Spoiler :
1 - pro2021 - 001 - berserk - judas priest - the sentinel
I think my feedback is kind of similar to my feedback for the Berserk video last year… I’m not all that familiar with Berserk and this isn’t my kind of music, but I still feel like this was edited well regardless. From what I can understand of the lyrics it seems like there’s a good bit of lyric sync, but overall, I can’t tell if there’s much of a story or anything other than just being a tribute to Berserk and the mangaka, which is fine, it works well that way.
2 - pro2021 - 002 - jujutsu kaisen - twista - crisis
Kind of similar to the last video, this is a source combo that just isn’t for me… I can see you put a lot of work into this but it falls a bit short of the mark. It is SUCH a fast rap that it is almost impossible to tell what the lyrics are, and yet I can tell you did try to lyric sync in parts. For whatever reason there are parts where the characters themselves lip sync, which normally I’d be all for, but I can’t tell why, since I can’t understand what they’re saying. There seem to be some transition effects sprinkled throughout like bar and box transitions that I’m not sure are adding to the video. I think the basic sync works okay, but it’s just not fast enough for a track this rapid-fire. Because the whole thing ends up so flat, it is difficult to get into it or feel much of the usual hype you’d get from an action video.
3 - pro2021 - 003 - ghost story - arcade fire - my body is a cage
The twist is interesting, and I think it’s to this video’s credit that the twist comes across, but I still feel like the credit for an interesting twist goes to the movie itself and not this video. Overall I do feel like this video has an interesting vibe and the music is a good choice, but I wish it was a little easier to follow. I haven’t seen the original film, but this video jumps around in time a lot in a way that is confusing (one minute they’re walking into the house to buy it, the next the girl is living there alone, then it’s being torn down, then it’s back again, then they’re in it, then she’s moving out…). I’m not sure if that is the intention, to purposely obfuscate the identity of the ghost. I wish I knew what he was looking at at the end, but if it’s not in the original film, there’s not much to be done about that. It’s just set up as a climax in a way that doesn’t make sense right now -- why would this be what releases him?
4 - pro2021 - 004 - death stranding - yair albeg wein or kribos - mephistos lullaby
I was so impressed by this video, it’s like a professional game trailer, it’s so well done. I think it really captures the eerie and weird vibe of the game. I don’t have any other notes other than to say well done.
5 - pro2021 - 005 - she-ra - chord overstreet - hold on
This isn’t a particular criticism of this video but man this song stressed me out, I was listening closely to the lyrics and the story in the lyrics is pretty distressing and doesn’t seem to end happily. Luckily this video does seem to have a happy ending. I never finished watching She-ra, but I think this video probably captures their back-and-forth, love-hate relationship well. It’s a complicated, nuanced relationship and I think you gave it the space and time it needed to tell the story respectfully. I think the only thing I can say is that the events all seem to be told out of order, so it’s difficult to get the sense of how their relationship progresses/regresses over time, but I think matching the emotional intensity of particular scenes to the music works well too, so I’m not sure I’d change anything.
6 - pro2021 - 006 - aggretsuko - i prevail - hurricane
I personally really liked this one, because when I watched Aggretsuko, I often find myself relating to her and her issues in a way that felt very raw and painful… so to me, I’m already in the mindframe of looking past the cartoony and cute graphics to the serious story underneath and everything Retsuko goes through. I really like the buildup to the screaming part in this. I just think the whole thing is well done.
7 - pro2021 - 007 - tanya the evil - grandson - wwiii
Probably everyone else will mention this, but the interlacing in this is pretty distracting. It might be an issue with how you ripped your footage, or if the editing timeline doesn’t match the frame rate or something of the original footage. Other than that, definitely an odd choice of song if you’re familiar with Tanya, who doesn’t really reflect the angst or horror towards war that the singer expresses in the lyrics. I think the mood of the video does end up fitting the music well, and the lyric sync works really well in places (like the angry kids towards the middle of the video). I think some of the sync can be tightened up to better fit the music, like the cannons firing around 2:45.
8 - pro2021 - 008 - night world - jessie j - flashlight
This is a sweet little video, and I think the song is a great choice. I think I already mentioned in a call but the back-and-forth zooming (alternating between zooming in and out from one shot to the next) is a bit distracting, I think it might be better to pick a zoom direction that suits the footage (are we meant to be looking closer at something? Are we meant to be getting a better look at a landscape? Is there already a zoom built into the footage) and stick with that a bit before switching directions. I think the sync and the mood in this are working well, but I had some trouble keeping track of the characters or what their story is.
9 - pro2021 - 009 - haikyuu - the score - born for this
It’s a solid Haikyuu vid, doesn’t really do much unique or unexpected for a video of this sort. There’s a few too many shots around 3:13. Something about the sync bothers me, I think you might want to go back and make sure everything hits as you’d expect, sometimes it seems to hit late or just feel “soft” for what should be a hard-hitting action vid.
