Video AMV Help Thread

Discussion in 'Production Studio' started by Darkandroid, Oct 1, 2006.

  1. Darkandroid Gets it Together

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    This is a guide for those who are thinking of making an AMV, but not sure what to do, or to those who have experience but are looking for ways to improve, ok lets start off with:

    What does AMV mean?

    It stands for Anime Music Video they are in simple terms putting scenes for a anime to music, but nowdays, people make video not just on Anime but to Games and Movies, but people still call them AMV's, but in some forums they are know was FM's (Fan Movies)

    How do you make them?

    Making AMV's are easy to make, but hard to master, to make an simple AMV you just simply import the video clip and drag it into the timeline, but to make a good one you need to time to clips to the music, add effects and much more, but i will talk about that later

    What program do you use to make them?

    There are many programs you can use, such as Windows Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere and Vegas Movie Studio.

    But if you are new to making AMV I recommend using Windows Movie Maker, even though it's not the best, it is easy to use, and once you think you have enough experience you can choice to go and use more advanced video editting software such as Adobe Premiere etc. But you can chose to use Premiere straight away, but it will take time getting used to, but if you have experience with WMM, it's makes the learning process easier

    Ok, so i know the basics, but how do you make a good AMV?

    There are many aspects that determine a good AMV, here are the most important aspects

    Timing

    This is when you change the scenes of the video clips to the beat of the music, e.g. a drum beat, or the end of the verse etc, most songs have tons of opporunites to change scenes, it's just to find the right time to do so. When reviewing AMV's, timing is one of the main things people look out for, it's almost the backbone of the vid.

    Flow

    The way the vid flows is very important, you have to keep a constant pace from start to finish, even if you vid had a great ending, if people find the beginning boring they might not even bother to watch the whole thing, keep the person entertained, they are the viewers.

    So keep up a good pace from start to finish, don't slack at the end.

    Music

    Another important aspect, without it your vid is only half a vid.

    The scenes have to match to the mood of the song, so calm music goes well with a romatic theme, or metal for an action theme. If you pick the wrong kind of music for the vid, it can ruin the whole thing, even if timing is good and everything, if the music doesn't suit the clips, it ruins it (I know this from experience) So pick the music carefully.

    Quality

    Not the most important aspect, but a good quality vid does make the vid seem better (I reccomend a bit rate of 1000kb/sec) and if the quality was too low, then people aren't properly gonna see it cos it's hard to make out what is going on

    Effects

    Effects can help make your vid look good, but too many can spoil it, that is the downside to WMM, it has a very limited range of effects.

    Creativity/Originality

    This can be very important, and can help make your vid stand out, be original, don't use the same music as everyone else, look at Linkin Park, that has been heavily oveused (go to youtube, you will see what i mean) and can effect your final rating, professional AMV makers 9/10 are going to ignore them. Use a song, that hasn't been used much, so bands that aren't currently in the charts.


    General Tips

    - Take your time, don't rush it, the longer you take chances are the better the vid is going to be, so what if you can make an AMV in 3 hours, personally i don't think that is impressive, to me that says "I rushed it and didn't put 100% into it" The best AMV normally take 1-3 months to make, they properly do an 1/2 hour a night and take their time.
    - Watch the vid constantly, see if the scene you just added fits in well with everything else, look back at the last 20 seconds and watch carefully, and watch it back muliple times to try and stop errors
    - Practise makes perfect, not everyone's first AMV is going to be perfect but don't make that an excuse, as you make more you will get better, even if you don't realise it, just learn from your mistakes.
    - Get advice, ask those who have had experience, know what they are talking about
    - Enter competitions/contests, this can help you improve as a AMV maker, and help you get repuation, and also gives you can chance to compare to fellow AMV makers (some of my best work have been made for contests)

    So there you go a guide on how to make an AMV, I hope you have found this useful, and happy AMV making ^_^

    If there are anymore question people are unsure of, just ask here, and i will answer the question and add it to this post
     
  2. sora364 Merlin's Housekeeper

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    Why don't you copy and paste your previous "AMV Guide" from the old forum? I believe amature AMV makers will find that somewhat more helpful. You gave tips, software reccomendations, and other info. If it were not for you, I would have never known about Vegas or Adobe Premiere. Regardless, I think that should be your front page.
     
