AMV Review #23: Lullaby For A Stormy Night

[quadir]

The concept: free op the chosen amv, then video discussion in irc
Where: #amv-review irc.zirc.org (web client)
When: Every Monday, 20:30 EDT (8:30pm)
After: free-for-all video-related chat the rest of the week

This week's video:
(kowaiyoukai) - 2007 - (siriuslyyellow) - Lullaby for a Stormy Night
Category: Sentimental
Anime: Various [Spoilers]
Song: Vienna Teng - Lullaby For A Stormy Night

Bonus Video:
Hsien Lee (Kusoyaro) - 2005 - sex and caramel
Category: Drama
Anime: Noir
Song: Suzanne Vega - Caramel

Archive:
2007 August 022-13, 021-06, July 020-30, 019-23, 018-16, 017-09, 016-02
June 015-25, 014-18, 013-11, 012-04, May 011-28, 010-21, 009-14, 008-07
April 007-30, 006-23, 005-16, 004-09, 003-02, March 002-26, 001-19

[quadir]

FAQ:
Found a video for the review?
Please send all submittions to quadir@animemusicvideos.org or pm me on the forums. Don't post em in the thread.

Want to beta your video?
Just join the irc channel and paste it! There's usualy people there willing to take a look at a work in progress and give you initial reactions.

I heard something about runner-up vids?
About twice a week one of the videos that did not get chosen as our main video will announced in irc channel topic for casual discussion, check them out, they are usually also very good!

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Discussion:
IRC Participants: DriftRoot (Lauren), `Eclipse (Blake Stevens), godix, G_Q (GloryQuestor - John Wendel), Hunter (The Origonal Head Hunter - Lash Walker), inthesto (Alex Ying), Kit (Kitsuner - Jonathan Nelson), ngsilver (Nathan), Orwell, Otohiko, Pankyy, quadir (Olivier Beaton), RathiSponge (Billy Welch)

