The AMV Feedback Project: Reaching New Heights of Obsession!

[thefourthvine]

My annual bout of vid-meta came on early this year. Also, it's another feedback project. And, further, it's on a topic that's not going to be of great interest to many of you.

There is a specific person to blame for this, and that person is not me. I'm a totally innocent party, here. (As you will see, I fought this whole thing like - well, kind

Comments

[thefourthvine]

Holy fuck, this is too long even to read! I have dishes to wash! Monday morning fashion crises to avert! Bed to go to!

*mournful*

I know. I can't shut up, even when it's a topic no one is interested in! But, well, we're having the house termited. I have spare time, and I had a shitty week, so I'm doing Self Indulgent LJ Posting. *is firm* (Note: you are not required to read tl;dr Self Indulgent LJ Posting.)

It hadn't occurred to me that AMVers are mostly male, or that the particular one who'd wandered over to talk about it in your livejournal might be.

*sporfle*

You know, I've been nosing around the edges of AMVs for so long that it never occurred to me that I'd need to spell that out, but of course I should have. Most AMV makers are male (though there are many females involved - and, oddly, they seem more interested in talking about feedback and such, judging by the forum post). Almost all the old-time AMV makers seem to be male, and a quick scan of the top part of the top 10% list suggests that it's about 80% guys.

And all

[scintilla72]

Even four years later, I still love getting that reaction to my username. ^_^

(And it's justified, too, because I got "Scintilla" from the Oxford Latin Course, where it's the name they gave the mother of Quintus Horatius "Horace" Flaccus for their little stories-to-illustrate-the-lessons.)

[delurker]

*sticks fingers in ears and hums, loudly*

I am so not listening to this. Because the last time I did listen to your vid-opinion-leaving posts, and now I am somehow signed up on the_reel to leave a vid review:

Me: "Blah blah this bit awesome, blah this bit confusing since the person the words are referring to seems to have changed suddenly..."
dzurlady: "POV shift."
Me: ... ::scribbles notes:: ::mutters::

I can trace the series of events that lead up to this right back to your door, you know. So. I am not listening.

At least until I finish watching Fullmetal Alchemist and go looking for vids.

(Also, I originally thought you were kidding about the sex thing, but reading on, I get the impression you're not? 0.o)

[thefourthvine]

*speaks VERY LOUDLY, so as to circumvent the fingers-in-ears technique*

Because the last time I did listen to your vid-opinion-leaving posts, and now I am somehow signed up on the_reel to leave a vid review:

Yay! And thank you for doing that! That makes me so happy, to know that you listened, and doubly happy that you're supporting a community I love. Because I do love the_reel, but I suck so hard at reviewing to any other community's standards that I was a total failure when I tried it. (Plus, I have Fear of Posting to Communities. It's better for me not to try, I've found.)

I can trace the series of events that lead up to this right back to your door, you know.

This pleases me mightily. And if you want help down the garden path that leads to the Gazebo of Glorious AMV Opinionating, I am here for you. I will even tell you where your reviews will be most helpful and welcome, if you like, and suggest safe parties for practicing on. I am here to help!

At least until I finish watching Fullmetal Alchemist and go looking for vids.When you are

[delurker]

*sticks pillow over head*

I am feeling a little more relaxed about the vid review, actually, because I just figured out my analysis of the vid structure. \o/

And ooh, FMA vids! I've only just watched ep 30, so I have 21 (I think?) eps to go, but when I've watched them I'll hit you up for recs. (Yay.)

Remember: guy culture. Leads to a different overall tone, slightly different overall humor.
*makes mental adjustment* I know so little about anime vidding!

This is part of the second langauge barrier I was talking about; the two communities have very different communication styles. I've been, um, analyzing this. More than I should. Way more than I should. I find it deeply fascinating.
You realise you are talking to a (fledgling) linguist, and so "way more than I should" makes no sense to me? It sounds fascinating to me too!

[par_avion]

As it turns out, they talked to me anyway; the robotic tone was perhaps a miscalculation on my part, since anime vidders are nothing if not exceedingly comfortable with robots.

Hee!

(sadly, I don't think I have my robot (Bender) icon anymore.

[thefourthvine]

I don't have a robot icon, either. I see now that this is a flaw on my part.

*hopes this one will work as a makeshift substitute*

[ratcreature]

I can't believe I just read a treatise on anime video feedback when I don't even watch anime, let alone vids for them. Don't get me wrong it was kind of interesting, but I really need to do something about my procrastination tendencies...

[cathexys]

LOL. I had the exact same response.

But then we seem to be meta whores...Fandom? Medium? Who cares. It's meta :D

Seriously, TFV, this was amazing and informative and I just had my first experience where I ws randomly rambling on imeem about an anime vid and how inexperienced I felt to even talk about it...and the vidder commented back. Boy did I feel like an idiot but it also convinced me to try to maybe think about trying to watch more and feedback. So thank you!!!!!

[thefourthvine]

Fandom? Medium? Who cares. It's meta

*nods*

Seriously, TFV, this was amazing and informative and I just had my first experience where I ws randomly rambling on imeem about an anime vid and how inexperienced I felt to even talk about it...and the vidder commented back.

Ooo. Can you link me to the rambling in question? I'm curious, because - yeah, this is a topic that interests me.

And that's in large because that's a problem I, at least, tend to have with all vids. I mean, I don't have the language to discuss what they're doing, the knowledge or skill to interact with the vid at the level the vidder does. And for me, you know, I want to get technical and specific, to deal with vids the same way I deal with fan fiction (or anything else written).

The formula that gets me through all vid feedback, though, is as follows:

What is my emotional and mental reaction to this vid? (Show your work.)
Why? (Incomplete answers and guesses perfectly acceptable.)

If I watch a vid three times (or more - sometimes a lot more) with those two

[thefourthvine]

Hey, I didn't watch anime at all when I started watching vids. I didn't even know for sure what it was. (Since my Discovery of Vids, vids tend to come before canon and may in fact replace canon. Vids are easier: short enough that I can re-watch a bunch of time, with helpful lyrical and musical cues to make up for my visual lameness, and a certain common "language" that persists through most of them and acts as a further help to parsing the data. Also, vids are faster: it takes a major act of will to get me in front of the TV long enough to watch a whole show, not to mention associated downloading/burning, since we don't actually have the ability to receive broadcast television. But vids you just click! And watch! It takes about five minutes!) And yet the shiny drew me in, is my point. It could draw you, too.

Don't get me wrong it was kind of interesting, but I really need to do something about my procrastination tendencies...Can't help you there. This LJ's mission statement reads, in part, "...to further the cause of procrastination

[abbylee]

I'm not much of a vid watcher in general, I mostly see them while visiting friends in fandoms, but I always like reading your meta anyway.

But seriously, I'm halfway tempted to try anime vids just so that I could get data collections spit right back at me. mmmm, numbers porn.

[thefourthvine]

But seriously, I'm halfway tempted to try anime vids just so that I could get data collections spit right back at me. mmmm, numbers porn.

It is so worth it. Get an account! (It's easy and free, and they don't do bad things to you.) Download anime vids! Even if you don't leave feedback, you get to see your star rankings distribution and average and stuff. (Not to mention your AMV history. Which for me is fascinating, mostly because at this point I can kind of read my assimilation of AMVs in it.) And once you start leaving opinions, well. The world is your numbers porn, basically.

I swear that site was designed for stats fetishists.