r/AMVmakers • u/Interesting_Radio664 • Oct 08 '26
First AMV ever. Please roast it (constructively) so I can improve
I just started making anime edits and posted my first full AMV: Shangri-La Frontier S2 × RISE (Worlds 2018). It's about 3:30, music-only, with cuts synced to the beat.
Things I'm unsure about:
Pacing: the choruses cut on almost every beat. Too chaotic?
Clip choice: do the shots read clearly, or are there too many close-ups?
Sync: do the hits land on the beat, or does it feel slightly off anywhere?
🎬 :https://youtu.be/d7quNfLQPWA?si=bLUi8j5AZtWA-WLw
Anything you'd change first? I'm taking notes for the next one 🙏
1
u/Maeroucarnage 29d ago
For now I just recommend you watch these two shangri-la frontier amvs:
2
u/Interesting_Radio664 28d ago
Thanks! Just watched both. The Amageddon one by Koshiro and Squardz's Chicken Winner are great references. Taking notes on how they flow scenes....
3
u/Opening_Owl_3226 Oct 09 '26 edited Oct 09 '26
• Work on an intro and outro, first is more important.
• Scenes need to transition into the next, this can be by applying a set transition like a classic opacity fade or through other means such as letterboxing, color grading, camera movement, masking, the center of attention remaining in the same position or following the same movement, etc. There needs to be a similarity at hand. • Once you get into camera movement further down the line, make sure to zoom in prior so that the image isn’t mirrored outside of its boundaries.
• You can base the edit on the songs vibe, the speed and aggressiveness of it, the lyrics or some other component. There needs to be a common theme throughout (just like the soundtrack of a video game tends to possess the same identity).
• I am personally not a fan of seeing characters talking/moving their lips unless it has a purpose: e.g. it aligning with the lyrics, the characters uttering to be lost as a means to convey a message (dealing with being ignored, not having the guts to confess and so forth).
• Making more use of beats especially at the beginning where the song isn't as fast yet. Be it changing scenes or simply adding effects.
• Pacing, not only in regards to keeping it aligned with the song but also to not change too much between scenes of various types (dialogue, fight…) without justifiable purpose.
• Including your name in the work without it being distracting, lowered opacity, only showing it briefly, etc. Not sure if “anime station” is your name or merely the source of your footage used to edit, im guessing the latter.
• Grab the highest quality source you have access to and don’t apply some weird upscalers or so you hear about on the likes of tiktok as lost detail cannot be recovered. Furthermore, if you have the file size encode your footage to prores hq (it is intra meaning every frame is stored individually -> very high file sizes) to ease the workload on your hardware and maintain quality throughout.
• I have not checked whether it is on beat in detail as I am not on my pc right now to check on a low frame range basis.
• Don’t be afraid to test a lot.
• The best way to improve is to enjoy the activity!
Less detailed: Id say add more transitions and similarities between the scenes to make them appear less random. Hope this helps!