AFO4 AMV Contest Rules

[Legionair]

Well, they say that you can never be too early. Below you'll find the rules for the Anime Festival Orlando 2003 AMV Contest. This year's AFO is going to be August 1st thru the 3rd.

Planning is currently underway, but I have every intention to continue with the same AMV events we had last year. That includes the 24-Hour AMV Room, the AMV Creator Party, the AMV Feedback Panel, etc.

Just like last year, the winners of this year's contest will be screened at the following Anime Explosion at the Lowes Cineplex 20 at CityWalk.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks,
Jason Galterio
AMV Coordinator
www.animegaijin.org

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If you plan to participate in the AFO4 AMV Contest, please read these rules in their entirety. We can not be held responsible for a failure to comply to these rules.

These rules are your friend. They are not meant to make your life more difficult. They are meant to present your creation in the best manner possible. In order to do this, we need to make certain requirements.

If you have any question or problem at all concerning these rules, please contact me and ask. You can email me at legionair@aol.com.


ENTRY DEADLINE:
Postmarked by July 11th or Uploaded by July 18th


NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS:
We are accepting two (2) videos per creator or studio (in the case of co-productions) for inclusion in the AMV Contest.


MAXIMUM RUNTIME:
Each video may not be longer than eight ( 8 ) minutes.


IMPORTANT:
Please see the bottom of these rules for important contest alternatives. This covers non-anime videos, participation of staff and volunteers, and showcase only videos.


SUBMISSION METHOD:
We are accepting both data and non-data submissions this year. Each type has it's own methods for format and delivery. Please read the section appropriate to your submission. In addition, the general requirements and suggestions apply to all submissions, please read it as well.


DATA SUBMISSIONS (FORMAT):
Data submissions must conform to the following requirements:
- Data format must be in either MPEG, AVI, or Quicktime format. Absolutely no WMV, RealMedia, or other internet delivery file formats will be accepted.
- MPG files can be either MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 encoded.
- AVI and Quicktime files must either include a copy of the codec used for compression or a text file specifying which codec was used, the version number, and a weblink to download it from.
- Video resolution must be at least 360x240 resolution (half screen). Anything smaller will be rejected. We highly suggest a resolution of 720x480 (see below).
- Video frame rate must be at least 23.98 frames per second. Anything slower will be rejected. We highly suggest a frame rate of 29.97 (see below).
- Audio rate must be 32,000hz or better. Anything slower will be rejected. We highly recommend 48,000hz (see below).
- Audio format must be 8 bit stereo or better. Anything less will be rejected. We highly recommend 16 bit stereo.


In addition, we highly recommend following these suggestions:
- Full screen (720x480) resolution. Resolutions smaller than this will be sized up to fill the screen. Resolutions larger than this will be sized down to fit the screen.
- Full motion (29.97 frames per second). Fewer frames per second can potentially create an undesirable screen flicker.
- Audio rate of 48,000hz. Lower rates can produce a muddled or distorted sound.
- Audio format of 16 bit stereo. Lower formats can also produce a distorted or compressed sound.


Please remember to check your sources. If your video source is at 15 frames per second in quarter-screen box, then upscaling it to comply with the rules will not work. The same can be said for your audio source.


NON-DATA SUBMISSIONS (FORMAT):
We accept the following formats:
- S-VHS
- DVD, DVDR, or DVDRW
- Hi-8
- MiniDV

Note: "Near S-VHS" format is not acceptable. This means any format that records "almost" S-VHS format on a standard VHS tape.

Where applicable, these additional rules must be followed:
- They must be recorded at SP (standard play) or whatever the highest quality format is for your tape.
- Tape submissions must be NTSC standard. DVD submissions can be NTSC or PAL.
- They must start with thirty seconds of silent, black footage.
- There must be an additional ten seconds of silent, black footage between each component (i.e. between each video, the color bars, etc.).
- They must end with thirty seconds of silent, black footage following your final video.

In addition, we highly recommend following these suggestions:
- You may submit more than one video, but each video must have at least thirty seconds of black between them.
- They should start with at least five seconds of color bars with a test tone. These will be used to test the video display.


