 What would
draw a crowd so large that it would overflow an Ohayocon room? The event
was the music video contest, one of the most popular parts of any anime
convention. In the two decades since MTV popularized the idea of short
films set to popular hits, the music video has grown to become an accepted
and anticipated art form. Anime music videos share in that popularity,
as fans love watching the marriage of their favorite radio tunes with their
favorite animated characters. |
 Two of
the most popular music video creators spoke about their work on Saturday
at Ohayocon. They're multi-media personalities: Elizabeth Kirkindall (left)
also creates a web site, and Anna Exter (right) is a busy translator for
anime shows. both producers noted that it's possible to create a music
videos without expensive professional equipment to edit tapes using time
codes, but it takes a feature that's not on most consumer VCR's. Look for
a machine that lets you record music using the VCR's linear tracks and
then separately edit video without changing the audio, and you can create
videos, they said. |
 Budding
video makers wanted to know how long they'll need to create those short
subjects. Exter said that one of her best videos, the "Rain" video set
to clips of rain sequences from anime shows, took her five years to finish.
She did a short section of the video, went on to other projects and went
back to "Rain" when she got more ideas. What comes first, the clips or
the music? "I lay down a track of music and record the video onto that,"
Exter replied. |
 "It's
the video you're shaping to the music instead of the other way around,"
Kirkindall said. "It really helps to have the lyrics in front of you -
you have to follow the structure of the song." For most songs, the strongest
structure is the beat, and Kirkindall said video creators need to edit
the visuals to match the beat and the obvious points of emphasis in the
song they're using. |
