A-Kon 19 VSE: WINNERS!

[jade_eyed_angel]

crap

dude. u fail at life. stop whining.
the category divisions aren't to cut out comedy. people just failed to send good ones.
O;

[JaddziaDax]

We brought up category issues to the coordinators (in a non bitter sort of way) at the con... and from a competitive point of view grouping the categories they way they did makes no sense. (At least thats how I felt about it until I talked to the coordinators myself about them.)

And I'm not talking just upbeat/comedy because even with drama/romance, people can make upbeat romances such as Love Rush and they don't really in any way fit with or compare to such things as Waiting for Death, the two videos are drastically different and just really don't "fit" in the same category.

However after talking to the coordinators we learned that the videos were not judged on how well they fit into the categories but on how well they were made/scored, the categories were just there to give the chance of giving out a few more awards... They could drop off all the categories all together and just give best in show and a runner up if they really wanted, but they want to have the chance to give back more to people who contribute to the contests.

The contest results were rather interesting this year, but they always seem rather "odd" to me every year, and that is why I enjoy participating in the contest. I like seeing the random results every year even if I don't agree with the results (or even if my videos were cut, or if I don't win).

They don't claim the contest to be "perfect" or "better" than other contests, from what I can tell this contest is just different. Just as Anime Central has it's own way of judging their contest, and just as Anime Weekend Atlanta has it's own ways as well.

Perhaps instead of being bitter and angsting on the forums, you should try, you know, discussing such things with the coordinators in a level headed sort of way and listen to their point of view as well... If you really want people to listen to your concerns, talking and discussing things goes a lot farther than getting mad and "yelling" about it on an online forum.

[JudgeHolden]

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Naurto Shorts 3 was cut? amiright?

And if my effects in Action melted your face off, then you have a very low tolerance level (Simple 4 point masks) and some other stuffz...

And Katie is right, the results always have a few "out of left field" winners and losers. I thought for certain Chii had Fan Fav. However, you can sing to Code Monkey (right Rina).

[JaddziaDax]

actually after crowd reaction I thought Jubber's latest video would have Fan Favorite, but the coordinators said that there were a whole lot of close calls.

[BasharOfTheAges]

they were uh... kinda quiet during your video... but they clapped afterwards but they clapped after every video O.o

Was it me, or did the pre-voting and post-voting master lists look exactly the same? Did every vid entered into experts get into it?

[Ashnak]

Not everyone did...from what the directorman said at the con that they cut like half the videos going in.

[Empath]

Okay, since most of you seemed to be like: tl;dr, I will address you individually, and then make my points more clear.

@ jade_eye_angle: Your completely wrong, there were several great comedy videos that were entered, but all were cut. After the master list was posted, me and a friend went about to see the videos that were submitted because we wanted to see what was competing before the contest happened. It wasn't a matter of people not submitting, it was a matter of how the judge "felt" that day. Last part of that came directly from the Video Director's mouth.

@ JudgeHolden: Yes I had a hand in Naruto Shorts 3, however, that is not what my rant was about, and it was also not even about my studio's videos getting played. I would have been perfectly content with the Comedy catagory if there were more Comedy videos in the Comedy catagory. Hell, they could have banned Naruto Shorts 3 from the con permanetly without a care from me as long as they had a few videos that were way funnier. But no, the polluted the catagory most con-goers come to see. And yes, I might need some face protection when viewing your videos next time. Your effects are amazing, and I was orange gooing all over my friends. Not to say it wasn't a bad experience though.

@ JaddziaDax: I actually did talk to the Video Director directly, as well as a few others, in a very level headed matter. The reason I ranted afterwards is because they felt that they did absolutely no wrong. Even after we pointed out the small flood of Drama that found it's way into Comedy, and noted the rather large amount of people who were leaving or heckling, everyone seemed to take the stance of "Well, it's just how the judges felt that day. And we aren't here to appease anyone but ourselves." I mean, why even have catagories at that point. Why not just say "Hey, this is what these 7-9 people thought was awesome. Everything else was trash to them. Good day."

