Kim's AT Application

Minimalistic MBR
[MEDIA=youtube]0QcLHB1G1BU[/MEDIA]

Slower, much more aesthetic than a lot of my work
[MEDIA=youtube]mAoiauwAR1k[/MEDIA]

These next two videos are much more of what I'd consider my style. Lots of 3D, heavy on the rigging.
[MEDIA=youtube]2_MRVJVgxTw[/MEDIA]

[MEDIA=youtube]BytEjoxYcD4[/MEDIA]

5. Do you have anything else to add?
I'm not the only person who has felt intimidated by the lack of MMV/SV animators in the AT. I believe having even just one MMV animator on the AT would make both the AT and the forum more welcoming to a wider audience. As things stand, it seems that MMVs don't get much feedback, nor are they shared here very frequently. I'd love to help change that.

While I'm not aware of the intimidation that the AT somehow gives to MMV/SV animators since they don't speak up - I am glad you were brave enough to pave the way for your peers and go for an application. For that, you get my immense respect for it. I too seek some diversity in the Animation Team since a lot of us use Flash, After Effects, Fireworks (GIF) but no one here uses Sony Vegas - so that'd be nice to see since it is a niche without a support. I encourage other Sony Vegas or MMV animators to do the same. We don't care if it isn't fighting or if it isn't made with Flash - we only care if it is good. Good on you for contributing to the change!

2. Why do you want this position?
I primarily want to help. MapleMation holds a very special place in my heart, and I want to be as involved with it as I can be. I'd like to to help the forum as a whole as well as each and every member of this community. Some of my goals include encouraging people to make more MMVs and giving them CnC. While I can do this without being in the AT, the reputation that the team has, as well as the opportunity to do VOD fix-em-ups, would expand the audience that my CnC can reach and assist. I want to see other people improve, as well as myself.
Please see question number 4 for more on this.
4. What are your goals in this team?
I hope to broaden the diversity of not only the AT, but also MM as a whole. I'd love to to encourage more people to make MMVs and share them. I want to give people useful CnC, and I want to inspire people to make and share more MMVs. I hope that, as I continue to give feedback, my CnC will improve and I'll be able to help out even more. I'd love to do some VOD fix-em-ups as well, and although that's a little bit harder with SV, I'd love to try. The more I can directly interact with the community and inspire people, the better.
All in all, I really want to help. I want to see both the community and myself grow together.

This is a nice sentiment I'd like to see be put into action - you've got heart which is what we need as a member of the Animation Team. I would also like to see an upsurge of MMV content to bring in some variety in the sea of fight animations and bashes. I fully support this goal - but what can you do from there? Giving feedback and cnc to help out the SV/MMV community is a given but what is it that only you can offer? I've seen a lot of applications with distinct goals: Warren with nurturing CnC, Min introducing VoD Reviews, Neil with AT Collabs, Me re-inventing the new MBR system, but what is it that you can offer? Specifically to the MMV Community? Hosting MMV Collabs? I'd like to see these ideas being more realised than in a vague concept.

3. What makes you worthy to be in this position?
I've been animating with Sony Vegas since ~2010 and have watched the MMV side of the community grow and evolve. I would describe my improvement as an increasing exponential curve, increasing more rapidly as time goes on, especially within 2018. I've been told that I'm an asset to the community and a role model for MMV animators.
I animate pretty frequently, especially lately. As of late, my productivity has been higher than ever before. I've been making videos as much as several times a month. I'm happy to take part in collabs and help make this community as active and engaging as possible

Personally, anyone being here since x amount of times doesn't make them worthy. I'd rather see how they spent that time. You said you've been an onlooker of the community growing as well as improving but how much did you improve? Did you improve to the state where you can say you are good and can be a role model to lead others? Animating a lot is good but you also need to think actively about how you animate - are you improving? are you making the same mistakes? None of these are really answered here. All I got from this was I was in the community for a while and animate a lot while improving along the way. It's good to be engaging but skills? Personally? I don't think you have the skills to back it up. More on that later when I go over the guidelines and your animation.

MMV's to me are broken up into three chunks: Raw animation, Stylised editing (typography, transitions, filters, etc.) and Emotion. I have enjoyed some MMV's from other animators so I can give my 2 cents on what gives a good MMV.