20:45 <inthesto> The video's also black-bordered all the way around
20:45 <ngsilver> me too
20:46 <inthesto> Bah, I have to plug in headphones to check the sound quality
20:46 <Otohiko> you mean letterboxed
20:46 <inthesto> I don't think it's letterboxed if there are black borders to the left and right too
20:46 <Otohiko> ..oh
20:46 <Otohiko> you's right
20:46 <DriftRoot> Yah, me neither. It was...bordered. Quite heavily.
20:46 <Otohiko> actually on fullscreen I didn't notice
20:47 <DriftRoot> I couldn't bear to watch it on fullscreen more than once.
20:47 <Hunter> impossible to watch unless fullscreen
20:47 * ngsilver tried fullscreen, but decided fullscreen killed the quality too much
20:47 <Otohiko> you can drag the window a little larger of course
20:47 <Otohiko> depending on player etc.
20:47 <DriftRoot> I got it about a third of the screen and didn't go any bigger (VLC)
20:47 <inthesto> Th video shows up letterboxed if it's windowed
20:47 <inthesto> But if I full screen it, it's black bordered the whole way around
20:47 <inthesto> Both in MPC and WMP
20:48 <Otohiko> this is strange though
20:48 <Otohiko> when I do full screen it or make it larger, the black border disappears
20:48 <Otohiko> I only see it when windowed
20:48 <DriftRoot> VLC does the same thing, letterboxed on all but full screen, then big borders
20:48 * ngsilver would have rather seen this video in a widescreen aspect... since there is no full screen except for the bumpers
20:48 <Hunter> i got borders on fullscreen with VLC
20:49 <DriftRoot> me too
20:49 <Hunter> and when windowed
20:49 <DriftRoot> Nope only letterbox for me on window
20:49 <DriftRoot> Maybe it depends on the window size.
20:49 <Otohiko> well, I would've rather seen it in a different format and properly resized/cropped, yes
20:49 <DriftRoot> yeah it depends on window size
20:49 <ngsilver> I emply a widescreen monitor for video... it's a waste on letterboxed videos
20:49 <Otohiko> yea
20:49 <ngsilver> not to mention the extra encoding required
20:50 <Otohiko> generally there's just no reason to do it
20:50 <Otohiko> unless for a con
20:50 <DriftRoot> The file on this AMV is tiny anyways, she had a lot of room to play with.
20:51 <DriftRoot> this is like a beta...complete with poor video quality
20:51 <godix> Figures the week I finally am around for this is the same week the video choosen is one I stopped watching then deleted halfway through.
20:51 <Otohiko> I haven't even done the initial viewing
20:52 <Panky> i think i'm one of the firsts entering and the last chatting
20:52 * ngsilver studies gspots interpertation of teh video
20:52 <Otohiko> godix: totally predicted reaction from you
20:52 <Otohiko> and I don't mean that in a bad way
20:52 <Otohiko> I figured that's exactly what you'd think there, heh
20:53 <godix> I like the occasional slow drama. Not this one though.
20:53 <orwell> Do I REALLY have to watch this?
20:53 <orwell> with a judge leading the charge, let us abandon this sinking ship!
20:53 <G_Q> orwell: I did, and came away ... well, sane enough.
20:53 <orwell> er
20:53 <orwell> I mean
20:53 <DriftRoot> Too late some of us already opped!
20:53 <orwell> we should fairly review this video
20:53 <Panky> hello :(
20:53 <godix> DRP: Not really. As long as we can think up enough BS to talk
20:54 <DriftRoot> yola
20:54 * ngsilver will most likely delete the video once the review is over
20:54 <Kit> drp?
20:54 * DriftRoot majored in impressive BS in college.
20:54 <godix> er, just DR. No DRP.
20:54 <Kit> Dr Pepper?
20:54 <DriftRoot> It's like drip
20:54 <Panky> yola xD
20:54 <DriftRoot> Or a burp
20:54 <DriftRoot> :)
20:54 <quadir> I didn't have left and right black borders if I fullscreened
20:54 <inthesto> Obviously this video is plotting to kill us all
20:54 <DriftRoot> hrm... what about at a smaller size?
20:54 <godix> quadir: I think they're talking about the intro credits
20:54 <inthesto> Because we're gonna get into an argument over the borders
20:54 <inthesto> And then somebody'll pull a knife
20:55 <ngsilver> fyi, video was encoded with mp4 for the sonyPSP
20:55 <DriftRoot> No the whole thing has borders at some sizes
20:55 <godix> the side borders are trivially small. Only a few pixels
20:55 <DriftRoot> Not on my screen
20:55 <ngsilver> i noticed a small border on the left and right... similar to the crap you get from VHS
20:56 <DriftRoot> Mine it's as big as the top and bottom at some screen sizes
20:57 <inthesto> Okay, I have enough time for three minutes of System Shock 2
20:57 <inthesto> Or three minutes of DotA
20:57 <inthesto> THIS IS GONNA BE THE BEST CREEP BLOCK EVER
20:57 <Otohiko> bah, I need a few more for the op here...
20:57 <DriftRoot> lol last week this time we were debating yaoi...now it's letterboxing...lol
20:58 <godix> Someone needs pointed to my 'The sun/moon are not fucking ovals' rant from awhile ago.
21:01 <Panky> oh now i kinda understand why it is 20mb
21:01 <Panky> xD
21:01 <DriftRoot> yah...
21:02 -!- `Eclipse has joined #amv-review
21:03 <DriftRoot> Oh this is so much better than last week...I can actually contribute.
21:03 <Panky> i haven't even watched it all
21:03 <godix> You know, I've noticed those of us who are regularly part of this are dropping our average given op scores over time.
21:03 <Hunter> coincidence?
21:04 <quadir> godix: good
21:04 <godix> Three or four months ago this probably would have been between 8 and 9 originality average.
