How...? (Even just getting started with AMVs)

Mochi · Post by **Mochi** » Mon Apr 05, 2004 4:36 pm

Sorry if this has been answered before, but I don't understand how you make the music videos. Do you have to buy some kind of software? How do you put the audio and video stuff together?

Xyex · Post by **Xyex** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:04 am

Well, first of all, let me say I'm a very amature AMV maker myself. Only when I'm really bored do I work on any (they're fun to make, most of the time, but I prefer Fanfiction). However, I do know a few things (even though my 3 completed DBZ AMV's aren't that great, my FF8 one is good though, if I do say so myself).

Anyway, yes, software is essential. So is free HD space, sometimes you can use up 10+ gigs on just the raw footage for the video. For an extreme generalization of what you do for a video, you orgainze various clips (depending upon your theme if you have one) to match up to the selected song, be it lip syncing, beat syncing, or just lyric to action stuff (Welcome to Hell by Elissj86 a great vid with lyric and beat sync, and just awesome in general IMHO.)

As for the needed programs, it depends. Techincally you could use a DVD ripping program and Windows Movie Maker but... ick. Even Quicktime pro is better than WMM but it's still ick (I should know, I've used it). I'm pretty sure most of the more serious makers use premier(sp?) to set up the clips and and audio. It's all really just a matter of creating a theme, finding music to express it, and then finding the perfect clips to express it as well, and then gluing it all together.

Post by **VegettoEX** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 11:15 am

That pretty much sums up the basics, yeah.

Basically, before you even begin the computer-tech stuff, you need a concept. You've got video, and you've got audio... but what do you want to do with it? Do you want to tell some kind of story? Do you just want to have some kind of general theme? Regardless of whether you're telling your own story or just have a theme, you'll want to have an actual narrative flow to your video; it needs to lead somewhere in the end, or there's no purpose.

Even if it's not a "story" video (look at my own "Let Me Save You" for an example of a video that's telling a story), you still need to lead your viewers somewhere. You need a beginning, a middle, and an end... preferably with some kind of climax in there, somewhere. Storyboarding is extremely helpful. For "Alone in the World," we had about four pages (front and back) of scribbled notes (ideas, scene times, etc).

Once you've got an idea of what you're going to do, you start combining your audio and your video. Xyex did a pretty good job with this... you've essentially got this collection of video clips, a song, and you want to combine the two to create something new. You overlay clips of video over certain parts of the song for certain reasons; perhaps that clip perfectly shows what the lyrics in the song are talking about, or even takes it a step further and metaphorically explains the lyrics in even more detail. Perhaps you change scenes on a really important beat in the song to keep the timing and editing tight.

Non-linear video editing programs, while they generally have a pretty good learning curve in terms of actual skill possession, seem to do a farily good job of visually representing "video" over "audio." You've got an audio track on the bottom, and video tracks above it, the same point on the video track relates to the same point on the audio track. Hope that makes sense ^^.

Once you've got these basic concept ideas in your head, you can really start jumping in and editing...

Getting your footage is a whole other technical revelation that most people have to experiment with and learn on their own; even with guides (and there are some extremely awesome ones) it can be a very daunting task. I was totally fucking up with my DVD ripping and video creating for at least a year; I didn't understand the difference between IVTCing and deinterlacing, and had videos that were editing in interlaced mode with totally different field orders in the video clips... you don't even want to know how bad that looks when played back on an actual NTSC monitor (like, a television... or even worse... a large projection screen at a convention).

It's really something you'll just have to go through on your own. Biggest tips?

Don't use downloaded footage. It's already compressed. You'll be compressing it again. In a bad way.
Don't use downloaded footage. It's probably 23.976 fps IVTCed. Best bet is that you won't know what the fuck to properly do with progressive footage when you're first starting with AMVs.
Really, really, really come up with a concept before you do anything.
Software is just a tool that we use as editors. Using higher-end software does not inherently mean that you'll make a better video. "Euphoria" was made with a $40 editing program and MS Paint. Don't be afraid to start out using Windows Movie Maker.
I lost my train of thought. Discuss among yourselves.

