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Information

• Member: Cyanna
• Studio: Aquiline Studios
• Title: F L C AL
• Premiered: 2004-10-13
• Categories:
  • Other
  • Fun
• Song:
  • Paul Simon You Can Call Me Al
• Anime:
  • FLCL (Fooly Cooly)
• Participation:
  • AnimeNEXT 2005 AMV Contest, AnimeNEXT 2005 AMV Contest (2005-06-17)
  • Otakon 2005 AMV Screenings/Contest, Otakon 2005 AMV Screenings/Contest (2005-08-19)
  • Anime Weekend Atlanta 11, AWA 2005 AMV *EXPOSITION* (2005-09-23)
• Comments: YAAAAAAH! I can't believe it's finally done!
  
  This AMV was made with...u
  VirtualDubMod
  Windows Movie Maker 2
  Adobe Photoshop
  
  The inspiration
  
  At one point in the fall of 2003, I was in love with this song so much that it was the only thing I was listening to in my car during my commute to Seton Hall University (45 minutes one way is a lot of "Al" to listen to). And suddenly little things began to jump at me...bass solos...lines about dying and angels...that whistle solo in the middle. And the whole thing just began to evolve from there.
  
  Looking back I think I got a lot of inspiration from Castor Troy's Akon 14 Iron Chef - Margaritaville . Even though they're two different videos, I kept thinking about it a lot as I was making this.
  
  The production
  
  At the time, I was in the middle of creating (and getting frustrated with) "These Angel Hearts." Plus with school going on, I really wasn't in the mood to start something new that actually involved some action. But it was just one of those things that just keep nagging at you until you do it. So in March I started putting together a "rough draft" using old fansubs I had lying around (yes, the final vid was made with DVD footage). By the end of March I had half of a beta done.
  
  http://www.angelfire.com/nj3/snowangel/Al_0005.wmv
  
  Just to show how far it's come since then.
  
  The only segment that really does not contain blatent clip changes is the "cat sequence." I don't know where the heck the idea to use cats came from. All I could think about was little Ta-kun dancing to the music. So I went from there...got a little bit of Myu Myu and Naota/Mamimi in cat ears. The only major different is that Ta dances around Myu Myu in a different spot. There's writing that was drawn into the footage and it really stands out against Ta's black fur.
  
  Digital effects are minimal but I did a more experimenting with the WMM2 transitions then usual so I unlocked the option.
  
  Basically there is no real story here. I don't think the song has any central theme so why should the video? One thing I tried to keep consistant was Haruko's behavior. Every time the "Daaa daa daa da" theme comes back, I wanted her to gradually get more crazy. First she does nothing. She sits on her Vespa or beside Naota's window just watching Mabase and its inhabitants carry on with their boring lives....and then she decides to do something about it. She gets to Naota first.
  
  Then it moves on to Kamon/Mamimi/Amarao...three characters that I usually tend to lump together because they seem to be the most messed up...and by the end I don't think they've really improved as people. But that's just me. Third verse is about Canti, who has a strange, significant relationship with almost every other character in the series from being Mamimi's personal god to Naota's "brother" to Haruko's "love-interest" for a moment there. :P
  
  If anything, I'd say this is more of a "series profile" then anything else. One of my goals in this was to use odd bits that really seem to be out of place in the series. Things that just grab your attention because they are so stange. Whether it be an animation technique like Haruko rolling around in the street), a character quirk like Mamimi's weird shuffle as she approaches the terminal core, or a rediculous parody like "South Park Amarao," I tried to put it somewhere.
  
  Besides a TON of technical difficulties I was having with exporting something nice from WMM. which was keeping me discouraged for months,, the hardest part about this was deciding on how to end it. After Naota gets his face smashed in from Haruko's stiletto heels (something to contrast the more common "Naota watching in awe as Haruko knocks the color out of Canti" scene)....then what? I figured maybe the best way way to basically end it the same way as the series. To me it seemed fitting.
  
  Plus the last shot is of Haruko's bass.....and this song has a kickin' bass part.
  
  
  So in closing....I like how this one came out. I'm a little tired of the song at the moment but finishing was worth it. XD It was a lot harder to make then TAH and I think I've improved with faster editing a lot since "Us Against the World."
  
  
  Thanks
  
  Got a few here...
  
  To flint_the_dwarf for helping to point me in the right direction after viewing the beta...and for the name. I know you hate puns and only suggested it as a joke. But after referring to this project by that name for so long, it grew on me. So I hope you accept both my thanks....and my apologies. ^_^;
  
  To everyone who was at Mike and Meri's, thanks for putting up with one more after watching the AWA Pro vids.
  
  To Arigatomyna for unknowingly teaching me some new tricks.
  
  To Rozard for his enthusiasm from Day 1. It really means a lot to me.
  
  And of course, Scintilla, for always throwing me a lighter when the torch snuffs out. I don't know what I'd do without you. ^_^