*This post is part of Free for All’s “Making Magic” series, which will focus on Kelley’s exploration of the opportunities in the library’s Creativity Lab as well as musings about art, creativity and imagination.
When given the opportunity to learn about something new, whatever it is, for better or for worse, I almost always say yes. Saturday was PILCON; the library’s first annual celebration of comic art, cosplay and animation; and in preparation for the big event I was invited to help judge the FMV/AMV Contest. For those not in the know, a FMV is a Fan Music Video and AMV stands for Anime Music Video. When invited to be a contest judge, I didn’t know what either one was or what the acronyms meant. No matter. I was curious, so I accepted the invitation to participate and I’m so glad I did.
FMV creators splice together clips from their favorite animated films and set them to music. The result is a music video that tells a story, sometimes a story that reflects the intent of the original film or films, and sometimes the clips are parsed together to convey the FMV artists’ own unique stories. Timing is key in FMVs. Clips are carefully set to the music to maximize emotional and visual impact whether it be funny, dramatic or uplifting, and in the case of some of the best FMVs, like some of our winners, you walk away with a completely new appreciation for something with which you thought yourself familiar. A great example is our Judges’ Choice winner, RD: ‘Oh, Action!’ (BasharOfTheAges / My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic / Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”), which pairs clips from My Little Pony with the Imagine Dragons song Radioactive.
Shared for your viewing enjoyment, the following are the rest of our contest winners. Criteria for entry required that entries meet a rating category of no more than PG-13. Warning: Watching these videos will leave you with a growing list of animated films you want to see in their entirety.
#TalkSkatingToMe (Best Upbeat/Action)
Gina Nelson / Yuri!!! on Ice / Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz – “Talk Dirty”
A Better Place (Best Romance/Sentimental)
Studio le Croc (Maboroshi Studio + MomtoCutiePia + That’s so Pia) / Ponyo / Rachel Platten – “Better Place”
Waiting For Love (Best Drama)
Allegoriest / Steven Universe / Avicii – “Waiting For Love”
Assachusetts: A Wicked Good AMV (Best in Show)
shorisquared / Various sources / Funhaus – “MASSHOLES”
Our Adventures and Stories (Best Other)
joycescookie / Various Studo Ghibli films / Greek Fire – “Top of the World”