One is the loneliest number.

[dejana]

Well, I didn't get into the Sakura-Con AMV contest and I just found out I didn't get into the Anime Boston AMV contest either. So I think that's it for me and convention AMV contests. I just don't have what it takes. :\

Before anyone gets on me for being emo... I honestly think it's better that I just quit. Some of you have probably heard me say I've hit a wall when it comes to AMVs. I don't know how to improve any further. I can make basic videos that are fun, but I don't have the artistic eye for how to make them better. And I don't have a source of feedback. AMVs aren't like fanfic. You can't make them in a couple of days, send them to a remote friend in ten seconds and make edits in minutes. They take forever to edit and render and exchange, so online help is pretty much out. The few people I've found offline to show my vids to wouldn't give me any feedback. And nobody comments on AMV.org anymore.

So... I'm at an impasse. If "The Bad Crack" had cut the mustard, I would've at least had that as a foundation to stand on, a minor success on which to build. But my best isn't good enough, and I have no idea how to improve. I'm done.

Comments

[crazyspork-i-am.livejournal.com]

i dunno how much this would help but sometimes it's better to try and figure things out instead of depending on others? like if you feel that your ability to make AMVs are hitting a wall sometimes it's good to try and figure out what's causing that. from a critic's perspective it can also be really difficult to tell you what you can do to improve if you don't have any idea or goal you want to achieve other than just being 'better'.

i know it's probably not my place to say but it really feels like you keep looking for others to blame for your lack of direction with these...and in any creative endeavor a large part actually comes from the individual and what they want to do with it. think and approach it like your writing and figure out the reasons why you do it. while one of the rewards for doing things like that is to share with other people another part comes from your own personal goals and achievement into creating something like that. i mean if getting replies and comments were the only things that motivated me to do work i probably would've stopped a long time ago at ASMR whenever my pieces got zero feedback.

and i'm saying this because you are creative. and being creative in one area isn't limited to just that one specific area; they all have similarities that you can use. if you can write beautifully then you can create AMVs. if you can imagine a story or plot you can create a storyboard and come up with an idea in that fashion. :3

[dejana.livejournal.com]

Several things.

Firstly, I wouldn't be the writer I am today without beta-readers. Feedback is essential, in any medium. Most of the top dogs in AMVs at Boston have circles of friends to preview their work. It's not at all uncommon.

I've been making AMVs for six years. I've improved as much as I can on my own. I don't know where to go from here. With "The Bad Crack," I thought I had created a great video. I worked on it for two years(!), until I couldn't think of anything that would improve it further. Clearly, despite my very best effort, it's still not the kind of video conventions are looking for. And I don't know why. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. What can I do but ask someone for input?

I'm sorry if this response is a bit bitter, but this feels like the same old "You have to figure it out yourself" line I always get when I ask for tips on improving my AMVs. I have exhausted what innate talent I have in this area. I need help, and I don't know how to find any, and it's very frustrating. If it really all comes from a person's own individual creativity, then I should definitely give up now, because there's nothing more in me.

Secondly, the more I think about it the more I want to quit the contest scene. The fact is, the kind of videos I want to make are not the kind that contests are looking for. I'm tired of trying to make the kind of AMVs that cons will like. Plus, I have a million hobbies and I struggle with every one of them. I write, I edit, I do cosplay, I run websites, I run panels and contests and I staff a convention. And those are just my fandom hobbies. I'm a jack of all trades and a master of none because I don't have enough time or energy to become great at any particular thing. I need to cut down on my hobbies, badly. AMVs are time-consuming, expensive, frustrating, difficult to distribute, and I don't seem to have a natural flair for them. It's an easy one to set aside.

Thirdly...

if you can write beautifully then you can create AMVs.

Writing and vidding are absolutely not the same. There's a huge difference between inventing situations via the written word and assembling an effective clip show out of stock footage. It takes a completely different skill set to create something that looks good vs. something that reads well. You might as well say anyone who can write can draw.

[crazyspork-i-am.livejournal.com]

i don't think it's as different as you make it out to be. i mean, if you want to quit then by all means do but i don't think it's a result from lack of feedback as much as attitude. anyone can get feedback good or bad but in the end it solely depends on the individual and whether or not they will use it.

while it may take a different set of skills between writing and putting together footage i still think you can approach it in the same fashion and passion with your writing and mostly your attitude on what you want to get out of it. things in art aren't generally exclusive to one area or else i'd be stuck as a one trick pony. and i've done animated sequences in where i would start out with plain text and then branch it off into a series of storyboards with a mixture of writing and drawing that would make it for me to see what i need to accomplish. that's my work method and there are numerous others that you can do that you can tailor to fit your workflow...the basic thing is finding your own method and using what you've got to get the desired result.

it just really sounds like you just want to blame cons and other people from your lack of direction but in the end it's really up to you on what you want to do with. people can't tell you what to do and no amount of comments will be helpful or beneficial if you can't help yourself.

i also have a bunch of hobbies and things i like to pursue; and while at first glance they may seem extremely different from one another the similarity that lies inbetween then is that it's something that i want to do and something i want to get better at. if producing AMVs makes you feel this way then by all means don't do it but i think you should look carefully at yourself and what you want to get out of it. very rarely people start out as a natural to these things and they all take work and effort if you want the kind of attention you're seeking for them.

a part of it IS figuring it out yourself because being artistic is something that stems from the individual; the vision and the end result. everything else that leads up to that is about technique and having a bit of know-how that's readily available for people who want to pursue it.

[dejana.livejournal.com]

Well then, we're back to me just not having what it takes to do this. And if that's the way it is, better not to waste any more time on it when I could be doing something I am good at. I've gone as far as I can go on my own. If tips from others aren't an option, then that's the end of the road.

Besides, entering AMV contests is all about trying to win. It means trying to make what the judges want to see, and that's a lousy reason to create anything.