General Working on an AMV

[ReligionX]

So, I'm sitting here working on an AMV, and I remember that there's this whole organization of people who make AMVs and / or watch AMVs. Basically, I'm looking to reduce the amount of time it takes for me to edit a video.

I am experimenting with how to go about starting working on AMVs. I've already made an AMV, but it took me a long, long time to do. I've already got my concept in place, and I have my song in place, and I've already got clips in place, but there's a whole lot of syncing problems that I have to fix. I've got a few ideas, but then I was wondering if I am wasting my time with how I go about syncing.

I saw some of the Iron Editors at Otakon 2006 using this quick sequential inserting method of placing clips on different tracks, slightly overlaying and the previous one, and then pulling the middle bar down to the beginning of the clip on either end of the clip. It made sort of an elongaged carrot ^ type shape on each of the clips. I was wondering what that actually does, and if it is just a quick way they were editing for making the Iron Editor Trailers or if this is actually the most efficient way to edit.

I believe that this makes an automatic fade transition from one clip to the other, which I had to made custom overlays to do--which is very time consuming as well. Yes, no? Does anyone even know what I'm talking about?

[Tsunami Jones]

I saw some of the Iron Editors at Otakon 2006 using this quick sequential inserting method of placing clips on different tracks, slightly overlaying and the previous one, and then pulling the middle bar down to the beginning of the clip on either end of the clip. It made sort of an elongaged carrot ^ type shape on each of the clips. I was wondering what that actually does, and if it is just a quick way they were editing for making the Iron Editor Trailers or if this is actually the most efficient way to edit.

I believe that this makes an automatic fade transition from one clip to the other, which I had to made custom overlays to do--which is very time consuming as well. Yes, no? Does anyone even know what I'm talking about?

Those red lines would be opacity rubberbands, and yeah, they make basic transitions/superimpositions MUCH quicker. In premiere they can be enabled by clicking on the arrow next to the name of the video track (in video tracks 2 and up, I believe), and then by clicking on the red diamond.

[madbunny]

it's essentially a fade. If you were to use a transition for the same effect it would probably be a crossfade transition.

If you want to get faster at making videos, (first off.. why is it an issue?) then you might want to learn how to zoom OUT and edit in slightly larger chunks using the sound wave at the bottom as a visual guide for placing your rough clips before tweaking them the way that you like. Try to pick clips that will sync internally with your music. EG: rising note=rocket ship takes off.

[ReligionX]

If you want to get faster at making videos, (first off.. why is it an issue?) then you might want to learn how to zoom OUT and edit in slightly larger chunks using the sound wave at the bottom as a visual guide for placing your rough clips before tweaking them the way that you like. Try to pick clips that will sync internally with your music. EG: rising note=rocket ship takes off.

I plan to take several months editing each video that I make. I work on these videos for maybe an hour or two per night. And even then, not every night. There's only so much that I am able to accomplish at one time, so I'm try to maximize how much I can do in one sitting. It's like sorting 1,000,000 coins--it's time consuming, and there are much faster ways to do it--like with a coin sorting machine. I'm just trying to find out my options. I might be able to make 3 videos in a year, instead of just 2.

As far as using the sound waves--I know what you're talking about, but that's not exactly an option available to me. I might be able to turn that feature on, and I've looked for that feature, but I can't find it. Am I thinking about investing in Adobe Premiere? Yes. But not right now.

[Zarxrax]

You'll get faster as you go along. There is usually more than one way of doing anything, so people generally just develop their own style of editing, which works for them.

You also might want to try editing using Vegas. I never quite got the hang of it, so I'll just stick with good ol' Premiere, but most people who use it say that they can edit a lot faster on it.

[ReligionX]

You'll get faster as you go along. There is usually more than one way of doing anything, so people generally just develop their own style of editing, which works for them.

I may not have exactly explained the point of this thread.

I haven't really had any formal training on A/V editing. I took a class in high school, but that's all. I was taught the importance of storyboarding and the basics of multi-track editing with transitions.

