Anime Music Videos (AMVs) are a special niche in the world of visual storytelling, by using the artistic immersive and unbeatable experience of anime with the same attributes of music. Some fan-made art pieces demonstrate the original anime creators’ ability to touch the fans emotionally at a deep level, both in terms of the plot and script of the story, and the graphic art of skillful editing and combination of audio and visual effects.
Let’s learn more about the art of editing AMVs and how different styles work. We’ll also explore the role of video editing apps to achieve the best results possible with AMVs.
The Fans Can’t Get More of Their Favorite Anime
AMVs are motivated by the same drive behind fanfics. Some stories of anime are so important in the lives of the fans, that they linger long in their hearts. Sometimes there’s just not enough patience in the souls of the fans to wait for more episodes of a specific title, or sometimes, the original series has ended years ago.
Some specific scenes of famous titles are remembered naturally, and some of these videos highlight these special moments in the hearts of fans. A fan-favorite moment is often shared by many in their memories, and these videos, combined with the right soundtrack, can make the fans live once again special moments, aware that they’re not the only ones that miss it. This modern form of storytelling is loved by many fans that post and discuss their work in the communities.
The Software Behind AMVs
Naturally, having the right tools makes a big difference with any digital creation, and AMVs are no exception. HitFilm is an interesting tool that you can use to create your AMV art. Let’s discover some of its features:
The effects library is notable and it allows you to choose from a wide selection of free to use special effects to make your AMV the next big hit of the community. Also, HitFilm has got a very simple and user-friendly timeline tool which allows you to make the most of precise timing and sync and finish your video like a pro. In terms of animation Tools, you can create custom animations as well as motion graphics, so you don’t have to stick to the pre-made options available in the software, although it does come in handy to have these options.
Moreover, the compositing features of HitFilm enable creators to mix multiple layers of different elements such as video, images, and sound effects easily. On that topic, the audio editor is very powerful and easy to use and allows the editor the chance to alter original volumes of the original scene, highlighting specific desired moments and situations, which can be very useful depending on the type of AMV that is being made. If it’s an emotional moment, reducing the volume of unnecessary sounds of the original track, and highlighting the voice of the characters can be very interesting, for example. On the other hand, fast-paced AMVs can have original sounds highlighted with stronger volume too.
Different Styles of AMVs
Dramatic AMVs: They highlight the most memorable moments of deep emotional atmosphere of a specific franchise, season, or episode. The music naturally matches the atmosphere, and ballads and slow-paced audio tracks and effects are normally used.
Action-Packed AMVs: They focus on the fast-paced moments of original footage or select short moments full of action and exhibit them in a sequence, matching the soundtrack of fast-paced music such as rock or heavy metal, which explains a little the popularity of heavy metal among anime fans these days.
Comedy AMVs: They’re closer to action-packed AMVs than the dramatic ones in the sense that the music used is normally quite upbeat and fast-paced as it tries to evoke laughter with well-organized sequences of scenes.
Romance AMVs: Some anime has quite memorable love stories, like Rurouni Kenshin, for example, and as fans miss the original series when it happened, they are remembered through romance AMVs where fans express how they felt by choosing specific romantic audio effects and songs.
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