I have another question... what are the limits on song cusswords.... and meanings and such... @.@ For example, an Eminem song...
I had thrown this question up for discussion a while back, and nobody ran with it.
I had wanted to get a sample of opinions, rather than be The One Guy who sets down The Law. [Thud.]
would you have to cut out all the cusswords and such?
So, my first impulse had been 'If they can't play it on the radio then NO,' but then I was also thinking, 'This isn't Sesame Street either.' So, here's the deal, so far:
I will not automatically BAN any AMV, on cussword content alone.
That being said, I'd like to introduce a new term. You've heard of "Linkin-Ball-Z," so now I'd like to define "Ho-F*kkn-Hum" to mean any of those noizy AMV's which have the audience just glazed over, not laughing, not thinking 'Whoa, that was brilliant!" They're all just waiting for the sounds and images to STOP. Ask yourself what the video is about, and how NECESSARY are the salty terms. What's your message? Is it:
"Like sucks and everything is sh*t"
[HO-F-HUM, seen that AMV before. ]
"Alucard and Vash wield large fantasy pistols and Spike fights a lot."
[ZZZZzzzzzzzzz.]
"Lain is a troubled girl who looks sta-honed most of the time."
[Wake me when it's over.]
"FLCL is really zany and non-linear."
[Bring pen-light to read the latest NewType, listen for noise to
end, look up and see what's next. Keep flashlight & magazine handy
in case it's metal-to-mecha. or ANYTHING to 'Bring Me to Life."]
OK, now focussing on 'swear words' themselves: It may sound trite, but you can often get a stronger message across in clear words - the cusswords come out when a frustrated person lacks the vocabulary or self-understanding to explain his wrath. If your AMV is all about a couple of duelling mecha trashing Tokyo south-side, the cusswords aren't adding a necessary dimension, no matter HOW cool you are with AfterEffects. Try an instrumental if you can - they're a lot rarer, but people can plug into the video effects better. You can probably get more 'Whoa's" and "Wow's" out of the crowd if you're not swearing at them.
But an AMV which is mostly trash lyrics for no engaging reason will be LESS likely to show than the same sort of vid without the crap - OR - a vid in which the words are an integral part of the message: Imagine a vid in which the scenes are PUNS on the cusswords, with NO repeats - with a new joke for every time the refrain comes around - That's an example of how the words themselves are a NECESSARY part of the action.
By the way, I'd like to extend this idea to what some stuffy-shirts call (ahem) "inappropriate exposure." If it's gratuitous, (just because it's there, so shake it or expose it) it's LESS likely to show. But if there's a positive, creative, or important message happening, or a funny joke or a pun - then it's possible that a flash or two won't auto-PLONK the AMV. But showing us a series of 12-yr olds in various states of violated pain to Goth-rock would be .... boring. (As in "Okay, so you can be shocking and crass. What else do you have to say?" [Delete.])
I am not exactly sure how I intend to pre-screen the AMV's (and I will keep it a secret anyways in order to keep things fair) BUT:
a) there will very likely be a panel, which will NOT include my own opinion.
b) BUT they still might decide that an AMV is just noisy, violent garbage,
and that project would get TORPEDOED. {glug-glug/not-shown/glug.]
A last rule of thumb: If the projector were to crash during your AMV, would the audience roar with disappointment, or would they feel RELIEVED?
Comments & opinions welcome.
- GLL