With the fact that I had different types of AMVs that I researched in depth about, I did not know how to utilise those facts in conjunction to my essay question. I struggled immensely to make a clear statement for my essay.
After discussing about it to the course leader, Ben, I got more clear on the path I should take in the following weeks. In this time as I already gathered sufficient information on secondary research, I should gather primary research. Along with clearing my topic, I composed this questionnaire that compares the different types of AMVs and their level of effectiveness in storytelling.
QUESTION UPDATE: 13/11/19
Essentially, my question that I've settled with for now is "The Effectiveness of Storytelling in AMVs." As a lot of my research is revolved about the different types of AMVs both varying in origin and style, I revolved my essay question around that, making my original practical idea valid.
However, instead of creating an AMV with the song "Nine Point Eight" by Mili, I will be choosing another song which will have no lyrics. Through that I will compare and contrast the types of AMV within the questionnaire and more from secondary research to see how effective the one I will create compares in the effectiveness of storytelling.
Primary Research:
1) Questionnaire about the effectiveness of storytelling in AMVs
1) Questionnaire about the effectiveness of storytelling in AMVs
The first part of the questionnaire will focus on how people respond to the different types of animatic. Their interpretation of each AMVs story, and how effective each one is in storytelling is there is one.
The second part of the questionnaire relates mainly to my practical. I chose a song that I would want to work with which has no lyrics. The song that I chose is from a rhythm game Cytus; "The Riddle Story" by Cranky. This song is different in comparison to other music choices in AMVs. Besides the lack of lyrics, the mood and tone shift in this song carries the whole atmosphere of the song which will help in creating a conflict of the story. For now, I will gather keywords that people think of when they hear the song to depict the sort of theme I will want to portray or set to with my visuals.
Secondary Research:
Animated Music Videos [Projects]
https://cdn.ymaws.com/alumni.uwcsea.edu.sg/resource/resmgr/alumni_publications/one%C2%B0north_dec2013.pdf
- Exploring social issues through animation
- One North [The Alumni Magazine of UWC South East Asia] section written by Brenda Whately
- Project by Shelia Sofian; Truth Has Fallen
- The project aims to focus on the topic of wrongful convictions through animation; painting 20000 frames on glass which took her 10 years to complete
- The project focuses on 3 specific cases of murder of which the convicted murderer did not commit, focusing on the flaws of the United States' justice system
https://web.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/research/newsletter/faculty-research/shimbe-shim.html
- Using Animation to address social issue
- Research paper by California State University Long Beach [By Beomsik Shimbe Shim - Faculty Research - January 2016]
- Originating from Korea, the artist explored various types of social issues through her works of animation. 'The Wonder Hospital' (2010) explores the obsession of superficial beauty in society; human alteration and the booming of plastic surgery especially in Asia countries.
- Her other work 'PGi-13' (2004) introduces another social issue; the education system. It tackles the issue of the education system withering and binding the imagination and potential of the youth.
- Another prominent work of hers include 'Tiny Winter Circle' which represents all the nations on earth through casting along with adding diverse cultural symbolism.
Hatsune Miku [Vocaloids]
https://www.vulture.com/2014/11/hatsune-miku-the-future-of-music.html
- Vulture - Hatsune Miku Is A Piece Of software. She May Also Be The Future Of Music by Lindsey Zoldaz November 19th, 2014
- A little bit about Hastune Miku and theVocaloids; Miku, amongst the Vocaloids is one if not the most popular avatar
- Vocaloids are avatars of a voice-synthesising software, think Siri meets GarageBand
- They are extremely popular in Japan for being hologram avatars
- Hatsune Miku has even opened for artists such as Lady Gaga, collaborated with Pharrell and sung more than 100,000 songs
- Hatsune Miku translates to 'First Sound of the Future' 初音未來
- Miku's voice bank is recorded by the voice actress Saki Fujita, well known for playing Ymir in the Anime Attack on Titan
https://www.reddit.com/r/Vocaloid/comments/2q3vf9/what_is_a_vocaloid_song_that_tells_a_story/
- As I have prior knowledge of the Vocaloids, I am aware of some of their music and messages
- Searching specifically, I was able to find a list of songs from various users from Reddit; an American social news cluster, web content rating and discussion site
- Tokyo Teddy Bear - Kagamine Rin [link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYto1Vhkixg]
- From the comment section as well as Amino [https://aminoapps.com/c/vocaloid/page/blog/vocaloid-song-discussion-tokyo-teddy-bear/moWf_kuRp5dqeoVapZjBjpg8r3Mk8gd] the fandom of the vocaloids have deduced and broken down the lyrics of the song
- Composed by Neru, a producer whose work mainly consists of the genres of rock, heavy metal or EDM, Neru often uses his lyrics and music to speak to people and allow them to see the world from a different and unique perspective
- The song depicts the protagonist, Rin, running away from home and family due to them being discriminated against; some fans have suggested it was due to abusive parents. Wanting to change and be a better self, however struggling to know why change is needed; torn between the decision, the stuffed bear is used as symbolism that the protagonist is constantly on their last thread but in the end always manages to sew themselves back together.