@ Everyone: Okay, I will now take what I said earlier and try to make it more pleasing to read for yah guys. First off, why bother even having catagories when your going to let one completely dominate over the other two? Yes I know there was a lot of Drama submitted, but there were a lot of Action and Comedy video that got cut so the judges could give us more than 1 1/2 hour of Drama, a lot of which was neither amazing, nor entertaining. (Sorry, just my opinion there.) And the worst part is having more Drama bleed into other catagories.

So I ask again, why have catagories when you don't even try to sort the videos into the catagories they obviously should be in. Why? This is another quote taken from the VD's mouth: "Well some editors are pre-maddonna's (sp?) with their videos, so we find it easier to just let them submit to which ever catagory they submit to, and let it play out." Okay, I get it, the staff doesn't have the balls to tell people that their Drama video they submitted to Comedy is being moved to Drama. Yeah, cause then it's completely fair that Comedy videos are being cut because not only did you NOT move the Drama video into the proper catagory, but some how the judges thought it made a better Comedy/Fun video than a real Comedy/Fun video. Are you people getting this? Basically A-kon is saying that an Action video could win Drama. A Comedy/Fun video could win Action. And a Drama video could win Comedy/Fun. WHY EVEN HAVE CATAGORIES?

In my earlier, more rage filled post I gave a way to fix this, but most readers seem to stop reading once they think that I am just angry about my video not getting play. Again, I don't care if I, as an individual (not speaking for the whole studio), NEVER gets played at A-kon. What pissed me off is that they don't seem to know how to sort catagories. They don't know how to keep Drama in Drama. I know there are videos that are polar opposites but belong in the same catagories. But an Action video is still and Action video. A Drama video is still a Drama video. And Comedy/Fun is still Comedy/Fun. Don't put up catagories if you can't keep videos where they belong. And even more so, don't have catagoies if your going to let one catagory just dominate completely over the other two. Action was over way too soon, and Comedy/Fun should have just been renamed Drama-2 with how things went.

If you guys wanna keep sitting here and ignoring the facts that the judges and VD messed up their own contest, go for it. It's their contest and their is nothing I can do about the out come. The purpose of these post wasn't to try to change their decission about what went down this year anyways. The purpose was to let people see what we can do to improve upon Judged contest. To make them more balanced and fair. But if you think it's fair that a mass of Action and Comedy videos got cut because Drama videos weren't being moved, or you agree that judges should vote with a pre-set bias, then I guess these words will fall on deaf ears. I am not sure how much more I can make the points clear, so I am just going to leave things here.. Take it or leave it, I still stand by my opinion that they dropped the ball this year. Not a set in stone fact, just an opinion.

[Chiikaboom]

Despite all the drama that appears to be going on in the thread... congrats to all the winners :3

[Empath]

Despite all the drama that appears to be going on in the thread... congrats to all the winners :3

Well, that's one thing I can agree upon, and apologize for not starting with. Congrats to all the winners. Those of you who won did indeed make some great vids this year.

[Tai Naito]

It sounds to me like the judges made some poor organizational skills in the one contest. I will say that Hentai night was amazing, so I can't say that all the contests were unorganized (well, Hentai Night was crazy, so I don't know how well that comment stands, but it was a very good crazy), but it is sad that so many people were left dissatisfied with the one (I saw how many people were leaving the contest Empath talks about while waiting for friends, and it was a lot).

I can't remember the name of the video, but the runner-up of Hentai night was amazing O.O It was the second video played, and was very well edited. OMG was just crazy funny (if not horribly wrong), and I think the entire audience had fun with it.

Sadly I did not see any other of the contests, but I'd like to congratulate everyone for their winning.

[JaddziaDax]

@ jade_eye_angle

way to butcher Rina's screen name... you know her videos didn't make it into the contest at all either and she came to A-kon all the way from NEW YORK...

I would have been perfectly content with the Comedy catagory if there were more Comedy videos in the Comedy catagory. Hell, they could have banned Naruto Shorts 3 from the con permanetly without a care from me as long as they had a few videos that were way funnier. But no, the polluted the catagory most con-goers come to see.

