How key is the music?

TekkaRepliroid Zero · Post by **TekkaRepliroid Zero** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:17 am

I think everybody agrees to some extent or another, that there are certain genres of music that really should not be used for AMVs. These can be for any reason, including personal taste in music.
The reason people have that opinion is not important. Even if you don't have that opinion, and think that anything and everything can potentially be used to create something totally awesome and mind-blowing, speak up and enlighten us all... seriously, this is not sarcasm.

It is becoming clear to me that certain videos, no matter how awesome and intelligent or otherwise superbly edited they may be, if the music choice doesn't do it for you, the video is not going to do it for you. The music seems to be the pinnacle of the AMVs ability to keep your attention. An AMV can be using an anime that you actually abhor, but if the music rocks, and the editing is tight, then you'll still likely enjoy the video anyway, or at least have a chance of doing so, depending on your flexibility on your stance of how much you hate anime in question.

For myself, and apparently my friends share this view, the music needs to have a certain degree of intensity to keep us entertained. This applies, by and large, to all genres. Drama, comedy, romance, dance (especially), etc.. There are exceptions with comedy, like skits for example, but we're assuming that you're using actual music for the purposes of this thread.

The genre is irrelevant, if the music doesn't have intensity, we will have a hard time keeping interest in the video, no matter how well-done it is. I can show examples of all of these genres listed above that use intense music. Defining intense music is a little difficult, and it does vary per person (which is important to note), but I'm not talking hard-metal intense... Euphoria qualifies as intense, to give you an idea of how wide the range of intensity stretches. I can also name videos that are very well edited but aren't very good at keeping my attention simply because the music lacks power. Not that I'd grade them low because my taste doesn't agree with their choices, but I'm less inclined to review a good video whose music I'm not too fond of than a video that sucked but used what IMO was great music.

I can also name videos that aren't well-edited but will still watch because the music is able to almost compensate for the lacking visual stimulus. There is a limit to this of course, and it is not as far-stretching as the music intensity gauge described above. If the video is not using a music choice with some power, and is not well edited, then I am very liable to not even give it one full watching.

So, is this just me? How much weight of an AMV's worth rests on the choice of music, in your opinion?

J-0080 · Post by **J-0080** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:20 am

Quite a bit.

I've watched vids that were average in editing, but I still liked em more because of them using music I liked.

badmartialarts · Post by **badmartialarts** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 5:20 am

Music + video = music video.......

If the music can't match the action, the feeling of the scenes provided, then overall, the music video is gonna be bad, no matter what kind of flash-bang shock and awe editing tactics you use. Conversely, songs and scenes that flow together can survive poor footage, sometimes. But it's a two way street. A combination of excellent music and excellent scene selection will always produce a superior video, unless you go crazy and ruin it with bad editing. But can excellent music alone support a concept?

Looking at the videos I've saved without deletion, I say...maybe. I've downloaded videoes based on the song, but if the syncing is poor, if the scenes are questionable, if there are too many subtitles, I delete the video. But I'm more likely to save a video if the song is good, then save a video that has a song I dislike, no matter how good it looks.

Man, that was a ramble. Yes, music is very important.

Bryal · Post by **Bryal** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 10:42 am

thats what makes it impossable to have a perfect video, if it was perfect everyone would like it (same goes for almost everything)

SSJVegita0609 · Post by **SSJVegita0609** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:35 am

On occasion I've actually run into a video that makes me like a song much much better then I did in the first place.

Bryal · Post by **Bryal** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 3:28 pm

same, thats how i usualy run into music that i like, and its the same for videos, if the videos horably (one i saw today about inuyasha) but i liked the song so much that i watched it all the way threw

LoST RaiNDRoP · Post by **LoST RaiNDRoP** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 3:40 pm

well.. for me.. any music and video can make a music video... doesnt matter it its good or not. its still a music video... there maybe some time when the music doesnt "blend" with the video or vice versa... but its still a music video. just a bad one.

Org Profile · Post by **Vlad G Pohnert** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 3:40 pm

well, in theory personal preference of song should influencd a good song to anime relationship. I not a big fan of heavy metal, but if the videos works really well with it I treat is no different then a good video using a song I really like...

Generally I try to use what I enjoy and think will work, there really is no point for me to spent 100s of hours listening to a song I don't like just because the audinace love the song...

Vlad

Beowulf · Post by **Beowulf** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 4:57 pm

I'd wager music choice is responsible for about 70% of the enjoyment. Its sad yes, but its true.

Look at the top 10%. More importantly, listen to the songs from the top 25 videos and see if you don't tap your foot or rock out to everyone of them.

Its no coincidence.

Jonathan02us · Post by **Jonathan02us** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 7:09 pm

How Key is music u say ...

Well in some AMVs that i have seen, the first thing u hear is the music and then the clips. Other times, the clip and the music play at the same time. Music is a key ingredient to making AMVs, it is a vital part on wheither or now ur AMV will be average or above average.

The job of the song that plays in the background is to set the mood of the AMV. The mood can be either dramatic, sad, happy, crazy, etc.. When u have finally made the decision on what type of mood u want to convey, u pick the right song. Usually romantic/dramatic AMVs have more slow less upbeat songs which set the mood of the AMV to be nice smooth and transitional. But it u decide to make and AMV that is full of action, and comedy, then u would prolly go with something that is upbeat and makes the viewer stand up and be in a upbeat mood. The job of the song is dependant on the type of AMV u are making, wheither it is to uplift, or to depress the viewer. But the main job of the music is to set the mood throughout the whole AMV.

But moods can be changed even if the song is right, if the clips dont fix, then u better find some better ones. Nothing kills an AMV more than clips that dont go with the mood. I rarely see them from the ones i've seen, but i have seen a couple and boy was i like, wtf is up with that. So everything is vital to make a good AMV. Music is just a part of a long process that u must do in order to make a good and or above average AMV.