#but i'm making a new sidebar link for amv questions :D

[aturnoftheearth]

i wanted to start making amvs but i know literally nothing, are you willing to give me any advice or something like that? i love your videos so much by the way they make me empty in the head

Yeah of course! I knew absolutely nothing 8 months ago and now I'm constantly editing amvs! I'm gonna make this more of a general how-to for anyone else looking to start amv making.

Software:

there are lots of editors out there, but the most common ones i know of are Adobe Premiere and iMovie. Lots of people gain access to them via school or work, but if you're like me and don't have them available for free and can't justify paying for them, there are lots of great free editors! I personally use Lightworks because it's great for beginners and it's what I’m used to now. There's also:

Davinci resolve

Olive

Openshot

VSDC

Each one has different features and layouts, so maybe see which one seems best for you personally and try it out! I tried a couple of different editors before going back to Lightworks and they really do have their own pros and cons.

Clips:

Okay, so this is a bit of a broad topic since there are so many different ways people get clips. Personally, I have two sources: Netflix and this collection of all Destiel scenes without background noise. I know some people don’t have Netflix, but any method of screen-recording will do (and if you need specific help with screen-recording, let me know!). If that doesn’t work for you, you can always look up character/ship scene packs on both Tumblr and YouTube and download them!

Audio:

Now, I’m not sure how other other editors get their songs, but I just use a YouTube to MP3 converter, copy-paste the link of the song I want to use, and download the converted song. It’s quick and easy and is probably a big risk to my laptop, but it’s the only way I know how skdjkskdk.

Extras:

I always add subtitles to my videos now- they make it easier for dialogue to be heard/understood and also lyrics! For example, I do a lot of Lord Huron songs and some of their lyrics are basically incomprehensible unless you look them up, so having them there adds to the amv experience imo.

There's an amv blog, @spnamvs, dedicated to keeping an archive of spn amvs! It's great for checking to see if an amv has been done as well as getting your own amv out there (just tag it #spnamvarchive)!

There are three options for posting videos: directly on Tumblr, on Tumblr with a YouTube link, or an embedded YouTube video on Tumblr. Each one is equally easy to do (though the second one is the most work- more on that below) so it’s really a matter of personal preference.

Some editors have a YouTube account, some don’t, it’s entirely up to you! I didn’t have one for a long time, but I did start to have people asking if my videos were on YouTube, so I decided to make one. If it’s too much in the beginning, don’t worry about it, you can always upload them to YouTube later and edit your amv on here to include the link. 

Tag lists and self-reblogging are also totally optional, but I personally recommend them. This fandom is so big and the timing of Tumblr is so finicky, you could have an amazing amv only get 10 notes because it’s posted at a weird time when people are offline.

Whatever editor you choose, don’t be afraid to mess around with it! Try different filters, different transitions, things like that. If you get frustrated, don’t hesitate to drop it for a bit before coming back. I still have an amv from MAY because I got stuck and didn’t want to ruin the song or the final product, so I dropped it. Inspiration comes and goes for these things so the last thing you want to do is push yourself when you’re uninspired.

This one seems cliche I know but!! Be proud of your videos!! I love my amvs! My sister and I love to go back and watch them and go insane over them! So many people think you have to hate your own work, but you’re allowed to be proud of it! You put time and effort into it and that’s not something to overlook. :)

That’s all I can think of; if you have any other questions or need help troubleshooting, feel free to ask me and I’ll see what I can do!