21:05 <quadir> godix: no matter which way I look at it, it's a good thing
21:05 <inthesto> Hey, I gave it a 10 on originality
21:05 <ngsilver> I think I'm fairly even... though I only reciently joined in on this
21:05 <inthesto> I don't ever see videos about parents
21:05 <orwell> It's probably becaue you only op what you like, where as here, we op everything other people won't
21:05 <godix> true. Average given op scores have always been way too high on the org
21:05 <ngsilver> it's reare
21:05 <DriftRoot> lol this thing went from 0 to 9 ops so fast
21:05 <ngsilver> but I saw a DBZ vid that did it better long ago
21:05 <Kit> rear
21:05 <Otohiko> ohhh
21:05 <Kit> (:>)
21:05 <godix> I can think of one or two trigun videos that did it.
21:05 <Otohiko> I get this
21:06 <quadir> orwell: the other side of the coin is that you might be thinking about your scores more
21:06 <ngsilver> sok... I am lysdexic
21:06 <inthesto> [21:05] <ngsilver> but I saw a DBZ vid that did it better long ago <- Madbunny's vid?
21:06 <Otohiko> the weird borders and small size...
21:06 <inthesto> Because that shit was hilarious
21:06 <Otohiko> I smell youtube
21:06 <DriftRoot> I usually op a little high, but I was more careful with this one.
21:06 <DriftRoot> It's a review after all.
21:06 <Panky> so
21:06 <ngsilver> no, Akimbos
21:07 <quadir> okay let's get this started. Rathisponge what did you think of the vid?
21:07 <Panky> i DO HAVE to make a op for this?
21:07 <quadir> Panky: it would be much appreciated
21:07 <Panky> or set points?
21:07 <Rathisponge> I enjoyed the pacing of the video
21:07 <Panky> ok i'll try
21:07 <Rathisponge> I also thought there was some very good scene selections and transitions
21:08 <Otohiko> I actually had some concerns about the pacing, but that depends on what we mean by that
21:08 <G_Q> Oto: Cookie-cutter fades.
21:08 <quadir> at the beginning I thought the intro had arbitrary anime
21:08 <quadir> it seemed a bit random
21:08 <DriftRoot> Yah it wasn't building up to anything.
21:08 <quadir> but looking closely he does tell a small story for each
21:08 <G_Q> quadir: I thought it was extremely random.
21:08 <Rathisponge> I thought at the beginning it was trying to show each anime she/he was going to use in it
21:09 <Hunter> I'd have liked to see this be a single anime, instead of a bunch of small stories
21:09 <Otohiko> I thought the scene selections were pretty good, BUT
21:09 <quadir> Rathisponge: yeah, didn't s/he?
21:09 <Otohiko> it let some scenes drag out without really going anywhere
21:09 <DriftRoot> Small, but it didn't fit together well enough. The whole "I'm a grown up looking back on my childhood" theme could have been much stronger.
21:09 <Otohiko> that's a concern
21:09 <ngsilver> a single anime, and perhaps shorter video
21:09 <Kit> Hunter: single anime wouldn't have worked quite as well, I don't think
21:09 <G_Q> The fades weren't quite matching up to the song, and the video sources just went in and out without any purpose or synch.
21:09 <Panky> there were some clips that slowened down looked awful
21:09 * G_Q agrees with ng
21:09 <godix> I noticed that myself. Had a few animes but seemed focus mainly on one and the other were just kinda tossed in
21:09 <DriftRoot> Yah, the slowdown tripped me up
21:09 <Kit> it's a broader cincept
21:09 <G_Q> If this were just FMA, then I'd have liked it better.
21:10 <Otohiko> I like the broader concept
21:10 <inthesto> Multi-anime drama never works out
21:10 <inthesto> NEVER
21:10 <DriftRoot> Also, the different syles of the series was kind of jarring when seen back to back
21:10 <Hunter> just as they were getting to some development on one, they jump to another
21:10 <quadir> when writting my op I tryed to comment on the mini-stories vs a single story... but that just started making me think about each character being the same kind
21:10 <Otohiko> was this really... drama, though?
21:10 <quadir> facing the same problems
21:10 <Panky> example : 1:32 1:38
21:10 <G_Q> Especially when you mix so many differently-processed sources.
21:10 <Eclipse> sto: are you sure?
21:10 <inthesto> Meh, I'll call it drama
21:10 <G_Q> From ordinary to super-jaggie.
21:10 <ngsilver> video felt synced more on lyrics and emotion then the song really... and more emotional then lyrics
21:10 <godix> http://www.animemusicvideos.org/phpBB/v ... hp?t=79317
21:10 <godix> I think that post highlights my opinion of it's video quality.
21:10 <quadir> it's almost like a character profile where the profile drawn is the same, but for different animes
21:10 <DriftRoot> I would have liked to see more imagery matching up to the lyrics. Sometimes it just completely fell through.
21:10 <Panky> i hate having to search out the lyrics on internet..
21:10 <G_Q> Reminded me of that other video we op'd a while ago.
21:11 <quadir> DriftRoot: you thought so?
21:11 <G_Q> One that admitted it wasn't so much on synchro as it was on theme.
21:11 <DriftRoot> Definately. Like at...erm...
21:11 <Rathisponge> I felt the images were matched fairly accurately to the lyrics and emotions like ngsilver mentioned
21:11 <quadir> I mean if anything I saw tons of lyric sync at the cost of story sometimes
21:11 <Hunter> too much sync to lyrics I thought
21:11 <DriftRoot> "illuminates" at around 1:10 there was no illumination!
21:11 <Otohiko> well, the lyric sync was alright but a little... literal at times
21:11 <inthesto> I thought the lyric sync was fine
