Pokemon Battle Remix - Ash vs Sawyer

Intention

The goal behind this project is to create something spreadable, but more importantly, commemorate Ash's most memorable battle in his way to win the second place in Pokemon League. I intend to use Adobe Premiere to combine several exciting pieces of music to make the battle scene more appealing. Also I would like to include a flashback to how Ash-Greninja was created, namely how Ash's bond with Greninja developed with time.

Outcome

Context

I researched online for several hours before setting to work. There is a myriad of "AMVs" or mashups and remixes on Youtube that really inspired me. A notable one is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt-fTiH4fTM which is a remix of Ash and Alain's final battle in Pokemon anime XY. I was attracted by this fast pace and extreme contrast, which make reviewing a battle scene in anime more exciting. They also used music not related to the anime they are remixing, in this case Pokemon, which is actually better than the original soundtrack. This also motivated me to look for music that could fit more into the theme. 

Process

I had this notion of making an anime music video before I took this class, as I really wanted to make something based on something which I am really passionate about. Before I settled down on using Adobe Premiere, I carefully thought about what I would make this project look like. Ash is both a childhood hero and an embodiment of passion and valor, and especially in the battle with Sawyer, it is their friendship, Ash's confidence, and his bond with Greninja that finally make Ash win. Therefore I would like to create a flashback of Ash and Greninja, and clipped the original video to emphasize the bond between the rivals.

The first thing I did was to look for the music pieces that I intend to use in this fast-paced video, for which the original soundtrack cannot be used. I finally decided on five pieces listed below, from a variety of sources.

1. スーパーロボット大戦OG: 流星、夜を切り裂いて

2. Persona 4: I'll Face Myself

3. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel: 零之軌跡_終章突破重圍

4. Valkyrie Profile 2: Motion of a Finishing Blow

5. 大河ドラマ 「秀吉」 op

The first four belong to the soundtracks of Japanese video games, and the fifth one is the opening theme of a famous Japanese historical narrative series. They correspond to the ups and downs shown in the video. Most AMVs online used one piece of music, but I thought that it would be great to use different pieces to depict the emotions of the characters. However, there is a tradeoff: using non-uniform soundtrack might make the video chaotic.

The most challenging thing for me was to make a smooth transition between the battlefield and the flashback. I made several edits, but because of my lack of experience in video processing, none of them totally matched my expectation. I finally managed to slow down a frame, create a flash out effect, and then go to the flashback. It was still easily detected by the audience, though.

Another challenge is to make the video short in order to be spreadable. I had two finished versions prior to the current 3'48'' long version, and I posted the second one on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K36Q0dNcfME

I even made subtitles for this video, but it is 8'08'' long, which would definitely make anybody not familiar to Pokemon bored. Then I edited the entire video, increased the speed, and changed the audio.

To increase spread, I intend to post the video on Facebook as well afterwards. Also, I would talk to my friends to ask them help spread the video. I have already included several keywords in the Youtube link, which would hopefully increase the chance of online surfers seeing it.

In my original proposal, I intended to create a mashup of Pikachu's language. After I talked to my peers and the course staff about it, I was advised to do something simpler, as finding many clips of Pikachu's sound and making a smooth transition can be hard for a beginner. Therefore I decided on the current idea which is to have a remix/mashup on a single scene. 

Product

As elaborated above, the final product is an anime music video in Pokemon XY, on Ash's battle with Sawyer in the Pokemon League semifinal. I used Adobe Premiere to edit the video and add the audio. The techniques I used include mashup of music pieces using audio transitions and effects, and remix of visual materials using visual effects. 

Critique

The watchability/listenability of the project is not excellent, but satisfactory. It might be a little too fast to follow, and the music might be too loud sometimes. 

The project is pretty creative, as there is a flashback to many other scenes, and the music changes according to the climactic change of the story.

The execution is overall ok, but the transition between scenes really needs improvement.

The intent and outcome match well.

Reflection

I learned that it takes as much effort in planning a project as actually working on the project. In fact, it is more important to give a thorough and complete outline before starting. This would make any later work much easier.

Also, it is important to improve skills. Nearly always, better execution would be a plus to a project that matches the intention. In this case however, bad execution hinders the watchability, so I really need to be more familiar with the tools.

Sources

Cite and attribute any sources you used directly in your project. Document this carefully: be very clear about what media you worked with, where you found it and how/where it was incorporated. 

Original clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivyQqgUpvKY

Music pieces:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7WYC1nbx6Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERIV6rjJFo4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBYQ-yN7KLg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IORp_o7bnvM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_Kttcx1kDs

References

Ideas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K36Q0dNcfME

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS-PsMFEb1s

Proposal

Pikachu is one of the most popular pokemons in the Pokemon franchise. As one of the main characters in the pokemon anime, it appeared in all five series. Although only able to make the "pikachu" sound, its meaning actually varies. For example, it speaks a joyful "pipikachu" when Ash earns a new badge, or lets out a "pika, pika" when confused. It would be fun to make a clip about the different incidences of Pikachu's sound, and post them on Youtube or Facebook.