https://aminoapps.com/c/anime/page/blog/abstract-nonsense-song-analysis/3YtB_uR6aBoG4560a04RYgJQkRMpN
- Another song composed by Neru, Abstract Nonsense
- Analysed by Marusa, an Amibo user on 16th November in 2016
- Abstract Nonsense features a girl named Raku and her life in school
- This song might have connections to the aforementioned 'Tokyo Teddy Bear' as it's both composed by Neru and sung by Kagamine Rin
- The song is about how Raku wants to end her life; however her classmates not having the same thought as Raku results in Raku thinking they have loose screws. Raku sees life as boring, meaningless and tiring, wanting to end it several times. Mentioning how and what she will do to end it, however not being able to ultimately due to her fear of death.
- 'My Guess It Will Rain Tommorrow' refers to her perception of another depressing and boring day.
https://www.wattpad.com/398321301-vocaloid-song-meanings-lost-one%27s-weeping
- Analysis by Wattpad user nekokittyKun
Song;
- World's End Dancehall ft. Hatsune Miku &Megurine Luka
- Composed by Wowaka
- Although upbeat and cheerful, this song is about suicide. The lyrics 'What a gorgeous view we have here!' followed by 'The scenery I see from here' and 'so I'll just crawl on the withered ground.' depicts her view from up above to aftermath of jumping, crawling on the ground.
Song;
- The Lost One's Weeping - Kagamine Rin
- Like 'Abstract Nonsense', it talks about the school life for students; how it is extremely pressuring and competitive, contrary to the fun and learning aspect of education.
- However this can also link to 'Tokyo Teddy Bear' as it also mentions suicide. The lyrics 'Can you loosen the rope on that kid's neck', 'It is fine if we remain like this' and 'It doesn't matter anymore'. Depicting the dark and depressing mind of students who are programmed to only study stripping them from their personality becoming mindless drones.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Vocaloid/comments/9u4its/meaning_of_rolling_girl/
- Analysed by throwvocaloid on December 2018
- Rolling Girl - Hatsune Miku
- Composed by Wowaka
- The term 'rolling' can be seen as spiralling out of control in life, it has also been interpreted as self harming. It can mean spiralling out of control or rolling, going through emotion phases. It can also mean momentum from good happenings in life, however one misfortune and you still roll, having no control without knowing why.
- It's often interpreted as self harm as self harm is like an addiction, once you gain momentum like rolling, it's hard to stop therefore comparisons like these have been made
- The protagonist is described as lonely, it may be due to bullying, however it can also be pure isolation. Miku is depressed, leading to isolation of one self as it encourages and develops the mindset of 'I'm the only one who feels this way'
- The boy depicted in the video with miku might be a representation of her other persona, trying to make things easier for Miku, ending it for her by encouraging her to do so which she rejects. Miku is optimistic about 'rolling' therefore she continues with her life.
- She is then seen with bandages on her face, depicting she has gone through rough patches in her life. Miku eventually gives in and decides to stop 'rolling' as she's desensitised from all there is in life. Thanking the boy and hugging him which brings everything to a halt. Depicting her bliss from ending it all.
Western AMVs
https://genius.com/15709565
- Mr. Fear - SIAMES
- Analysis by Genius, their site allows users to annotate and interpret song lyrics, news stories, sources, poetry and documents
- This song is a personification of fear and anxiety talking to the listener
- Story depicted by two protagonists, an outcast in society due to his deformity of having two eyes instead of one and another outcast that lives in a forest.
