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Damn, I'm lazy, but at least there's a new vid!
2004-05-09 02:11:26
I finally posted up Bernie's Lament, although it's not technically new since I made it over a year ago. I think it's my best "storytelling" video, but it holds the dubious honor of being booed at Anime Festival Orlando 4 (August 2003) when I entered it in the wrong contest; The Adult AMV contest. Folks wanted to see animated T&A and all I gave them was Gundam and the easily misconstrued relation between Al & Bernie.
Anyway, hope you dig the video and for those who like Lalo Schifrin or Gundam, I hope you like it even more.
Thanks for reading. ^_^
Soul Brother Ryusynoke
0405.09 -
Oh...Brandon...
2004-01-06 20:48:13
Happy New Year. Man, has it been ahwile. ^_^
Just turned 27 today (Jan. 6). Still Single. Still losing weight, although it's starting to get real tough. Guess having a hig stress job helps.
Speaking of work, it's cutting into my vid making time thanks to all the overtime I've worked, but with the oncoming check in lieu, I can't complain much.
"Madness" is crawling along, despite a bad case of "writer's block". I'm afraid of rushing it, but at the same time I don't want it to tap me out of creativity or enthusiasm for making AMVs. In the end, I know I'll be alright, but I just hope it dosen't turn out to be shit in the end. Guess, we'll see how it turns out...
I'm fresh off the raw version of GunGrave Ep. 14, and I'm nothing short of speechless. For those who have been viewing, or have even played the game, you knew it was coming.
The elevator ride.
The raw words of betrayal of Harry Macdowel.
The enraged punch from Brandon.
The heasistation to shoot.
The dropping of the gun.
The retalliation of Harry's pearl gripped handgun.
The shock on Brandon's face.
The blood and bullet holes on the elevator glass.
Harry's maniac scream of Brandon's name before the final shot through his left eye.
The fall through the breaking glass.
The terrifying 20+ story decent into the city below.
The peaceful blue and white sky above.
The cold, hard concrete of the bustling city below.
The immenient demise of Brandon Heat.
Christ. The whole episode was priceless, despite the fact that I have very little grasp of Japanese. Of course it's not hard to figure out what happens that episode, with or without the language barrier. The kicker is once Harry finds out that Brandon's loyalty is more for Big Daddy and, more so, Maria, he takes Heat on a trip down memory lane as if everything is still cool between them. Lowering Brandon's mental defenses and pushing the limits of his love for his friend and the woman that he was destined to lose.
The cinematography & direction is the best thing about the episode, and it should be since it closes the chapter on Brandon's living years. I'm sure when the subtitled version is dropped in a few days, it'll be even more memorable with translated lines to enjoy other than "BRANNNNDONNNN!!!".
It's too early to do an AMV on this series, but as soon as they drop here, I'd like to make a one for Brandon's backstory to someone else that also had a short life.
"At the Chime of a City Clock" by Nick Drake.
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A city freeze
Get on your knees
Pray for warmth and green paper.
A city drought
You're down and out
See your trousers don't taper.
Saddle up
Kick your feet
Ride the range of a London street
Travel to a local plane
Turn around and come back again.
And at the chime of the city clock
Put up your road block
Hang on to your crown.
For a stone in a tin can
Is wealth to the city man
Who leaves his armour down.
Stay indoors
Beneath the floors
Talk with neighbours only.
The games you play
Make people say
You're either weird or lonely.
A city star
Won't shine too far
On account of the way you are
And the beads
Around your face
Make you sure to fit back in place.
And at the beat of the city drum
See how your friends come in twos;
Or threes or more.
For the sound of a busy place
Is fine for a pretty face
Who knows what a face is for.
The city clown
Will soon fall down
Without a face to hide in.
And he will lose
If he won't choose
The one he may confide in.
Sonny boy
With smokes for sale
Went to ground with a face so pale
And never heard
About the change
Showed his hand and fell out of range.
In the light of a city square
Find out the face that's fair
Keep it by your side.
When the light of the city falls
You fly to the city walls
Take off with your bride.
But at the chime of a city clock
Put up your road block
Hang on to your crown.
For a stone in a tin can
Is wealth to the city man
Who leaves his armour down.
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I heard this song on the way home from playing go last night and I was as speechless as I was this afternoon watching GunGrave. It's the kind of song that makes your hair stand on end and makes you pause for a minute to appreciate what good music really is.
Look up Nick Drake sometime. On the net. At the record store. Here:
http://www.algonet.se/~iguana/DRAKE/DRAKE.html
I'm truly sorry I wasn't around to appreciate his talent when he was around, and even more so since there's no AMVs to his work. Folk-type music might be hard to to a vid to, but can be done - and I'll be damned if I don't try.
But I gotta finish "Madness" first. ^_^
Gotta jet. Until next time.
Soul Brother Ryusynoke
0401.06 -
Shinkuu Hadoken!!!!
2003-10-24 15:52:37
Alright...maybe the Super Projectile naming scheme is getting old, but honestly, I had no idea what to name this so I went for another. ^_^
On Monday, I showed my Go club what I had finished of "Madness" (about 45%) and most of them liked what they saw. Out of all of them, only one was an experienced AMV creator (Chriz the Stampede - http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_myprofile.php?user_id=71961) and he had told me what I had so far was digable and he can't wait to see it finished. I think they mentioned that I should use it as contest material, but there are a lot of inside jokes to the way the video's edited and some of the lyric references (..."But you see who's controllin' 'em" - when the video's available, look for the last person to show on the tail end of that line ^_^) and only a judge who's seen Nadesico would understand those. If would probably do better as an exhibition video, but I'll make the final decision when it's complete.
