How do you do it!
I initially used a guide by "VicBond007" found on AnimeMusicVideos.org to help me through the creation
process, but I now have my own techniques that I follow. All footage contained in my AMV's is
ripped directly off of the DVD, deinterlaced, and run through a filter to reduce noise. Then,
clips are made on the fly, using VirtualDub, as I need them in my Adobe Premiere 6.5 project.
In Premiere, the first thing I do is load the title screen jpg. I have found that it is much
easier to put it in first, than to add it when you're done and have to move everything to the right. Next,
insert your music file. I also recommend making multiple bins to separate your files. In my
first AMV, I had over 80 files; it takes a long time to search through all that to find the one clip you
need! Once your music is on the time line, listen to it and mark off the points where you want
something to happen. You should have the anime running through your head while you do this so that
you will have an idea of what points of the music you actually want to mark off.
Once that is done, you are ready to start importing clips and assembling the AMV. I try to import
only the clips that I'll need for the next section or two, so I don't get excited and try to use a clip
that I have planned for a future event. I have found the following technique works the best for syncing
anime to music:
Use the razor tool to split a clip at the point where it should sync with the music.
Assemble the two pieces on either side of mark on your time line (the mark was made when you listened
to the music to find the sync points).
You can now adjust the speed and duration of the two clip halves to fit within the time frame you
need.
This will ensure that at that exact moment in the music, the exact scene that you want to appear will be
shown. Keep assembling your AMV, going from start to finish, left to right. When done, add a credits
page. Include important information like song title and artist, and the anime you used, but don't put
everything on there. No one needs to know the bit rate, or the duration, or the codec
used! All that info can be found in the player by opening the preferences of the AMV, and without the
proper codec, the AMV could not have even been viewed!
Export your movie at the highest possible quality for backup purposes. It should be in the hundreds
of mega bytes, but able to fit on a single CD-R. You should also back up your clips and Premiere project
file to DVD-R, just in case you want to come back later (when you know more) and make some changes. Once
you are completely satisfied, export a second copy at a much lower quality level. Try to keep it as good
looking as possible, but as far under 100 mb as possible. You will use this copy for posting on web sites
(animemusicvideos.org for example)!
The process of deinterlacing and removing noise and artifacts takes between 11 and 16 hours for about 60
minutes of footage. I have painstakingly begun the conversion process on my entire anime collection,
starting with Dragon Ball Z. I will interrupt the process sometime soon to convert my Eva series
and my Vampire Hunter DVD's. After conversion, I make a backup of the finished footage onto DVD for
future use. Before you ask, the answer is no, you can not obtain raw footage from
me. You will need to buy the anime yourself, or just continue ripping off other people's AMV's and
Cartoon Network footage!
I have conveniently made available all of the guides, programs, tools, and codecs that
I use or have used to make Anime Music Videos. I packed them all up in a nice little zip file and
posted it on my Files page. I encourage anyone who has wanted to make their own AMV but has been
discouraged or fearful to download the tools, and start with VicBond007's guide. He really does
an outstanding job of explaining everything you will need to know to make your AMV the very best.
