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Information

• Member: Ashyukun
• Studio: Electric Leech Productions
• Title: Kam-E-Chu
• Premiered: 2008-09-04
• Categories:
  • Parody
  • Instrumental
• Song:
  • Caoli Cano E☆Scandal
• Anime:
  • Kamichu!
• Participation:
  • Anime Weekend Atlanta 14, AWA 14 Pro Contest (2008-09-19)
• Comments: "Kam-E-Chu" is an opening parody, attempting to re-create the opening animation sequence from the 2007 series Code-E using footage from Kamichu!. I'll admit this right up front: half of the decision on this pairing came because of the fact that I could make an amusing semi-pun name for the video because of the pairing.
  
  Of course, just thinking up an amusing name for a video doesn't even begin to impy that the video will work, but I was already fairly convinced that I could make it work. Both shows have a core cast of three girls and one guy, including one (primary) girl who has some kind of special power (very powerful Type E in Code-E, a God in Kamichu!) and a priestess. I just had a general feeling as well that Kamichu! would work for it, in part because the opening to Code-E uses a lot of more 'environmental' shots than your usual opening, and Kamichu! itself uses lots of those type of shots as is somewhat typical for Iyashi-kei anime in general.
  
  For most of the video, finding appropriate scenes was fairly easy. There were some that were difficult though- and one that proved to be utterly impossible. That 'impossible' scene was the final scene of the original opening. It requires full, head-to-toe, shots of the four principles in poses that work well together- and those are the kind of shots that just don't show up that often in actual shows. So for that scene, I had to both modify the scene to be cropped differently as well as rotoscope in Ken (the guy).
  
  The effects sequences were actually a fair bit of fun for me to do. It's been a while since I've really had a reason to flex my AfterEffects skills, and the several main sequences that I had to do for this video forced me to dredge up all the of my old skills in working AE, from remembering how to use and implementing the Card Dance transitions to the much more complex layered character cutouts in the middle, which forced me to remember how to use gradients to do the whole sweeping-color-bands effect. The good thing about the character sequences was that once I had the first one set up, I could fairly easily replicate it for the others. Unfortunately, I didn't learn about adjustment layers and expressions until after I was done- it would have saved me a lot of time in changing the color of the text lines in the background layer. :P
  
  I almost forgot to put my usual Afro-Ken bug into the video, but thankfully realized it at the last minute. It's about halfway through, after the character effect sequences, sitting on a shelf when there's a shot of Tama-chan playing with the cat-tail toy.
  
  Kam-E-Chu also has the dubious distinction of being my first Pro video to not make it through to the finals- but honestly this didn't surprise me too terribly- Code-E hasn't been released domestically and wasn't one of the more popular shows of its season, so likely very few people saw it in the first place to recognize its opening. Furthermore, its opening sequence- while I rather enjoy it- is a lot less flashy and quick-moving (especially at the beginning) than most, so without the recognition factor I didn't expect it to do that well. Add in that Kamichu! itself isn't the most widely-known or appreciated show (Iyashi-kei anime are definitely very much subject to personal tastes....), and its fate was pretty much set from the beginning. I am however very pleased with how it turned out irregardless. :)