AMV chronicles #31: Hold Me Up

Not only does this guy make great AMVs but he has a really cool blog and you can find it here: http://crakthesky.wordpress.com/

I mean, go and read it, especially if you like discussing AMVs or if you just like reading metacultural stuff. And watch that video. First of all, I didn’t know that the Goo Goo Dolls could actually rock? That sounds really corny but I once had a roommate who played “Black Balloon” and “Name” every day for a year and I never liked it to begin with so you can imagine how I felt by the end of those days. This song, on the other hand, sort of reminds me of the Replacements but I’ll admit it’s been a really long time since I’ve listened to the Replacements.

Not sure if I know how to explain this or not but this AMV reminds me of a lot of AMVs I first saw when I found out about them back in 2002 or ones that I associate with 2006, which was when I got first apartment with a good enough Internet connection to actually watch them whenever I wanted to. Or maybe it doesn’t remind me of those at all, but rather it’s the feeling that I get from it that is the same. I mean, this looks as good as an AMV possibly can for one that has to work with a 4:3 source in 480p that’s notorious for being filled with editing jitters and (possible) frame blending. But it’s really character-focused in a way that few AMVs today really ever try to be. And this one really, really works. I don’t think it’s supposed to be any kind of deliberate “throwback”-style video, it just flows really well and just leaves you feeling good when it’s over. Also, it’s really inspiring to see someone make an AMV that isn’t full of techniques that are out of my reach to create or learn at this time (or probably ever, I’m not making excuses I just have trouble learning this stuff on my own, even after all this time). I could make this, or something like it! Or at least that’s what I think. I just don’t spend enough time doing this anymore to really improve at it. And while I’m sure I’ll try to start work on something during December, I don’t know how much time I’ll have for quite a while after that break is over come January. I’m just not good at budgeting my time, I guess.

I have a half-finished His and Her Circumstances AMV on my computer that I don’t know what to do with but maybe something will surface from it some day.