Finalists for Anime Expo Anime Music Video Contest 2008

[Sephiroth]

For me, experience is everything. It is extremely difficult for me to focus on what the creator is trying to convey if there is an on-screen distraction that it takes me out of the experience. Macroblocks, jagged edges, poorly hidden subtitles, and network/Divx logos are just such a distraction, and an enormous one at that.

Ooh! Ooh! Can I mention 16:9 anamorphic as another distraction? It's a particular pet peeve of mine.

Y'know, I almost forgot about that one. Out of 140+ videos, I can count on one hand the number of videos with that problem this year. There were very few.

It pained me, more than any other, to have to give low video quality marks to videos like that. Why? Because in a time where there are more and more submissions being based on downloaded source (The #2 most used video was based on an unreleased show. How was all that source footage obtained?), at least the videos in question were based on DVD source, thus indicating there was at least a fair effort to use quality material.

The de-anamorphic mistake is a very easy one to make though, so hopefully we'll have info on how to correct it in next year's FAQ.

I just wish that pixel aspect ratio would actually get written to my files, just realized that didn't get through on my vid export. TO which i have to say whoever is responsible for PAR not reading over in an export when set please die in a fire.

[s0matic]

I just wish that pixel aspect ratio would actually get written to my files, just realized that didn't get through on my vid export. TO which i have to say whoever is responsible for PAR not reading over in an export when set please die in a fire.

To be fair, what file container did you use? MP4 and MKV can do this just fine. However, if you submitted an .avi file like I did, I just manually did the resizing myself just in case, as IIRC, .avi files don't natively support PAR/DAR in the file header.

[Sephiroth]

AVI i fill rather silly right now and slightly mad for obvious reasons.

To be fair, what file container did you use? MP4 and MKV can do this just fine. However, if you submitted an .avi file like I did, I just manually did the resizing myself just in case, as IIRC, .avi files don't natively support PAR/DAR in the file header.

[The Wired Knight]

I just realized, was there ever any plan to add that Parody catagory James had been planning all those years? (The one he wanted to call AMTV).

I remember he kept trying for some three years to no avail and I JUST realized the parody catagory still doesn't exist. Or has this idea been trashed alltogether?

[DigitalPanther]

I just realized, was there ever any plan to add that Parody catagory James had been planning all those years? (The one he wanted to call AMTV).

I remember he kept trying for some three years to no avail and I JUST realized the parody catagory still doesn't exist. Or has this idea been trashed alltogether?

I am not sure what the Dodd's original plans were in that regard to be honest. I wasn't in the loop on it. The idea of a "Parody" category is not totally ruled out but it will definitely be under a different name because Parody has becomes one of those words where "I don't think that word means what you think it means."

Not wanting to get into a big long debate (maybe after con but not now) it boils down to Parody by definition is one thing. However many videos that have been entered in contests past or even this year can be very easily argued as being Parodies.
[Edit] Tim's [/Edit] "Right Now" video was a direct parody of the original Van Halen Video of the same name. Right down to style and re-purposing some of the original text (Science building a better tomato comes to mind)
The two YTMND videos that were submitted this year, as well a being short attention span theater, are parodies, style wise, of the site of the same name.

However, "Wizard of Ozaka" and "Wedding Rings", while often referred to as "Parody videos" aren't. Not by the definition of the term. However its difficult to argue that they are "Anime Music Videos". They, to me anyway though some seem to share my opinion, are more Found Art if that makes sense. Taking existing elements, often divergent though not always, and putting them together to create a new unique entity. One person even made a Frankenstein reference. This not to say they aren't enjoyable. I loved them. Still do. But they aren't AMV's in the classic definition of the term nor are they parodies.

The rash of Movie Trailer soundtrack with Anime footage edited over, are not amv's but they aren't really Parodies either.

And this is where the key problem lies. The creative anime editing community has schism'd the genre into so many sub categories and little genres that classification becomes a pain.

