AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby kiarrens » Fri Sep 16, 2011 8:23 am

SailorDeath wrote:
for #35, It's on youtube, called "The Backwater Gospel" and is a 10 minute short.

Oh awesome! I'll definitely check it out when I get home from work. The whole thing looked... almost like woodcuts. I love to see animators branching out and doing unique things with the art.
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby BasharOfTheAges » Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:39 am

SailorDeath wrote:
Mr Pilkington wrote:Retractions are regrettable but after hearing the director's side of things it makes a lot of sense. (And you know I fought that one hard.) I too had a video cut from Pro, but because it was questionable I did pose the question to the VAT staff prior to entering. In the future that's really the best bet to prevent said issues.

The one major redemptive quality to that is those videos will be judged along with the expo swill. A quality pro level entry may contend better, so all is not yet lost.


Yeah, promptness with questioning about content is important. As an organizer every year I would get one or 2 people asking whether a video might be too much for the audience. There was one occasion where it was a just a little too much for a public showing and I told him that the video was excellent and stood a chance at winning. He made an alteration to the video and submitted it and it ended up winning an award (sorry I can't remember the specifics, I can't remember what year it was let alone what video) but the point I'm making is that I told him that as it was it'd be dq'd long before the deadline so he had plenty of time to fix it. Personally, if I have a video one might find questionable I'll make the extra effort to find out if it would violate the rules with the ones in charge, if they told me it was too much I'd either enter it elsewhere or make adjustments so that it would be permissible. Especially for a contest like Pro, where if it was too much I'd want to submit another entry in its place.

I was a bit peeved about what happened to #6 and #20, I don't know the circumstances with those who submitted them (from the sound of it, one of them was yours, though secrecy doesn't matter now since it was cut) If you had asked them to look at it before the deadline and said you could make changes and they told you it was okay, I'd have been furious if they later reneged on that.

I think part of the other problem was the R-restriction. R-ratings can really push the line sometimes, and before one decides on a rating, I'd suggest a movie that is controversial with that rating. Watch it, ask yourself "Would I be fine showing this to an audience that might have minors in it" if it's too much bump it down a notch. For instance, Scarface is an excellent movie, but there is a lot of cussing and violence. That movie came very close to getting an NC-17 rating which would make it a good example of what the limits are for that rating. I wouldn't show that to an audience with minors. So, I'd move down to PG-13. That rating is what we made the acen amv contest, anything higher and we'd ask them to censor it, or submit it to the hentai contest. I found this on a website that describes PG-13 and R:

Some random website about movie ratings wrote:PG-13 is a strong warning to parents that the film may contain content inappropriate for under-teenaged children. Any drug use will require at least this rating, as will the use of the F-word as an expletive (using this term in a sexual context will garner an R rating). Nudity is permissible in a non-sexual context and violence may be more intense and persistent than in a PG film.

A rating of R indicates that a film contains some material for adults. Strong language and violence may be prevalent. The R rating also includes films with drug usage and other elements most parents would find suitable only for adults.


I knew the removal of hentai from pro was a long time coming, so I wasn't all that surprised when it did happen. Though I was surprised that they said the worse it can be is an R-rating because one can really do a lot within those boundaries.

Those quotes actually came from an MPAA website at some point. I've found a lot of contests have a very difficult time establishing content guidelines in general; that is, they point to something readily understood, like a movie ratings system, without fully appreciating what those ratings do and do not cover. PG13 allows for fleeting utterances - single usage of the word "fuck" in an exclamatory (but non sexual) context, and slightly more use of less severe naughty words. It allows for brief, non sexual nudity. This blows people's minds. R allows for violence at the level of torture porn movies like Saw and Hostel, language of the level of Casino, the South Park movie, Goodfellas, etc. and sex just short of porn. Animation is also known to have these rules applied in a lesser manner because the medium isn't showing real people. The only thing that shouldn't pass an R rating for an AMV contest are the sex scenes in hentai. What's more, these ratings, by the governing body's own admission, aren't a set of guidelines, they're comparisons. The people that actually rate movies compare what they have in front of them to past films with similar content. Pulp Fiction did X, Y and Z, this does X, Y, and Z - we're going to give it the same rating. The turn over in this ratings group and changing of societal norms is what causes ratings creep.
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby kiarrens » Fri Sep 16, 2011 2:11 pm

All of that is true, Bashar, but what's the alternative? Writing out your rules like "This contest allows the usage of the words sh** and cr** but only one exclamatory usage of the word fu**. (Exclamatory and NOT referring to the act of sexual intercourse, to be exact.) The contest does not allow the use of the word cu** at all. Up to 15 seconds of brief nudity in a non-sexualized scene is allowed. Nips on titties are allowed providing they do not have tassles. Dicks are banned, the only exception being Dr. Manhattan's, because who can't get enough of giant glowing blue dick?"

