show. I THINK for me what it is is not so much the length as it is that the second half of it just sort of seems like one long scene with audio under it for a lot of it. I think maybe just breaking it up visually with like a quick fade or transition of some kind in some parts would make it a little more engaging.

I also was thinking that if there's a couple scenes during the credits, there probably should be something after them as well. It feels a little unbalanced otherwise. Plus it gives people a reason to stay and finish watching them. Even if it's something that's like, 5 seconds.

[Squancho]

I'm working on arranging the end credits in such a way that we get the "outtakes," production tags, and the "title" song. It will keep people watching. It usually does. More people than not stay for the credits to see what anime was used if they didn't recognize something, not to mention to see who made these things. Worry not. This will be good...

[Gaelstrom]

I think maybe just breaking it up visually with like a quick fade or transition of some kind in some parts would make it a little more engaging.

I'd agree to a point, but I think that would be another instance of trying to cure a symptom. The use of footage is good I think. The issue is that longer clips without multiple jokes slow down the 'speed' of the humor. In some cases this is a good thing. Like I said initially, Gurren Rock I was on the fence about for this exact reason.

There are three types of AMVHell/Salad style clips or "speeds" that I've defined for myself: Slapstick, Parody (or Scene), and Amusing.

Slapstick is the fast-paced one that gets good laughs based on a random situation.

Parody is similar, but more indepth, and is where I consider the majority of my clips to be. Slower comedy in general, but some buildup, some thought provoking, etc. This one is the "beat" of AMVHell/Salad productions to me, and generates the tempo of the humor.

Amusing ones rarely get a laugh out loud, but are no less powerful or useful. They are more of a nostalgia/emotional hit, much like the Big O Lincoln commercial last year was for me. I loved it because it was a joke, but more of a general overview emotional joke that got you to smile and be in the moment. Most musical parodies are like this I've found. My Slap Chop Remix one was a challenge of sorts for me in colliding this concept with slapstick.

Just like music though, it's good to vary the speed of things to keep surprise in the audience, but not too much. My Sony POS and Haruhi Birdman clips were an experiment in how to play with this timing, and I was very careful with them and consulted half a dozen friends regularly on them.

Gurren Rock has a lot of movement and good cutting, and that is what sustains it to me. It is amusing, but also after a certain point, it slows the tempo of the audience's perception of comedy. You can feel it to a greater degree in clips like Captain Planet and Baywatch as well in their current forms. You can actually feel your internal joke timer start to 'deflate' in your chest, which means the distance between jokes has started to disrupt the timing. The adjustment I suggested in the rapidshare link above was solely with the purpose of maximizing timing and power in the joke as far as I as an audience member saw it, nothing more.

I may seem harsh in my critiques, but I really am not trying to be. I'm a professional animator, and used to having my work under a microscope, and I now love it, because I've seen every single time that as long as I'm not married to it, it leads to better things. That's why I write these essays In every creator's case, we have to be willing to take a breath and realize if we are locked in on an idea, rather than letting it breathe on its own.

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BTW, Deuce, gimme until this weekend on this logo, I'll have at least a version for you to take a look at.

[InspZenigata]

Well I feel sorry that I wasn't able to contribute this time around. But the good news is that while I wasn't making AMV clips, I was finishing up my college carrier! Now that I'm a college graduate (and a jobless one at that) I have plenty of time to get my act together for future AMV collabs.

Best of luck with AMV Salad 4 guys, I can't wait to see this one


*edit*

Amusing ones rarely get a laugh out loud, but are no less powerful or useful. They are more of a nostalgia/emotional hit, much like the Big O Lincoln commercial last year was for me.

Thanks! I worked hard on that one >.>;;

[Gaelstrom]

*edit*

Amusing ones rarely get a laugh out loud, but are no less powerful or useful. They are more of a nostalgia/emotional hit, much like the Big O Lincoln commercial last year was for me.

