The Otakon 2012 Thread: AMV Contest Results All Up in Here

[Warlike Swans]

So for those of us who submitted to the "undecided" category, will we find out in advance what category our videos ended up in?

Also: Yay!

Yes, once the list is approved, I will break it up into categories (though I still won't reveal the video titles, in case the creators want to keep them secret). For the non-finalists, it doesn't matter what category you were placed in since they are played "whenever" anyways.

::nudge::

[VicBond007]

::nudge::

fix'd

[Scintilla]

I don't believe I have ever seen NINE videos in one category at Otakon before.

But if it's anything like the Action category at AnimeNEXT was this year, then it won't be possible to say any one of them did not deserve to be a finalist.

[RAWdangers]

Drama? I was completely not expecting that O.O

[XStylus]

Drama? I was completely not expecting that O.O

Drama is generally one of the most prolific AMV categories, second only to action. I always felt bad about the really exceptional entries that didn't make the cut into our own competition year after year.

Since Otakon's number of videos per category varies each year, it's not too surprising to see there be a heavy amount of entries in drama and action. It is kinda surprising to see it vary so much though. I think it's a positive statement on the level of quality coming from the AMV community this year. Very curious as to what the metric is for determining what gets in and what doesn't get in though.

[Kireblue]

I'm curious why there are only 4 videos in trailer (especially since trailers are so short).

[VicBond007]

Very curious as to what the metric is for determining what gets in and what doesn't get in.

How far down the bottle the judges are when your video plays

All kidding aside, we have a semi-open screening each year (semi-open in the sense that if you try to bring 10 friends to stack the votes, you best make other plans) and this year we had 15 people watch all of the entries, even the trolls and DQs, and score each video from 1-5. Then I punch in all the numbers (nearly 2,000 unique votes), take the averages, and then start grabbing the highest rated entries. I then make personal decisions if a category is extremely stacked or barren, and that's sometimes why a video that could go in 2 or more categories, ends up where it does. Sometimes I also have to drop the lowest scoring (yet still qualifying) videos in a category if there is way too many, and drag up a few entries that just barely didn't make the cut, and place them in less populated categories. If a video scores way too low, I won't move it up into finals, no matter how badly the category needs it. Usually the "swing" videos only scored withing 0.1-0.2 points of making finals anyways, so it's not like I'm gaming the system and bumping some real bad videos for the sake of category balance.

And that's how Equestria was made.

[Brakus]

I don't believe I have ever seen NINE videos in one category at Otakon before.

VicBond told me Action was super-SUPERCRAZY competitive this year. If he'd determined the finalists by score alone (and filling up the 2-hour timeslot), there would have been FOURTEEN finalists in the Action category, among which I would have been one. Yeah, mine and four other videos unfortunately got bumped even though they would have scored high enough to be finalists. We five will have to settle for the overflow screenings this year.

But if it's anything like the Action category at AnimeNEXT was this year, then it won't be possible to say any one of them did not deserve to be a finalist.

Especially the EPIC MAH JONGG DEATHMATCH. It must be seen to be believed.

[Brakus]

Info about playlists deleted, per VicBond007's request.

[XStylus]

[snip]
Then I punch in all the numbers (nearly 2,000 unique votes), take the averages, and then start grabbing the highest rated entries. I then make personal decisions if a category is extremely stacked or barren, and that's sometimes why a video that could go in 2 or more categories, ends up where it does.

Interestingly, you and I are on similar pages insofar as that methodology, right down to the hell that is the data entry of the scores.