21:12 <G_Q> Plus, there was a lot of lip flapping at the beginning, then they do a lip sync in the middle. >_>
21:12 <Otohiko> but I'm sure there's a long debate to be had about whether literal is good or bad
21:12 <godix> there were spots where there was a bit too much lyric sync. Other spots seemed to not really have any.
21:12 <quadir> DriftRoot: I think you've isolated it too much, back up 2 seconds
21:12 <inthesto> Not too much of it, but not too little
21:12 <G_Q> That really threw me off.
21:12 <DriftRoot> This video isn't described as having lipsynch
21:12 <G_Q> It was in the middle.
21:12 <Rathisponge> ah yes the lip flapping at the middle did throw me off as well GQ
21:12 <Otohiko> I don't see lipsync
21:12 <inthesto> Honestly though, I didn't pay too much attention
21:12 <G_Q> Let me check..
21:12 <quadir> DriftRoot: 'the lihgtning flash illuminates' and s/he does do a REALLY nice lighting flash actually
21:12 <Otohiko> but there is some sync to people starting to talk
21:12 * inthesto was too busy not paying attention to the video, due to it being kind of boring
21:12 <DriftRoot> I know abot the flash
21:13 <DriftRoot> But it was what was being illuminated that was off - something GOOD was supposed to be illuminated but we only saw something depressing and bad.
21:13 <G_Q> There was an attempt at 1:44
21:13 <DriftRoot> I was like - Ok...ready for happy scene...no happy scene?
21:13 <Panky> i think that the song doesn't go with what the concept really was
21:13 <Rathisponge> I thought the music was neglected in synching, such as the beautiful piano throughout the song, I wish it was brought out more
21:13 <G_Q> Then at 1:56 also
21:13 <Panky> i mean,.. the song is about nature or i'm wrong?
21:13 <G_Q> Both of those spots lip synched.
21:13 <DriftRoot> She seemed to have paid a lot of attention to the transitions into clips but not as much on the transition out...
21:13 <quadir> Panky: well the song really restarts for each mini-story
21:14 <G_Q> Yet every other lip flap didn't. :\
21:14 <quadir> and tells the story slightly differently, but conveying the same emotions
21:14 <DriftRoot> The video description didn't offer comment on lipsynching...it was bad if it was supposed to be synched.
21:14 <Hunter> quadir: and they don't finish each story
21:14 <quadir> Hunter: isn't there a flashy random ending to go with the flashy random intro?
21:14 <Otohiko> yea, well, I think the editor picked a bit too many anime
21:14 <Otohiko> wrapping it all up was naturally a bit hard
21:14 <Hunter> true
21:14 <DriftRoot> She should have stuck to all moms...
21:14 <Panky> but the song isn't by mother-child relation
21:14 <Rathisponge> I thought the scene selections that included the landscapes were very appropriate and beautiful
21:14 <Panky> it's just...
21:14 <Kit> GQ: are you sure the lip sync isn't unintentional?
21:15 <inthesto> The anime choice is kind of like
21:15 * DriftRoot agrees with Rath
21:15 <G_Q> Kit: Those were.
21:15 <inthesto> Fanwank
21:15 <Rathisponge> such as around 2:35
21:15 <quadir> how is the vid about mother-child?
21:15 <G_Q> The rest didn't seem to be.
21:15 <Panky> i mean
21:15 <Otohiko> it wasn't like one of those two-anime drama videos that do it right, and it wasn't one of those 50-anime videos that do it right either in terms of keeping it coherent
21:15 <DriftRoot> How is it NOT?
21:15 <Panky> there's always a child and her respective mother
21:15 <Panky> if i'm not wrong
21:15 <quadir> I just saw a profile of sasuke / oj kid / spiky hair kid
21:15 <Otohiko> it was in a slightly uncomfortable territory of a half-dozen sources
21:15 <DriftRoot> Uh...that's not Kyon's mother.
21:15 <inthesto> I saw Shounen Bushido slowed down a thousand times
21:15 <Otohiko> LOL
21:15 <Otohiko> I'm with sto
21:16 <Kit> hmm
21:16 <G_Q> All I could see was badly jagged video in between, and jagged intro and ending.
21:16 <DriftRoot> Here's something that bugged me in the beginning: our first shots of the Elric family we get a closeup of Ed...but no Al!!
21:16 <quadir> it's true most of the shots of them as little kids involve some kind of 'motherly' scene
21:16 <G_Q> That stood out like a sore thumb.
21:16 <quadir> but that's more due to the anime, and the lyrics do go 'little child'
21:16 <Rathisponge> I think you make a good point Panky, the song does mention nature quite frequently, but I think the main theme was of the child and mother
21:16 <Kit> not to derail the conversation, but since there are more people in here now, does any one know why I might know the name VIenna Teng?
21:16 <Panky> also when it says the storm clous mask your beloved moon it shows the sun xd
21:16 <Otohiko> Kit: Koop's video?
21:16 <Kit> possibly
21:16 <Panky> yeah i was thinking that rathis
21:16 <Kit> link?
21:16 <DriftRoot> The video was so bad I didn't get the moon thing for awhile.
21:17 <Otohiko> um
21:17 <Kit> er wai
21:17 <Kit> I'll just go to his profile
21:17 <DriftRoot> Speaking of moons...some of the night scenes were way too dark.
21:17 <Otohiko> http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... hp?v=65261
21:17 <Otohiko> thar
21:17 <Kit> oor taht works
21:17 <Rathisponge> She/he did some really good transitions like at 1:54 and 2:06
21:17 <Kit> okay
21:17 <G_Q> The thunder scene could have use more "flashes of lightning" also.
21:17 <Kit> that's probably it
21:17 <Kit> thanks
21:17 <Otohiko> I'm actually a fan of Vienna, though this isn't one of my more favorite songs etc.