10 - pro2021 - 010 - evangelion - billie eilish - no time to die
I’m not sure what, if anything, the unfinished versions of the shots are adding to the video, I’m not sure what the intention is there other than to look a bit artsy. It makes parts of the video feel unfinished to me. The angst is strong with this video. I think it’s sort of what you’d expect from Evangelion so it doesn't stand out to me much.
11 - pro2021 - 011 - various - carly rae jepsen - i really like you
This is a cute vid! I think it may be relying on crossfades a little too much in fast-paced areas that would be better with simple cuts. I think the montage of different lesbian couples works well to setup the mood… I don’t really get much of the characters’ stories, but I’m not sure that’s the intention of the video. The particularly supernatural couple doesn’t get much screen time and feels out of place in a way that’s a little distracting. I think it’d be nice to see a little more internal sync if possible… this video leans heavily on cutting and fading to sync to the beats, and is fairly predictable with how it cuts (on every really, really, really). But you might not have much to work with in these sorts of soft romance sources.
12 - pro2021 - 012 - arakawa under the bridge - barenaked ladies - light up my room
I really like the mood of this one. It’s very quirky, which seems to suit the source. It’s unfortunate that the video quality isn’t better, but I imagine you don’t have better footage quality available. On principle I feel like I have to mention the mix of aspect ratios, but I don’t think it’s so bothersome that it needs to be changed. If you wanted to change it for some reason, I’d letterbox the shots that aren’t letterboxed. I think it depends on the vibe you’re going for, because I think the letterboxed sections feel more fantastical than the more mundane scenes out under the bridge… I don’t know, I’m thinking out loud. Anyway, it’s a nice little vid.
13 - pro2021 - 013 - wolfwalkers - florence and the machine - howl
I love werewolves… now that that’s out of the way… I really like some of the internal sync in this one, and the song seems like a natural choice. I might vary some of the footage more if you have it available (I know movies can be kind of limited), especially around 2:35. I feel like the energy in the final section lags a bit so I wonder if there are better shots to use. Other than that I think it’s nice.
14 - pro2021 - 014 - rezero - commercial - bathroom renovation
The lip sync in this is pretty good I think. Other than that, this is bizarre and makes me uncomfortable and thanks I hate it, lol. Why does he bite the guy’s hand… what is happening…
15 - pro2021 - 015 - revolutionary girl utena - billie eilish - goldwing
I like the contrast in the video before and after the beat drops. The blurry bar overlays at 2:13 look a bit too artificial to me… if possible I’d extend the overlays all the way to the edge of the screen rather than floating them on top of the image, keep them completely solid (no semi-transparency), and not blur the edges. But it’s up to you. The overlay around 2:15-2:17 is a bit rough because the overlaid image with the stark blue and black is so sharp. I’d maybe give it a little bit of a blur. Some of the footage quality is particularly bad in places, but it’s an old series. Other than that I think it’s a nice vid and has a good atmosphere.
16 - pro2021 - 016 - tokyo revengers - chloe - have mercy
I laugh every single time I watch this so congrats, haha.
17 - pro2021 - 017- various - various - various
LOL! I wonder if there’s a way to better blend that audio mix though, that is rough. Still a funny little clip.
18 - pro2021 - 018 - various - vienna teng - level up
The video quality is noticeably different with certain sources, so I am guessing you weren’t able to get higher quality footage for those… whenever you are using multiple sources, you are always limited by whatever you lowest quality footage is; for instance, if you have a source that is 1280x720, you’ll want to resize your 1920x1080 videos down to that rather than the other way around. Blowing up a small source bigger will make already lower quality footage look worse. I’m not sure if that’s the case here but thought I’d throw it out there just in case. I like the overall idea of this video as an encouragement to be brave and get out there, but as some others have suggested, the mix of sources seems odd and a bit unmotivated, or doesn’t go where you’d expect. There seem to be two sources that involve characters with physical injuries, for instance, but the whole video isn’t really about overcoming injuries, and I think we only see the character from Erased once when he’s learning to walk again. For the most part it seems like the sources were chosen for mood rather than to tell a particular story with them… if that’s what you’re going for that’s fine, but it might be even more of a successful video if the story was a bit more focused. Other than that, I’m not particularly a fan of the “pumping” flashes around 00:55. It might be better to use a different source that you can sync to the music here rather than playing this one particular source out for a long time… I think this source works best from around 00:58 onwards. Similarly the Howl’s Moving Castle clip at 00:37 plays out a long time, I don’t think we need to see the dog running around. Anyways, I know that is a lot. :S
19 - pro2021 - 019 - kingdom hearts - ajr - turning out
As a massive Kingdom Hearts nerd, this video is one of my favorites this year and I can appreciate the amount of work that went into including clips from most of the many different Kingdom Hearts games, rather than just relying on some of the best cinematics available. I like how the first part of the song is split between Sora and Riku and how many of the other characters connected to Sora start to come in towards the end as the voices layer on top of each other. It has many of the most emotional moments involving the characters which made it an emotional watch for me.
