-
Anime in the South
2005-05-25 01:20:05
If you live in the south, I apologize, but I cannot stand being down here.
For those who do not know, Fort Campbell (where I'm stationed) sits on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky, I literally can walk across the border in about half an hour from where I am currently sitting.
What BUGS me about this whole damned place is the fact I can never find any sort of entertainment that I'm specifically looking for, i.e. Anime.
Anime is some sort of mythical beast in these parts, like the Loch Ness Monster, you can catch glimpses of it, (purchase a DVD) but if you're looking for something specific, you're screwed.
I've been looking for the second DVD to Samurai Champloo for a few weeks now, I KNOW it's out. Hell, people back in my hometown have said they've SEEN IT on the shelves there. But of course, its not for sale anywhere here. I've literally been to almost half a dozen different stores looking for the damned thing.
Most anime I've seen here has been pretty standard fare, some DBZ dvds, Samurai X, Evangelion, another show here and there. Nothing to write home about. You can special order things at certain stores, but normally I've never had to jump through hoops like this just to get my hands on one DVD.
Ironically enough one store HAD the Samurai Champloo DVD, they just had it only for rent. One employee told me that alot of people have been asking about the DVD I was looking for, but they never had it.
God, I hate the south. -
Video out the door
2005-05-19 21:46:57
Well one of my "next gen" vids is out the door.
"Tender Caress" is the newest vid that I've made with brand new programs and new methods of ripping DVDs as well as converting and compressing them.
The video is larger than any of my previous ones on the ORG, but the heightened quality in my opinion, is well worth it.
In other non-AMV related news, our company finally recieved our new uniforms. ACUs or Army Combat Uniforms. The uniforms in short, look like they came from outer goddamn space. But hey, anything that keeps me from getting shot when I go to Iraq can't be all bad right?
We also got the "mitch" Helmets, which are actually SMALLER than normal helmets, but they are lighter and apparently, tougher.
However, in true Army fashion, they didn't have enough equipment for our company, so some of us are missing things. Take me for example. I'm missing pants. The funny part is, the cooks who basically serve us chow everyday actually got their uniforms BEFORE us. Imagine that, an infantry company is put behind a bunch of cooks, who I might add, will never WEAR their ACUs because they have an entirely different uniform.
God, sometimes I wish I joined up with a job other than the Infantry.
Cheers,
Katara -
Too many ideas
2005-05-17 12:57:11
Lately, my mind has been bludgeoning me with hoards of ideas for AMVs. The PROBLEM is trying to pull a good video out of all the crap that my imagination decides to toss my way.
Currently, I am working on literally about four different AMVs.
To put it succinctly, I literally have AMVs coming OUT MY ASS. The thing is, probably two of those four will ever be completed. It's annoying to have as wandering a mind as I do, because you tend to not be able to focus on one project for any given length of time, moving from project to project. In doing so, you tend to leave former projects by the wayside, projects that were probably really good.
I'm not sure if I'm the only person with this type of problem but it seems lately my brain kicked it up a notch due to the fact that for several months I didn't have a computer on Fort Campbell that I could do AMVs with and my mind is trying to play catch up.
Oh well, thats life I suppose.
The only advantage is that instead of sitting around trying to think of SOMETHING, I'm instead bombarded by assloads of ideas.
Expect a new AMV to be on the site hopefully by the end of the week.
Cheers,
Katara -
Never dedicate an AMV to someone
2005-05-17 00:55:23
Back in about oh, say, 2002 or so. I began to date a girl by the name of Kristin. Our anniversary was literally Christmas Day of that year. The day that I finally gathered up the courage to ask her out.
As months went by, we had a very fullfilling relationship and both of us seemed quite happy.
It was early in 2003 that Kristin's birthday rolled around and not having a well paying job, I had little money to buy her a present, so I decided to make an AMV for her.
I took her favorite song and set it to Ah! My Goddess, thinking the two fit each other perfectly. It took me a couple of days to complete the video but it was done in time for her birthday.
She loved it.