21:17 <Panky> knowing that slowing down clips for fullfiling certain parts is a great advance in any video editor
21:17 <Panky> is bad*
21:18 <DriftRoot> She slowed down too much usually.
21:18 <Otohiko> I was thinking of checking this out anyway, but... unfortunately most of my reservations about getting it were true :/
21:18 <DriftRoot> So did we figure out what's up with the weird letterboxing?
21:18 <quadir> in the end though I found this to have a really old school composition. Various sources, but stuck to a theme (which I still think is a character profile more then a relationship but it's a tough call)
21:18 <Otohiko> DR: yes
21:18 <DriftRoot> Ok
21:18 <Otohiko> I think this is related to youtube-ness
21:19 <Hunter> I can see character profile to it, but the motherly theme seems to cover it
21:19 <Otohiko> I'm fairly sure the video was exported with the intention of putting it on something like that
21:19 <Panky> and that's what i hate from these songs, the concept is only one and pretty solid, and if it repeats the same 4 times you won't know what to place in the video, or you'll be redundant
21:19 <inthesto> People optimize for YouTube?
21:19 <Otohiko> sto: eh
21:19 <Otohiko> probably?
21:19 <godix> Eh, this video was better than the average vid. I don't actually want to skull rape the woman for making it or anything which is far better than I can say of most others.
21:19 <Rathisponge> It does have a motherly theme but it is interesting that one of the sources it is an older gentlemen and a young boy
21:19 <ngsilver> it's odd seeing a video encoded using the SonyPSP container that isn't actually widescreen
21:19 <DriftRoot> I would have liked to see more reminiscing. It was hard to tell from whose perspective we were watching this: a kid's/a parent's/ a grown up kids?
21:19 <quadir> inthesto: they export for it, you have a max upload limit for youtube
21:20 <Eclipse> yeah they do optimize for it
21:20 <Eclipse> youtube can make certain formats and codecs look shitty
21:20 <Otohiko> and yea, I agree that the main theme here was a little vague
21:20 <DriftRoot> I would have liked to see some fathers...or older brothers.
21:20 <Hunter> DR: was a father in one of them
21:20 <DriftRoot> We've got LOTS of older brother types around to choose from.
21:20 <orwell> screw it, I actually want to do a indepth OP for this, and that means completely ignoring review
21:20 <DriftRoot> I know but there was only one and it was kind of odd.
21:21 <DriftRoot> I meant MORE fathers...
21:21 <G_Q> There really was no cohesion to it. It just weaved in and out of most of them (mostly FMA, then others).
21:21 <Otohiko> I think using less anime but using it to more character depth would be better
21:21 <ngsilver> i'd agree
21:21 <DriftRoot> I think the cohesion was meant to be the beautiful scenery
21:21 <godix> I would have liked to see the video go somewhere. I feel like any of the scenes put at the end would have worked just as well if they were at the start because the video goes NOWHERE.
21:21 <Hunter> it would have been great as a single anime vid
21:21 <DriftRoot> She used the scenery very nicely.
21:21 <G_Q> It's not like the editor started with FMA, then Naruto, etc., then just flowed timely between them.
21:21 <Kit> I actually remember seeing more Naruto than FMA
21:21 <quadir> G_Q: I thought so too in the first two viewings
21:21 * Kit doesn't remember more than two scenes of FMA
21:21 <Otohiko> there was definitely some sort of emotional response it was trying to get, but it just didn't go deep enough into characters to really make it work
21:21 <quadir> but I'm heading away from that
21:21 <orwell> Seems like it's about reflecting on childhood or something. Waaaay to much lyric sync. Taking a couple animes and weaving in some sort of goal to this video would have greatly improved it
21:22 <Otohiko> and DR: Yes, scenery was very nice
21:22 <Panky> well this is confusing
21:22 <Otohiko> scenery + weather
21:22 <inthesto> Okay, I think godix just expressed what I was trying to get out about this video
21:22 <Panky> i get the video but not the song
21:22 <Otohiko> that was certainly a plus
21:22 <inthesto> It's not just that the video is slow to the point of boring
21:22 <DriftRoot> I actually cheered at the part with the "creatures into trees"
21:22 <inthesto> It just doesn't go anywhere
21:22 <G_Q> orwell: A climatic moment.
21:22 <G_Q> That's really what's missing.
21:22 <Rathisponge> I could agree that using less anime would maybe help to create more of a story and cohesion within the video
21:22 <quadir> Otohiko: rocks and trees eh?
21:22 <Otohiko> indeed
21:22 <orwell> The scenary would have been nice if it didn't look like somebody put a japanese porn censor over it
21:22 <Otohiko> I like those
21:22 <DriftRoot> :/
21:22 <orwell> perhaps I shouldn't have watched it fullscreened
21:23 <Panky> with a song like this one i don't think you can drive too much story xD
21:23 <DriftRoot> Yah
21:23 <Otohiko> well, another thing is...
21:23 <Otohiko> maybe the song should've been cut
21:23 <godix> The scenery would have been nice if it didn't look like the editor said 'Well the song says rain here so we're gonna have some fucking rain for gods sake'
21:23 <Otohiko> it drags on
21:23 <ngsilver> well, the a/r used didn't help the quality
21:23 <DriftRoot> If it was shorter it would have needed a much stronger...plot.
