AKROSS Con 2016 - Rider4Z - Gloria Fortis Miles - La Entrevista

Tritio: Welcome to this new interview. This time with Rider4Z, an editor known for several videos and participations in contests. Thanks for joining and welcome

Tritio: Let's start about your most recent video. What was the idea behind it?

Rider: After watching Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress I immediately wanted to make an AMV for it. I edited to Sabaton in the past and found them a great source for me to work with. Their songs are strong, short and have interesting melodies. "Resist and Bite" is one of my favorite tracks of theirs, and I felt it would be a good match. 

Originally I wanted to use a lot more footage of Ikoma (the main character), but the song focuses on "We! We will resist and bite!" So I tried to keep a balanced mix of everyone, and then used Ikoma specifically as a focal point when the song makes that dramatic turn and comes back into the finale. We then see him join the ranks and become part of the "We". I would have used more of him, specifically during the second verse and chorus, except he is bitten and turns into a Kabaneri in the very first episode (spoilers) so there isn't much footage of him before he takes on that visual change. And because his transformation is a key element in the storytelling of this particular video, any footage of him as a kabaneri beforehand would lessen that impact.
What was the hardest part when you were editing the video?

Holding back on the Ikoma footage of him fighting as a Kabaneri. Storytelling is crucial to me, and no matter how good a clip may look at one particular time in the song, if it's out of place in the blocking, then it can't go there. There are times when I am able to rework the blocking so I can keep those honey shots, but the hard part is finally accepting when it won't work.

Tritio: What's your opinion about this AKROSS Con 2016?

Rider: The contest itself feels about the same as it always has. Although I do feel there were fewer entrants this year. I could be wrong though. As far as the entries go, there weren't as many gems as there have been in the past. A handful stand out, but the rest kind of blur together in my mind. 

I'm still fascinated when I see editors come up with original concepts and simply use characters more like props or puppets to tell their own story. That's not something I'm ever inspired to do, so I like the variety Akross offers. If there's one thing Akross encourages, it's originality.

Tritio: will you participate the next year in AKROSS Con 2017?

Most likely if I have a project in mind around that time I think will be competitive enough. Some of my work I wish I could have entered to see how it would have faired, but either I submitted something already or it premiered already.

Tritio: what are your favorite videos from this contest?

Rider: I like Epiphany, Numinous, and I Knew You Were Psycho 😉

Tritio: if you could give an advise to new editors that plan to join the contest in the future what will it be?

Rider: Actually I did that very thing on another forum last month. I'll copy and paste what I wrote. -

"I feel I should warn anyone new to editing and/or competitions, participants in Akross are not known for being nice or sugar coating their comments. However, they do remember/recognize you and will tell you if you've improved from previous years/works." 

Also, pay very close attention to your Participant's Panel. There are a lot of detailed instructions you must follow but are not difficult if you read carefully. It's a peer judged competition so you are required to work.
if you remember, we have made in the past another interview, and several editors from communities such as ZonaAMV are interested in your works. Do you have some words for your fans?

Oh I didn't realize! That's awesome to hear, thanks. 🙂 

If you're an editor, then edit what you love even if you think you're pandering. Learn to take criticism (even harsh criticism) with grace, because every editor knows something you don't. If you want to improve, find a beta tester or two who you can trust to find the flaws in your work. Look up technique tutorials on YouTube. If your video doesn't make finals in one contest, then enter it in another. And have fun! The power is yours and you make the final cut. 

If you don't edit but love AMVs in general leave a comment for the editor. An artist is always grateful to hear their work is appreciated. Subscribe to their YouTube channel (but make sure the channel belongs to the original author before you give them praise). Tell your conventions how much you love their AMV events. If your con doesn't have any, put one together and tell them oh by the way, HERE! 😀

Enjoy the community, have fun and don't be an elitist 😉

Tritio: Now that you mention it... what are your thoughts about elitism in the AMV Community?

Honestly, from what I hear about other communities and elitism, particularly cosplay, we're doing pretty good as a whole. Editors tend to be more introverted and non-confrontational people, so the majority of us try to be helpful instead of flammatory, especially with new editors. But of course there are always a few bad apples at times that'll stick in your sides. Like a troll, it's better to just not engage with them at all.

I think also because AMVs are so widespread globally, people naturally come across those of different cultures and often times words meant to be complimentary can come off as insulting by mistake. Even people of the same community simply with different personalities can miscommunicate online. So taking words with a grain of salt makes the days go easier in the long run.

Tritio: Thanks for joining this interview my friend. Any final words beforw finishing?

Be kind to one another.