by Nightowl » Mon May 31, 2004 10:13 pm
What's funny is most of the complaints made have been addressed (on the first day of the con, no less) and will be in place for next year. We will have pre-screenings (I got 90% of the entries three days before the con), the entries will be no longer than six minutes (though only one actually went over six - I want five, but I'm not the only person with input, even though I'm running the thing), I'll have some HELP (I don't want to be alone in this), no subs, no watermarks, no crap. The rules are gonna change a hell of a lot. This was the first year for a big change from Quu to me, so we all knew there would be kinks to work out. Oh, and the contest will be 90 minutes at most.
The winner placement has been an Animazement staple for awhile, and although I don't think it will change, if there is a call for it, I'll run it by the guys upstairs.
Also, next year, I'm going to request time to test the equipment before showing the contest. Because I was compiling the thing for 96 straight hours, I got done at 5am on Fri. morning. I woke up six hours later to drive up there, and there just wasn't time to test the player. Turns out it was a glitch in the DVD player, as the disc played fine on the other systems I've since checked it on. I'd like to apologize once again to those who didn't get their videos screened initially.
The expert judges were hand picked a few minutes after the contest. They were all staff, as the only creators I could get in touch with were already entered into the contest. We did the best we could with what we had to work with.
I'll stand by the winners, as I think they were all excellent videos. Hell was the obvious choice for fan favorite, and no video was getting multiple placements. However, I do think honorable mention and fan favorite should be awarded prizes if first, second, and third are.
Although I'd like to say the back to back placement of two videos with the same song was a cruel attempt to mock the contest, it was an honest mistake. After being up for days compiling the thing, I hadn't noticed, and didn't have time to pre-screen the thing. Next year, the address will be my own listed, so I can get entries on time.
The three Naruto videos had no information and were submitted together as a group, under seperate creators. Technically they were seperate entries. Under the new rules, they will be cut.
I'd love to know if the Full Metal Gamers guys are out there. I'd like to beat them. A lot.
The email address will also be changed to my own, as I seemed to only get half the emails from various entrants.
What I'd like as a present for next year: a small staff that's able to meet in one place before the con (it wouldn't have to be more than two people, just to help out, bring extra systems for quicker compression, etc.), FTP space, and total control over all aspects of the contest (i.e. the email so I can respond to people and receiving of entries, which could benefit the compilation just a tad).
I think I've addressed at least a few things in here. I'm exhausted from the weekend and I'm going back to sleep.
-N