thoughts about my AMV (please)

[DavidSeth]

So back in January, being the tech nerd I am, I was elected by my family to make a video montage for a relatives memorial. In theory it seemed easy... I had lots of home video and pictures that I could throw in with music. But I had never used a video editor, so I decided to make an AMV to see how difficult it was. I went with Johnny Cash's "Hurt" set to scenes from the Evangelion movies. It took a number of hours, but this is the result. Its not perfect, but I was just wondering, in the grand scheme of AMVs, how this ranks? Piss poor? Damn good? Or somewhere in between? I only wonder because I am on the cusp of trying to make a stop motion short, and I want to make sure that I at least have the basic editing skills down. Plus, I thought some of the scenes fit really well to the music, but maybe to others its way off... anyway, thanks for any input. I'm not trying to self promote, I just want some criticism, good and/or bad (as long as its constructive though)

YouTube - Johnny Cash - Hurt (Evangelion AMV)

Well, since the amv is made from Death & Rebirth, End of Evangelion, and Evangelion 1.0: You are [Not] Alone, beware there are "spoilers" (mostly for End of Evangelion)

[VivisQueen]

DavidSeth, man I love your work. For a first AMV, this is ASTOUNDING. I've seen some shit.

1) The first half is brilliant with the scenes fitting excellently. My favourite would be the part where Cash sings about needles and you see the Eva being pierced through the head. That actually made my breath catch.

2) The second half is weaker. There are moments like the 'world of dirt' where young Shinji kicks the mound of sand which are lovely, or when Shinji goes for Asuka's throat, that fits well with the songs too, but they are too interspersed with scenes that are rather random.

I will tell you now, the quality of that is middle-to-high and the song is a perfect choice. You do vary the length of the scenes a little, which is also good, and the change in scenes fits the rhythm of the song. But maybe you need to work on tightening up the theme throughout. If that makes sense.

Also, do you take requests? :D

EDIT: OMG did I ever mention I got that DVD about the rats and rock'n'roll? I got that months ago but haven't yet watched it. Hmmm... I will do so before I leave.

[DavidSeth]

Oh man, thanks for the reply VQ. Granted I dont go through these forums night and day, but I thought you fell off the face of the earth. Anway, thanks for the input. The second half was tougher for me, since I had used my "best" ideas for the first half. Really the only part I personally liked from that portion was the Misato's cross transition and when Shinji chokes Asuka (aka the very last scene in the EoE). Ah, so you got Rock N Rule? Awesome.


edit: and Monster was friggin amazing

[Holychrono]

WHAT? A first AMV and not a Naruto + Blink182 one?!

Jokes aside, you really made the symbolism in the song and the video mix really well together. Also, the beginning is amazing but about halfways to 3/4 through it became sort of stagnant in comparison to your beginning. However, the last 20 seconds were breathtaking.

Great job mate.

[DavidSeth]

Originally Posted by Holychrono

WHAT? A first AMV and not a Naruto + Blink182 one?!

Aww, well even Narutards have to start somewhere... But all jokes aside I usually don't mind the Naruto amvs, but it really irks me when they use clips that have subs in them.

but about halfways to 3/4 through it became sort of stagnant in comparison to your beginning. However, the last 20 seconds were breathtaking.

I totally know what you mean. It was hard to fill that gap, mainly because of the slower instrumental part, and the fact I had used some of my better ideas already. Another problem I ran into was that while I mostly used End of Eva clips, I had wanted to use scenes from the original tv show as well. But since they are different aspect ratios, I thought it would have been too jarring to be switching from TV aspect to widescreen throughout the video. This is the main reason I used clips from Death and Rebirth as well as You Are [Not] Alone.

Originally Posted by VivisQueen

Also, do you take requests? :D

lol I dont see why not except if its one of the songs that gets red flagged on youtube.

[VivisQueen]

EXCELLENT! I've always wanted one for the Major series. Music is up to you but if you've ever watched the show, you know the music would have to ROCK! By the way, drop that piffle that is Cross Game and move over to the Major craze with me. ^_^

Major Season 1 | Anime-Planet
Major Season 2 | Anime-Planet
Major Season 3 | Anime-Planet
Major Season 4 | Anime-Planet
Major Season 5 | Anime-Planet
Gekijouban Major | Anime-Planet

[Funkgun]

LOl I guess I was the only one who really dug the end, when it crecendos. The begining was good, and built sequences well, maybe a tad long on some clips used, but still top notch for a first. (the cross was pretty good transition (lyrics matched too)

By the way, perfect song for Eva.

[stingreis]

good choice of a song... i think it definitely fits together, especially where the scenes go in and out during the beginning of the first chorus... me likey

[Kenikki]

It was good for a first one. Nothing special overall. I've seen plenty better and plenty worse.

Not that i can do any better. Believe me, I tried...