What is an AMV?
The joys of AMV-making as seen by Sephi in Sirion
If, since you arrived on this site, one question haunts you: "but really, what is an 'AMV'?" This page is here for you.
Anime Music Video
AMV stands for "Anime Music Video" and simply refers to a video montage of scenes from one or more anime, set to one or more songs, with a duration often ranging from 2 to 5 minutes.
However, it's not just about randomly placing anime clips on the music!
The best AMVs are edited in rhythm with the music and respect its ambiance. It's also possible to tell a story (original or not), to make heroes from different animes interact (the genre is then called a "crossover"), to make the video revolve around an idea, an object, or at least a concept, to add digital effects, etc...
As you may have understood, some take this hobby quite far and achieve results far from amateurism.
Community and Competitions
The practice of AMV making is global, and the community gathers in teams and associations (such as AMV France) to exchange, share, collaborate for a "MEP" (Multi Editor Project, meaning an AMV edited by several people), and sometimes compete in competitions they have organized.
The rules commonly applied during these competitions range from the simple requirement to submit something exclusive (never shown before) to time or source constraints (most often, the music is to be chosen from a few imposed titles), or other atypical rules.
At the end of the competition, all submitted AMVs are judged by a jury (usually AMV editors themselves) who will rank them to determine which one is, according to implicit or explicit criteria, the best-made AMV of the competition. Some competitions are even ranked by their participants or by the viewers.
There can often be several rankings, an overall one but also one for categories of AMVs such as "action," "horror," "romance," "fun," etc...
Some competitions are organized during a convention related to Japanese culture. In some cases, the audience will vote for their favorite videos. Conventions generally showcase the best clips submitted. For example, there's the annual competition organized by AMV France during the Japan Expo, which takes place in early July in Paris. It's also a great opportunity to meet fellow enthusiasts!
