The panels I tend to run are about explaining genres and techniques and showing videos (or segments of videos) that exemplify them. We've found that format benefits people that are interested in editing for the first time, those trying to get past the "song + large segments of video = AMV" meme, and the general viewers/voters who are able to generate more informed opinions as a result.
Kawatta-kun wrote:Being a little bit off-topic, what kind of panels, what do they give to the audience?
Most of the panels I run tend to be themed more on the line of getting the audience more interested in the broadness of the content out there and also educating them on some of the intricacies of the hobby without turning it into a boring 'how make amv' thing.
Like Nat-chan's Top 10, where I count down in no specific order, the best videos that have come out in the past year since the last panel, IMHO. I like to also include videos that the audience might not have seen otherwise, like older videos as well that are good and have stood the test of time. All the while I explain in a friendly and interactive manner what exactly makes each of the videos good. In the end we all have a good time watching some great videos and perhaps even learning a thing or two. Though I think there is something about the nature of it being a 'countdown' that makes people really like it.
While I consider them more like events, the Iron Chef competitions at cons are also an interesting species of panel. You have Iron Editor and then the plethora of other IC style events around. In the end they generally pit 2 or more editors against each other live and have them make a video in a short time. The rules might differ from event to event, but in the end it's a live audience watching 2 editors make a video. Well, actually, that's kind of boring, so instead the hosts usually play really fun videos and do game show like things and give out prizes as a means to keep the audience entertained. I know for The AMV Wars, like at Youmacon this year, we had the audience singing and dancing and participating along with our hosts and judges with each video being played. We had a limbo contest that grew out of the conga line that started during . It was a blast! I can't wait to get the recorded video feed from the event.
In the end, for me and the programming I come up with at least, it's more about imparting my passion for this hobby onto others by also making them interested and passionate about it. That's the kind of panels that I like to run.
Kawatta-kun wrote:How are the winners usually judged?
I mean, if by judges, when do they release the winners to public. And if by the audience, how does it is made? And with both?
I might not be an expert in the topic, but in all the fests celebrated in my city, the judges stated their conditions: Originality, Variety of Source, Synch, Impact in the audience, etc.
Obviously in the case of Viewers Choice, all the vids are screened and the people says which one is the best. Although I don't share too much the op of people in these cases (One time they chose a WMM amv, WTF?) as participant I have to respect their opinion
Really it kind of depends on the con. I've seen judges vote based on their own opinion of what video was best, then I've seen others where the judges were held to a scoring system that separates the different segments of a video out and makes a composite score between them. I've seen audience voting based on simple crowd reaction and others where they passed out a sheet of paper and had the audience vote by circling the winner.
AWA is one of the cons that has different voting depending on the contest. For the masters contest it's basically 1 person choosing the winner. For Pro the winners and awards are all chosen based on what the entrants want since the entrants are also the judges. For expo it's basically the VAT staff getting together and watching all of the videos and then coming up with categories and awards for them, I'm not sure how they decide since I've never been involved with it.
I've tried a number of different judging approaches throughout the years and at least for Youmacon I find that a mixture of Judges, Staff Picks, and Audience voting works best. Basically, the judges choose the category awards and the Best of Show. The audience chooses the staff competition winner and the Fan Favorite. The staff chooses the special awards like Staff Pick and Most Original. The judges are given criteria they have to base their choices on, the audience is given numbers to circle, and the staff basically vote on their own volition after having seen all of the entries multiple times.
at the local tiny con i went to, they had people place tickets in a bag... each video was given a number and the audience put their ticket in the corresponding bag that had the same number... which ever bad had the most tickets was the winner... i donno how they picked the categories though.
Pretty much similar to what ngsilver mentioned, I have found that having the judges choose the category winners and any technical awards is the best way and then having a Audience best award by ballots seem to work the best.
The other this does is since the categories are pre-judged, the video can be played in a much better order then having all the categories clumped into one area. The problem with most con contests where the audience votes for the category is that it's hard on the audience to show say 7-8 or so drama in a row as most just talk or not pay attention during various segments until such time as comedy, etc. When you can make the play list mixed, it keep the audience a lot more interested as the fun and comedy video can be put in between the action and drama ones...
Sooo what's the best option, for you, about audience voting. All of them having paper and righting down a number, or even a "form paper" with all of them and all you have to do is crossing the ones you liked best while watching the cvompetition on screen?
How about, former papers for everyone at the audience (given at the entrance) e for the contestants. Then, a few minutes to countdown everything (i guess we can manage to do it in half an hour?) ...?