In terms of critique there seem to be some very quick cuts sometimes that are a bit jarring, and it seems like the aspect ratio on some of the Chain of Memories clips is a little stretched or wonky for some reason. Other than that I really enjoyed this one.
20 - pro2021 - 020 - chobits - louie zong - hello world
I’m not really sure why the footage is letterboxed considering it’s 16:9, make sure your sequence matches your footage if that’s not intentional. Other than that I think this is a cute Chobits tribute with an unusual song choice that fits the vibe of the show.
21 - pro2021 - 021 - kellys heroes - mike curb congregation - burning bridges
There was a long discussion about this in the call as to whether or not it’s a trailer… I think it’s like an old school trailer, which would fit the source. I have a whole ton of questions about this because I’ve never seen or heard of this movie so I have to wonder what motivated you to make this and why. The footage quality is nice so I am guessing it got a nice BluRay release recently. The way you blended the audio together is also working really well. Other than all that, I’m not sure if I understand the story purely based on the trailer… does a soldier propose putting together a heist of enemy gold while people are busy with the war? If that’s the case it is working great, lol. Go Clint Eastwood, get your gold!
22 - pro2021 - 022 - chrono trigger - tsuyoshi sekito yasunori mitsuda - chrono and marle
Okay… did you make the box? Did you make the little slide show behind it? Is the box itself projecting the slide show? That’s really neat if so. Otherwise not sure what to make of this.
23 - pro2021 - 023 - full metal alchemist - beetlejuice (broadway) - dead mom
This combo shouldn’t work as well as it does… like the song seems like it should be funny but it’s edited dead serious and it works. The editing is pretty clean so I don’t have a lot of notes! I think there are parts where it might flow better with more camera movement (like towards the last few shots) but that’s about it. Very quirky and unique.
24 - pro2021 - 024 - the prince of egypt - within temptation - angels
I think it’s a great tribute to this film, the footage flows really well with the music. I wonder if the narrative with Moses and his brother would be a little clearer if some of the events were a bit clearer presented (such as Moses’ mother letting him float down the river and the Pharoah’s wife finding him), because not everyone is that familiar with the story… but it’s still working pretty well as is.
25 - pro2021 - 025 - various (pixar) - sheppard - the best is yet to come
I think it’s a nice Pixar tribute with a really touching and fun atmosphere, but I’m struggling to understand the structure of it. The films aren’t really presented in any particular order, and seem to just rely on presenting each one with a small section of clips until the end of the video. I’m also not sure why certain sequels were chosen over the originals other than to just give each IP some representation. I think the video might be more engaging if the films were more interwoven with each other. The ending is really the best part because we get to see bits of each film together.
26 - pro2021 - 026 - vampire princess miyu - david bowie - within you
I was surprised by the ending to this one because I assumed the guy singing David Bowie was the vampire, lol. It’s nice but it’s pretty much just one continuous shot from the anime it looks like. If you’re going to use just one scene you’ll want to tighten up the lip sync a bit more.
27 - pro2021 - 027 - custom - redacted - transience
I’m interested in the story behind what inspired this one. The use of simple shapes and lines helps boil this down to its simplest elements and allows the viewer to sort of place themselves into the scene and come up with their own interpretations of what’s going on here. For me personally it evokes some of the experience of loneliness and dread I experienced when visiting public places towards the start of the pandemic, when they were mostly devoid of people. Also the loneliness of trying to enjoy things without people in your life there with you. Life just seems more colorful and full with friends and family to share moments with. And it feels that much emptier and sadder when they’re gone after spending time with them. I’ve also experienced this a lot in life when starting at a new school or moving to a new place and not having any friends yet… gradually building up relationships in those places… and then having to start over again in a new place. Anyway, that’s just my interpretation. I know this got some flack for how long it is, but I think the length gives you the time to just sit quietly and take in what is going on.
28 - pro2021 - 028 - mawaru penguindrum - city girl - ellipsis
I think you’ve set up an interesting mood with this video that evokes the music, but the mood is its strongest aspect. It ends up feeling a bit like a visualizer with no apparent connection between the visual elements other than what seems to evoke the mood of the song. In some cases it’s difficult to discern the video through the dark light leak/bokeh overlays. I can’t decide what it is this video needs. Does it need to lean heavier in the visual effects direction? Does it need to pull back and try to have more of a story? I don’t know. Ultimately I think it’s up to wherever you’re interested in taking it.
