AMV rant

[Changelling]

There have been lots of cases where I randomly stumble upon a thread in some anime forum that talks about how much people hate amvs, and wish that the idea of these videos never existed. Mainly because of these amvs that take advantage of a powerful moment in an anime (usually very rushed) to get as many viewers as they can. Basically even non-editors who watch these popular videos are mostly hating the fact that they've accidently clicked on it.

[Lirinis]

Let me advertise our contests a bit. Everything worthy submitted to any of AMVNews' contests instantly gets noticed and reuploaded multiple times. Winning Big Contest guarantees you to have at least hundreds of thousands of views across Youtube.

Trying to get views just sitting on your channel is generally futile.

[seasons]

Does telling everyone to "like and subscribe!" actually make a difference? Because for years now I've always found that approach to be really annoying and I just assumed it would rub everyone else the wrong way, but if that's what's getting people thousands (or even millions?) of views, maybe I need to reconsider my feelings about this. I'm referring to editors who don't post here and don't even participate in conventions.

Watching this made me realize that my entire outlook about how the Internet is "supposed" to work is all wrong and I think this is probably the same mentality that drives AMV views on Youtube.

[Sephirothskr]

I want to expand, I want to be a part of something bigger, I have the potential, I mean.. the stuff I make is good. I just don't know where to go.

[Shui]

If you read what people write here it's clear. If you're that good just go win Contests!
Akross, Big Contests are online things so it's easy to enter. Then you can submit your vids to Big Cons, maybe you want to make exclusive vids for one ot two
Simple as that.

[allmostanyone]

I haven't gotten decent views on my YT channel since my first upload many many years ago xD And even less when I switched channels. I stopped expecting traffic there years ago, I treat it as manly a showroom now. I like showing my stuff at cons ^^ If even one person comes up to me to comment about my work, positive or otherwise, I feel satisfied.

[Sephirothskr]

For two contests I was nominated in the final few videos, but I didn't win.

My problem is: I mainly work with Attack On titan and Naruto as of late. Those two animes are VERY VERY difficult to find new episodes without a watermark in the corner of the tv provider. I am unable to enter 90% of contests because of it. Sometimes they don't care and they let me in anyways, but some are so strict it's ridiculous. So if any can't point me to the right con.. I'll sign up.

[CrackTheSky]

For two contests I was nominated in the final few videos, but I didn't win.

My problem is: I mainly work with Attack On titan and Naruto as of late. Those two animes are VERY VERY difficult to find new episodes without a watermark in the corner of the tv provider. I am unable to enter 90% of contests because of it. Sometimes they don't care and they let me in anyways, but some are so strict it's ridiculous. So if any can't point me to the right con.. I'll sign up.

Simple solution? Find a source to work with that you own and can rip yourself so you don't have to deal with watermarks. Or, if you won't do that...I'm sorry (and without condemning or condoning the use of downloaded footage, that's a whole separate discussion), but if you can't find an un-watermarked rip, you're probably not looking hard enough.

Also, it's not "ridiculous" that cons won't let you enter videos with watermarked footage, that's the way it's always been. They need quality standards, otherwise they'd get flooded with a ton of crap that viewers wouldn't take seriously. Watermarks on your footage are bad, lots of editors won't take a second look at a video that has watermarks. Even if it's a well-edited video, there's a stigma there. The general line of thought is, "If he doesn't care about the ugly watermark ruining the footage, why would he care about the editing?"

[Vlad G Pohnert]

For two contests I was nominated in the final few videos, but I didn't win.

My problem is: I mainly work with Attack On titan and Naruto as of late. Those two animes are VERY VERY difficult to find new episodes without a watermark in the corner of the tv provider. I am unable to enter 90% of contests because of it. Sometimes they don't care and they let me in anyways, but some are so strict it's ridiculous. So if any can't point me to the right con.. I'll sign up.

You have no idea then what it's like to run a contest and why those rules are place then. It goes way beyond just a personal dislike of watermarks.. I suggest maybe you ask why in the first place before passing judgment or run a contest yourself and then you would fins out.

Vlad

[Pwolf]

I want to expand, I want to be a part of something bigger, I have the potential, I mean.. the stuff I make is good. I just don't know where to go.

Not to be mean but the stuff you make (based on the four videos I watch) are alright. It's very obvious that you have the basics of editing down. You're quite talented as an editor of the basics... The issue I see with your videos is that they lack character and often just feel very random and generic. I think the problem is basically what you mentioned:

My problem is: I mainly work with Attack On titan and Naruto as of late. Those two animes are VERY VERY difficult to find new episodes without a watermark in the corner of the tv provider. I am unable to enter 90% of contests because of it. Sometimes they don't care and they let me in anyways, but some are so strict it's ridiculous. So if any can't point me to the right con.. I'll sign up.

Two problems actually... First is your attitude and perception. You believe you're so good that everyone else must be wrong to think otherwise (watermarks being the reason you don't make it or win contests, for example). You may not think that but it's sounding that way. You're also looking for contests that are lenient on rules. Wouldn't you want to test you skills against people who are just as skilled as you? Why look for contests that don't reinforce good standards? A contest that doesn't have good, tested, standards might let a video that's only one really long cut from the anime's intro into the contest (and possible win). Why do that to yourself as an editor whom you think is so good? Test yourself against the best to prove it.

Along the same lines... losing isn't a bad thing. If you've entered a great contest you should be humbled to be put up against 5 or 6 great videos. Not going to lie, winning is great but it's not the end of the world if you don't. You suck it up and try again next year. If you're not getting into contests because of watermarks. Acquire source that doesn't have watermarks. Other people do, so can you. Knowing how to editing is only a small part of the package. You have to put in the effort everywhere else as well.

The second problem is the one you mentioned above. You really are limiting yourself by working with mostly those two sources. They are incredibly popular and you're hurting yourself as an editor by just using those two. As I mentioned before, your videos feel generic. I believe sticking to only one set of sources for too long will make this worse. Find something else to edit with and come back to AoT and Naruto later. Try a different genre. Pick different music. You have a lot of room to grow still. Use this time to expand on your skills by doing new things.

Based on the videos you've uploaded, you've only been editing for about two years? There are editors out there who haven't wont anything in a lot longer than that. Part of that is skill, the other is they just don't care. It took me 3 years of editing to win something at a con and that was back when the playing field was a lot smaller. We had less cons and a lot less editors. Today there are a lot of cons and God knows how many editors who enter them. It's a different playing field and you really have to differentiate yourself because a hundred (if not thousands of) other people are making the same stuff you are. It's almost like interviewing for a job.

Last but not least... Youtube hits are a worthless stat. Those who look for hits or likes to prove they are great, aren't great editors. Don't get bogged down by not winning or making it into contests. Keep editing, try new things, get better. When you do finally win something, you wont enjoy it any less.