The AWA 2013 Video Review Thread -- Final Voting RIGHT NOW!

[The Wired Knight]

I feel the same way about my Hentai amv "Runny Gravy Rainbow" 2 years ago at Youmacon I made some poor girl throw up when we played it. I was laughing the whole time people were going EWW!!!

Before I finished reading your posted I thought you meant that what is "hentai" is subjective.

[Castor Troy]

I cried reading the reviews... and I didn't even make anything!

[Daramue]

The response (I'm referring mainly to the criticism rather than the praise) to my AMV was unsurprisingly a mixed bag but a bit perplexing. Some of the technical issues that were pointed out were indeed fair but some certainly make me raise an eyebrow in regards to direction; I've discovered a clear dissonance between what I enjoy/look for in AMV's and what some others do. It is even more perplexing when I compare it directly to the cursory fieldwork I conducted before beginning work on the AMV on past "Contest winners" or rather "generally accepted to be good" AMV's, where traits present in those videos seems to be denounced in this thread. The praise is also perplexing (As the traits it is praised for I felt to be weaker than stated). I guess I can chalk it up to lack of experience; what is important is what I choose to do with what I have learned from these brief comments.

I always appreciate all feedback and I'm glad that you have taken the time to view my video, but I suppose I'm saying I understand the frustration that may come from making sense of the feedback. Don't lose heart. Wait and see what happens once the voting is concluded.

[SailorDeath]

The response (I'm referring mainly to the criticism rather than the praise) to my AMV was unsurprisingly a mixed bag but a bit perplexing. Some of the technical issues that were pointed out were indeed fair but some certainly make me raise an eyebrow in regards to direction; I've discovered a clear dissonance between what I enjoy/look for in AMV's and what some others do. It is even more perplexing when I compare it directly to the cursory fieldwork I conducted before beginning work on the AMV on past "Contest winners" or rather "generally accepted to be good" AMV's, where traits present in those videos seems to be denounced in this thread. The praise is also perplexing (As the traits it is praised for I felt to be weaker than stated). I guess I can chalk it up to lack of experience; what is important is what I choose to do with what I have learned from these brief comments.

I always appreciate all feedback and I'm glad that you have taken the time to view my video, but I suppose I'm saying I understand the frustration that may come from making sense of the feedback. Don't lose heart. Wait and see what happens once the voting is concluded.

I always liked going with just something I'd enjoy instead of "The crowd will love this" All the videos I've done that've won something in the past were video where I was just having fun with what I was doing. I always worry if people would like it, but I don't try and go "the people will love this" with my amvs. Except for hentai, I just try and make the most disturbing thing I can.

Oh yeah, and like I said earlier. Don't take my reviews seriously. I skipped through each amv and maybe watched 10-15 seconds of each before writing those reviews. My troll reviews are always a tribute to godix who used to do them in the past though I cannot match his level of wit.

[Daramue]

The response (I'm referring mainly to the criticism rather than the praise) to my AMV was unsurprisingly a mixed bag but a bit perplexing. Some of the technical issues that were pointed out were indeed fair but some certainly make me raise an eyebrow in regards to direction; I've discovered a clear dissonance between what I enjoy/look for in AMV's and what some others do. It is even more perplexing when I compare it directly to the cursory fieldwork I conducted before beginning work on the AMV on past "Contest winners" or rather "generally accepted to be good" AMV's, where traits present in those videos seems to be denounced in this thread. The praise is also perplexing (As the traits it is praised for I felt to be weaker than stated). I guess I can chalk it up to lack of experience; what is important is what I choose to do with what I have learned from these brief comments.

I always appreciate all feedback and I'm glad that you have taken the time to view my video, but I suppose I'm saying I understand the frustration that may come from making sense of the feedback. Don't lose heart. Wait and see what happens once the voting is concluded.

I always liked going with just something I'd enjoy instead of "The crowd will love this" All the videos I've done that've won something in the past were video where I was just having fun with what I was doing. I always worry if people would like it, but I don't try and go "the people will love this" with my amvs. Except for hentai, I just try and make the most disturbing thing I can.

