Tips and tricks?

[OnnaRaphael]

I know that aspiring vid makers could use their good ole' friend Google to get tutorials but I also know that sometimes it's nice to have people who are live and on hand to help out and give tips.

So for the accomplished vid makers how about sharing some tips and tricks of the trade with us video newbies.  Anything from "dos and don'ts" to things we might not have thought of or even tutorials.  GIMME!

I for one have a friend who looks down on anyone who uses Windows Movie Maker to make FMVs.  Since I've never made one I sort of adopted his view without realizing, then saw an awesome vidoe that was made with Movie Maker and now I have a whole new.     That's probably where I'll make my first practice vid.

[Mindy]

I've never made any music videos, but I've watched a ton of them. A music video looks SO good when you match the action in the video to the music (a swell in music or lyrics like "he jumped into a volcano" and then the character on screen jumps into a volcano..). Especially for Sailor Moon music videos, people love showing those transformations or something that's totally not pertaining to the music used at all. Steer away from really crappy-looking text, too. " If you CAN, please use high quality animations/videos with little to NO subtitles. I can overlook subtitles if the rest of what I've stated is exercised. I understand that some people have limited resources. Try to avoid showing one scene too long, as well, unless it makes a very big point for the video and song.

Can't help on the technical side but I hope this helps some. Try watching some videos on Youtube (good and bad) before tackling your own. Learn from others' mistakes! (If you'd like, I can link you to a WONDERFUL Sailor Moon amv to a Dido song. It's amazing work!)

[OnnaRaphael]

Actually fans of FMVs could probably list what they really love or hate.  

I too hate subtitles in a FMV which isn't too big of an issue in a TMNT video I guess.  It's really distracting though, if there's subtitles I have to read them.

This is nitpicky but it bugs me when there's a part of the song that's just music and the characters are talking.  It isn't always bad but sometimes it can really ruin things for me.

This goes with the good quality video thing, but I hate seeing the cartoon network logo or whatever in the corner.  Sometimes it can't be helped I know, again this is just me being nitpicky.

Last nitpicky thing, but personally I prefer it if you stick to one media.  So I wouldn't mix the TMNT old cartoon with the new cartoon or movie or anime, etc.  

I saw a Hellsing AMV that occasionally had the main characters talking which worked really well with the song.  I guess the "moral" of that is don't be afraid to try something different?  It's the first time I'd seen that really work.

[Jephael]

I know how to edit on Apple machines with Final Cut Pro software, but I'd be a bad instructor.