- The journey of these two outcasts find each other joining together as one, however suppressed by society as they view those two as abnormal
https://songmeanings.com/songs/wiki/3530822107859549301/
- The Wolf - SIAMES
- The three characters depicted are shown to have their own issues or addictions. The first one is shown to be riding on a motorcycle being addicted to the adrenaline rush. The second is shown to be in a bar, alcohol addict. Finally, the third one is shown to be a cigarette addict. The wolf is shown chasing the three characters as a sign to depict the people to tell them to stop their addictions
- Another interpretation can be those people have personal issues that they're running away from. The three of them meet up banding together to face their problems. No matter how far you run away from, those problems will still reside, the only choice is to face them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H4l9RpkwM
- Breaking The Habit -Linkin Park
- This song features the story of characters who experiences different types of mental disorder. One is shown to have a suit case full of different drugs; pills and needles illustrating the abuse of drug use. The other is shown to be in an abusive relationship with her pregnant partner. Another girl is shown to have depression and self harm.
- The video explores sensitive themes through the combination of visuals as a reinforcement to the audio message.
- It depicts the fragility and reality of a broken and corrupt society
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzQ6gRAEoy0
- Porter Robinson - Shelter
- Natural disaster [Apocalypse] occurrence, using technology to save protagonist
- Technological advancement
Social Research:
- The Suicidist 1973 The Suicidist (continued) 2003- by Sam Samore
- Page 47;
- Page 48
- Page 50
Storytelling through Music
https://www.centerline.net/blog/the-power-of-music-in-storytelling/
- Centerlnie Digital - The Power of Music in Storytelling - Ashley Wentz feb 13, 2013
- The ultimate achievement is that people recall your message as an idea of their own, rather than something that they heard." - Ashley Wentz
- "But in order to trigger this type of reaction, you can’t simply focus on visually presenting the facts, figures and product features; you have to create a deeper connection." - Ashley Wentz
- "We speak visually, and then translate the tone of each script into corresponding music. It’s the deep understanding of tempo, rhythm, and timing that makes the content we create compelling to the ears, as well as the eyes — enhancing both stories and audience engagement." - Ashley Wentz
Storytelling through Animation
https://journal.marmosetmusic.com/read/2017/storytelling-through-animated-videos
- Marmoset - Storytelling Through Animated Videos by Sarah Ramler at Demo Duck
- “So while live video certainly helps humanize your company, animation with simple characters could help your audience connect with the hero character that your brand is there to help.” - Wistia and Austin Saylor
- Abstract representation; removes association with human emotions therefore emotions can be explored even more in depth as it's not limited by human appearances.
- Davis Guggenheim; director of Malala Yousafzai, which he created using animation for storytelling. It allowed him to depict the world as she remembered it, providing a sense of nostalgia for the viewer to get a better understanding of her world with a better understanding of the challenges that she faced
- Being able to resonate with a character allows the viewers to relate to the problems and solutions that the character goes through
- Example; the video promoting the emotion of depression. The viewers might not recognise they empathise with the emotion, however due to the character represented having the same alignment of projected feelings, the viewer might connect through that and realise they too suffer from that condition.
- Jason Carpenter; animation supervisor for the proaction of Malala Yousafzai's documentary states, using animation to tell the story of Malala allowed him to create a world that is more poetic and impressionistic, reinforcing the story.
- As the world is growing and becoming more multi-sensory, music is significant in a animated video, making it more memorable
- Animate Videos allow one to create an immersive and impactful world; things can be explained simply, characters projecting emotions that are recognisable and relatable.
Storytelling Through AMV
https://www.reddit.com/r/amv/comments/8kzx6o/weekly_discussion_3_storytelling_in_amv_with/
- Opening a whole new can of worms, I've found a forum which solely discusses the Art and production behind AMV [Anime Music Videos]
- This forum thread on reddit by u/Zbynasuper in 2018 discusses the concept behind the storytelling in AMVs.
MagicDarkLight:
- Crossovers have become an excuse rather than a mean to tell a good story
- Instead of thinking of what characters would be good for a story, it just feels like people are forcing characters together to create a story and call it a crossover
- Crossovers are less telling a story and more showcasing a technical visual skill
- Storytelling can be more popular when they have a strong link of relativity with the audience
- Ultimately it's down to personal preference
PieAndBeer:
How to tell a story with AMV?
- Rub story in viewers face
- Show reactions and action, not pure face shots
- Include breathing rooms and speed through bits that are even essential to the original source; essentially sync the feeling to the music rather than to fit every important detail to the source, the goal is to sync emotions to the music to tell the story of the protagonist, rather than to tell the story of the source
How is making a story-driven AMV different from making a AMV without one?