Oh yeah, and like I said earlier. Don't take my reviews seriously. I skipped through each amv and maybe watched 10-15 seconds of each before writing those reviews. My troll reviews are always a tribute to godix who used to do them in the past though I cannot match his level of wit.

I don't think Yotsuba could ever make me feel anything other than warm and fuzzy. They were funny!

I agree with your approach and feelings regarding your own AMV's. I feel the same; I mainly work off my own instincts and hope others like them. If I don't like it, it doesn't get released. Critically analyzing it is a whole different story however; for example, often what I find to be "high octane and fast" is perceived as "jerky and overedited/too many effects" for some people (I've tried but I don't think I can reconcile this difference). Differences in taste I think. Or maybe my taste is bad.

[SailorDeath]

I don't think Yotsuba could ever make me feel anything other than warm and fuzzy. They were funny!

I agree with your approach and feelings regarding your own AMV's. I feel the same; I mainly work off my own instincts and hope others like them. If I don't like it, it doesn't get released. Critically analyzing it is a whole different story however; for example, often what I find to be "high octane and fast" is perceived as "jerky and overedited/too many effects" for some people (I've tried but I don't think I can reconcile this difference). Differences in taste I think. Or maybe my taste is bad.

Yeah, I've read the entire published collection about 3 or 4 times now. I really like Yotsuba& a lot, while writing those I was wondering if people were going to get realize I was actually referencing stuff that happens in the manga.

[irriadin]

I agree with your approach and feelings regarding your own AMV's. I feel the same; I mainly work off my own instincts and hope others like them. If I don't like it, it doesn't get released. Critically analyzing it is a whole different story however; for example, often what I find to be "high octane and fast" is perceived as "jerky and overedited/too many effects" for some people (I've tried but I don't think I can reconcile this difference). Differences in taste I think. Or maybe my taste is bad.

Here's a good middle ground for solving this problem. Find editors that you like, that make videos you enjoy. Try to get these editors to beta test your video. Take the advice they give you, not ALL of it, but listen to what they say. Others can spot issues in your videos that you may never see. You don't have to sacrifice your style because people don't get it; your style just needs a bit of refinement.

Also, take a

[Daramue]

I agree with your approach and feelings regarding your own AMV's. I feel the same; I mainly work off my own instincts and hope others like them. If I don't like it, it doesn't get released. Critically analyzing it is a whole different story however; for example, often what I find to be "high octane and fast" is perceived as "jerky and overedited/too many effects" for some people (I've tried but I don't think I can reconcile this difference). Differences in taste I think. Or maybe my taste is bad.

Here's a good middle ground for solving this problem. Find editors that you like, that make videos you enjoy. Try to get these editors to beta test your video. Take the advice they give you, not ALL of it, but listen to what they say. Others can spot issues in your videos that you may never see. You don't have to sacrifice your style because people don't get it; your style just needs a bit of refinement.

Also, take a

I like this idea, but why do I need a dinosaur to do it?

[SailorDeath]

Here's a good middle ground for solving this problem. Find editors that you like, that make videos you enjoy. Try to get these editors to beta test your video. Take the advice they give you, not ALL of it, but listen to what they say. Others can spot issues in your videos that you may never see. You don't have to sacrifice your style because people don't get it; your style just needs a bit of refinement.

Also, take a

I still wrestle with optimization and picture cleanup. I've used all kinds of sources but I never can get them as sharp and vibrant as what I see is some of the entries I've viewed. I've read all the tutorials. I know all about the cleanup processes with avisynth and I even experiment with them a lot but they're always just missing that one thing that makes them look outstanding.

That and I really need to work on my frustration with doing masks properly. I fucking HATE masking animation, so time consuming for just a few frames of animation. If done right they look great but man it feels like watching paint dry sometimes.

I also kinda want to experiment with text effects next. I always liked how they were done in videos like Weird Al's "Stop Forwarding that Crap to Me" or Jonathan Coulton's "Shop Vac." Course with that practice makes perfect. I want to get the morphing and blurring effects used in that stuff down. When I try it, they look like anal leakage.

[SailorDeath]

I like this idea, but why do I need a dinosaur to do it?

I think he means a Dr.