A "catch all" category would seem the obvious answer. That's what AMTV was originally supposed to be. However you totally open yourself up to the drama, headaches and heartaches of people, often very vocal ones, getting into arguments with you over how their video wasn't a parody but BillyJoJimBob's was and didn't belong in the {insert appropriate category here}.

Sure we could make a parody video category (presuming Programming lets us but that is a whole other story) but we then have to more strictly define it. We are not against the idea and in fact Anneke and I have been discussing it off and on of late at great length. Once this years AX is behind us that will be one of the things we work on and determine feasibility for possible adding to next years event.

Another consideration is that Programming about had kittens when I told them I wanted 10 finalists per category this year. I seem to remember, way back in the day, that we used to have 10 finalists per cat. Though the last couple of years 7 seemed to be the magic number. It seems to fit into the programming window as well. If we add a fifth category (however we define/name it) we will probably need to reduce the total number of finalists to meet that 28 to 30 finalist sweet spot that seems to be wanted.

We then come up also against the "But this is an anime music video contest" that the purists will be screaming. Do we offer separate awards? do we roll it in as going head to head against the existing 4 categories? all of these and many more are things we have to take into consideration and will be doing so after this years contest is past.

Our main focus this year has been
1: get the rules up at a reasonable time(done)
2:Have the entries captured to comp and ready for judging before end of May (done)
3: Get the list of finalists up expediently (done)
4: compile finalists into presentation discs (in process)
5: have redundant copies in separate locations to prevent possible fuxxoring of presentations ( planned for and pending the completion of #4)
6: Have the show run smoothly and give as kick as a contest presentation for both the creators and the attendees to help over come much of the bad blood from years past. (In process.)

Along the way we hit a couple of snags (Frakking FTP) but we also got a couple of unexpected surprises of a positive nature.

Which brings me to the following...
The reason I asked for input last night.
People have complained for many years that the AMV contest has been treated by the hierarchy of AX as the bastard stepchild of which they were embarrassed and tried to acknowledge as little as possible.
One of the points that has often been brought up over the years has been the fact that AMVs and the contest got maybe a sentence in the program guide if they were lucky. One person even described us getting into the program guide as "the Holy Grail" that would help prove they seriously embrace and support the contest as more than a guilty pleasure.

Well, we actually get a real write up in the program guide this year. The description we get for the AMV contest is the same size as the one Masquerade gets. (though there are multiple separate masquerade events so it looks like more but each individual event was given the same 100 word limit. Ours is 81 as I submitted it)

May. the head of Programming and her second Jason have been incredibly supportive of the AMV contest this year and deserve alot of thanks.

to sum up.
Parody Category (or something like it), not dead yet.
AMVs in the Program guide equal with other events. Done!
-DP

[DigitalPanther]

I am sorry that I keep posting mini-novellas.
-DP

[Scintilla]

<b>Tim's</b> "Right Now" video was a direct parody of the original Van Halen Video of the same name. Right down to style and re-purposing some of the original text (Science building a better tomato comes to mind)

Fixed.

[Castor Troy]

Wizard of Ozaka and Wedding Rings would be considered "Fan story" videos. You can also say that my Naruto Ball Z from AX2006 is also a fan story video.

One of the videos I got planned for next year will definitely be a fan story video and may break Rule 12. I really want to enter it into AX next year if I finish it, but I'm pretty hesitant.

If you do open a new category next year, hopefully it can incorporate fan story/parody/whatever videos.

[MisterFurious]

Will you be going over this at the AMV101 Workshop, Brad?

If we have time! We have once again been given only one hour to do the panel. I would have preferred two hours. I do notice that there is a 30-minute gap between our panel and the next one in the same room, so perhaps we can go a little over...

[The Wired Knight]

Ah ok, so it might still be in the cards it just needs more tweaking.

Till then I guess I am still the proud owner of an award for a catagory that doesn't technically exist