Anyway, the saga continues. Now that I've for Split Screens down, next up are "Rolling Split Screens", a la the opening to "Dallas".
Yeah, buddy... -
Haoh-Sho-Ko-Ken!!!!!!
2003-10-23 15:37:33
Not much to say this time around, just another video concept to throw down here and another thing I've been meaning to mention. Part of fun of making my vids are the credit at the end, and when I make the sequel to "Across the Board" (the HikaGo video), I'll be putting all of the names of the folks that commented on "Across" in "Yose" (name of the sequel).
Also, those cats who have or will comment on "Somebody to Love" will get props in the credits of "Madness", which is about 50% done. And I'm already 40 hours deep on that video. Anyway, on to the concept...
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Song: "(You're a) Rich Girl"
Artist: Daryl Hall & John Oates
Anime: "Mobile Suit Victory Gundam"
Video: "Ambition"
Description: Funny how the title makes it sound less lighthearted then I want the video to come off. Then again there's a lot of fucked-up events that happen in Victory, especially the change in attitude in Miss Katejina Loos. Sweet sixteen and the daughter of a rich socialite on Earth, she befriends our hero (12-year old Uso Evin), and corresponds to him over the internet due to the distance between them. Being priviledged has given her a false sense of pride and dignity, and although Uso is her friend she dosen't treat him as an equal thanks to his age, his low economic standing, and the bonus that he's an orphan. Throughout the series, the plot throws her against him as a member of the opposing army and making her his mortal enemy towards the end (despite his endearing crush on her). Her ambitions drive her from the girl next door to one insane bitch by series end, but that isn't without cost. ^_^
In this video I want to show that transition, although it'll be hard to match up the lyrics precisely. Also there'll be lots of Uso and the gang not to mention spoilers. -
"Madness" continues...
2003-10-06 22:56:31
It's been about a month and a half and I'm not even a 3rd done with this vid. No put intended, but I'm almost at the point of madness at this point, especially when I do "dailys" on Split Screen sequences I make and it comes off sequence in the lip-synch or action. Oh, well...so goes the trials of making a vid, but with these Splits on the Hooks of the songe I'm doing 4 times the work I would normally do on a vid. Working on this has been a learning experience though, and I'm digging every second despite the frustration.
I was thinking while waiting for a video sequence for "Madness" to render so I could review it; with this new "Anime Channel" in effect, wouldn't it be cool if they had a program highlighting AMVs? Sadly, this channel isn't on where I live on Direct TV (does that mean it's not on D-TV anywhere?), so I'm not sure if this is in effect already, or if they even show vids inbetween shows. They could take high-quality submissions from AMV creators and show them in 30-min. to hour-long blocks, showing the best of what's submitted. There's several benefits to this:
* Advertising for the show(s) featured in the vid
* Advertising for the music in the vid.
* AMV.org could get major spotlight for this, since it is the largest site out there doing the service of hosting AMVs out there. (And god bless them for it - my donation is long overdue -_- )
* Creators can have their works shown over the airwaves and get recognized for their talent, plus for those looking to do video editing as a carrer putting that you've had your work broadcasted on your resume is a big plus.
Of course there are technicalities and legalities that might put a damper in this idea:
* Chances are, vids from shows that haven't been picked up here yet would never be shown (to avoid ruining relations with anime companies supporting the channel and the anime studios they purchase new series from).
* ADV, which are the powers that be behind the channel, might decide to only host vids to shows that they own the licenses to or have shown on the "Anime Network" (I'm assuming that a few series, movies, and OVAs from other companies are or will be shown on it as well, but it may be best not to hold my breath).
* Vids with questionable scenes, violence, or explicit lyrics might not be accepted, but then again with all the unedited anime they're showing it might not be that much of a problem in the long run. At least i hope not...
* The big one: the RIAA. It's safe to assume that most of the music that we use for AMVs are protected by this organization, and regardless if we used the original source material for supplying the audio material, when it's aired on TV and the show has advertisers, money's being made, and some of that money might have to go to record companies. And that's if they allow their material to be aired in such a manner; a video could kick major ass, but if ADV submitted the video to the proper label that produced the song in question, they could very well deny them airing it. And if they give the o.k., what about the artist who made the music? Lord knows how they might react (I'd like to think they'd be honored, but they could very well not care too much for the vid, and that would blow...).
* The cost of putting the show on; if they could get enough advertisers to support it and not have to dish out too much money to record labels, artists & anime studios and get a decent viewerbase in the process, this shit just might work.
But in all reality, I don't even think that the Anime Network is ready for an endeavor like this one. Right now they're just probably working hard enough already to get the channel on in other markets and run the series they already have. Good luck to them, and if this channel does take off, we might just see something like this in the future. ^_^
Maybe Toonami or Adult Swim would be a better place for something like this anyway; along with the vids they make, maybe they can host other folks work. A lot of us were actually inspired by the ones that Toonami has made, and it would be cool if they could display some from cats that have made vids to shows they are currently showing.
Guess that would mean they'd have no end to DBZ videos. Yikes...
Well, back to "Madness", which is incidentally based on an ADV series. Maybe in a decade, I'll see it on the Anime Network!
I'll shut up now. Peace out.
JOURNAL: Soul Bro Ryu (A. Maximillian Russell)
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