The category isn't "comedy".... you should you know READ the site a little more carefully next time. The category is "comedy/FUN". The videos you were complaining about were considered "Fun" videos... just because you loop duck butt into "drama" doesn't mean that others don't think that duck butt isn't fun. Apparently the judges felt that the "Fun" videos were a lot better than the all these amazing comedy videos that were supposedly sent in... This is one of the reasons why I talked to the coordinator about the issues with how they categorize the videos.

Also as I mentioned before, the videos weren't judged on the categories, they were judged on several different criteria such as presentation and other things, so if all these amazing comedy videos didn't live up to their score standard then they would have been cut... it wasn't about what category it was in so much as what scores the videos got from the judges. Videos were only cut due to the fact they didn't get a high enough score.

I actually did talk to the Video Director directly, as well as a few others, in a very level headed matter.

I figured you were the group that delayed me from picking my award from last year... It's fairly easy to tell from your post...

The reason I ranted afterwards is because they felt that they did absolutely no wrong.

Well you know you did sign up and agree to their terms.... And the terms of this contest is that you have to have a minimum score in order to make it in the contest... It's written on their site... And if the judges didn't give you that score then you didn't make it in. That is just how it is... if they cut my videos I would be disappointed but I would also understand that by signing up for their contest I am also agreeing to how they run their contest. Perhaps you should do a bit more research into what you are joining next time?

Even after we pointed out the small flood of Drama that found it's way into Comedy, and noted the rather large amount of people who were leaving or heckling, everyone seemed to take the stance of "Well, it's just how the judges felt that day. And we aren't here to appease anyone but ourselves." I mean, why even have catagories at that point. Why not just say "Hey, this is what these 7-9 people thought was awesome. Everything else was trash to them. Good day."

Once again, this is a JUDGED contest, it's not an audience vote contest... yes there is an audience vote but for the most part most major contests (even ones that run solely on audience vote) do a lot of trimming and deciding before they choose the finalists...

I'm curious, have you ever entered a major contest before? or is this your first time at a large/competitive contest?

First off, why bother even having catagories when your going to let one completely dominate over the other two?

"However after talking to the coordinators we learned that the videos were not judged on how well they fit into the categories but on how well they were made/scored, the categories were just there to give the chance of giving out a few more awards... They could drop off all the categories all together and just give best in show and a runner up if they really wanted, but they want to have the chance to give back more to people who contribute to the contests."

I think you missed part of my post there... O.o

And the worst part is having more Drama bleed into other catagories.

Should I also mention that this "Drama" category that you are complaining about isn't just drama? but it is also "Drama/ROMANCE"? and once again just because YOU think something is drama, perhaps someone else will see it as fun...

Okay, I get it, the staff doesn't have the balls to tell people that their Drama video they submitted to Comedy is being moved to Drama.

COMEDY/FUN =/= COMEDY ONLY

But if you think it's fair that a mass of Action and Comedy videos got cut because Drama videos weren't being moved, or you agree that judges should vote with a pre-set bias, then I guess these words will fall on deaf ears.

I didn't see the videos you are complaining about as "Drama" but more so as "Fun"...

I agree with the way they judge the videos to get into the contest... I kinda like the idea that the videos are scored on several different variables to make sure that they were up to par with other videos that they are competing against. It is also a "Blind" contest so that the judges don't favor people/editors that they know or like, and I really like that.

However I do still believe that "category confusion" is a problem with this contest for the very reasons I mentioned to the coordinator at the con.... especially with how drastically different the categories are that got looped together...

A-kon is also working out several kinks, they run 3 different contests, and don't have the money to give everyone a trophy so they looped a few categories together such as comedy and fun. They know that there are some issues still to work out and they are still looking for suggestions to make the contests better..

My group of friends was even given opportunity to give them such feedback at the con, but that could be perhaps because none of us whined about how our video didn't make it in (and yes some of us even got several of our videos cut) when the ones that did make it in we didn't like (I can name 4 videos off the top of my head)....

However pissing and moaning that you and your friend's videos were "way better" or "more funny" than the videos that made it into the contest or that the contest was "SUCK AND FAIL" isn't a way to get people to listen to your concerns... And, yes, even in your second post you STILL come off that way.

