(no subject)

[pacificpikachu]

I'm having a morbid couple of days. My brother decided to get Netflix and lets me use his account, so I've been taking the opportunity since last night to watch documentaries on some subjects I'm interested in. Namely, Jonestown and the Holocaust. I'm not feeling too upset, though, just curious. At times I can be too emotionally involved in things, and at other times, strangely detached. I've read up extensively on both subjects over the years--and I've seen multiple documentaries--but these are subjects I revisit occasionally, along with serial killers and a few other morbid topics of interest.

To a degree, though, one can't help but be a little sapped by too much negativity, so I think I'll leave the next two Holocaust documentaries for another day.

AMV has hit a snag, after reading up some more (seeing as my last AMV was 7+ years ago). Basically, I've been reading that I should be using lossless video to edit. I've started converting to it, to see how it goes, but the conversion seems to be taking forever (haven't even finished the first episode after half of the day) and I don't have ~200+ GB on my laptop hard drive at the moment for what the alleged file sizes will be. I do have an external I can use, but that wouldn't be so convenient. Ah, I just have to persist and keep reading until I figure out what I'm doing. I'm not so concerned about the editing itself or the rendering or post-rendering conversion, it's just this pre-editing stuff that can be annoyingly complex. I'm not going to be insane about the video quality, but I do want it to look good, so I don't want to take too many shortcuts or settle for something really inferior.

Today (now that it's midnight), is the 17th anniversary of Red/Green coming out in Japan! ♥ I'm posting some birthday-related things on PokéScans to celebrate.

Comments

[kyogres.livejournal.com]

I'm really like watching WWII documentaries (including Holocaust stuff) so I would love to have links if you find any interesting ones. Not that I have Netflix right now, but I should be getting it again within a few months, and I will watch them then. But yeah, too much of those types of documentaries can leave you feeling really depressed. I have to pace myself when I watch stuff like that (and there are a few subjects that I cannot watch at all).

I tried my hand at AMVs a few months ago but had the worst time ripping footage off my DVDs. Half the time it wouldn't rip at all and the other half of the time it ripped but every third frame had bad interlacing. I know quite a bit about video editing but next to nothing about how to get high quality source footage or how to rip only parts of the footage (if I only need one scene from a certain episode, for instance).

[pheonixxfoxx.livejournal.com]

My Grandfather was into reading about and watching documentaries on serial killers. He loved true crime stories and so do I...:3

[sevenatops.livejournal.com]

I'm into such topics as well, out of a sense of curiosity for how supremely negative behaviors operate, and perhaps ways to shield oneself from them. Selfish, I know. May I ask how you became interested in those subjects?

[pacificpikachu.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm also very curious about the psychological roots of such violence and control. It amazes me how dark human behavior can be, though I think we all have a small piece of that darkness within us.

My dad is also very interested in serial killers and some of the other darker subjects, so I think it's partly from him, and partly just from my own curiosity. It's almost like this interest exists as a counterbalance to my lighter interests, and due to my strong sense of compassion, I feel like it's fascinating to explore the other side of things and why horrible things happen. Also, I have a morbid side that is perhaps stronger than that of some people, though I'm in no way violent towards any living being.

[sevenatops.livejournal.com]

That's a mighty astute answer: you perhaps pay attention to the dark side to give your light focus. As someone who's tried to become well-rounded, I respect that.

I know this is rather forward of me, but, do you think you can lend me some of that insight in the entry I made last night? The one about loving a killer? I'm a bit lost now, and I think you would have a good voice to listen to.

[pacificpikachu.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Yeah, I feel like ignoring the darker aspects of humanity doesn't ultimately do much good. Horrendous violence and injustice happens in the world whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, and ignoring it doesn't help anyone to understand how it happens or why. My mom always asks, "How can you watch this stuff? Doesn't it make you depressed or scared?" But I guess I've already accepted just how horrible our species can be, so now I just want to know why, even if it's an unanswerable question.

That's fine-- I'd much rather people be forward than not say anything! I'll definitely read it and reply, though I'll have to do that tomorrow because I'm headed to bed right now.