Xyex · Post by **Xyex** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:21 pm

Personally I've used WMM, Quicktime Pro, and Premier and I hated WMM. It crashed at the worst times (though that's probably my computer) and I hated the video quality (this coming from someone who used either ASF or WMV for his video

). I liked all the nifty options for Premier but I've never really figured it out, probably since I only spent about an hour max with it. As for QT Pro, it's okay I guess. The worst flaw to it is the lack of scene/frame display. All you get is this solid bar across the bottom and no indication of where one scene ends and the next begins. Plus you have to edit in a fairly linear order, and I don't even want to talk about trying to time things. Ugh! I hated trying to time anything with QT Pro!

Uh, I did have a point here, so let's see if I can find it... Oh yes, I remember. Even though I dispised WMM I know a few people who can work wonders with it, and a few who can work wonders with QT Pro as well. In the end it matters more what you can do with what you have than what you actually have.

And yes, you really do need a solid concept. (Hehe, Failed Experiments in Video Editing just popped into mind

) If you don't know where exactly you're going the video will end up a jumbled mess. Of course, that can happen even when you do know what you want to do. My vid Prince Vegeta is proof of that.

Mochi · Post by **Mochi** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 5:50 pm

Thanks for the Info.!

So...I should use WMM? Oh, and the first one I want to make (if I ever do) will be with the song Baby Got Back. Could there be a story line with that song?

Me and my sister made up the beginning. It's the part in movie #10 when Goten saw the ball and rolled backwards to Trunks then told him to look behind Brolly. It fits perfectly and his face even looks like he's saying, "Oh..my..God! Becky, look at her butt!" XD We made up more, but I think that's the best. ^_^

Zackarotto · Post by **Zackarotto** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 7:14 pm

Ehh? I thought the moral of the story was to use Premier!

Sure, whatever you want...

Chibi Woosh · Post by **Chibi Woosh** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 7:44 pm

I made up most of that music video thingy, all she did was the very begging where Becky and her friend are talking. Okay maybe that isn't completely true but she never would have made up the video if it wasn't for me!

Mochi · Post by **Mochi** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 8:08 pm

Zackarotto wrote:Ehh? I thought the moral of the story was to use Premier!

Sure, whatever you want...

It was? O.o I'm not good with morals of stories....
Alanna, you are crazy. And you are truly evil... stealing piccolo's head and replacing it with the leader's styraphoam head.

Chibi Woosh · Post by **Chibi Woosh** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:21 pm

LOL!

That was so funny, even you were laughing at it! Just like the decapitated Kuririn and Vegeta ballerina music box. ^-^

(those of you reading this, just so you will understand what we are talking about I shall explain in another thread)

Jerseymilk · Post by **Jerseymilk** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 11:38 pm

Wow, you guys are really twisted and violent! Perfect!

Post by **VegettoEX** » Fri Apr 09, 2004 12:28 am

Please keep the topics... err.. on-topic. Thanks.

TGDweezl · Post by **TGDweezl** » Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:18 am

And where exactly do you get it? I'm not exactly rich and I'm trying to find a cheap and effective way of making music videos. My fiance and I are already signed up in AMV.org and we have ideas just getting the right programs to make our final product.

Post by **VegettoEX** » Fri Apr 09, 2004 1:06 pm

If you want to go really cheap (and yet effective at the same time, especially when you're new to the game), go with VirtualDub (for exporting clips from your source footage; you can do all sorts of other things, as well... it's just a linear video editing program), and Windows Movie Maker.

Both are free, and will run on your Windows-based computers.

If you really wanna jump into things, you can test out Adobe Premiere. The current version (Pro; 7.0) only runs on XP, now, and will have an enormous learning curve. It's also ridiculously expensive if you buy it as a complete brand-new product ($700). Try to get an educational version, if you're a student.... suuuuuch a difference. You can download a 30-day demo, I believe, though.

