0. Getting Started: Download AMVapp

[Guides]

A&E's Technical Guides to All Things Audio and Video
0. Getting Started
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September 2010


OUTDATED SOFTWARE NOTICE:
For purposes of archival, we have not edited the guides' content.
However, it is important to note an updated AMV software pack exists.
It is heavily recommended you use the AMVpack INSTEAD of the AMVapp that is listed in this guide.
The AMVpack has updated software and is cross-platform.

[Guides]

Getting Started

So, you want to create an AMV? Well you've come to the right place, because this guide is going to show you everything that you need to know!

First of all, there are three things that you will need.

1. A computer with lots of disk space. I recommend that you have a PC running Windows XP or later. You can you definitely make AMVs on a Mac or on Linux as well, but this guide focuses on Windows, so if you are using anything else, you won't be able to follow many parts of this guide. Also, it is recommended that you have a LOT of free disk space. 20GB MINIMUM, I would say. It's not a bad idea to purchase a 100GB or larger hard disk exclusively for editing. We will be using lossless video codecs, which use up a lot of space, very quickly. Fortunately, large hard disks are really cheap these days, and even laptops come with pretty large HDs.
2. AMVapp. The AMVapp is just a package of software we have put together that contains many of the programs and utilities mentioned in this guide. Much of this software is absolutely necessary. You can download it here.
3. A video editing application. Also called an NLE (non-linear editor), this is the program that you will use to actually edit your video. There are a number of good NLEs available, though few are available free of charge. Probably the most widely-used NLE is Windows Movie Maker. This program comes free with Windows XP and Vista, so you probably already have it. Windows Movie Maker is okay if you are just starting out and are trying to see what editing is like, but it is a VERY limited piece of software and doesnt allow you to do much. Unfortunately, because of the severe limitations imposed by WMM, this guide honestly wont be of much help to WMM users. If you become even remotely serious about creating AMVs, you will definately want a better NLE. A good step up from WMM is Sony Vegas Movie Studio. This editor is fairly cheap, and offers a lot of functionality. There are a ton of other NLEs out there that you could try, but Vegas seems to be the most popular one these days. For a list of others, check out this thread.

Once you have everything that you need, you might be wondering about how to actually go about making your AMV. Here are the general steps:

1. Get the video footage and audio onto your computer. (Usually from DVDs and CDs)
2. Prepare the video and audio for use in your editing application.
3. Edit your video.
4. Export and compress your video.

Now, of these four steps, step #3 is the creative process that everyone wants to get into right away. Steps #1, 2, and 4, however, involve a lot of technical things that can be difficult to learn and understand. I'm not going to lie to you--these steps are not fun. However, they are necessary if you want your video to look nice. The amount of work you put into these technical steps will directly influence the overall visual quality of your video. If you try to take shortcuts, your video may end up looking like crap.

The purpose of this guide is to help you with the technical aspects. You will not find instructions here on how to actually edit your video. For that, you need to read the manual that goes with your NLE.

[Guides]

AMVapp

The AMVapp is basically just a package containing most of the software used in these guides. Because we use a lot of different software, it could be very time consuming to track it all down individually. Also, by using AMVapp, you ensure that you have the same versions of the software that are used in the guides. I will try to keep the AMVapp reasonably up to date.

Previous versions of the AMVapp contained one installer that installed EVERYTHING. While this had some advantages, it also had a lot of disadvantages. The primary disadvantage being that it was really hard to update and maintain. So for that reason, the AMVapp is now simply a zip file containing everything. Unfortunately, this means you will have to install each item individually, but it shouldn't take too long!

Downloading AMVapp

AMVapp can be downloaded right here: AMVapp 3.1, 2010-10-05 (20MB)

Unpacking the AMVapp

After downloading the AMVapp from the link above, you should open it and see a whole bunch of files inside. Each of these is an installer for a component of the AMVapp. Don't just go installing them randomly though, because some of them may need to be installed before others. You may not even need many of the applications. I'll give you a rundown of what each thing does below.

If you have installed a previous version of the AMVapp, or any of the individual applications contained in it, then I highly recommend that you uninstall all of it before you begin!



DVDfab HD Decrypter

Official Website: http://www.dvdfab.com/free.htm
Filename in AMVapp: NOT included in AMVapp, so go download it from the official site!
You should install it if: You plan to rip your own DVDs or BluRays.
Installation Instructions: It is safe to uncheck the "VSO Burning Engine" option, as its not required. When it asks you which product version to install, choose the one that says "Free Edition".



AviSynth 2.5.8

Official Website: http://avisynth.org
Filename in AMVapp: Avisynth_258.exe
You should install it if: AviSynth is one of the core applications that everyone should install. Other software may rely on it, and besides that it is incredibly useful. You should definitely install it.



AviSynth Plugin Pack

Alternate Download: AVSPluginPack.zip (download this if you want to install the plugins manually)
Filename in AMVapp: AVSPluginPack.exe
Requirements: Requires AviSynth to be installed.
You should install it if: This is a collection of AviSynth plugins and functions that I have put together for this guide. There are so many things included that it would take a lot of time and effort for you to track them all down individually. Some of the included functions cannot be found elsewhere. Definitely install it.
Installation Instructions: If you already have other AviSynth plugins installed, then I highly recommend you remove them and start over from a fresh new installation of AviSynth, because otherwise conflicts may occur between your existing plugins and the plugins contained in this pack. If you don't want to lose your existing plugins, you can move them to a different folder and then copy them back later, as needed. Otherwise, the installation process should be straightforward.



