Had to go with B Sik all things considered.
Really wanted to give it to Beau just because when it comes to considering all the content Beau's produced over the last 2 years or so, nothing can truly compare to how mind-bending his stuff has been. He feels like the most-deserving candidate for first place.
But when it comes to strictly the best video, I just thought B Sik's was a little better. I think we can all agree that it was pretty much flawlessly produced. The fact that it can attract a CE-illiterate like me to watch it over and over again like 15 times gives it a little more credibility in my mind. To me it had a lot of unique style transition-wise too. I know a lot of people felt Roots was more personal and captivating from a nostalgic perspective, but I can't really see why this wouldn't have a similar effect, and a little better gameplay to boot. The ending to the video and all those masked spartan transitions are pure beauty. I'm not sure what more could bring you back to the roots of halo more than watching those flawless scenes. That seemed far more breath-taking to me than most of Roots if we're comparing. There is not a single thing I can say I dislike about the video, and I can only think of things I love about it.
I can't quite say the same for Wizard. I thought Halzred's editing was very good and gave an epic feel to the gameplay. I especially loved the intro, and of course the gameplay was incredible. But some spots here and there just bothered me, especially the audio (which everyone has harkened on enough already). It feels kind of silly for me to choose a video over another in large part because of the audio, but it honestly annoyed me so much I can't ignore it. It bothers me every time I watch it, and when we get down to the end like this, little things matter as Swanky has already said. I just can't imagine a scenario when not locking to stretch the audio is ever a more desirable option than actually locking it. In general, slowing down Hyena's snipes is a bad idea anyways. I wanna see those fuckers at full speed coming at me hard and fast. That's like the hallmark of a Hyena vid to me - just constant rape that comes at you over and over again to where you're at a lost for words. While the video did a great job showing the clips in their fullness, it felt too slow-paced.
If Death Machine were here, it would be a tougher choice. I thought Death Machine really felt like the Mastery of Halo 2 more so than Wizard, and most of all, it felt like a Hyena video. That's really what I wanted when it came down to it. Nothing against Halzred, but I wanted a video with the full Hyena experience, and that video gave it to me. I really felt that one was the winner for most of the competition, and I was very surprised when it lost out to Wizard. When it came right down to it, there was less wrong with it and the gameplay was better overall (it entertained me more, I can't really speak credibly on whether it was objectively better).
Joey Clutch was an amazing video, but I have a hard time picking a video to win the comp that I am not even sure is in the top 100 halo 3 montages of all time. If there were more clips of the caliber Joey had placed in the video, it might be in there. But it's an uphill battle trying to compete in a category of halo montaging that's produced so many unbelievable videos, especially when the editing, although flawless in its own way, lacks the style you get from the halo 3 montages of the past. I voted for Fatrat's last year because I felt it was almost indisputably a Top 10 Halo 3 montage of all time (and a Top 5 one for me), but the same can't be said this year.
All the people in this pool are very deserving of the reward though, and they've all been great assets to the community. Especially Beau. I voted based on what I thought was the best video given the options, but I doubt there is a person more deserving of this reward than Beau (even if he spends the whole lot of cash on alcohol and cigarettes lol). Thanks to all those who sacrificed to give us another competition this year. I realize it's a much less fruitful venture this time around, but it gives people like me something to enjoy during my free time if that's any consolation (probably not lol). Best wishes to the final 3.