'Dramatic' videos are those that are (usually) light on action and heavy on emotion. They can include character studies and narratives, but the most common incarnation will likely be shipper videos.

As always, the following are not neccessarily hard and fast rules. They're just recommendations for maximizing your chances at this particular award site.

Avoid talky-face

I know I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. I realize that a great deal of drama in a particular scene is often wrapped up in what's being said. Mute flapping lips, however, DO NOT stir the emotions of a viewer, especially when said viewer has probably never seen the scene in its original dialogue-filled form. At best lip movement is distracting and at worst it just plain looks bad.

Place dialogue carefully

A particularly profound or poignant line of dialogue can add a lot to a video. But the emotion behind even the most stirring words can be lost if the video's audio track drowns them out. Overlaying dialogue with in-source background music over a part of the song is also generally a bad idea, as the resulting cacophony will likely be distracting.

Be creative in choosing dialogue

Saying "I love you" is certainly a momentous step in a relationship and is thus an obvious choice for inclusion in a shipper video. But perhaps there is another line that conveys the same emotion as those three little words in a way that's unique to the characters involved. Take some time to look for those lines. You'd be suprised at how much they can tug at the heartstrings of a viewer who isn't familiar with your fandom.

Vary the types of shots and camera angles used

Dramatic videos often consist mainly of close-ups or middle-shots (waist-up) of the characters involved. Too much can be visually uninteresting. Try adding some long shots of the characters or establishing shots of relevant scenery or objects. Bonus points if you can bring out some underlying symbolism or metaphor.

Mix up your scene selection

Shipping videos are often prone to suffer from a repetitive structure of close-up - close-up - kiss. Close-up - close-up - kiss. Sure kissing is very sweet and (sometimes) nice to look at, but there's only so much this judge can take. There's more to a relationship than smooching and the best shipper videos don't forget that. Try to incorporate some playfulness, flirting, longing gazes, or perhaps even a healthy dose of pathos.

Pay attention to internal motion

Static shots are not fun to watch. Especially if they last longer than a second or two. Emotion is certainly vital to great dramatic videos, but make sure that emotion doesn't come at the expense of keeping up a certain level of visual interest through movement. This is especially important during refrains or other swells in the music. Select scenes with more movement or pick up the pace in cutting to make sure the clips are always moving at the same pace as the music.



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