AvsPmod 2.0.5

Official Website: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=153248
Filename in AMVapp: AvsPmod_205.exe
Requirements: Requires AviSynth to be installed.
You should install it if: This is an editor for AviSynth scripts which makes working with AviSynth much easier and faster. It is highly recommended, but not required.



DGMPGDec 1.5.8

Official Website: http://neuron2.net/dgmpgdec/dgmpgdec.html
Filename in AMVapp: DGMPGDec158.exe
Requirements: Requires AviSynth to be installed.
You should install it if: If you want to use video footage from DVDs, you will need this.



VirtualDub 1.9.10

Official Website: http://virtualdub.sourceforge.net/
Filename in AMVapp: VirtualDub_1910.exe
You should install it if: This is a very handy tool for viewing and compressing AVI files. Highly recommended.



Xvid 1.2.1

Official Website: http://www.koepi.info/xvid.html
Filename in AMVapp: Xvid-1.2.1-04122008.exe
You should install it if: Only necessary if you want to compress your AMV with the Xvid codec. Kind of outdated these days, and not really necessary.
Installation Instructions: When installing, I recommend unchecking the box labeled "Decode all supported FourCCs".



UTvideo 8.2.0

Official Website: http://umezawa.dyndns.info/wordpress/?cat=28
Filename in AMVapp: utvideo-8.2.0-x86.msi & utvideo-8.2.0-x64.msi
You should install it if: This is a lossless codec. You should install at least one. This is the recommended one.
Installation Instructions: First install utvideo-8.2.0-x86.msi. Then, if you are using a 64-bit version of windows, then you should also install utvideo-8.2.0-x64.msi.



Huffyuv 2.1.1

Filename in AMVapp: HuffyuvSetup.exe
You should install it if: This is a lossless codec. You should install at least one. UTvideo is better, so this isn't really necessary.



Lagarith 1.3.19

Official Website: http://lags.leetcode.net/codec.html
Filename in AMVapp: LagarithSetup_1319.exe
You should install it if: This is a lossless codec. You should install at least one. I recommend UTvideo instead.



Lame ACM Codec 3.98.2

Filename in AMVapp: LameACMsetup.exe
You should install it if: This lets you compress audio to the MP3 format from within VirtualDub. Only really needed if you plan to encode your videos with the Xvid codec. Not really necessary these days.



Zarx264gui 1.33

Official Website: http://amvhell.com/stuff/zarx264gui/
Filename in AMVapp: Zarx264gui_133.exe
Requirements: Requires AviSynth to be installed. Also requires Microsoft .Net framework. If you have Microsoft Vista or higher, you already have this framework. If you are using XP however, you may need to install it. The best way to check whether or not you have it is to install Zarx264gui and see if it works. If the application wont start, then you don't have the .Net framework. .Net can be downloaded from here.
You should install it if: You want to easily compress your video to MP4 with the x264 codec. Highly recommended.



Adobe Premiere AVS Plugin

Filename in AMVapp: PremiereAVSPlugin-v1.95a.exe
Requirements: Requires AviSynth be installed. Requires Adobe Premiere 5.x/6.x or a version of Adobe Premiere Pro BELOW CS5, or Adobe After Effects CS3 or later. It may work with with Premiere Elements, maybe not.
You should install it if: If you use a supported version of Adobe Premiere or After Effects and would like to load AviSynth scripts directly into it, then get this. Otherwise you should skip it.
Installation Instructions: The installer should automatically find your plugins folder if you have a compatable application.

After installing, it will ask you if you would like to configure the plugin. You can choose No for now, as we will be covering those options later on in this guide.



Pismo File Mount & AviSynth Virtual File System

Filename in AMVapp: pfmap-159.exe & AVFS_setup.exe
Requirements: Requires AviSynth be installed.
You should install it if: These will let you open AviSynth scripts in any application that accepts AVI Files. Handy, but not required. Useful if you want to load AVS script into editing applications other than Premiere.
Installation Instructions: First, install Pismo File Mount (pfmap-159.exe). Next, run AVFS_setup.exe to install the AviSynth Virtual File System.

October 2010

[Guides]

How to use this guide

In order to use this guide effectively, you must be willing to read it all the way through and follow directions in their entirity. While it can seem like there is a ton of information here, and a lot of the processes described might seem time-consuming at first, once you become familiar with the process and know what you are doing, it can all be very quick. Seriously--I rarely spend more than a few minutes preparing my footage.

This guide is split into two main segments: a theory guide, and a practical guide. The theory guide explains the main concepts behind digital video that you need to know. This section of the guide is actually fairly short, but it can be difficult to understand at first. I highly recommend that you read the theory section before you begin creating your video. Even if you don't understand everything it's talking about, it will introduce you to a lot of important concepts and terminology.

The practical guide walks you through the things that you actually need to do. This part of the guide is (necessarily) quite long and complex. I highly recommend that you follow it from the beginning, rather than trying to just read a single page or two when you get stuck. Much of what is being done later on in the guide is dependent on things that were done earlier in the guide, so if you skip around, you WILL get confused! If you stay on track and follow things correctly though, I don't think you will have much trouble. If something in the guide confuses you, you can always come and ask about it in the forum.

Hopefully, I haven't scared you away by now. If you are ready, let's head back to the index so you can get started!

[Guides]

A&E's Technical Guides to All Things Audio and Video
0. Getting Started
↤ Previous | Index | Next ↦
September 2010

[Guides]

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