Is AMV Editing just a general "do it your own way" sort of thing, or is there an actual guideline that people follow? You know, like an AMVs for Dummies Beginner Level, Intermediary Level, and Expert Level? Of course, not exactly like that, but you know what I mean. I'm just finding it hard to believe that there's no standard. I've read the "How To Guides" on the main .org link. That's just 6-10 people talking there.

I just want to know what everyone else is doing, so that I'm not sitting here with a hammer and chisel while is jack-hammering and acid etching. There are certainly a LOT more AMV editors than just those 6-10 people who have written the "How to Guides." I'm not expecting any sort of secret or revelation to pop up in this thread. But, who knows? I'm also wondering how people have learned to do what they do. You people hae to have learned how to do this somewhere.

[Willen]

I'm also wondering how people have learned to do what they do. You people hae to have learned how to do this somewhere.

Well, I think a lot of it is just experimentation and experience. Some people did take classes or learned from other people, but I suspect most just opened up WMM (or whatever software came with their computer and/or video capture device) and started to drag stuff onto the timeline. Eventually, you move onto a more powerful program.

Now are you asking about the technical or the artistic aspects of making AMVs?

Technically, a bunch of what the guides describe are the general methods to obtain and edit your video and audio. They are "guides", not "rules". Although I'd love to have everyone just use Huffyuv (or Lagarith) for footage, for some people it is not practical. This is also exaberated by NLE software supporting more and more types of codecs and files that may not be suitable for editing. The software companies don't encourage usage of certain codecs (sometimes due to licensing/patent issues), either. There is also the issue of differing software, even down to different versions of a specific program, having different features and interfaces. The guides, by nature have to be as general as possible, at least in the "creation" portion, to be of use to as wide an audience as possible.

At least for the creating of AMVs, it's pretty much freeform, just like the AMVs themselves. There is no "for this effect, do this and this," since it is possible to achive the same (or similar) results using different methods. And for some people, method 1 may be easier to do than method 2 due to their level of skill with certain techniques or programs. Sometimes you can find shortcuts to achieve certain effects you want that save time. It may not be the standard way to do it, and may involve some trade-offs, but it works for some people.

But the technical side is only part of making an AMV. You could make a technically fabulous video, with cool effects and impeccable timing, but just like watching a robot dance, it doesn't appeal to one's "soul".

For the "art" part, I compare AMV editing to painting or drawing. You can be taught the basics, but ultimately, people end up with their own style of creating. Some people may prefer to sketch in pencil first, others may go straight to paint. Some people may be better at accurate portrayals of still-life subjects, others may work more abstractly. Some can only do it with the subject matter in front of them, others can do it with only their memories of the object or scene in question.

Heck, some people may just be better at doing certain things. Right now, I'm pretty sure I'd be marginal at making a good action video. Even for romance vids, I consider myself average.

Most AMVs I don't consider art, just entertainment. But there are a few that do surpass the ususal offerings and achive another level. And remember, good art to some people isn't good art to others.

But most of all, have fun.

[trythil]

Is AMV Editing just a general "do it your own way" sort of thing, or is there an actual guideline that people follow?

Only in jokes.

The how-to guides here have influenced a great number of people, but I can't really think of any two people that do things exactly the same way. Most people I know learned how to do what they wanted to do on their own by reading and experimentation. Eventually you find a way that works for you. If you're particularly studious, you'll find better ways.

Oh, and if you pay Zarxrax, he'll teach you stuff.


There are some technical "standards" that crop up now and then, but they change quickly and often are the subject of a lot of disagreement. I and some others on this site prefer MPEG-4 AVC for video encoding. Others hate it. There are some insane people here who think WMV is the way to go -- they're like the Intelligent Design advocates of AMVs. It just goes on and on.

[ReligionX]

Willen, let me start by saying that I've seen your icon on the threads, and it's extremely aesthetic. And distracting. I like it. I just stare at it for seconds at a time, spacing out. I don't want to know what that character is from. I'm afraid I might watch it.

And when I say, "you," I don't spefically mean "just Willen." I'm must quoting Willen to use an example.

