Is buck a swear word when used in this context? I guess we wouldn't use our human world variation on it in regards to kicking trees. That would be pretty awkward wouldn't it? I !@#^ TREES!
Uhh, anyway. I'm supposed to celebrate the fandom up here, so lets get to that.
Long ago, on a Youtube channel far far away, someone decided to combine scenes from the show with music. Yes, if you click that link, you are reading the date correctly. October 30, 2010. AMV was the technical term, but Friendship is Magic quickly adopted the PMV monicker instead. Ever since then, we have seen just about every song out there with ponies plastered on top. 2011 was a literal swarm of the stuff.
Fast forward to 2014, and I dare say that this is the most "evolved" of the various fandom creations. What was once lauded as the greatest thing ever when someone slapped Pinkamena on Linkin Park, quickly became bland as technology and talent combined to take the concept of "PMV" thrust it into overdrive. Loads of custom animations, motion graphics, and perfectly synched up scenes really took the entire format to the next level. The best PMVS are time consuming beasts now, competing with the top tiers of the other media styles in difficulty.
Enough blabbering! Head on down below the break for our top 10 AWESOME PMVS of 2014! I should probably note that this list is probably the most even across the board too, so don't focus too much on the ranks.
#10
CREEEPY. Usually Pinkie claims that POTENTIALLY CREEPY title, but every once in a while another pony steps up to the plate for all that unsettling madness we've come to expect from the brony fandom and it's sometimes-dark creators. Who said pony was a sunshine and daises utopia? I think we confirmed that was not the case these last few seasons, what with Ponyville being obliterated regularly and douchebags like Suri Polomare taking advantage of the adorable Coco Pommel. WHO COULD DO THAT?
For bringing us Halloween in August when it released, Rarity's Nightmare takes the 10th slot in our top 10!
#9
See that title up there? That's pretty much the theme of the year. Multiple groups of PMV creators collaborated up for projects across the last 365 days, and the quality definitely shows. What was once a project that took months for a single person takes... months for multiple people. PMVS ARE TIME CONSUMING at this level! They did increase in duration though!
Anyway, go check out All This Time, because Fox Stevenson rocks.
#8
Dat color. We took a colorful show and turned it even more colorful this year. Starlight is a good example of it. What was apparently a rushed project for Bronycon turned out amazing in the end. There are a few derpy bits that drag, but overall it rocks it.
For making me and a few of the other EQD staffers re-download MUSE, Starlight gets the 8th slot!
#7
Filly ponies! Growth! Life in general! It's another collab, and just like the last one it takes some of the best the fandom has to offer and stuffs it all into one video. Journey with each of our favorite cartoon horses as we explore their past's, presents, and much brighter futures through FRIENDSHIP.
Poor Pinkamena ;_;
#6
In Ponyville... we must PARTY. This is one of two Vocaloid based PMVs on our top 10 list today. We were going to file them together in one section, but both are vastly different. They are also pretty swappable in placement, hence my note about this entire list being pretty equal.
This one is awesome all around, with custom animations, excellent use of a plethora of vectors to set various scenes, and perfect synching as usual from Racecarghost.
#5
Time for something DEEP. Typography became big a few years ago, and since it's inception with those early Tombstone songs, we have seen it used in a plethora of interesting ways. A Thousand Years is one of the best ones out there so far in that regard, and once again pulls of the excellent motion graphics to top it off.
Taking ponies and adding layers: The pony fandom. Have a #5 slot for the feels.
#4
PINKA PIE. PONKA PO. GUMDROPS. If the last one was deep, this one is HAPPY. I had a crush on Pinkie Pie for like three days after watching this. I mean that in the least creepy way as possible*. She almost replaced Trixie*.
For making everyone HAPPY, Pinkie Pie takes the #4 slot.
(*Actually it was totally creepy. My Pinkie Pie tulpa still sings along to songs I play on the computer. What a great waifu)
(*Actually Trixie is replaced almost daily, don't tell her though)
#3
If you were a child of the 90s, these sprites and text boxes probably mean a lot more to you. Luckily, EQD is filled with people who were children of the 90's. A bunch of old mid 20's farts. Yeah it sucks, but maybe we can hit that goldilocks zone where anti aging will appear right as we are about to kick the bucket. It could happen.
Anyway, King Rarity wants to adventure, and who are we to stop her? Have a #3 slot fashionhorse.
#2
We fought about collabs this year for a while. They were all so well done! At the end of the day we had to choose a favorite though, and this ended up as it. Did I mention that this top 10 was all ridiculously even? I'm pretty sure I have. You are probably sick of it by now actually. I almost want to just call it "best PMV's of the year" and skip top 10's altogeather, but that's no fun.
Anyway, another awesome collab that you should totally watch.
#1
Animation? Or PMV? Sometimes the world of pony videos is tough to categorize. This is pretty much the epitome of motion graphics, with it's own custom set of vectors to help compliment it's already incredible storybook style. It's almost like watching Little Big Planet: Pony Edition or something. In the end, we gave it a PMV Slot, and the top slot at that.
It's a shame that it's viewcount is so low though. You guys should go click on it a bunch. Animations are coming in at 500k-1 million, while these poor pmv's barely break 100k!
Honorable Mentions
Because have you ever tried to sort these before? It's hard!
(note: link with sound below!)
So I have to admit, this one kinda fell through the cracks in the animation top 10. It really got the shaft with that music axe from Youtube. It's labeled as a PMV, but the entire thing is animated. The creator has endorsed this alternate link with sound, so go watch it, but do him a favor and watch it without sound too! It needs moe views for how much effort appears to have gone into it!
A solid Twilacorn PMV with way too few views. Definitely give it a shot if you need more PMV in your life.
It's almost entirely built out of shapes and blurps, but it's still super inspirational.
Hey! Another collab! How about that? If you aren't sick of them by now, be sure to watch this one too!
It's rare to see PMV's dedicated to fully instrumental music, but Unity pulls it off really well. Hit up those elements of harmony and defeat ALL THE bosses.
2014 raised the bar pretty high for the PMV scene. What will 2015 bring? What madness will we have to use in season 5? I'm excited.
What were your tops? Hit the comments!
And be sure to check out our other top 10's!