TGDweezl · Post by **TGDweezl** » Fri Apr 09, 2004 5:20 pm

Hm, but I thought someone said the WMM was junk? Well, I guess since we are broke we can't exactly be picky about what programs we use. Hopefully with our shiney new DSL and brand-new comp we can make the videos well and quickly. *crosses fingers* Thanks.

Xyex · Post by **Xyex** » Fri Apr 09, 2004 5:35 pm

I wouldn't quite say 'junk' but... it's not that great IMHO. Still that could have been more my computer than the program itself.

PsyLiam · Post by **PsyLiam** » Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:19 pm

You were using WMM 2, weren't you?

Mochi, download it from the Windows web-site by going to Windowsupdate.com. And download everything else there, if you haven't. I'm sick of fixing peoples computers because they aren't downloading the critical updates. Grr.

I know it's easy to slag of Microsoft, but I like WMM. Remember that this is a free product, aimed at families who want to sort out their holiday film. They'd never be able to use something like Premiere. WMM may not have a huge number of options, but it's quite easy to pick up, is free, and is very good for helping you learn the basics of editting.

TGDweezl · Post by **TGDweezl** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 8:50 am

After much deliberation and some advice from a creative co-worker who has only seen like 4 animes I have come up with a concept for my vid and the song. I just got done dling WMM, now to go get the song and a good DVD ripper.....oh yeah, can someone recommend a good DVD ripper? And should I look into DiVx or is that not a free program? *mutters something about being poor* SEND HELP!

Post by **VegettoEX** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 11:02 am

DivX is not something that you're going to want to be using as an in-between codec. It's not frame-accurate, it's slow for editing (since it's not MEANT for editing)... etc, etc, etc.

Here's what my suggestion would be:

- Download and install HuffyUV. It is a lossless digital video codec; essentially, what you put into it, HuffyUV will give you in return with no quality loss. The files are going to be big, but you're just going to be making clips (see below), so it probably won't be all that bad. Technically, the AMVapp (note below) will come with HuffyUV, so you don't need to install it by itself, really.

- Download and install the AMVapp. This will give you just about everything you need to start working with DVD footage. You'll still need to get an actual ripper; I suggest either "DVD Decrypter" or "SmartRipper." They're really the only ones that people use. Anyway, within the AMVapp, you'll get the necessary utilities to deal with the files (VOBs) you've ripped off of the discs.

- My suggestion would be to use DVD2AVI (note: this program is not for making AVIs, despite its misleading title) and make short project files (File -> Save Project) of small clips. Set the in-point and out-point as you normally would, and save the project. This will create a "point-to" file, if you will, that refers to a spot within the VOB's MPEG-2 video stream (which is the footage you'll be editing with).

- Write an AVS script that points to the project file. For starting off, you're best off just working at a standard 29.97 fps... you'll need to deinterlace the footage, though, so you don't have the scanlines from Hell. Luckily, this is easy to do. Since you've already installed the AMVapp, you have the "Decomb" filter available to you. This is easily written into the AVS script. For help on AVS scripting, check out the nice README files that come in the zip; you can also ask for help on the AMVorg forums.

Essentially, you'll have a very simple AVS script that will look something like:

VegettoEX's Test Script wrote: MPEG2Source("D:\VideoCapture\dbz\movie07\project.d2v")
Telecide()

- Once you've got the AVS script written, open it up in VirtualDub. Select "HuffyUV" from the "Compressor" sub-menu in the "Video" menu. Make sure audio is set to "None." Save the AVI.

- Bring it into your favorite video editing program! Edit! Have fun!

So it's somewhat of a long process, but a lot of it you can set to do in batches, walk away, and come back a while later.

TGDweezl · Post by **TGDweezl** » Mon May 03, 2004 8:49 am

Holy crap man! You used a lot of big words in that little spiel of yours. Hope I understood it fully, if not I'm gonna be posting a cry for help but that's what this thread is for anyways. Alright, time to go grab that stuff up and get craking.....after I re-watch Trigun....*mutters*

Kanzenshuu

How...? (Even just getting started with AMVs)

How...? (Even just getting started with AMVs)

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