Well, I think a lot of it is just experimentation and experience. Some people did take classes or learned from other people, but I suspect most just opened up WMM (or whatever software came with their computer and/or video capture device) and started to drag stuff onto the timeline. Eventually, you move onto a more powerful program.

Let me ask you--how did you start making AMVs, and how do you find is the easiest way for you to make AMVs?

Now are you asking about the technical or the artistic aspects of making AMVs?

To be quite honest, I'm not really sure if it's either artistic or technical. Maybe it's both. I've got ideas in my head, and I need to get them out into an AMV before I change my mind. I've already put 5 projects on hold because I don't feel like working on those ones anymore.

What is it that you do--when you make AMVs? Do you just shove in 1,500 clips onto the timeline, and systematically delete them? Do you play 5 seconds of the song over, hunt down clips and throw in just the ones you want? Do you document every second of the footage and then pull clips in from a timestamp? Or do you just throw in a 20 second clip, shave it down to 15 frames of what you want, tack on a special effect here and there, move on to the next 60 second clip, chop it into bits...

At least for the creating of AMVs, it's pretty much freeform, just like the AMVs themselves. There is no "for this effect, do this and this," since it is possible to achive the same (or similar) results using different methods. And for some people, method 1 may be easier to do than method 2 due to their level of skill with certain techniques or programs. Sometimes you can find shortcuts to achieve certain effects you want that save time. It may not be the standard way to do it, and may involve some trade-offs, but it works for some people.

Give me an example of 2 ways to achieve the same thing. Let's just suppose that 'I think that there's only 1 way to do everything.' Expand my horizons. For example, how could you go about having 3 or 4 non-overlaying clips on the same screen at once? I just throw on moving paths and shrink the videos into place and have 3 or 4 tracks going at once.

For the "art" part, I compare AMV editing to painting or drawing. You can be taught the basics, but ultimately, people end up with their own style of creating. Some people may prefer to sketch in pencil first, others may go straight to paint. Some people may be better at accurate portrayals of still-life subjects, others may work more abstractly. Some can only do it with the subject matter in front of them, others can do it with only their memories of the object or scene in question.

Suppose I know the basics. What is your style? What are you good at doing? What can I learn from you? No matter how insignificant you might think that what you do might be, I might find it revolutionary.

I feel that what I know is not enough. I may never feel that I know enough, but I'll work with what I know. I can't work with any more than that.

[madbunny]

What is it that you do--when you make AMVs? Do you just shove in 1,500 clips onto the timeline, and systematically delete them? Do you play 5 seconds of the song over, hunt down clips and throw in just the ones you want? Do you document every second of the footage and then pull clips in from a timestamp? Or do you just throw in a 20 second clip, shave it down to 15 frames of what you want, tack on a special effect here and there, move on to the next 60 second clip, chop it into bits...

I think the point he was making here was that since there are so many ways to do things you should just experiment with what works for you.

For editing clips, I usually use the 'in' - 'out' marks on the preview pane and drag it to my timeline, filling in my key points first and expanding those together to fill in the areas between. Usually I use the single track editing method in premiere unless I have a whole lot of transitions, then i'll switch to A/B track style till I've got them in place. I work with either a widescreen monitor (at home) or a dual monitor (at work). Occasionally I use a video reference monitor if I want to show people what I'm doing.

Some of my guys hate the single track system and only use A/B, some drop the whole episode onto the timeline, scroll through the whole thing and move the cut portions up to a higher track, deleting the episode when they're done. A couple, weirdly won't edit using a show they've seen. They say that when they've seen a show they can't picture the characters any other way and always wind up creating a video that echos the show.

I used to use media studio, which chops up footage based on scene changes. That works well if timing doesn't have to be exact.

As an example of doing a simple effect:

For a cutout character, or graphic replacing a billboard in a video you could: create a garbage matte, create a matte in photoshop or paint, use the motion controls, use the transparency controls, use the blue screen function, use aftereffects, or use a rotoscoping technique on individual frames. That's just with one program. If you want to learn other people's style, you have to work with them, otherwise it makes no sense.

does that make sense?