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Information

• Member: dwchang
• Studio: Ninja Gaijin
• Title: Through the Years and Far Away
• Premiered: 2008-08-08
• Categories:
  • Drama
  • Serious
  • Romance
  • Sentimental
• Song:
  • U2 With Or Without You
• Anime:
  • Voices of a Distant Star (Hoshi No Koe)
• Participation:
  • Otakon, Otakon AMV Contest (2008-08-08)
  • Anime Evolution 2008, Anime Evolution 2008 AMV Contest (2008-08-22)
  • Animethon 15, Animethon 15's AMV Contest (2008-09-08)
• Comments: Since it seems to be a yearly ritual, here is my Romance video for 2008. Unlike the previous year (where I made a very lighthearted video), I decided to tackle something a bit more serious and try to make an AMV that told a story.
  
  To be honest, the video is not that large of a departure from the real story in "Voices of a Distant Star," (which I'm about five years late on using in a video) but there are differences and I'm hoping those familiar with the film can notice them. More importantly, I'm hoping the story is clear and can be enjoyed and followed by just about any viewer (regardless of if they've seen the show).
  
  I'd also like to acknowledge and thank ShonenDizzyCow for making one of the best Voices of a Distant Star videos (My Fading Voice, Your Distant Heart). I watched it quite a few times prior to and during the creation of this video.
  
  Lastly, according to DokiDoki this video can be retitled "Sad Girl in Space." It seems to be the 'accepted' title among my beta-testers who are all jerks >:O.
  
  In any case, I hope you enjoy it.
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  Comments on particular scenes:
  First Verse/Chorus
  -The video starts out with Mikako and Noboru both still on Earth. It highlights some 'happy moments' they have together before Mikako goes to space.
  
  Second Verse/Chorus
  -The second verse moves on in the story and focuses on Noboru still on Earth waiting for text messages (on his cell phone) from Mikako who is in space.
  
  "And you give yourself away"
  -The part after the second chorus shows Mikako fighting in space. The lines "give yourself away" seemed like an obvious way to show her 'fighting for those she loves' and 'giving it her all.'
  
  Third Verse
  -We move further in time and the text messages are fewer and far between (due to distance) and the two lovers are becoming frustrated.
  
  "And you give yourself away"
  -Similar to the previous iteration, Mikako is fighting on an alien planet. For the last part, she's crying which I use to show her realizing that she could die out here and needs to make a difficult decision.
  
  Third Chorus
  -This is perhaps the most important part of the story (and video). Realizing she might die and that her lover is in pain and longing for her, Mikako makes the difficult decision to tell him to forget about her and move on without her. Since it's so important, I hope the text message I generated in Photoshop looks genuine.
  
  This is a fairly large departure from the real story, but was the story I wanted to tell. The imagery of him absolutely demoralized and her bending down and crying at the same time is just so powerful (at least to me).
  
  Climax
  -After sending the message, Mikako charges forward to what may be her final battle. You can see the tears still floating in the air as her face becomes more determined. While charging forward, the 'good times' she shared with Noboru on Earth flash by in her mind.
  
  This is definitely my favorite part in the whole video. Most songs have a 'climax' to them where an editor really has to do something special and this is that part. Even moreso given the emotional impact of the previous scene. If I've done things correctly, the mood should be fairly emotional and this is where I have to bring it home or the video will just flop.
  
  I really have to thank KING PWOLF for his suggestions here. Although the editing is actually fairly simple (it's just light flashes at low opacity set to the dominant beat), the execution still had to be dead on.
  
  Fourth Chorus
  -It's been a number of years and Noboru has grown older. From his porch he looks upwards towards the sky.
  
  Bono moaning >_>
  -Mikako survives the battle and begins drifting in space feeling completely alone. Everything onwards is not part of the show and 'my own story.'
  
  First half of instrumental
  -We see Noboru walking the streets and sending out a text message. It is imperative that the viewer not see what is written.
  
  Second half of instrumental
  -Mikako receives the text message. Again, the viewer does not see what the text message actually says. They only see her reaction as she looks upwards towards space.
  
  This is probably the second most important part in the video. I wanted to have an ambiguous ending where the viewer doesn't actually know what Noboru said to Mikako. Did he say he still loved her? Did he say he moved on? Was her reaction to the message happy? Sad? In short, the message between them is private and only meant for the two of them. We can guess and think about it, but well...that's the point I wanted to make. I wanted the viewer to actually wonder what happened. Hopefully this worked out.
  
  Again I need to thank KING PWOLF for helping generate the flashing cell phone. Although her reaction seems to imply that it was flashing, it actually wasn't. Hopefully it looks genuine enough and you couldn't tell. Same with the blinking text cursor.
  
  Last part
  -Just as Mikako is looking upwards into space, we see Noboru looking upwards to the sky and we fade out.
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  Final Thoughts:
  As stated in the beginning of this entry, this video was my attempt at a more 'serious,' story-driven Romance video. I've done them before, but having looked back through my catalog, it's been awhile. To be honest, this video was somewhat of a personal test to see if I could still accomplish something that resonated emotionally with people. You the viewer, can obviously be the judge of that.
  
  Now that it's done, I'm glad I finished it. To be honest, I enjoy this video quite a bit and had fun making it and that's all that matters :). In any case, I hope you enjoy the video and if you're part of the 1% who will actually read and get to this point, thanks and enjoy!
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  Hours Spent: ~50 - 60 hours spread across two or three weeks.
  
  Equipment and Software used:
  -My Quad Core 2.4 Ghz Computer
  -Adobe Premiere 6.5
  -Adobe After Effects 5.0
  
  Thanks to:
  -Pwolf - General Beta Testing and helped me with some key scenes.
  -Ashyukun - General Beta Testing and helped with editing the audio.
  -AtomX - General Beta Testing
  -Dirk and Valerie Reum - General Beta Testing
  -DokiDoki - Provided smart aleck remarks >_>