I decided to put the video up on the Org for the express purpose of at the time, it was probably the finest AMV I'd ever done. The anime and song seemed to fit perfectly together and it seemed a perfect way for me to show my love for my girlfriend.
Except our relationship didn't last.
In about August of 2003 Kristin broke up with me. This was due to the fact that she was going to college in Pittsburgh (I still lived near Philadelphia) and I was planning on joining the Army.
However, the video is still OUT THERE.
The video has been called my finest AMV by a bunch of people. I have strived to surpass it, but to no avail. I've had one or two vids come close in the Star Scale, but none have ever had a better average than "For Kristin" to this day it irks me that one of my finest vids is dedicated for the love of a girl that I haven't been dating since the summer of 2003.
I've never tried to edit the video or have it taken down from the Org, in a way I guess it's my albatross for being rather naieve when it comes down to relationships.
Folks, unless you KNOW that you will always be around someone, for the love of god, don't dedicate the AMV to them. You never know what may be your best work. -
My first entry
2005-05-16 02:15:42
Yeah, I figured I'd write in this journal thing. It's here so I might as well, right?
I figured to do a little entry about why I do AMVs and how I even got into them.
I've been making AMVs for...christ, since early to mid 2000. My original vids were Dragonball Z vids, pure and simple. I.e. I was part of a cliche before there was even a cliche to be had.
My original entry into the AMV world came from downloading such vids as "More Human than Human" which used various scenes of varying quality from various parts of the show and the movies.
What astounded me about the vid was (at the time) how COOL it looked. I mean, it used scenes I'd never SEEN before and the way that alot of the vid matched the music thrilled me, I literally watched the video dozens of times. Wishing I could make stuff like that.
Fate eventually intervened.
My older brother is a "cutting edge" type person. Meaning he needs the newest, and best programs. Well, Windows 2000 (I believe that was the OS) came with Windows Movie Maker. A crude, cheaply made program that was easy to learn and simple to interact with and best of all, it came with Windows so it was already there.
I started downloading DBZ vids wherever I could find them. Using the now dead Scour Media Agent, as well as it's successor, Scour Exchange. I grabbed up every DBZ vid I could get my hands on.
Not knowing how I could get my own original clips (hell, I didn't even own a DVD player of any sort until about Christmas of 2000). I cut up the vids I already had and began to slap together vids that at the time, I thought were the greatest goddamn thing I'd ever SEEN. I didn't think they'd beat out alot of the competition I knew was getting around the net, but I figured they'd be good enough.
To this day, I'm glad I never tried to put them on the net, I look back on those vids and shake my head at the mere IDEA that I ever thought they were good. The thought that they could still be floating out there with my name slapped on them makes me shiver with terror.
I made approximately 4 DBZ vids. Which I still have to this day and every so often, I gaze back upon them to remind myself how far I've come. Rob Kenchu and I who've known each other for literally about a decade and a half now, helped each other out with our vids, showing each other what we'd done. In a way, we helped motivate the other. When one of us made a vid, the other would attempt to make one as well that tried to meet the standards of the previous one.
Honestly, I'm not sure why I make AMVs, I don't get money for it. I don't really recieve massive amounts of credit. But for some odd reason, it makes me happy when people say they actually enjoy something that I made, something that I "created" albeit with songs and anime from other people's artwork.
My first "real" vid was completed almost 2 years after I began editing.
That vid was the first one I ever made using my own source clips and new programs that allowed me to make a semi-decent looking vid. I still watch that vid with no small amount of pride to this day (no, it is not on the org yet).
I've never entered any of my vids in any competition because I never think I'll win. After all, I'm by no means an Anime expert. I'm not the best video editor in the world and I'll be the first to admit there are loads of people out there with more talent then I. However, I will guarantee that I will make AMVs for as long as I physically can. I've been improving my technique for the past 5 years and everytime I do a new vid, I find something new I can do with it, some way to make it better. More Better Studios will exist, in some way, shape or form for years to come.
Enjoy the ride.
Cheers,
Katara
JOURNAL: Katara (Matt Reppert)
Current server time: Jan 08, 2025 16:06:42