Thanks! I worked hard on that one >.>;;

Heh, I can tell, I enjoyed it. Admittedly at first I was looking at it as not being 'haha funny' but after a couple times watching in the right context, I realized its true nature and how well cut it was. You chose a commercial that captured the emotion of the show's setting in being both mysterious and upbeat. Plus you ended up telling a narrative of sorts with it, so the underlying joke of the footage was always there, plus there ended up being a subtle something else to it.

In this context I should also say that the Gurren Rock clip is similar in feel.

[Gaelstrom]

Hey Deuce, just wondering if you got the test logo I sent you. I'm waiting a bit on your impressions before I continue on extra effects and such.

For that matter, here's a link for the rest of you to check it out if you'd like.

http://rapidshare.com/files/390480619/A ... 3.avi.html

My intention is to have sparks come off it, get stars behind it for a background, and work with the lighting a bit more. Just something simple as an actual intro, since the current one you're torn between noticing the logo and the clip behind it.

Impressions?

[moonbunnychan]

Ha ha...it's so...epic. I love the end too, it got an irl laugh outta me.

[Squancho]

Gaelstrom: I've come to a point where I trust your judgment in terms of the material you send in. Oh, and for some reason I don't have the DV of the Birdman clip in my files. Please for to resend? Otherwise, just carry on with whatever you're planning.

[Gaelstrom]

Whooops... yer right, I accidentally sent you duplicates of the ending clip assuming I'd grabbed one of each. That's definitely my bad. Final version's on the way right now as I type this, you should be getting the TransferBigFiles in your e-mail soon. I think you'll like the small addition to this one to finish off the clip.

What were your thoughts on the small graphics addition to the ending credits clip I sent a bit ago? Not even sure it's necessary, but I thought it was gentle enough not to stun the audience, but definitely separate them from anything else that was happening. If you feel it still doesn't work I can do another test (this time I'll use the beta file for context).

I'll get working on finishing off this logo and touching up the Lucky Channel ones hopefully this next week after I polish off some freelance work.

[Honou_Miko]

I'd have to say my favorite is definitely the Family Guy meets Death Note one. Well done, great cuts, wonderful setup.

Whee, thanks! My only question about it is... is that going to be the quality of the final product? I lost a lot of my lip synching work. Anything I can do as far as submission format goes to remedy this?

Hallmark: This clip is edited nicely, but I'm caught a bit off guard by it since I don't know the source. I'd say cut off the beginning part, because after the "3 years late" I was expecting some kind of joke and the clip kept going and took a while to get where it was going. From not knowing the source audio, I can say I think the clip would be more effective to the general audience starting at the "Just for you" with maybe a Hallmark logo. Or the alternative is starting after the 3 years later.

Ohhh. Trust me, there is a huge joke in here and it's kind of irreverent. XD The series is Ouran High School Host Club, and the source audio (That 70s Show) actually has very little to do with the comedy. The comedy is that the blond guy is an illegitimate child, and was forced to leave his mother and live with his grandmother so that he could be recognized by the family (and so that his mother could receive financial support for a chronic illness). And he's kind of obsessive about making everyone happy.

I may sound like I'm over-explaining it here, but this plotline is the driving force behind the more dramatic aspects of a mostly-comedic series, and anyone who knows the story will get the joke from the very beginning with "Mom, if it'll help you out, I'll hang out with Grandma, so she'll leave you alone." And trust me - there are MILLIONS of Ouran fangirls. MILLIONS. Yes, the joke may only warrant laughs from female voices, but the clip does sort of require the entire audio for the joke to work. (If you don't get that he's hanging out with the grandma to help the mom out, it makes no sense.)

Also, same question about the lip sync here. Is there a different format I should render it to instead? I had a LOT of quick lip movements in both this and the Family Guy one that were lost. (I usually render to DVD NTSC if that's any help.)


This looks like an AMAZING project, though... the Chobits one just may be my favorite.