Raw animation: This needs a lot of work. It's very clunky such as the walk cycles in your channel trailer and SMMV-I found or barely there such as your collab part. The rigging isn't anatomically correct in the sense it doesn't look very connected or natural - it lacks the spring and bounce I'd expect from a walk of a living being.

Stylised Editing/Visual: This is pretty non-existent in your works - I rarely see any slick typography animations and the transitions between shots aren't very satisfying - they lack the quick snappy fluidity that is expected in most MMV's. It lacks the oomph because some shots overstay their welcome - which ruins the flow (an integral part of any animation). The filters you used could have been more interesting than a slight colour correction - have it match the context of the song and what is going on in the animation at the current time it is in. The text isn't integrated well either such as Cynarchy's Viking Death March MMV which had the blood of the victims used as text - smart stuff like this really boosts the quality of your MMV's.

Emotion/Storytelling: The problem with the animations you've sent me is that they're short and do not say much. A lot of these are SMMV's or Collab Parts taken out of context. They don't leave me feeling anything but confusion because I can't really tell what's going on. There's no real story being told and that is quintessential for any good MMV.

As it is right now - it's not good enough.

Overall, you have the right intentions but your skills and lack of any ideas are what held that section back - I'll go more in-depth why here but I'll also see how you meet these guidelines because to me - this is what really merits someone on the Animation Team. Those questions just give me an idea of what you plan to do as an Animation Team member. So here are the guidelines I set out

1. Activity - Obviously to be a member of the Animation Team for Maplemation - you need to be an active member of Maplemation. You need to be around to give criticisms, upload your own work and just be a presence known to others in the community.
   
2. Teamwork - This is the Animation Team - so we need co-operativeness to work together in order to make something great that will inspire our peers and newer animators. You can always do more if a group of talented individuals puts their heads together.
   
3. Skilled - Naturally, being a member of the Animation Team means you need to be one of the best and prove you are worth looking up to. Those currently in it have a name for themselves for their skills.
   
4. Critical - We can't just have someone good at animating but also someone who can pull up their peers and fellow members by using their experiences and skills to critique or "cnc" someone to elevate them. It is a requirement for members to do VoD reviews as well as just comment general criticism to Animation or MBR/MBRQ threads.
   
5. Willingness to Improve - The difference between someone good and someone great is that someone good will be satisfied where they are, but someone great will look for criticisms and any way to further refine their craft to push the skill ceiling higher to redefine what is good. We are looking for this mentality first and foremost.
   
6. Innovativeness - This is something that I personally expect for anyone applying and that is innovation. I want someone to bring something new to the table with their ideas for Maplemation and their own creations. We aren't looking for echo-fighters.
   

1. Activity - I think you're perfect in this regard. You're always frequenting the forums whether it be games or the animations section. Even on the Maplemation Discord - you're not one to shy away from posting your own work or giving feedback. You certainly have a presence and you also are one with the community hosting movie nights and whatnot. So 10/10 here!

2. Teamwork - You also seem co-operative and very approachable which is great for the collabs we plan to host and the MMV collabs we expect you to host. So another solid guideline met.

3. Skilled - Now this is where it starts to fall flat. I said earlier that you don't meet the skills I think are necessary to be in the Animation Team, so I won't harp on this any more than I have.

4. Critical - While I do see you giving feedback, I don't think any of it is too critical. Your animations have shown me that you still have some room to grow so I don't think you can provide the critical criticism that is needed for one to improve. I haven't seen anything that I can personally classify as concise yet informative cnc from you.

5. Willingness to Improve - This is definitely there. I can see it in both the Discord and Forums what with you consistently posting works for feedback. Just actively think about how you're applying feedback and you'll see results with your enthusiasm.

6. Innovativeness - I touched on this in my question response but I didn't see anything here that showed you would bring anything new to the table. I really want some fresh new ideas and not just the intention to do good. I wanna see something that would promise results, so I don't think you did a good job on this aspect either.

With all that being said, it is with deep regret that your application has been rejected. You just do not have the skills (which is important) to back up everything on top of a lack of innovativeness and new ideas to bring - you're just treading familiar grounds. However, I would like to see you (given more time and experience to grow) and any other MMV/SV animator try their hand at applying if they feel they are good enough.
I recommend studying these animators (Ayros uses Flash but her rigged walk cycles on top of nailing all 3 aspects make her worth learning from):
Ayros
Tracey
Kaffeine