29 - pro2021 - 029 - evangelion - scottie sire - sad song
This looks like it was so much work between the lips and the typography, lol. I can’t decide if it should be easier to read some of the typography, like the text that’s set to Overlay in the beginning of the video. There seem to be some small errors (?) like the word “sad” disappearing a frame early around 1:02 that could be cleaned up. I also think the lips could be placed a little better on the face sometimes, like around :11 when they look too low on the face. I’d reference a shot with the character’s mouth closed and then have the closed mouth position match that. Anyway, I thought it was a cute video overall.
30 - pro2021 - 030 - battle athletes - quad city djs - space jam
This is probably one of my favorites in the contest. It embraces the old-school aesthetic so it doesn’t feel too cheesy. The lyric sync is really fun, especially starting around 2:00. I think it might help the flow of the video a bit to do more Ken Burns on the static clips. I was a little confused because it seems to be setting up a showdown between the Battle Athletes and the Monstars, but then it doesn’t go anywhere. But the ending is kind of fun, so I don’t know. I personally wouldn’t try to restructure it and lose the lyric sync just to make a coherent story, but it felt odd to seemingly introduce one and not have it go anywhere. Maybe there will be a sequel?
31 - pro2021 - 031 - (dot)hack - blackmores night - the circle
I thought the concept of this was kind of clever, but it took me a while to figure out, because it’s a slow burn introducing each successive generation, and we don’t see a comparison to the other games until the very end. This is another one that I feel like works well enough on its own and I’m not sure I’d recommend restructuring it, but what might be interesting is to introduce the circular nature of the story in the very beginning of the video, maybe the 18 seconds before the lyrics start. Chose some shots that go through similar things in all the generations of the games (like shots of the same protagonist), similar to what you’re doing towards the end. This would kind of create a bookend that will help establish the feel of the story looping on itself. I don’t know if that makes sense. Something to consider, rather than just doing a section on each generation and waiting until the end to introduce the reason you chose the song.
32 - pro2021 - 032 - filmed - inxs - need you tonight
I have so many questions about why this was made and why it was submitted to this contest. I feel like I’m on some sort of awkward date with this guy as he investigates junk at Walmart. The shot at 1:00 is mostly aimed at his ass. The sultry looks at the camera… should this have been nominated for the Romance category?
33 - pro2021 - 033 - so im a spider - spiderman (tv) - theme (1967)
I have severe arachnophobia… lol. But it’s cute! It has some technical issues that I think could be fixed and significantly improve the video. The crossfades around :39 feel out of place when almost the entire video has been using external sync to regularly hard cut on the beats. There are some native zooms that are sandwiched between static footage that feel out of place and probably can be smoothed out with Ken Burns. If you want to go the extra mile I would consider doing some color or footage manipulation to make this feel more like an old-timey TV intro. Bonus points for making your own parody logo!
34 - pro2021 - 034 - 91 days - dan roll - actor with a loaded gun
I’ve seen 91 Days, and even still, I had no idea what was going on here. Are the two featured characters meant to be a couple here or something? It’s tough because I think you’re being limited a lot by your footage (a series that doesn’t really have a lot of low key or happy moments, so you’re forced to make most of the video use footage from a single scene). I think after 1:40 the video gets significantly stronger, with some really nice sync, but the mood shift feels kind of unmotivated and out of place, I don’t really expect it. The whole video could do with a good beta pass to clean up the too fast cuts, awkward crossfades, and excessive lip sync. I think this has some promising stuff but needs some more work.
36 - pro2021 - 036 - lighthouse - copilot strategic music sound - drunken whaler
Two things I want to get out of the way right away -- it’s a good choice of song, and I haven’t seen this movie. Some of the footage is a bit too dark for me to see, even sitting mostly in the dark, but I think doing a brightness/contrast adjustment might do a disservice to the footage, so I’m not sure I’d change it, it just makes it harder to tell what is going on. I think the video successfully captures a disturbing atmosphere, but if there’s a story, I don’t know what it is, it’s just mostly a mood piece for me. That might be intentional I suppose (if the main character is kind of losing his mind). I haven’t really been shy about it, but this video scares the everliving shit out of me, and at the point where the guy falls all the way down the stairs I kind of figured okay, he’s done… so the ending shot feels a bit like overkill (no pun intended).
37 - pro2021 - 037 - soul eater - dan bull - dive into the madness
I like the quirky mood of this one, it makes it kind of hard to categorize. The lyric sync is really fun (if I can say that about child murder). I think the whole video flows pretty well with smooth transitions, and it keeps up well with the song. I don’t have any particular critical notes. The sync on the weird sounds towards the end (like the frog singing) is some of my favorite, haha.