I am, of course, being facetious, but you see where I'm going, I hope. It should be enough to say "This contest adheres to a general PG-13 (or R) rating" and let the contest coordinator make the final decision, without having to go into ridiculous detail on every little thing.
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby BasharOfTheAges » Fri Sep 16, 2011 2:23 pm

kiarrens wrote:All of that is true, Bashar, but what's the alternative? Writing out your rules like "This contest allows the usage of the words sh** and cr** but only one exclamatory usage of the word fu**. (Exclamatory and NOT referring to the act of sexual intercourse, to be exact.) The contest does not allow the use of the word cu** at all. Up to 15 seconds of brief nudity in a non-sexualized scene is allowed. Nips on titties are allowed providing they do not have tassles. Dicks are banned, the only exception being Dr. Manhattan's, because who can't get enough of giant glowing blue dick?"

I am, of course, being facetious, but you see where I'm going, I hope. It should be enough to say "This contest adheres to a general PG-13 (or R) rating" and let the contest coordinator make the final decision, without having to go into ridiculous detail on every little thing.

You probably don't need to get that specific, just realize that (for animation at least) R pretty much means everything but hentai and don't have the standard be R unless that's what you're okay with. Same with PG13 - don't have that be your standard if you want absolutely no swearing. If there is no magical rating that encompasses what you're okay with, you, unfortunately, need to get more specific and spell things out. As I said, a lot of contests have a hard time with that. Even the MPAA isn't great about consistency or rather, they let their biases show from time to time too (mostly with interracial romance into the 70s and with gay romance for... well still). They also slowly slip towards less nudity and more language/violence for the same ratings over the course of a decade.
Last edited by BasharOfTheAges on Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby SailorDeath » Fri Sep 16, 2011 2:36 pm

Screw it, next contest I run will contain G-Rated amvs only.
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby kireblue » Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:03 pm

I was just about to go vote, but the website is down.
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby Quu » Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:56 pm

fixed... it had frozen, so still showed up in the ps command. a restart fixed it.
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby Sephiroth » Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:34 pm

Since there's those that are curious about what happened with #6.

This was the e-mails that went back and forth.
Long story short apparently the person reviewing vids for content had a more 'European' sensibilities from the VA lead.

I don't really have ill will towards the contest just annoyance on what happened.

> There is a problem with your video "Like A V..." at http://contest.otakuvideo.com
>
> it is submitted to both expo and pro...
>
> also, would you like to upload a non censored version that could be shown during the late night blocks? (we can keep both >versions around... censored for the main times, etc)
>
> (I am closing the ftp... just request a new ftp, and upload the uncensored version if you wish)

Fixed it sorry thought that i had removed it from Expo. Also The version is censored, you cannot see a nipple or anything like that. In fact ive censored it in such a way that it's actually looks worse then it is. Kind of the joke of the video.

>ok... i just wanted to make sure... thanks
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby SailorDeath » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:13 pm

Yay just got the last day of nominating e-mail and on tuesday the final voting begins! Congrats to those who make it into the finals and good luck!
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby AimoAio » Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:55 pm

Just done with my nominations. :up:

Comments:

I had downloaded videos 1-15 a while back so the comments for them are longer/more detailed. [not that I'm being biased] Mainly because my net has been really slow for the past few weeks so I've been holding off watching the rest of the videos till... :uhoh:...anyway I got the reminder email today and had to marathon the last 40 videos quickly so the comments are quite short.
Spoiler :
Video #1
Normally I get really bored of abstract videos but this one felt pretty unique to me. The sync was excellent and you melded the various sources together so well I wouldn't have noticed that it was more than one anime used if it wasn't for the difference in video quality and the fact it says its varied sources. :rofl: That being said, it did feel quite long.
Video #2
I've seen this video before and I'll quote my previous opinion on the scene selection being a little random and didn't quite fit with the song. Other than that, the sync was good and it did put a smile on my face.
Video #3
Seen this one before too. I really like the typography and the concept is funny. The first time I watched this, I thought it was pretty good but the second time around it got a little long and I couldn't really watch till the end so it's not really one of those videos that I would really replay.
Video #4
This one didn't leave much of an impact on me. The editing doesn't particularly stand out and neither is it very entertaining. I would have also stopped watching if it weren't for the fact the animation was quite pretty.
Video #5
Hm..another one I've seen. It's very cutesy and sweet, also your editing was pretty consistent. However I didn't like it when you had the male characters lipsynced to the music because it felt really really weird since the singer was a female and her voice is pretty high-pitched. And while most your lipsync was pretty good, 1:28 kinda lacked a little. My favourite part was the intro with the piano sync. :up:
Video #6
I don't know how to comment about this one since it's not really my type of video and I'll admit that I didn't watch the whole thing....but from what I saw it had decent editing..? :uhoh:
Video #7
I think I'll just stop mentioning the ones I've seen before and just leave normal comments....anyway I like this one. Has decent editing,pacing and sync. Not much I can complain about it except for the green static line around 1:36ish, looked a tad pixelly and maybe a little too much blur at some parts. Otherwise, great.
Video #8
Couldn't hear the dialogue very clearly at points since the music was too loud and also your quality despite being acceptable wasn't as great as video #4 though I did manage to watch the full thing.
Video #9
Had great energy. Loved some of the masking transitions between the different sources. Your editing on the other hand didn't leave much of an impression on me and the ending scene felt a little weird to me, just didn't feel like it had enough impact for the end.
Video #10
I don't "get" this video. Maybe it's because I haven't seen the source. Anyway it had some very nice sync.
Video #11
At first I was like, "NOT ANOTHER MLP VIDEO! D:!" But God I love this one. It's upbeat, had lots of energy, great lipsync and some pretty awesome scene selection. Really made me smile. My favourite so far.
Video #12
Bit of an abrupt ending, flashes were a little too sharp, editing was okay, in general. It doesn't stand out and looks the same as every average action AMV I've seen before.
Video #13
I liked the use of voiceovers and the text at the start but it would have been better to have text for ALL of the voiceovers because sometimes I couldn't really hear what they were saying. Maybe a better font choie too.
And while the editing wasn't perfect, it was pretty decent. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good AMV, I liked the mood.
Video #14
Very literal lyric sync. Editing was decent, didn't leave much of an impression on me though, minus that scene at 2:27 with the woman spewing black stuff out her mouth. o__o Quality was pretty good for old sources but I seem to see some interlacing....
Video #15
LOL!!! But are those borders meant to be there..?
Video #16
It was okay.
Video #17
Too long. Too many flashes. Too many blurs. Basically it would have been nicer if it was cut shorter, and had less effects. I felt like it just droned on and on for ages...
Video #18
Didn't get it at first, saw the music video and it all makes sense. Liked the ending.
Video #19
HAHA I LOL'd.
Video #20
Gone before I watched it.
Video #21
Nice editing. Nothing else really stands out though.
Video #22
Not bad. I didn't find it all that funny but it's amusing in it's own way I guess.
Video #23
Nice editing and some pretty neat sync. But not really my type of video, got bored pretty quick.
Video #24
Good. Though I felt like some areas lacked a little impact. Good job of blending the sources together since I couldn't tell which was which but then I don't think I've seen any of them anyway....
Video #25
Awwwww....
Video #26
Simply splendid! Dramatic, had impact, very artistic with nice visual effects. Really loved watching this one!
Video #27
....got a bit bored after a minute. Couldn't get into it, sorry.
Video #28
Oh, saw this one on YT already. Technically well done with the effects, however AMV wise, it's lacking some scene variations. Not bad though.
Video #29
Seen this before too. It's not outstanding but I like it, never would have thought of this anime for this song. Good job.
Video #30
Haha I liked the sync in this! And some parts really made me LOL.
Video #31
Some of your masking transitions near the start looked quite rough and didn't quite fit. Editing and sync was decent but video didn't stand out in particular since it was mainly just...flying ships shooting each other. Oh and some singing girls. XD
Video #32
Ohhh...this was nice. I liked it.
Video #33
Sync. Check. Pacing. Check. Timing. Check. Intense mood. Check. Concept. Chec-wait, was there one?
Video #34
Meh, it was okay. Bit boring for my tastes though.
Video #35
Very interesting.
Video #36
Another interesting one. I like it.
Video #37
The concept was good but it wasn't done that well. I didn't quite get it till later when we see his dead family and the dead girl in the game.
Video #38
I like the cutting. It felt like you squished the full series into 4 minutes. (never seen the show before)
Video #39
This has the best quality FF8 footage I have ever seen.
Video #40
I like the song change in the middle. :ying: Fun video.
Video #41
I was quite confused about the song shift. Also the dance at the end was very very long.....otherwise colourful and fun video of girls kicking ass. :up:
Video #42
Seen it before. Good fun video.
Video #43
Idea is good, execution wasn't great though. Slow pacing/bad lipsync at some parts and wasn't very entertaining minus a few scenes...could have been much better.
Video #44
This was really weird. But I liked it.
Video #45
Decent trailer. Gets straight to the point although personally I felt like it would have benefitted from a bit more voiceover work, especially some narration at the start would be good.
Video #46
Pretty CG game scenes and....that's it.
Video #47
Generic romance AMV.
Video #48
Not bad. Quite enjoyable.
Video #49
My eyes were killed in the first 10 seconds. And then again 20 seconds later...
Video #50
Very basic opening.
Video #51
My first thought was "Oh god, 11 minutes of poniesssss..." but it turned out quite enjoyable. :up:
Video #52
Nice cheery video about a girl who plays music. Made me think of Alice from Wonderland.
Video #53
It was okay. Is it just me or was the audio really quiet?
Video #54
Not bad.
Video #55
I see watermark..otherwise quite good.
Video #56
I really like this one. Good job. :up:

