Pre-written scripts and instructions [split]

[Kusoyaro]

- The guide process is unilaterally the right process

That's one of my biggies.

And this isn't exactly related to the .org, but I hate the fact that people post AVS scripts for specific anime DVDs on the AMVWiki. What's next? People posting Premiere project files of popular songs with all the sync points marked up?

[Scintilla]

I feel compelled to point out that, as far as I've seen, the only times people suggest the methods in "the guides" are when:

- the person seeking advice has no idea what method to use
- the person has a method but IT'S NOT WORKING

You don't see people telling people with methods that <i>work</i> to abandon their ways in favor of those prescribed by the guides, do you?

[JaddziaDax]

but I see people asking "how do i make and amv?" and they are directed to the guides as if they are able to decipher them on contact...

[Inuyasha the 3rd]

but I hate the fact that people post AVS scripts for specific anime DVDs on the AMVWiki.

Umm, what's wrong with that? I don't see anything wrong with that, not everyone is a master of AVIsynth.

I used one of the scripts from there, but I modified it a little.

Anyways, I dont like the fact that people overuse a certain anime and song. I mean, I dont care, I would like to see something orignal, not everyone wants to see a subtitle-ridden naruto vid set to linkin park. But yeah.

[Scintilla]

but I see people asking "how do i make and amv?" and they are directed to the guides as if they are able to decipher them on contact...

Yes, that falls under "has no idea what method to use" category, and that's totally not what Kai Stromler and Kusoyaro were complaining about.

But I'll answer it anyway: They're directed to the guides because the guides (I mean all of them, not just the A/V tech guide) contain most to all of the information they'll need to answer such vague questions, all in one convenient location, so that we don't have to type it out ourselves.
If they'd ask more specific questions, it would be much easier for the rest of us to give them specific answers instead of linking to the guides.

[x_rex30]

I hate the fact that people post AVS scripts for specific anime DVDs on the AMVWiki.

I don't see anything wrong with that. Scripting isn't that easy for some.. and some people figured out great ways to make certain anime look nice. I guess you feel like THEY have to go through all the work.. I've gone through the work on all my scripts, but I had trouble getting RahXephon looking the way I wanted it.. so SnhKnives helped me out with the script and showed me what worked for him, and I loved his results. If there was a program that automatically cleaned up your source footage with no effort, would you be against that as well?

[Kai Stromler]

If there was a program that automatically cleaned up your source footage with no effort, would you be against that as well?

YES.

Even if it used the original masters as a reference (which is the only way to guarantee that a source is truly "cleaned up" rather than just tweaked towards someone's idea of what the original looked like), I would oppose this. There are some instances where the last thing you want is for the anime to look like it did coming out of the animation studio, and a tool like this would just add another unnecessary step to the process.

When I "clean up" footage manually, I'm very seldom if ever working towards some abstract ideal of "clean". Sure, I want to get rid of as much artifacting as possible, but the end result is the look that I want the video to have, not necessarily the look that the animators wanted when they originally produced the title.

--K

[Nightowl]

Kusoyaro and I were talking about the whole AVISynth scripts and I do believe you guys are missing the point. Everyone immediately assumes that one MUST use that particular system. It creates an atmosphere of carbon copy footage. It removes the heart and soul of the process. It's boring. There are at least one thousand different ways to go about gathering footage, I want to see the different ways people go about it. That's interesting. It shows intellect, ingenuity. If the footage from AMV-A and AMV-B look exactly the same, that shows to me that the creator was lazy.

When you start getting people complaining that a video sucks because it didn't use the same method of gathering footage - whether it be ripping, capturing, whatever - you get crap. What's the old adium? "Die Hard on the Moon."

You don't need to learn script based software in order to get footage. Find your own ways of doing things. If it doesn't work, try something else. Educate yourselves, don't follow blindly like sheep. I, personally, don't think the guides work at all. I never have. But then, I work on an entirely different system.

Think outside the box, kids.

Or, don't. If you don't care and you feel it's not important enough to find different solutions to problems, that's fine. Just don't complain when you find out you can't turn your hobby into a career. There's what annoys me. Those old posts. Whatever. I don't care anymore, do what you want.

-N

[Otohiko]

I think the sharing of scripts is a good idea. As long as they're copied/used intelligently and with a grain of salt. I think they should include some discussion on possible variables and pointers to where they might or might not be developed. But I don't think that "you, figure it out yourself" is a good approach. I don't like that approach. We don't need a community for "you, figure it out yourself".

So it's not posting the scripts, it's how they're used.

And oh, for the record, gathering footage for me personally is about as heartless and soulless a process as they come - but that's a personal preference

[Scintilla]

As someone who derives a great deal of enjoyment from the process of finding the best filter chains for my videos (through experimentation and past experience, mind you), I feel I have to say something about this.

Kusoyaro and I were talking about the whole AVISynth scripts and I do believe you guys are missing the point. Everyone immediately assumes that one MUST use that particular system. It creates an atmosphere of carbon copy footage. It removes the heart and soul of the process. It's boring. There are at least one thousand different ways to go about gathering footage, I want to see the different ways people go about it. That's interesting. It shows intellect, ingenuity. If the footage from AMV-A and AMV-B look exactly the same, that shows to me that the creator was lazy.

I always thought that the suggestions on AMVwiki were meant more to be jumping-off points for doing one's own experimentation. But if people are in fact making assumptions like that, then... well, I guess you've given me another reason to post script functions but not processing filter chains.
Part of the fun for me is seeing how and to what extent the various filters and options affect the footage and trying to come up with the best combination, and far be it from me to deprive anyone else of that.

When you start getting people complaining that a video sucks because it didn't use the same method of gathering footage - whether it be ripping, capturing, whatever - you get crap.

Yes, but we DON'T have this. If a video <i>looks good</i> (and isn't an unnecessarily huge file), then nobody cares what method you used to make it.

You don't need to learn script based software in order to get footage. Find your own ways of doing things. If it doesn't work, try something else. Educate yourselves, don't follow blindly like sheep. I, personally, don't think the guides work at all. I never have. But then, I work on an entirely different system.

Again, no one has anything against alternate methods that work, and I'm all for independent thinking (I refuse to regurgitate easily available documentation).
But when we have people coming to the video help boards complaining that their method <i>doesn't work</i> and asking for advice, then what's wrong with suggesting a method that does work?

And I thought the whole point of the massive theory sections of the various guides <i>was</i> so we could educate ourselves.

Think outside the box, kids.

Or, don't. If you don't care and you feel it's not important enough to find different solutions to problems, that's fine. Just don't complain when you find out you can't turn your hobby into a career.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no shame in following Best Practices discovered by others and tried and proven. I'm not saying to follow them <i>blindly</i> -- of course it's important to understand how they work and WHY they're good ways of doing things. But why reinvent the wheel?