38 - pro2021 - 038 - violet evergarden - dessa - annabelle
The first few times I watched this it was kind of hard for me to keep straight who “Annabelle” was in this video, but after a few times I think I’ve finally straightened it out. I think the confusion comes from the strong focus on the brunette at the beginning of the video, when the lyrics are focused on describing “Annabelle”. It’s ostensibly setting up the brunette as the singer, but since we haven’t seen a full shot of “Annabelle” before this point (just her hand and hair), it’s harder to make the connection with Violet. Anyway, this note might not mean anything (like I said, now that I’ve seen it a few times I follow the lyric sync better), but something to consider, since you worked so hard on the storytelling here. Overall I think the video is really strong with a beautiful, bittersweet mood. You really feel the emotion and the longing of the brunette character (sorry I forgot her name) and what Violet is suffering. Also, great job cutting the song down, I didn’t notice any cut.
39 - pro2021 - 039 - nichijou - drowning pool - bodies
Amazing, it’s just such a joy to watch. The cat screaming is my absolute favorite, as well as all the synced goofy sounds. Unfortunately I don’t have a whole lot else to say because it’s just a great video.
40 - pro2021 - 040 - urusei yatsura - dua lipa - levitating
This seems like such a natural pick for this song. The general vibe of this is so fun, and the moments of lyric sync are great. The whole thing has a throwback vibe. I wish the editing, particularly the sync, were stronger and kept up better with the fast pace of the song. Very few things feel properly synced to me. There are moments where the music shifts where it really feels like it should cut, and it doesn’t. None of the intense “Yeah yeah yeah yeah” moments have video or sync that fits them. It just holds back this video from being as good as it should be to me.
41 - pro2021 - 041 - japan sinks - space ghost - water song
I feel ashamed that I laughed at this, lol. The moment of the guy running where it cuts back and forth to him “singing” is such a high point for me. A solid comedy vid that shows how to do dark humor right.
42 - pro2021 - 042 - serial experiments lain - laura les - haunted
It’s a shame this is so short and feels unfinished. The effects are really cool and fit the source and music well. On the other hand I feel like this might be too intense for a full-length video. This is like a tiny cupcake that’s really enjoyable but gone too soon.
43 - pro2021 - 043 - legend of korra - indeimaus - blinding lights
I don’t know what to make of this.. It seems torn between doing a funny and a serious take on this song. Nothing is really synced right and the scene selection doesn’t particularly match the lyrics or tell a story or anything. I can’t tell if this is an amateur effort or if someone tried to phone it in at the last minute. If you need help with your edits, just let us know!
46 - pro2021 - 046 - various - teen titans (ost) - upbeat inspirational song about life
I’m here for throwing shade and making a great video at the same time. I don’t know what else to say, I just really enjoyed this video and it made me laugh.
47 - pro2021 - 047 - various (marvel) - nf - wake up
I think you made a great tribute to Wanda and what she was going through in WandaVision. I can’t evaluate this as if I hadn’t seen the show/movies but I feel like the storytelling is pretty solid, with some nods that probably only make sense if you’ve seen the source (like the “mistakes” lyric sync). It’s tough to do a sensitive and dramatic video to this sort of fast-paced music, so I think sometimes it can feel like it’s getting left behind by the pace of the rapping. But for the most part I think it’s working really well.
48 - pro2021 - 048 - keep your hands off eizouken - run with the kittens - weight of the world
I think this video does a good job capturing the sometimes zany energy of this anime, as the girls imagine themselves in fantastical scenarios. I don’t have a lot to add, I just think it’s a fun tribute.
49 - pro2021 - 049 - extraction - imagine dragons - natural
Why’s it so short?
I’m a huge sucker for syncing sounds in a scene to music, like they sometimes do in trailers, so I love what you’re doing during the chorus. You gotta turn the volume down on the shots though, it’s really fighting the music. Other than that the flow of the video and the buildup to the chorus is great. Please consider editing the whole song, or at least a cut down version?
50 - pro2021 - 050 - dragon maid - sixpence none the richer - there she goes
This is an adorable video. It’s very simple and focused. I feel like it could use a little something more, like maybe some Ken Burns to help with the static sections. Overall it feels very one-note in the sense that we don’t really see their relationship grow or change or anything, it’s just lots of shots of these two girls with one of them being fairly oblivious to the effect she’s having on the other. I think if that’s all you’re going for it’s still a cute vid.
52 - pro2021 - 052 - macross plus - machinedrum - rise n fall
Is this what drugs feels like? I’m curious to know more about this one. I noticed there’s a bookended shot of a guy looking like he’s hooked up to hospital machines, which makes me feel like he’s having some sort of fever dream. I think the video overall is hitting that psychedelic effect you’re going for with the music. It’s not really my thing, but it’s an experience to watch for sure.