  3. Darkandroid Gets it Together

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    Oh yeah that thread, i will go and copy and paste it now, and put it into the first post, thanks for reminding me ^_^

    Though I wouldn't talk about piracy, it can get you banned

    And no problem glad i could help ^_^

    Edit: I've changed the first post
     
  4. Darkandroid Gets it Together

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    Sorry for the double post, but this is a bump and a request

    Can we make this a sticky so all AMV help related question can go here.
     
  5. Misty gimme kiss

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    *Stickies*

    I'll be open to any question too. (as usual)
     
  6. Roxas OG

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    This is my first ever AMV:

    Hikari-Instrumental Version

    I like it, I think all the clips fit well with the music.

    But I want you all to rate it. Also, if you want, I will upload the first 7 seconds of an AMV I am working on. So far, it is 4987329841324% better than my first. Anyway, I want some rating for my first and i may uplaod the first 7 or so seconds of my new one to see if you think where I'm going is right.

    It's in the top rated which makes me proud XD.
     
  7. JackS27 Twilight Town Denizen

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    I'm curious...

    How does one get cutscenes and screenshots off the game itself?

    I know you can get a lot from kh-vids, but how did they get it in the first place? I need mostly screenshots that I know no site has.
     
  8. Darkandroid Gets it Together

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    They use graphic capture cards, which allows you to record direct feed from games.
     
  9. Roxas OG

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    Could someone please look over my first AMV? I'm hoping DA, since his AMVs are the best I have seen out of anything ever.
     
  10. JackS27 Twilight Town Denizen

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    Vas is Das? Is this legal? and if it is, is it expensive? And if it is, is there someone who has this technology who I could possibly commision some "raw materials" from?
     
  11. Darkandroid Gets it Together

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    JackS27 - I believe it is legal, and the capture cards cost around $100 I think, you can find them at ebay or amazon (I think) they aren't totally rare

    Roxas - Why thank you :)

    And i believe I have reviewed it before, and here is that review:

    That was pretty good for a first AMV i must say, timing was pretty good, though there were missed beats and some of the timing was off timed. But music choice...umm....well it fitted (durr it's from the KH OST) but i'm not a fan of AMVs' using the soundtrack to the game/anime as the music choice, it rather boring to me and shows unoriginality. But you scene selection was good, nothing seemed totally out of place.

    Overall i'm impressed, shame it will probably be your last you have alot of potenial.

    7.7/10


    Also if you want to view more of my videos (i've made more than 2) click on the Darkandroid Productions link in my sig. :)
     
  12. JackS27 Twilight Town Denizen

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    Do these cards have to be installed into the game system or the TV by opening either up?
     
  13. Darkandroid Gets it Together

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    To tell the truth, I have no idea, I have never used them, the old KH-vids site had an FAQ on what capture card they used and stuff, i'm not sure if they transfered it over to the new site.
     
  14. WarpObscura Traverse Town Homebody

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    It is possible to wire up your console to a DVD recorder and record onto DVD-/+RWs, then use a DVD ripping utility to get your footage onto the PC. I have done it, but attempting to explain how to do the connection is beyond me. I had help in doing the connections.
     
  15. Darkandroid Gets it Together

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    I know how to do DVD rips, but taking game footage, is beyond me it's an area i'm yet to tread in.
     
  16. WarpObscura Traverse Town Homebody

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    You need to connect your console to the DVD recorder, as mentioned. Turn on both devices and start your game, get to the event you want to record, then press the record button. Do what you need to do. Then press stop. Remove the recordable DVD and transfer to PC. Rip.

    There you have it. Easy enough in theory. The challenge comes from the initial connection, but everything is smooth-sailing after that.
     
  17. Sanya Orussia’s 586th Fighter Regiment

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    hmmm... Thanks for that warp, iII keep that in mind
     
  18. WarpObscura Traverse Town Homebody

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    Glad to help. I think you need to attach your console's AV cables to the audio and video IN ports on your DVD recorder, but that is what it looks like for me. You might need a different method...?

    On the other hand, you might experience latency issues with that. This means that the displayed video lags behind what is actually happening. In that case, you will need a splitter or coupler or composite AV lead and connect one end to the TV, the other going to the DVD recorder.
     
  19. Roxas OG

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    Why don't you just donwload the videos from kh-vids? Unless you want them from another game I guess...
     
  20. WarpObscura Traverse Town Homebody

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    Well, you know, sometimes the video-maker wants to see a portion of the interactive content handled his way. For example, YouTube user Nunuu made a video of using only Eternal Session to bash through the final Mansex battle. That is something not covered in the videos here. Recording your own footage allows you to tailor your own individual take on doing things rather than be "constrained" by what is available by default.