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Information

• Member: CrackTheSky
• Title: My Favorite Days
• Premiered: 2015-03-31
• Categories:
  • Drama
  • Character Profile
  • Serious
  • Sentimental
• Song:
  • lights Running With The Boys
• Anime:
  • Kids on the Slope (TV)
• Participation:
  • Anime Expo 2015, Anime Expo 2015 AMV Competition (2015-07-02)
• Comments: This is my favorite video that I've ever made.
  
  And, wouldn't you know it, it came together so perfectly. The editing process was almost effortless. Much like I mentioned with Victims of the Night, the best videos are the ones that are easy. I didn't have to work too hard on this, all the pieces fell into place. The process was sublime. I'm happy I got to be the one this idea came to.
  
  Really, there's nothing too exotic or special about this video's conception. I've been a huge Lights fan since she released her first album. I've seen her multiple times in concert, and when I got Little Machines earlier this year I was floored. Everyone who likes synthpop or electronic music should make it a priority to listen through it. It's gold.
  
  "Running With The Boys" is, hands-down, my favorite cut from the album. The energy and emotion are outstanding, and the lyrics and music intermingle into this eternally pleasing, shiny-eyed nostalgia. And that bassline during the chorus -- the '80s nod there sealed the deal for me. It's one of my all-time favorite synthpop songs.
  
  I had never heard a song that so desperately needed a video made to it. In doing so, I broke one of my cardinal rules when editing -- "Thou shalt not edit with a song thou lovest dearly, for thou wilt hate the song by the end." Certain songs and artists are sacred to me, and I refuse to edit to them because the editing process usually burns me out on the song, and I love these songs/artists too much to ever want to reach a saturation point. This is the first time I've ever broken my rule, to my great unease. But I couldn't let the idea get away from me; it was gnawing at me, demanding to be put on a timeline.
  
  The song itself wasn't enough to generate this intense an urge to edit, it was the idea of combining the song with Kids on the Slope that led me to finally bite the bullet, break my rule, and put this video together. It's a weird thing, too; I liked Kids on the Slope, although maybe not as much as I wish I did. Oddly, it wasn't so much my feelings about the anime that made me want to use it in an AMV of my own, it was the fact that I tend to love Kids on the Slope AMVs. It's one of those singular animes where the AMVs made with it tend to be better than the anime itself. I loved such videos as Camichan19's Memoirs, msteapot's Truly Mine, and especially PieandBeer's Rhythm&Melody. Watching these videos made me want to show the series in a similar light.
  
  The song just fit the anime so well, and imagining the two together did not take much effort. I was able to edit a lot of this video in my head well before I even started scene prep. When I actually started working on it, the process was as smooth as could be, and everything I put together just seemed to fit.
  
  The video is very simple, as is my M.O. Almost entirely hard cuts, a few fades, and a little bit of basic, uncomplicated effects work. I wanted to focus on setting a mood and telling a compelling story of friendship, which I think I did. As such, this ends up being a lot like most other Kids on the Slope videos, but I'm okay with it. And actually, those of you who stay current with your AMV watching will probably be quick to point out that this has basically the same approach, structure, and execution as Rhythm&Melody. True enough, but I hope you can still enjoy it.
  
  The only things that I tried to do to set this video apart were, first of all, to downplay the romantic elements prevalant throughout the show. Actually, I wanted to eliminate them completely from this video -- and I think I succeeded. I just wanted to focus on the friendship aspect of the various relationships, as for once in a high school romance anime that aspect was the more interesting one. I also wanted to try and tell the story from Ritsuko's perspective as opposed to Kaoru's. Hopefully these things are enough to make this one stand out from the crowd somewhat.
  
  In the end though, I really just wanted to make a sentimental happy tear-jerker video that evokes nostalgia in the viewer. If one person walks away having experienced those things, I'll call this one a success. Enjoy!
  
  Technical notes:
  Edited entirely in Sony Vegas 8. This video was put together very quickly, across about three editing sessions. Total editing time was probably between 6-8 hours. Also yay, my first 720p video!