53 - pro2021 - 053 - high school of the dead - bear ghost - necromancin dancin
I’m one of those people who pays a lot of attention to lyrics and it still bothers me that the person in the lyrics is supposed to be a Necromancer raising the dead, which is the exact opposite of what the protagonist in this video seems to be doing. XD Overall I think this video is a fun, zombie-smashing good time. The sync is pretty solid. I don’t have any particular notes.
54 - pro2021 - 054 - kiniro mosaic - generated voice
That’s right, you take that back.
55 - pro2021 - 055 - your name - vanessa carlton - thousand miles
This source combo is unfortunately the exact same as a popular video from only a couple contests ago, so that’s kind of a shame, because I can’t help but compare it to that one. As before it’s a good pick for Your Name, but the execution here is not as good. There are some problems with the footage quality, and you’re excessively overusing effects like the flashing for sync that isn’t needed. Your Name is a beautiful film with a lot of natural movement and such in the image, there shouldn’t be a need to overlay a lot of flashes to get good sync. You may just need to cut more often. In some places you cut too much and may need to cut less often. Overall I think it just needs a few more passes to clean up the technical aspects.
56 - pro2021 - 056 - fuse memoirs of the hunter girl - of monsters and men - human
This is such an interesting one. I wish I understood the story better (I haven’t seen the source). I get that the girl seems to be hunting wolves and that her traveling companion is secretly a wolf, and that she feels bad for what she’s doing, but that’s about the most that I get. The actual story of the film might be too complex to tell in AMV form? Maybe it just needs a better focus, since it has a lot of characters. I feel like most of the technical aspects of this are good, though I think some things like the light leaks probably aren’t necessary. Overall I think you picked a great source combo, I just wish I could follow it better.
57 - pro2021 - 057 - soul - celine dion - im alive
I love this song and I think it goes great with Soul. The storytelling in this unfortunately ends up pretty linear to the path of the movie, but it works for the most part. I think the “I can’t wait for the rest of my life” section is very powerful and evokes the emotions you experience when the character remembers all the good parts of his life during the movie. The sync here is a little off though so maybe give it a touch up! I think this could be a really nice little vid with another pass at the technical aspects.
58 - pro2021 - 058 - evangelion - kina grannis - what a wonderful world
This was one of my favorites from the contest because it surprised me. It feels unique and unusual amongst other Evangelion videos. I like how you used color here and the calm and sometimes disquieting choice of scenes. There’s such a strong emotion of bittersweet yearning and loss to this video, and I like the focus on just Shinji and Rei for the most part. Overall just a chill vibe.
59 - pro2021 - 059 - she-ra - hidden citizens - heroes fall
I still can’t understand the lyrics even after someone explained what they’re saying, LOL. Other than that I think it’s a pretty solid She-ra video with a great dramatic mood. It’s a bit all over the place in terms of the storytelling, so even though I haven’t finished the series I don’t feel like it’s spoiling much for me, since I can’t really follow it. Strong Draction vibes here. Oh wait that’s right, someone said it’s “Sky’s gonna say my name”... for some reason I kept thinking it was saying “Scar’s gonna save my life”... now that I know the correct lyrics I can’t hear the wrong ones… this is like the white dress/blue dress now…
60 - pro2021 - 060 - demon slayer - vicetone - walk thru fire
I think it’s a nice video focused on the siblings, but I think it struggles a bit to keep up with the dubstep pacing of the song, particularly in the faster sections. Some of the sync could be tightened up and the flow could be improved. I think the storytelling could also be better with some better scene selection to really set up and sell the strong relationship between Tanjiro and Nezuko… some of the shots are using the other characters and feel like they were chosen just because they’re cool. Please keep working on it!
61 - pro2021 - 061 - various - soul asylum - runaway train
I understood the reference, but this video wore out its welcome to me pretty fast. I think you could move a little further away from the “missing photos” concept and work some more video in to keep it interesting. A lot of the little jokes were lost on me so I didn’t laugh much. There’s no real reason this needs to be the full length of the song.
63 - pro2021 - 063 - various - borns - past lives
I think it’s a cool concept that struggles in the execution. Some of the technical aspects may need some more work, and the sources could blend together a little better. The swapped out drawings are cool but I wonder how much they’re adding to the narrative. It’s a really difficult concept to pull off and part of why I think a lot of Your Name videos struggle to depict an abstract idea like reincarnation, time travel, or bodyswapping. I really like some of the moments of sync in this, like the train shot around 3:43. I wish the ending had more energy but I understand those shots are being used for storytelling purposes.