There were only 3 videos cut from comedy/fun and that was ONLY because they didn't get the minimum score that they needed.. so much for all your "amazing videos" 3 doesn't sound like a whole lot to me O.o (And I personally know one of the people who got their video cut from that category... She didn't seem to have much of an issue with it, but she submits to contests for fun, not so much to compete...)

Perhaps this should motivate you to improve your quality and put out a better video next year, instead of complaining that the comedy submissions weren't funny enough... if you want more comedy videos in the comedy/fun category then make sure you improve your quality and submit more comedy videos, perhaps next year they will drown out all those horrid "fun" videos that bore you so much?

Happy X'ass!

[Trilaan]

Did anyone ask why they didn't just remove hybrid categories and make separate ones for Comedy, Fun, Action, Horror, Drama, Romance? Or whether they had separated them in their own minds and simply made them hybrid to save on slides? Personally, I also think they may have put things into the wrong categories. At the very least I felt, for example, that the Lovely Complex Lollipop video was better suited for Comedy/Fun than Drama/Romance. I'm not saying any of the videos were put into a category that was completely wrong for it, just one that was...less right.

I'm also wondering about something. At the start of the Awards Ceremony, I learned that the creators met with the guy in charge of it in his hotel room. I did not know about this, where was I supposed to learn about it?

And one thing I'm quite happy about is that my two main videos convinced 2 people(that I know of) to start watching/buying the shows I used. That always makes you feel good.

[RolltheStampede]

i didnt read everything yet but 2 things, it is up to the creator to chose what category there video goes in and secon the comedy wasnt just comedy it was comedy/fun upbeat.

there may have been only 2 comedy videos there but they wer show together.
thre were 6 cateogries broken up into 3 segments.

action/horror
romance/drama
comdy/fun

and as far as hentai fest there is no set of judges. you are at the mercy of the audience. it is being judge by a room full or like 300 people wanting to see some hardcore animated porn.

if it isnt a funny hardcore video it is getting booed off the stage i dont care how technically good it is. Technically the best vid at hentai fest was GO Godix but the audience does want that they want porn. im just being staight and to the point.

i had a lot of fun at the experts and i think they did a good job of pacing the videos especially through the dram/romance i didnt have to sit there through an onslaught on emoness there was some upbeat romance to help it go by.

rub glad you liked the shirt. we will have more cool shwag next year.

[RolltheStampede]

Did anyone ask why they didn't just remove hybrid categories and make separate ones for Comedy, Fun, Action, Horror, Drama, Romance? Or whether they had separated them in their own minds and simply made them hybrid to save on slides? Personally, I also think they may have put things into the wrong categories. At the very least I felt, for example, that the Lovely Complex Lollipop video was better suited for Comedy/Fun than Drama/Romance. I'm not saying any of the videos were put into a category that was completely wrong for it, just one that was...less right.

I'm also wondering about something. At the start of the Awards Ceremony, I learned that the creators met with the guy in charge of it in his hotel room. I did not know about this, where was I supposed to learn about it?

And one thing I'm quite happy about is that my two main videos convinced 2 people(that I know of) to start watching/buying the shows I used. That always makes you feel good.

the categories are set like that so people dont leave during the large block of drama vids.

the category it goes into is up to the creator if you have problem with it ask them.

and the creators that went to the room were Shining Finger (us) and we didnt have any videos in this year, Chris is just a cool guy so we went and hung with him for a while and give him some shwag.

[jubjub2]

I'm also wondering about something. At the start of the Awards Ceremony, I learned that the creators met with the guy in charge of it in his hotel room. I did not know about this, where was I supposed to learn about it?

That was actually very spur of the moment, and definitely wasn't planned. It was great to get a chance to speak with them though!

They have a tough job to do, and it's hard enough for them to try to get the contest run in an organized fashion (which they certainly did), much less try to appease all of the creators/fans. During the conversation, it really came across that they want to keep improving the contest and make it better for everyone, as well as adding new competitions/showcase opportunities for us editors.