21:23 <Otohiko> I don't think throwing in more and more anime really justified dragging it out, and I say it as someone who has made fucking long videos before
21:24 <Panky> ohh that lyric synch isn't bad at all, if parts go with another part
21:24 <godix> DR: Even longer it needed a much stronger plot. So of the two I prefer short and pointless to long and pointless.
21:24 <orwell> I didn't really feel like it drug on myself, it just feels like the song should have only got mild attention, providing more just music for the focus of the video, some sort of story.
21:24 <DriftRoot> It would have been more random if it was shorter as-is is all I'm saying.
21:24 <Otohiko> maybe
21:24 <Otohiko> I can't say for sure
21:24 <Rathisponge> I agree orwell
21:24 <quadir> if you look at the structure of the song I think it makes sense. the song repeats a basic plot in a few different ways. the editor constructed character profiles from different animes who are CANNON like the situations described
21:24 <DriftRoot> It was long/short enough for me...I didn't feel like I was staring at something that was a complete waste of music.
21:24 <DriftRoot> Not a lot of filler...
21:25 <DriftRoot> Unless the whole thing is filler. :/
21:25 <Hunter> DR: not enough time for each anime to have filler
21:25 <godix> Oh fuck yes there was filler in here. It's just most of the filler spots were because she took lyric sync way too literally sometimes.
21:25 <inthesto> I'm gonna go with "the whole thing was filler"
21:25 <quadir> yeah there was lyric sync filler but I think that contributed to the mood
21:25 <Otohiko> godix: yea, I can see how that'd be decribed as filler
21:25 <Hunter> the lyric sync wouldn't have been so bad had she cut away when the lyrics were done
21:25 <DriftRoot> I mean...erghh...filler like "that was stupid" filler...
21:26 <Panky> if everything is a filler then nothing is a filler
21:26 <Otohiko> there's only one kind of filler, "this was not neccesary"
21:26 <godix> quadir: Ok, I'll give it that. it was pretty consistant at the mood. It was slow and boring at the start and it was slow and boring at the end.
21:26 <G_Q> The only videos that should be all filler are Dance/Techno videos.
21:26 <DriftRoot> Anyone else expect some effects/transitions and fall on your face when they didn't show up?
21:26 <Otohiko> DR: not sure
21:26 <ngsilver> I don't expect it
21:26 <quadir> DriftRoot: not me, I'm used to this editing style, it's very old
21:26 <Hunter> DR: fades aren't effects enough?
21:27 <godix> Not really. For dramas I tend to not expect much/any effects.
21:27 <DriftRoot> It's not a straight cut so I'm calling it an effect
21:27 <ngsilver> I think the fades worked quite well provided the music
21:27 <godix> Usually it's a bad point if there are some actually.
21:27 <G_Q> Haunter: When they are default fades all over, not really.
21:27 <Rathisponge> I think some of the transitions were very nice when they did match up, like at 2:30
21:27 <quadir> G_Q: nah the length was changed to fit the audio
21:27 <DriftRoot> I wanted a little more style to the transitions is all...
21:28 * DriftRoot tries to find the right place as an example
21:28 <quadir> you new kids!
21:28 <Eclipse> hahah
21:28 <Rathisponge> if there was any effect I would have liked , it would have been to bring more of the piano out
21:28 * ngsilver prefers simple editing usually
21:28 <quadir> so what did people find clicked with them in the video, or that they liked?
21:28 <G_Q> New? I haven't been a "new" kid for years.
21:28 <G_Q> >>
21:28 <Eclipse> he aint' talking to you =P
21:28 <godix> I don't know, for this type of video I think the transitions should be subtle enough that you don't notice them unless you're picking apart the video. Fancy transitions tend to be too attention drawing.
21:28 <Otohiko> quadir: I like the use of scenery/weather
21:28 <Hunter> quadir: we have to "like" something here?
21:28 <Panky> oh hell,... i closed the video
21:28 <DriftRoot> I liked the use of the scenery
21:28 <Panky> now i have to download it again, great..
21:28 <Otohiko> I also liked the overall layout
21:29 <Hunter> godix: we are picking apart this video
21:29 <godix> quadir: Why do you ask questions I honestly can't find an answer to?
21:29 <Rathisponge> Scenery, pacing and mood were what I enjoyed the most.
21:29 <Otohiko> I think the editor did have a pretty good idea overall, but got lost in the details and lyric sync
21:29 <ngsilver> the premise of parent and child i liked... I don't see it much. the editing style worked very well for the song and end product
21:29 <godix> Hunter: I know. I'm just saying plain fade transitions aren't a bad thing for videos like this. They aren't attention drawing.
21:29 <Kit> I liked the end
21:29 <Hunter> the stories themselves were the best part... been better had it focused on one, but still good.
21:29 <DriftRoot> She got where she was going to with this AMV.
21:29 <Kit> I don't remember why, but I enjoyed it more than the beginning
21:30 <DriftRoot> I'd like to see this done with just one anime.
21:30 <DriftRoot> It could expand a lot beyond basic mom and kid scenes.
21:30 * Hunter agrees with DriftRoot
21:30 <quadir> at the beginning I didn't think the characters were like each other very much, but as I watch the video I definitely see how they are similar. I like that the video teaches you something about them that isn't necesarily obvious
21:30 <Panky> is this one the firsts video he/she made?