64 - pro2021 - 064 - madoka magica - tommee profitt - cant help falling in love
This seems like a good pick for these two characters (I haven’t seen the anime but from what I gather of their relationship I understand the sort of gutwrenching aspect of it). It has a bit of an ominous vibe that seems fitting. I think the editing is pretty solid for the most part. I think ultimately it didn’t stand out to me because there are just SO many Madoka videos at this point, a video has to do something particularly unique with the storytelling or visuals to catch my attention, and this just didn’t do it for me. It’s a shame because it’s not a bad video at all, just in a crowded field.
65 - pro2021 - 065 - fate series - marianas trench - killing kind
I don’t know where to start with what I love about this video, it really shouldn’t stand out because it’s a Fate video just like any other one I’ve seen, but the clean editing both visually and in terms of audio is so exceptional that it does stand out. One of my rewatches of this I just stared at it to see what you were doing with the transitions to try to understand why it feels so clean and I still don’t get it. I know there’s some storytelling here but unfortunately I’m not familiar enough with the characters or story to understand it. But the slow burn here into an epic finale is so satisfying that I don’t particularly care. I’ve been listening to the song since watching this video and find myself skipping a good chunk of the middle the way you did just because it works so much better the way you have it. Favorite moments are the sync on the running at 3:13 and the continuous pull out at 3:36, and the blooming effects synced to the music at 3:59. Goes to show the kind of cool stuff you can do when the footage supports it and you know how to use it. Kudos, an easy favorite in the contest.
66 - pro2021 - 066 - honkai impact - ajr - turning out
Not really familiar with the source and it’s kind of unfortunate there’s two videos using the same song in the contest because I can’t help comparing them. I found this one hard to follow because so many of the characters look the same and yet go through custom changes (?), so I can’t keep track of who the main characters are. I feel like this video would be great for fans, though. The editing isn’t bad or anything, I’m just having trouble feeling an emotional connection to the characters when I’m not even sure who’s who or what they’re going through.
67 - pro2021 - 067 - kingdom hearts - nf - the search
LOL This is all over the place, it’s using stuff from all over the Kingdom Hearts series and some of the lyric sync is so subtle. I’m not under the impression this is supposed to be trying to tell a story or anything, it’s just a cool Kingdom Hearts video. But Kingdom Hearts trying to be cool in a serious way sometimes comes across silly, and the stretch to hit some of the lyric sync sometimes comes across comical in this. I think I’d figure out which angle you’re going for -- a little goofy trying to be too cool, or actually cool -- and tailor your scene selection towards that.
68 - pro2021 - 068 - dragon maid - ron wasserman jeremy sweet - rock the dragon
Were you trying to go for a TV intro parody? It seems to just be cuts from a single sequence of the anime. I think I’d pick a lane… either try to do a TV intro parody, or do an unironically serious take on the song and pull in clips from a lot of different fights in the series.. Otherwise this doesn’t really work.
69 - pro2021 - 069 - various - ken ashcorp - bunny song
The technical aspects of this are fairly impressive, but I wish the footage quality of the sources you used was a bit more consistent. Some of the lyric sync is really fun and clever. I think this will be really popular with convention audiences, but it definitely begs the question of why particular anime bunnies are missing. I’m sorry in advance for all of the “Why is X Y and Z missing??” comments you’ll get.
70 - pro2021 - 070 - star wars - hidden citizens - moonlight sonata
A Darth Maul profile vid! Love it, it’s such a strong character profile with an almost sad, tragic mood. I personally don’t mind the mix of live action footage in with the cartoons, and I think it’s at its most effective in the places the live action is being match cut with shots from the cartoons. I think the storytelling does get hard to follow here, because we’re not seeing the events of Maul’s life necessarily in order, but inter-cut with the story of his obsession with vengeance and his betrayal by Palpatine. But it still works for the most part. Overall though I think it’s really strong, and the match cuts at 2:31 are really masterful. Great stuff.
71 - pro2021 - 071 - fate series - star trek lower deck
Ouch.
72 - pro2021 - 072 - g gundam - sunset neon - tonight
I think a lot has been said about this one so I won’t spend a ton of time, but this is a really fun throwback video. The flow is really good and clean throughout. There’s just one part I felt was weak around 1:23 where the sync is kind of wonky. But the rest is very solid. Everything is working in seamless harmony between the footage and the song. You love to see it.
73 - pro2021 - 073 - your name - aurora - runaway
Seems like an unfinished mood piece? It’s got a lot of blurring and effects. It seems a shame to put so much color correction on Your Name, which has beautiful colors already. I’d be interested to see what you could do with this concept with a full length video. The way it is right now just feels unfinished and like it doesn’t have any particular message or story or purpose.
