The Otakon 2010 Thread (OK now panic)

[chui101]

Emo/Srs Bsnss: Defying Gravity. There wasn't a video in this category that I didn't love. Meri and Mike cranked out an interesting Tainted Donuts tribute, Re-Evolution Studios actually made a Clannad video that made the story a bit more accessible to those of us who've never seen the show, Mycathatesyou did the same thing by focusing on the story instead of just showing sad people and cute girls, Tech Crew Never Dies made a catchy drama video only marred by poor source footage, and Curry Mutton Pizza gave us the best Misa Misa profile video that I've ever seen, marred only by the completely unnecessary middle section. Cyber Ninja Productions however made an UPLIFTING, well-edited drama video that stood out against all of the other livejournal sob-fests.

I totally agree about Defying Gravity - we NEEDED something uplifting in that category and it was so beautifully done. Serious doesn't have to mean sad! (I say this as someone who submitted something totally depressing, but hey!)
lol.

Aww, thanks you guys. *group hug* Misa (I'll just call you that since it's much easier than typing out your forum name or studio name), I really liked your take on the song, Nightwish is one of my favorite bands just because the vocals are so epic. It just felt like a really tough change going from that video to mine! Scintilla, I still have to resist the urge to start singing "pizza hut! pizza hut! kentucky fried chicken and a pizza hut! mcdonald's, mcdonald's!" every time I drive by any of those restaurants. And I'm in Kentucky, so... KFC's all around >.>

My girlfriend might be selling stuff at the artist's alley next year... we'll see. I bet we could put together some Gurren Lager beer bottles that you could fill yourself

@Saisenseistudio: I was really down to two pieces of music for my Macross F AMV - STG's "Coming Home" and the one I ultimately picked, "Defying Gravity". I was quite amused to see the AMV I would have made in the finals!

Let's hope that with all the complaining feedback we're giving and the officer changeup next year, AMVs will be front and center and awesome at Otakon again!

[XStylus]

My picks, for whatever little my opinion is worth...:

Trailer:
Headband of Eli
- It was a stretch between this and Inception. The determining factor was Headband of Eli felt like the creator took more of a risk and was more creative. Inception the movie was a blockbuster, and Code Geass (in my view) is the source du jour for many an AMV lately.

Drama/Serious:
Whore for the Cold World
- I'm not a Death Note fan, but I saw the story in this vid, plus it managed to keep my attention well even due to its length. I admire vids that can convey a story. I also felt it was technically superior.

Action:
Fallen Souls
- I chose this vid because I felt it was the most entertaining, was extremely superior tech wise, and I have GOT to track down that song remix.

Romance/Sentimental:
Nara
- In terms of tech, this virtually annihilated any AMV I have ever seen at any competition prior, and it was gorgeous as well. I consider it a travesty that this video did not get some sort of an award.

Upbeat/Dance:
Children of Daicon
- Another vid which I feel was denied a well deserved award, and is perhaps a victim of ignorance. This vid was a genius tribute to the original Daicon vid which gave rise to Gainax, and was a further tribute to the creations of those who were involved with the original Daicon vid.

Comedy:
Word from Our Sponsors
- Need I explain?

Special mention:
Britannia, F-Yeah!
- Your motion track with the Bed, Bath, and Beyond towel was perfect. It's rare I see MT done well in an AMV. Did you use Mocha for that?

Best of Show:
Nara

[kickass331]

I guess I can weigh in with my top picks now considering that I couldn't even vote :3

Action: Bring It Back.

Made my day ;_;

love mflo, champloo, and this vid but cannot beat the soul eater one

[Scintilla]

edit: now that I think of it, put this both at the end of the contest AND on the ballots.

HOW ABOUT IT?

There's a reason they've never mentioned A-M-V.org on the ballots (the most they'll do is recommending you hit up "your favorite AMV website" (oslt) for the videos after the con). I was under the impression that the reason was a legal one -- don't want to anger the record companies.

[VicBond007]

There's a reason they've never mentioned A-M-V.org on the ballots (the most they'll do is recommending you hit up "your favorite AMV website" (oslt) for the videos after the con). I was under the impression that the reason was a legal one -- don't want to anger the record companies.

This.

[irriadin]

I guess I can weigh in with my top picks now considering that I couldn't even vote :3

Action: Bring It Back. wingz of silence bugged me with his extreme hypercuts and wacky-ass color scheme, so while I could appreciate the work that went into it, it also had no rewatchability for me. Brakus' vid was well-cut and visually pleasing, but most of that comes from the awesome intro sequence, so the work was already done. Bring It Back just seemed slightly more entertaining to me, and not just because Alan's made me sit through every M-Flo video ever.

I couldn't help but notice you forgot the other 3 Action entries

I knew mine wouldn't be a popular pick, I mean friggen Claymore and Machinae Supremacy have very niche appeal. Not to mention it was my first AMV, so my skills were not up in the stratosphere like some others in the category. Just you wait until next year!

[Castor Troy]

Romance/Sentimental:
Nara
- In terms of tech, this virtually annihilated any AMV I have ever seen at any competition prior, and it was gorgeous as well. I consider it a travesty that this video did not get some sort of an award.


Best of Show:
Nara

It even has it's own website!
http://nara-theamv.tk/

[dwchang]

Was "the hangar" used in 2007? Because I really liked the '07 setup. I don't recall it sounding "bad", it just sounded like how anything sounds in a room of that size. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the only people who actually care about, or even notice, the sound quality not being its best are the editors and sound professionals. In my opinion, lowering the sound quality is worth it for a room that large. It's an amazing spectacle to be in a room of that size watching AMVs on 5 screens with 4000+ other fans, regardless of sound quality. I didn't even think the sound quality was that noticeable, but perhaps it was just where I was sitting.

I guess you're somewhat right since I had a video in the 2007 contest and I recall being pretty upset with the sound quality. There was significant lag between what I heard and what I saw on the screen and the entire room had this echo going on. As you said though, it might just be an editor thing since I specifically noticed it during my own video, which like most editors, I know like the back of my hand. So when things are off-sync and you can't make out the lyrics (for lyric sync), you obviously are upset.

I'm with Vic on this one although the very best setup (imo) is what they had in 2003. It was upstairs on the 4th floor, seated like ~5,000 and it had no quality issues I'm aware of. It was also the last year Pyson ran it .

[gotenks794]

Was "the hangar" used in 2007? Because I really liked the '07 setup. I don't recall it sounding "bad", it just sounded like how anything sounds in a room of that size. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the only people who actually care about, or even notice, the sound quality not being its best are the editors and sound professionals. In my opinion, lowering the sound quality is worth it for a room that large. It's an amazing spectacle to be in a room of that size watching AMVs on 5 screens with 4000+ other fans, regardless of sound quality. I didn't even think the sound quality was that noticeable, but perhaps it was just where I was sitting.

I guess you're somewhat right since I had a video in the 2007 contest and I recall being pretty upset with the sound quality. There was significant lag between what I heard and what I saw on the screen and the entire room had this echo going on. As you said though, it might just be an editor thing since I specifically noticed it during my own video, which like most editors, I know like the back of my hand. So when things are off-sync and you can't make out the lyrics (for lyric sync), you obviously are upset.

I'm with Vic on this one although the very best setup (imo) is what they had in 2003. It was upstairs on the 4th floor, seated like ~5,000 and it had no quality issues I'm aware of. It was also the last year Pyson ran it .

Your video won IIRC, so it couldn't have been that noticeable. But either way I wish I could've seen the '03 set up because it sounds really cool.

[ZeroRyoko197]

I really loved the GSC video, when will it be avail to download or on youtube?