- More of a puzzle than creative endeavour
- Juggling another item, leaving a gap that can be filled out later
- Messing with it eventually fills gaps up
How complex should the story ideally be?
- Telling a story is meant to
EnQuarte
CrackTheSky
https://www.animemusicvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=128842
- This is a site organisation that is dedicated to Animated Music Videos
- A garden of editors that use preexisting animation and music to achieve storytelling in their own style and fashion
Storytelling in AMV by Sabra Harris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-rP-Ll8JY0
- AMVs and Transformative Storytelling - Nov 13 2016 YouTube [Analysis by Sabra Harris, BA graduate in Asian Studies; Japanese Culture in the University in South Tennessee and a Masters degree in Folk Lore]
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/20420/Harris_oregon_0171N_11500.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y [Paper Thesis by Sabra Harris]
- 1981, first documented AMV, was created through analog editing as technology was not as advanced and people did not have access to digital editing nor digital technology and it was also extremely costly
- Analog Editing; two VCR setup, one playing and the other recording; cutting splicing, rewinding, fast forwarding etc. in a linear fashion
- As Technology advanced, people started to use digital editing to play around with storytelling [context from it's source] as it was easier to manipulate contrary to analog editing
- Iron Chef Competition; people will have 1 hour to edit an AMV; AMV competition held in Anime conventions
- Some AMV editors believe that Russian and Western styles contrast each other in the way they tell a story though AMVs. Russians want to be novel, new and unique ideas, completely based on the technology they have, build their story not by the origin of the characters and the anime.
- E.g John the Hellhound by SilentMan the editor, portrays the anime Full Metal Alchemist protagonist, Eric as a cereal killer; which is very subversive. Because in reality the protagonist Edward Eric is a hero of the story, he refuses to be evil, and restrains himself from temptation to save himself from his brother. Creates another layer of storytelling through fans of Full Metal Alchemist and people who have never watched Full Metal Alchemist.
- In the American conventions, AMVs are more core based. It finds and heart of the anime and interpret the essence; fulling bringing out and highlighting the essence of the story.
- E.g Levity by PieandBeer
- Remix culture; people who only look at the anime for it's original form think that's the only way of presenting the story. However decontextualisation implies that other forms / remixes of it is still applicable as an artistic form that has a transformative quality that still is able to communicate it's message to the audience regardless of the fixed perception of the original context. Self expressive through self interpretation and representation
- E.g A Boy In Funny Red Boots; synced with (Superman) It's not easy by FiveforFighting. Through the lyrics of the song, the editor made a connection between Superman's red cape and Astroboy's red boots; using the connection and music top sync the loneliness of Astroboy and replaced with how he tries to become a superhero and saves society
- "It becomes a entirely new experience and a new conversation, that's why I think AMVs are Art, because they make that new singular connection"
- It's cathartic, the choices an AMV editor make dictates what they want to say and portray their message, how they want the audience to feel or how they want to feel
AMV vs MAD
The Dying Art of AMV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qcuJM1H_lQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qcuJM1H_lQ
Media & Processes:
In this process of making the practical, I will utilise the responses I get from my practical for the choice of music, to create the theme and tone of the visuals. At the moment, my own interpretation of the music is a chase of a girl and a beast; a parody of The Red Riding Hood.
In the following weeks, I will try to develop a mood board and character designs / backgrounds for the AMV I will create for a final questionnaire with my completed AMV to see how it compares to the rest.
In this process of making the practical, I will utilise the responses I get from my practical for the choice of music, to create the theme and tone of the visuals. At the moment, my own interpretation of the music is a chase of a girl and a beast; a parody of The Red Riding Hood.
In the following weeks, I will try to develop a mood board and character designs / backgrounds for the AMV I will create for a final questionnaire with my completed AMV to see how it compares to the rest.
Context:
As I won't be able to complete a full animation in the amount of time. I have thought of two alternate ways to make my version as close as possible to the originals. Simplify the style and visuals so I will be able to focus on more of the animation bits which I find important or make it fully an 'animatic' with 'moving' visuals which are not fully animated.
As I won't be able to complete a full animation in the amount of time. I have thought of two alternate ways to make my version as close as possible to the originals. Simplify the style and visuals so I will be able to focus on more of the animation bits which I find important or make it fully an 'animatic' with 'moving' visuals which are not fully animated.
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