74 - pro2021 - 074 - nightcrawler - imagine dragons - cutthroat
God this song is weird, I can’t believe it’s Imagine Dragons. It’s so quirky and I think you made it work so well for this film. I haven’t seen it, so the first time I watched this I was trying to puzzle out what it’s about. The best I could do was assuming the main character is setting up the murder of real people to make snuff films, which sounds like it’s not too far off? The way the footage moves and is cut in this is so appropriate for how bizarre the music is. I wonder if the little speed ups and slow downs is native or if it was done to fit the music, because it’s pretty effective. The screaming in the mirror is especially memorable from this. The whole video just has this feeling of a descent into madness that seems to mirror the character. Seeing the character just go back to work at the end is so disturbing. You did a great job but this is just another video that scares me too much to watch, haha.
75 - pro2021 - 075 - evangelion - glass animals - space ghost coast to coast
The effects work in this video is nice. I like the mood you’ve set up with this music and the scenes you chose. Some of the synced sounds are really satisfying, like the warning signs at 1:04. You do a great job matching the quirky nature of the song. I think kind of like I said with the Madoka video above, this is a really strong Shinji video, but it’s just so hard to stand out when there’s a lot of similar videos doing a similar thing.
77 - pro2021 - 077 - fruits basket - shawn mendes - wonder
The storytelling in this one feels a bit muddled. The story seems to be focused around Yuki, and it seems like the “I wonder what it’s like to be loved by you” is about Tohru at first, then shifts to Akito, then to everyone in general. If that’s your intention it mostly succeeds, it’s just that it’s a complicated story to tell in 3 minutes with a lot of characters making an appearance, and I think that can make it feel a bit hard to follow, particularly for viewers who aren’t familiar with Fruits Basket and Yuki’s struggles. Other than that, I think you could help the video flow better by carrying on the camera movements between different shots.. Sometimes the camera is panning up, stops in a few shots, starts panning up again, stops, etc. which makes me think the camera movements are mostly native and not added in. You can go into the static shots and do some camera movement to help them blend in. The ending feels really abrupt, which might just be the fault of the music. I wonder if there’s a better way to handle the ending to bring the storylines with Tohru and Akito back around. Just thinking out loud here!
78 - pro2021 - 078 - various - green day - longview
Might need to do an audio normalization on this, the volume is kind of low? I like the story you’ve created here, though I don’t play gacha games so can’t really relate to it, haha. I feel like some of these sources don’t really blend together that well, but I admire the technical work that you put into this. I think I’m just not the target audience.
79 - pro2021 - 079 - black butler - andrew lloyd webber - the beauty underneath
I really enjoyed this one, I used to be a big fan of the manga and I liked how this seemed to capture the disturbing relationship between Ciel and Sebastian. The music is also a perfect fit. There’s some bizarre technical issues with this one, where in some shots it looks like it’s a much higher frame rate from the other footage, and the footage from the original series is noticeably worse quality than the newer stuff. I’d really love to see some of these things cleaned up with better quality footage (if it’s even available) because I think it’d be worth the effort. The scream at the end is great, haha.
80 - pro2021 - 080 - fate series - my first story - fukagyaku replace
I think for the most part this is a solid Fate video, though since I haven’t seen the anime, and can’t understand most of the lyrics, the scene selection is lost on me. The slower areas really lose the energy which keeps this from being as strong an action Fate video as some of the other ones I’ve seen, but if it’s not intended to be pure action that doesn’t really matter. I don’t know, just not a ton to say about this one. It’s another one where I’m just like, “Well I guess I’m not the target audience” and that’s fine
81 - pro2021 - 081 - various - prodigy - firestarter
I kind of see the concept you’re going for, but the execution falls short. I’m assuming this is a newer editor… if you need suggestions or help, just ask! So many shots just go on way too long, or seem unrelated (like the clip from Princess Mononoke around 1:50 doing… laundry? Not sure what is going on here). The editing of the whole thing is way too slow for a song this intense… it’s already a long song that feels longer when the audience is just constantly waiting for the shot to change or sync to something. I do think the concept is good so it’d be worth making an effort to keep working on this!
82 - pro2021 - 082 - madoka magica - happy hour - black in very color
The first time I watched this I didn’t notice all the 00s references until it hit MySpace, and I started laughing. I see something new every time I watch this. It looks like it was SO much worse for what, I can’t imagine, other than a love of this source and a desire to crack some funny 00s jokes. I feel so old watching this, so many things from when I was a teenager. Love the “Tiffany what the FUCK” section still. Cat at the end is the bestest, completely pure, has never done a thing wrong.
83 - pro2021 - 083 - Aladdin - various - friend like me
Such a good mashup between the animated version and “live action”, and I haaaaate the Disney live action remakes. Really appreciate all the work you put into the audio and video transitions and the masking. It might not technically be an “AMV” because it’s not using different audio from the video source, but I think that’s part of what makes this contest kind of fun, because it can really be anything. I hope this video does really well on YouTube.
This gif should be self explanatory