I nominated 9 videos for Best Upbeat... :uhoh: I just stuck whatever didn't fit in the other categories but deserved an award in here. XD
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby Quu » Sun Sep 18, 2011 9:22 pm

AimoAio wrote:Video #15
LOL!!! But are those borders meant to be there..?


it is in the original DVDs... (I love Guu)

btw, i was born in Stuttgart and lived 16 of my first 20 years in various cities in Germany.
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby l33tmeatwad » Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:17 pm

Annnnnd the final vote begins :O!
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby Quu » Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:44 pm

good luck to all of the people who made it to the final voting, and my condolences to those who did not.
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby kireblue » Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:50 pm

I really like the results (even though neither of my videos made the finals). I had to make tough decisions about the winner in a few categories, and I even surprised myself on a few of them.

Edit: I guess that I'm free to upload my videos now :awesome:
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Re: AWA 2011 Pro Video Discussion Thread

Postby SailorDeath » Mon Sep 19, 2011 10:55 pm

kireblue wrote:I really like the results (even though neither of my videos made the finals). I had to make tough decisions about the winner in a few categories, and I even surprised myself on a few of them.

Edit: I guess that I'm free to upload my videos now :awesome:



That's right, time for those of you who made videos that didn't make it into the finals to spill the beans.

Mine was called "That Magnificent Bastard" and was the tribute to godix video set to I'm the Urban Spaceman and Soul Eater.

Edit: I should also note the reason for making it. On the day that GodIX had died, I was sending him messages about an idea I had for pro and wanted to see if he wanted to get in on it. The idea was to use the same anime, song and give it the same title. So there's be two video that look identical except for the editing. I wanted to troll the contest with him, figured it'd be fun. Two hours after sending that idea to him, MrsGodIX informed us that he had died. After acen, I thought about that idea again, and decided I would like to attempt to do something to honor him. So I contacted 5 other people and shared my idea. Since it was close to 3 months before the pro deadline when I approached them, I knew it'd be a longshot for them to complete their videos. Sadly the other creators were just too busy to make something. I had already finished that one, and felt like it'd have been a waste to not enter it. So I submitted it. This is my way of saying goodbye to GodIX the best way I could think of. Thanks to you all for watching it.
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