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Information

• Member: Otohiko
• Title: Damage
• Premiered: 2004-06-17
• Categories:
  • Other
  • Character Profile
  • Serious
  • Sentimental
• Song:
  • David Sylvian & Robert Fripp Damage
• Anime:
  • His and Her Circumstances (Kare Kano)
• Comments: Greetings.
  
  Once again, I bring you a dose of something rather odd and probably not outwardly appealing.
  
  This is a very personal video. This is why I have my doubts about it having value to others. It has a lot of value to me, but I'm simply not sure whether other people will take away the same sort of impressions as me.
  
  The reason for this is mainly the song, probably the least obvious choice for an AMV. It's definitely one of my favorite songs of all.
  
  'Damage', by David Sylvian and Robert Fripp, from the live album of the same name (released 1994), serves a brief, somber introduction to the CD.
  
  A thin layer of soundscape, a few strokes of a keyboard and a couple dozen bass notes are the only things that keep it from being considered 'a capella' (for the less musically-educated - a vocal-only song, with no backing instruments). It's probably best described as 'sad', a floating poem about character failure, loss and mental anguish.
  
  This presented a very unique challenge - with such a basic accompaniment, while it was easy to find sounds to sync to, it was difficult to get the sync right because of the weight and clarity each single note and vocal line has. It might not be obvious from the result, but this was by far the hardest editing job I've ever done.
  
  On the one hand, it is an Arima-centric character/romance/drama video, but not really following the series. I'm not sure what to make of it in that context, but you could argue it's a representation of Souichirou's low points in terms of his mood and emotional state. But I think it's really pretty open.
  
  On the other hand, it is a more abstract video of landscapes, colours and contrasts. The structure of it is somewhat odd, but I think it works well for driving the mood(s) of the video.
  
  I don't guarantee viewer satisfaction, but be assured that I've put a lot of effort and emotion into this work.
  
  Thank you.
  
  
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  ***
  
  David Sylvian and Robert Fripp: Damage (from Damage, 1994)
  
  Actual length 4:31. In video: 3:33 - final section ommitted except outro.
  
  Performed live by:
  David Sylvian - Lyrics, Vocals, Keyboard
  Robert Fripp - Soundscape Guitar
  Trey Gunn - Bass
  
  Lyrics:
  
  I found the way
  By the sound of your voice
  So many things to say
  These are only words
  Now I've only words
  Once there was a choice
  
  Did I give you much?
  Well you gave me things
  You gave me stars to hold
  Songs to sing
  
  I only want to be loved
  
  And I hurt and I hurt
  And the damage is done
  You gave me songs to sing
  Shadow and sun
  Earthbound, starblind
  Tied to someone
  
  Why didn't I stay?
  Why couldn't I?
  So many lives to cross
  Well I just had to leave
  There goes everything
  Everything...
  
  Can I meet you there?
  God knows the place
  And I'll touch your hair
  Kiss your face
  
  We only want to be loved
  We only want to be loved
  
  I only want to be loved
  
  *Omitted from video*
  
  [And I hurt and I hurt
  And the damage is done
  You gave me songs to sing
  Shadow and sun
  Earthbound, starblind
  Tied to someone]
  
  *Note* - Lyrics differ somewhat from the official version, considering some live-performance-related changes. Also, I wrote what I heard and synched to...
  
  ***
  
  In a few words, this was really editing hell for me - a lot more than I thought would be involved in making this video. Editing, re-editing, re-re-editing, un-re-editing and then editing some more. Followed by smoothing-filter hell as I had to do something to save the footage from looking the way it originally does. That was a big challenge in itself. I obviously had to be very careful choosing scenes, choosing colors, choosing overlays - it was a tough video to make for reasons I already mentioned. But I'm glad it came out as it did and I'm glad I took on this challenge my own mind threw at me.
  
  Consider this: my average is just over 3 hours of editing per minute of video (keep in mind, I tend to keep clean, simple edits where music sync with just plain scenes is paramount).
  This video took me over 8 hours per minute.
  
  ***
  
  System:
  Space Groove Mk.I:
  Athlon XP 2400+
  80GB HD
  512MB 533MHz DDR RAM
  GeForce FX5200 128MB DDR
  Premiere 6.5
  
  
  
  ***
  Thanks again if you've read this far.