video editing and anime industry

[thechainuser]

normally, a youtube channel with amvs cannot be monetized. but what about putting amvs onto a portfolio website? i've been reading how your portfolio should reflect the companies you want to work with but since amvs are technically illegal im not even sure anymore if its a good idea to put them on a portfolio website.

and basically, is it too ambitious to dream of getting a job in the anime industry thanks to good adobe premiere and after effects skills? is there a place for a video editor to work there? i was hoping to work perhaps on opening or ending sequences, PVs as well...

[Kionon]

normally, a youtube channel with amvs cannot be monetized. but what about putting amvs onto a portfolio website? i've been reading how your portfolio should reflect the companies you want to work with but since amvs are technically illegal im not even sure anymore if its a good idea to put them on a portfolio website.

As someone with a radio/television/film schooling background (high school vocational program) and a university journalism background, I would say that derivative works for education purposes are often found in student/entry-level portfolios. You won't have had much opportunity to do paid original work, so I wouldn't be concerned. I myself have had AMVs in portfolios/demo reels, and my AMV work was actually brought up in my interview for my current position (information and communications technology for a major international inter-governmental organisation). I would just be VERY clear about marking any such fan content as fan content, with all rights reserved to the rights holders, the purpose of it is educational and fair use, and an offer to take it down if contacted.

and basically, is it too ambitious to dream of getting a job in the anime industry thanks to good adobe premiere and after effects skills? is there a place for a video editor to work there? i was hoping to work perhaps on opening or ending sequences, PVs as well...

This is an entirely different question altogether. If you mean animation in general, no. Especially if you have done a lot of original animation or modification (rotoscoping, etc) in your derivative fanworks. If you mean anime in the sense of the Japanese animation industry... Not only do I think the answer is far more complicated, there are far more significant factors. Threading your way through homage versus offense (a recent exception is NBC Universal, the rights holder, allowing Serial Experiments Lain to be outright legally used in most kinds of derivative works) is fairly byzantine. When I worked for Bandai I had to be extremely careful about even writing articles about properties Bandai didn't own if I included promotional material. I often had to straight out hotlink their Twitter images, because even the wrong screenshot, would get studios up in arms and cause problems for Bandai.

But putting all that to the side, the Japanese animation industry is full of long hours, poor pay, incredibly terrible working conditions, is sometimes abusive... While there are plenty of non-Japanese and non-native-but-naturalised-Japanese in Japanese animation work, they often speak Japanese or have middle managers who do. Those that are employed directly, rather than by say, Korean or Vietnamese subcontractors, can still find themselves horribly exploited, just like any other foreign worker, no different from the kind of exploitation you would see in factories or warehousing (I'm a union organiser in Japan, I have seen some of this first hand).

I'm not trying to discourage you, but the current state of the industry is factually discouraging.