BUMPERS, BY LINES, & ON SCREEN CREDITS:
- You may include a studio bumper before your video if you wish.
- For non-data entries, please include at least ten seconds of silent, black footage after your bumper, before your video starts.
- For data entries, please include the bumper as a separate video file and not within the actual video.
- Studio bumpers will be removed for the actual contest screening, but will be included during the contest awards ceremony. Studio bumpers will also be included in any contest retrospective videos that are made.
- Please do not include any on screen credits to your video. We will be adding these credits ourselves, which will allow us to have a more uniform look to the credits.


DATA SUBMISSIONS (DELIVERY):
If you mail your submission, it must be post marked by July 11th. Your submission can be delivered on CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, or DVD-RW. Please remember to write your name and address on the media. Also please include any codec information in the media. Your submission should also include a filled out contest entry form.

If you upload your submission, it must be intact and complete on our server by 11:59 PM on July 18th. Uploads should include a text file containing the information about the video and a reasonable facsimile of the contest entry form. This text file should also include all necessary information about the codecs used.

To arrange to upload, you must e-mail me to obtain the FTP address as well as a log on ID and password. Please contact me at legionair@aol.com.


NON-DATA SUBMISSIONS (DELIVERY):
Your submission must be post marked by July 11th. Your submission can be delivered on S-VHS, DVD, DVDR, DVDRW, Hi-8, or MiniDV. Please remember to write your name and address on the media. Your submission should also include a filled out contest entry form.


GENERAL RULES
- You must be pre-registered for the convention to participate in the contest.
- The entry form must be filled out and submitted with your entry. Videos without an entry form will be rejected.
- All videos must not have been debuted at another convention over one year previous.
- Anonymous entries cannot and will not be accepted.
- Entries must be received by the dates listed at the top of these rules, with no exceptions. We will not be accepting entries at the convention.
- Unless prior arrangements are made, media sent to us will become the property of Anime Gaijin America.
- The video portion of each entry must consist primarily (i.e. more than 75%) of anime footage. This footage must be identified on the entry form.
- The audio portion of each entry must consist primarily (i.e. more than 75%) of music. This music must be identified on this entry form.
- You must sign the bottom of the entry form giving Anime Gaijin America permission to show your video.
- Staff of AnimeFestival Orlando, relatives of staff of AnimeFesitval Orlando, and volunteers at AnimeFestival Orlando my not participate in the contest.
- Videos cannot include subtitled footage, unless subtitles are of your own creation.
- Videos must be viewable by a general audience, that means a PG-13 rating at most. Please visit http://www.mpaa.org/movieratings/ for more information on appropriate content.
- Lastly, the staff of AnimeFestival Orlando reserves the right to reject any video for any reason, including, but not limited to: content, video quality, sound quality, & time constraints. The decisions of the judges are final.


FINAL SUGGESTIONS:
- Please insure that all information on the entry form is filled out properly. All entries, except for Studio, are required. Leaving any of these out jeopardizes your participation. If we have no way of contacting you, then
we will not be able to let you know if there is a problem with your entry.
- Do not send us your master copy. You may send a demo reel, but please make it clear as to which videos you are entering into the contest.
- Please do not send us a copy that is more than three generations removed from the master.
- There is no need to send back-up copies for your video (i.e. one copy on CD-R and a second on video tape just to be safe). If there is a problem with your entry, we will contact you for another one.


SHOWCASE VIDEOS:
Created a video and would like to show it to an audience, but not participate in the contest? Have more than two videos that you would like to show to an audience?

As we did last year, there will be a dedicated 24-Hour AMV Room. We are accepting any and all videos to be played as rotation in the room, as well as possible rotation in the other viewing rooms and on the in-room Anime TV.

Format and content rules above apply, but none of the contest specific rules (i.e. run time, screen credits, etc.) need be followed.


STAFF / VOLUNTEER AMV CONTEST:
There will be a seperate division for those staff members and volunteers at AFO4 that would like to participate in the AMV Contest. The results of this division will be solely decided by the audience and will not be part of the main contest. Videos entered into this category will also not be valid for any special merit awards.

All contest rules above apply to these entries.


NON-ANIME MUSIC VIDEOS:
Plans are in the works for a non-anime music video contest. The content of these videos can be anything Japanese media related, that means kaiji, sentai, gangster, etc. As long as the original video source is Japanese related, then it will be valid for the contest.

All contest rules above apply to these entries, but entries into this contest will not count against entries into the AMV Contest. In other words, you may submit 2 videos to the AMV Contest and an additional 2 videos to this contest.