21:30 <Hunter> its a collab apparently
21:30 <DriftRoot> This would be a nice three-generational song...
21:30 <Panky> collab?
21:31 <ngsilver> apparently the 2nd for both
21:31 <Hunter> "Members: kowaiyoukai, siriuslyyellow "
21:31 <Panky> i see..
21:31 <DriftRoot> I have to say this: the intro bumper music completely threw me off.
21:31 <Panky> strange
21:31 <ngsilver> they seem to have colabed on both videos
21:31 <godix> I think the video has potential to be, well, at least semi-decent with lots of work. If this were a beta I might check out the final version when it was done. Since this is the final version, ugh.
21:31 <Panky> pretty strange
21:31 <Panky> by 2 people?
21:31 <Otohiko> I'd agree with godix there on the whole
21:31 <Panky> doing this kind of video
21:32 <Otohiko> many people on one video can make shit
21:32 <Otohiko> I'm sure godix can tell you all about it
21:32 <godix> maybe one did the naruto bits and the other did FMA.
21:32 <DriftRoot> Do you think this used legit footage...or fansubs?
21:32 <Panky> oh but i didn't mean that way, the only collab i have seen are random action clips and kind
21:32 <ngsilver> fansubs
21:32 <inthesto> Fansubs, definitely
21:32 <Hunter> subs
21:32 <godix> Otohiko: Yes. But keep in mind, onoe person on one video can make shit as well.
21:32 <DriftRoot> It's hard to tell...I appreciate the lack of subtitles anyways.
21:32 <ngsilver> the quality suggests fansubs
21:32 <Hunter> DR: you lose subs, you get borders
21:32 <Otohiko> yes, there's some obvious signs of poor source
21:32 <DriftRoot> Riiiighhhttt
21:33 <Panky> LEGIT FOOTAGE
21:33 <ngsilver> and very little to no filtering to increase quality
21:33 <orwell> If you lose subs, how does that equate borders?
21:33 <DriftRoot> Never a good sign when you have to squint to read the credits.
21:33 <Panky> well there was someone who hadn0t to agree with the others
21:33 <DriftRoot> You chop them off.
21:33 <Hunter> cropped it off
21:33 <DriftRoot> If it was legit it's a crying shame.
21:34 <orwell> This needs more Eva or the final arc of Monster
21:34 <DriftRoot> lol
21:34 <Hunter> not a drama vid without Eva
21:34 <godix> Actually eva would be an interesting counterpoint to the parent theme
21:35 <quadir> ugh I'm so glad it doesn't have any :)
21:35 <Kiiiiit> parent trap
21:35 <DriftRoot> This a good song...they did a pretty decent job...it could have been a lot worse.
21:35 <godix> Come on, imagine it, 4 and a half minutes of sappy parent shit followed by Gendo being, well, Gendo.
21:35 <Hunter> godix: i lol'd
21:35 <orwell> hmmm, NG, you should do this to mother taboo incest or whatever it was you were working with
21:35 <ngsilver> hahah
21:36 <ngsilver> naw, milk money would be better
21:36 <ngsilver> anyone else sad ad the video quality despite being mp4?
21:36 <ngsilver> err
21:36 <ngsilver> h.264
21:37 <DriftRoot> What?
21:37 <orwell> large breasts filled with milk for storm clouds, I'm definitely seeing it
21:37 <orwell> Yes
21:37 <orwell> Very sad
21:37 <Panky> working with fansubs must be pretty hard
21:37 <Rathisponge> I did think the lower video quality did take some away from the video
21:37 <DriftRoot> Definately.
21:37 <Panky> if you're doing a professional video
21:37 <orwell> Panky: Only if you grabbed the rm version
21:37 <orwell> or whatever, 50 mb file version of a entire episode
21:37 <Panky> yeah but i mean when you're into masking and that kind of things
21:38 <orwell> Clean source, make very clean, then mask
21:38 <orwell> not that hard
21:38 <orwell> Just more filter play than you would with a dvd source
21:38 <quadir> it be bonus time now?
21:38 <DriftRoot> Fansubs + masks = mashfbs
21:38 <Hunter> yes, need something to wash my eyes wth
21:38 <Hunter> with**
21:38 <godix> the small resolution took away from the video. Although the fact the low quality was still so apparent even after making the footage smaller was not a good sign.
21:38 <inthesto> The bonus is SYSTEM SHOCK 2
21:39 <quadir> any final words on the vid then?
21:39 <Panky> oh
21:39 <Panky> just read
21:39 <Hunter> needs more incest
21:39 <Panky> The basic theme of this AMV is about parents who are comforting their children. Technically, the "parents" used in this AMV are not always the real parents, but I think it still works out fine
21:39 <quadir> I like it overall, for all it's faults
21:39 <ngsilver> with some more work, better quality, this would have been a decent video
21:39 <orwell> It had a concept, but, poorly executed in nearly every aspect
21:39 <Panky> that says the video description
21:39 <Otohiko> I would agree with godix's assessment, it's a good idea and has a good sense of direction, but really looks like a beta of a video
21:39 <Panky> i haven't seen it
21:39 <Panky> before
21:39 <Panky> it was kinda of better
21:39 <DriftRoot> It was a decent effort that didn't fail spectacularly. It leaves a lot of room for improvement.
21:39 <Kit> wait, what was that about breasts?
21:39 <ngsilver> but sadly it's been done before, and better
21:39 <Rathisponge> I liked it as well, if I enjoyed anything the most from it , it was a good setting of mood
21:40 <orwell> large breasts full of milk to represent storm clouds
21:40 <godix> quadir: I had already deleted this without finishing watching it earlier. Now that I redownloaded it and actually watched it all, I've come to realize my initial reaction was the correct one.
21:40 <Panky> ha
21:40 <Panky> it's so funny reading some things

