JOURNAL: Katara (Matt Reppert)

next page
  • Reflections of a 42 Year Old 2024-08-08 02:48:11 So every so often I remember this site exists and I am, to put it mildly, overjoyed to find it still does. AMV.org has always been something that I have treasured as it represents a time in my life that in many ways I dearly wish I could go back to. I joined AMV.org in 2002, nearly 22 years since my joining this site I have lived an entire life that I could scarcely comprehend. Joined the Army, did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, got married, bought a house, and had my mom pass away earlier this year. Even my co-creator Rob Kenchu who hasn't logged in here since 2020 (though I am still in touch with him) got married, bought a house, and even had a kid this year. Suffice it to say a LOT has happened.

    Anime has been something that I have always had a soft spot for. My heyday of being "all in" on Anime was in this time frame when I joined AMV.org, seriously it was embarrassing the amount of DVDs I bought of the stuff. Shows and movies that you simply can't get anymore (at least easily) due to the draconian licensing laws. I've seen physical media die the slow death that I never saw coming back when I was truly active on this place. I expressed my interest in doing AMVs again when I last posted in... *checks date of last entry* a little over 15 years ago!?! But the truth is, in many ways the role of editing has passed me by. The amount of work to make an AMV is something that I honestly don't think I'd be able to do, I mean how in the HELL do people capture clips these days in the streaming era? Doing things in 4K? Dear god, it makes me breathe a little shallower thinking about it.

    But in all that time, I've watched Anime grow from being the "porn cartoons" as I heard many derisively call it, to a truly global phenomenon, I've seen AMVs from creators probably half my age or less put together with the amount of talent and skill that would make a professional editor blush. Honestly, creating AMVs has moved past old farts like myself and I'm happy for it. I still have all of my AMVs and other videos I made saved on my computer (yes, really) and I cringe at my production quality these days. I am still grateful to have been a part of this community however small and my average at best contributions. I see YouTube uploads of AMV creators who were around when I was active and I see comments like, "This AMV/Vid helped define my childhood" and that makes me smile.

    If you're reading this and still making AMVs, you shine on you crazy sonuvabitch. Keep creating, inspiring, and expressing yourself. I hope AMV.org is around for a long, LONG time. There is something pure about this place, without the blatant advertising that YouTube has become. But I hope most of all that if you create AMVs that one day you'll hear or see people discuss a video that maybe you made or just that you remember fondly and you'll smile because hey, the ride may be over before you know it.  
  • Okay, so maybe it's not like riding a bike 2009-08-04 22:28:02 I have purchased the DVDs of the show I am going to use. As of this moment I currently am in the process of gathering up all the stuff I need to rip and edit the DVD. I have the song picked out and should be editing tonight or tomorrow.

    Rob Kenchu has been immense help at helping me remember just how in the hell we're able to make AMVs. I plan on working on this one for as long as I can to ensure that it is as smooth and error free as possible. I have at least one or two people that I will screen the video as I make it.

    I'm hoping that the final product will be worth all the time I've been away. 
  • The homefront 2009-04-25 12:36:29 Ah, home.

    It's funny really. I've been home for over a month now. Since March 12th to be exact. I have a new computer and bought some anime (complete collections of Trinity Blood and Grenadier to be exact). I just need to REMEMBER how I ripped DVDs.

    Basically it will involve alot of searching on my part. In my idiocy I never wrote down step by step directions of how I ripped and converted my DVDs into Adobe Premiere viable files. I will have to go digging through all of my old files to find everything I need which will be loads of fun as I'm sure you've already figured out.

    I'm so out of the loop on anime its a small little speck on the horizion. I spent a week on a cruise to the Caribbean and while I didn't see Captain Jack Sparrow out there, Johnny Depp was filming a new movie in Puerto Rico while I was there. My girlfriend wanted to kidnap him suffice it to say.

    I want to make a new video, truly I do. I just need to think of a good song, what anime to use, etc etc.

    But its like riding a bike, you never forget.

     
  • Do you remember your first AMV and Anime? 2008-08-24 09:44:21 I am the proud owner of the Witchblade series, I bought the whole thing just before I left, uploading it to my iPod as well as bringing the DVDs in case some of the more Anime loving members of my platoon decided to watch it.

    As I watched Witchblade (which I have been enjoying so far), I began to wonder, what was the first Anime I ever watched? Well since for me Anime and AMVs go hand in hand it wasn't long before I began to wonder what was the first AMV I watched.

    Amusingly enough, I clearly remember both.

    The first anime I ever watched came in the good old days of VHS, I remember watching Akira YEARS ago at my brother's friend's house. This was back in the days when the only way you got Akira was having it imported from Japan. I remember watching Akira and it being subtitled did little to aid in my understanding it. I wrote it off and only years later did I realize how good (if a bit of a mind trip) movie it was.

    The first anime I watched and really ENJOYED was Ninja Scroll. The combination of action and a plot I could actually follow was to put it mildly "fucking sweet."

    When I got a job and started making my own money, I ended up inevitably purchasing Anime. In the barren wasteland of the late 90s and early 2000, Anime hadn't become mainstream and was loosely thrown into the local Suncoast Video store at my mall becuase some older nutjobs kept asking for it.

    My first three video purchases all occured at the same time and consisted of Ninja Scroll, Samurai X and the first Rurouni Kenshin VHS tape.

    Rob Kenchu and I ended up watching Samurai X together, the sheer realistic nature of the violence got to us like a katana through the skull. Rurouni Kenshin seemed to have alot of potential as a show.

    Now amusingly enough, it was roughly during this time that we got involved in AMVs. Back then, there was no real established website for AMVs and the way you got the word out was by putting them on programs like Scour Media Agent, and it's successor Scour Exchange.

    The first AMV I remember watching was "More Human than Human" set to Dragonball Z. Back then, I thought Dragonball Z was THE SHIT(tm) and the reason I downloaded it was because I was trying to watch any DBZ that I could get my hands on.

    I loved the vid, though I look back on it and see the flaws and poor video quality. It was something new and exciting. I wanted to make one.

    Luckily, I didn't get too involved with VHS tapes and Anime because DVDs were starting to really cheapen up (or rather, the players were). And I bought a DVD drive for my computer. I was at the local Best Buy looking for my first DVD purchases when I came upon Armitage the Third: Polymatrix. I picked it up and the rest is history.

    So how about it, do you remember your first anime? Your first AMV?
     
  • Good thing I didn't make an AMV for her 2008-08-15 08:39:53 I'm currently waiting to rejoin my unit after coming off of midtour leave. Leave wasn't bad I suppose, I got to hang out with my best friend Rob Kenchu (hes got vids on here) and my family.

    A wrench got thrown into the works when on day three of my leave my girlfriend of 2 1/2 years came over. She said she needed to talk and broke down into tears, sobbing and such. I eventually ended up having to finish her sentences for her. Eventually I found out what she was trying to say.

    She didn't love me anymore.

    I'm trying not to be upset or angry with her. Even though she broke up with me, my ultimate goal is for her to be happy. Even if it isn't with me.

    I'm in the process of trying to meet new people but I haven't been on the dating scene since before I went to Iraq, so it's slow goings. Plus I have the whole "In Afghanistan" thing going for me which is -5 to my dating abilities.

    I had considered making her an AMV some time ago when she asked about it. I'm VERY glad I didn't now.

    But hey, this gives me an excuse to dye my hair black, listen to linkin park and talk about how painful the world is right?

    Cheers,
    Katara 
next page
Current server time: Dec 27, 2024 19:25:04