This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Maya Stokley. Find her on Instagram at @maya.aesthetic. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Now, growing up as a Zillennial, YouTube was my main source of entertainment on the weekends during the school year. From the moment I hopped on my father’s computer to play some Y8.com or Friv.com games, I found my way around the Internet. But, YouTube?! I would watch the Barbie movies (The Princess and the Pauper and the Princess Charm School are the best ones, in my opinion) and the Monster High short episodes! But one day, I was into the Winx Club, especially when it aired on Nickelodeon. And then I stumbled upon this YouTube video featuring Bloom with the song “Angel of Darkness”. My whole life has changed since then! I absolutely adore watching the MEP (Multi-Editor Projects) from Disney to Dreamworks characters and the AMV (Animated Music Videos). Before TikTok edits became one of the fastest way to grow your profile and content, YouTube was the place to be!
What are MEPs?
MEPs (Multi-Editor Projects) are when content creators, specifically editors, collaborate with one another on a song and a theme! For example, editors would post videos on YouTube looking for editors for a song that they want to create a storyline with. Then, in the description box or the video, there are rules and parts that the editors can choose from. The MEP host will specify the software’s rules, such as Capcut, Pro Vegas, iMovie, and more!
Sometimes, the MEP host will host auditions for any editor to participate in by uploading their audition video on YouTube, via email to the host, or through social media. In the example below, this creator used a specific part of the song with their desired content. The rules would require the creators to label their videos with the part they want in the open-call audition MEP videos. (By the way, this audition video is so cute, oh my gosh!)
Now, MEPs can feature any character from any fictional world. For example, some creators would use MovieStarPlanet characters to portray a song or Roblox characters when it became popular. However, the most popular MEPS were the Disney/Dreamworks characters collaborations and Avatar: The Last Airbender characters. The songs would be from high school musicals to EDM classics like Evacuate the Dance Floor by Cascada! The way that I would wait for some channels to drop! MEPs became so popular that channels were dedicated to the media form, ‘studios.’
MEP YouTube Channel Studios?
Back then, some of the most famous MEP studio channels were SoThisIsLoveStudios, Once Upon A Magic Studios, HabiaUnaVezStudios, and DisneyMagicStudios! Each studio channel would have amazing videos with underground songs at the time, like Super Psycho Love by Simon Curtis and Daddy’s Little Girl by Jesse McCartney! Here are a few of my favorite videos from each studio:
SoThisIsLoveStudios
Once Upon A Magic Studios
HabiaUnaVezStudios
DisneyMagicStudios
In each video, the editors do specific parts for each song! They can create a couple or a pair with any fictional character! For example, Dreamworks and Disney characters are paired together a lot, sometimes with anime characters, depending on the theme of the video! The MEP studio channels started to fade when TikTok came around during COVID-19. Even though most of their content is online, sometimes editors retire or move on to other ventures. However, the videos are still live on the platform, and it was one of the starting places for editing online
AMVs!? Of Course!
AMVs (Animated Music Videos) are for the editors that edit anime, animated shows, live-action, or video games and turn them into music videos. They are in the same realm as MEPs, but one editor usually does AMVs. Sometimes, AMV editors follow the same protocol for MEPs, but those are for collaborations. For a better explanation, AMVs are now one of the precursors to TikTok edits. An editor finds a song that they want, chooses a footage roll or character packs, and uses any software to let the magic happen. The best part of all: AMVs are usually free game because it is all the editor’s choice! Here are three of my favorite AMVs back in the day (my gosh, I feel like an auntie!):
Now, there are hundreds and thousands of AMVs online that fandoms have circled around for years! TikTok just made it faster and also shorter. However, it keeps the editing community alive and makes it more accessible for those who may not have software. Also, with more animated shows and content coming out every year, the videos are getting better and better!
Now, TikTok Edits? What’s Happening Over There!
Since TikTok has almost everyone on the planet on the platform, there are profiles dedicated to a show, a video game, a character, a movie, basically anyone/anything! With the introduction of Capcut, anyone can be an editor from their fingertips. Here is a quick rundown on how to make an edit on Capcut:
- Head over to YouTube and find Character Scene Packs & Song
- Download your desired pack and song off of YouTube
- Open Capcut and Create a New Project
- Import all of your downloaded content
- Cut and Place all of the scenes you want in your edit
- Match the song with your scenes
- Go to Effects
- Be creative and see what you can find!
If you are new to editing and need more instructions, TikTok editors post videos to help! I thank them every day because when I first started editing on TikTok, I was so lost!
And, Adobe After Effects has become a popular editing software for those who want to have more advanced graphics! (I tried After Effects and the learning curve is INSANE). Yes, you do have to pay for After Effects but if you want to take your editing game to the next level, I highly recommend it!
TikTok editing has become so popular that editors are selling their color corrections and templates and selling their services to anyone who wants a custom edit. Since YouTube, the editing community has ventured to new heights and still has a beating heart. But the baseline for TikTok edits was the editors on YouTube paving the way!
What are some of your favorite MEPs and AMVs on YouTube? What about TikTok Edits? We hoped this helped you understand the MEP meaning on YouTube. Share in the comments!
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