[Otohiko]

Lotsa fair points raised tonight, even though at times I thought we had a little too much talking about the video and everyone was going off in different directions on it.

A larger/better render of this video would be a good start to fixing it up. Take advantage of the .org's hosting better than that, people!

[Emong]

This was an interesting video with a clean and original concept. But I think the very simple (too simple, maybe?) and average editing didn't really raise this video to its full potential.. It was an interesting AMV though.

[DriftRoot]

Lotsa fair points raised tonight, even though at times I thought we had a little too much talking about the video and everyone was going off in different directions on it.

A larger/better render of this video would be a good start to fixing it up. Take advantage of the .org's hosting better than that, people!

It may have been that - aside from the big flaw of the video quality - you couldn't put a finger on other huge flaws, just a lot of subtle things that had to be worked out and that led to exploration of other problems. So we kind of rambled. Aside from the use of some scenic imagery, I don't think we could come up with a big positive, either.

This was one of the more memorable sentimental videos I've seen, but a big part of that is my sense that it was an AMV with a lot of potential that wound up disappointing me on several levels. As I said in the review session, it was flawed and yet had enough promise to make me really want to see it done better. It was too bad that such a simple step like improving the video quality was completely overlooked.

[kowaiyoukai]

Wow, I'm really glad quadir left me this link so I could read this. I'm sort of amazed that a bunch of people get together to discuss AMVs. Also, thanks a so much for deciding on mine to discuss!

I can't say I'm surprised at the negative comments. I knew from the start that this was an AMV that not everyone would appreciate. The theme isn't one I've seen done before, and I've looked for it, which means I was prepared for it to not be popular.

I know the video can be better, but honestly? I'm just doing this for fun, not to be the best. So I'm all right with the fact that my AMV has flaws in it. I'm a fangirl at heart, and the important thing for me was to get across the feeling of the song and who I thought worked best with it. I chose Kyou and Shissou last, simply because I thought they wouldn't work b/c of the mother/child feel of the song. But, after playing around with it, I think it ended up really nicely.

About the technical stuff... once again, I have no real desire to study up on how to get everything to be picture-perfect quality. I'd like it to look as best as it possibly can, but I'm not going to stress about it. B/c I'm doing this just for fun, and I'd like it if other people could enjoy anything I make, but it's okay if they don't.

Also, I personally feel like special effects are often over-used in AMVs, and after making Hum Hallelujah, I was happy with making an AMV that didn't require so many flashy effects (even though HH didn't really have many effects, compared to some other AMVs I've seen).

About the collab, I made Lullaby by myself, but my twin sister helped me with some opinions and stuff. I didn't really care about putting her as a collaborator, and she wanted to be listed as one, so voila. ^_^*

Thanks a lot for watching this! Your opinions really have helped me out. I'll try to figure out how to get better video quality. One problem I'm having is that every time I render something in AVI, Vegas makes the file over 10 GB. ;_; But I will keep at it, and hopefully once the video quality is better some people might appreciate it more.

Alos, any lip-synching was accidental. I put this AMV together in a week, after all. I wanted to wait and work on the lips some more, but... oh well. ^_^*

Thanks a lot! ^_^*

[quadir]

amv-review again right now if you want to drop in, we'd love to see new people come by.

[liya-chan]

it's a nice vid:)