Once again this year I plan to host a livestream of the VCA videos. I will only be streaming the Semi-finalists and Finalists. Due to the sheer number of videos available for nominations there just isn't enough time to really go through all of those. The schedule of viewing will be based on the VCA schedule, so the stream will be going on while each voting phase is happening. Like last year, I will split the categories up into sets of 5 (except the last day which will only be 4) of each category that you nominate videos rather then members. As the VCA schedule this year puts us on a Sat-Fri schedule for voting, and to allow 1 day for me to obtain all videos and setup the playlists and 1 day for everyone to put in their final votes after the streams are done, I will begin the streams on Sunday and go through Thurs.
All are welcome to join in and watch the videos during this time. It's a great way to see every video for those who haven't seen them yet as well as a chance to chat and enjoy the company of fellow viewers and discuss things about each video in the process. I had a blast last year hosting this.
Each stream will start at 8pm EDT (12am GMT/UTC the next day) and go until that night's list of videos is finished. Based on last years info, there were 20 videos in each category for the Semi's and 5 in the Finals. With 5 categories each night, the average playtime wound up be aprox 6 hours, except for the last night with the MEPs, which went much longer. Knowing that not everyone will be available during these hours once the stream finishes I will turn on auto-pilot with the recorded version of that night's stream and let that repeat until the next stream begins. The actual scheduled dates and which categories will play on those dates can be found below. I can't give accurate times for when each category will begin as video lengths vary, but based on an average of 3 min per video, at 20 videos, a category will take aprox 60 mins to play through, give or take 20 more mins generally.
I have an FAQ section below the stream schedule. If you have a question that isn't answered there feel free to ask and I'll try my best to give you a good answer.
You can view the stream here:
http://www.livestream.com/thisweekinamvshttp://twiamvs.ngsilver.com/this-week-i ??? ivestream/You can see what is currently playing on the stream here:
http://ngsilver.myvnc.com:8080/player/[Semis: March 17th 8pm EDT or March 18th 12am GMT][Finals: March 24th 8pm EDT or March 25th 12am GMT]Best Action Video
Best Character Profile
Best Collaborative Video
Best Comedy Video
Best Dance Video
[Semis: March 18th 8pm EDT or March 19th 12am GMT][Finals: March 25th 8pm EDT or March 26th 12am GMT]Best Dramatic Video
Best First Video
Best Fun Video
Best Horror Video
Best No-Effects Video
[Semis: March 19th 8pm EDT or March 20th 12am GMT][Finals: March 26th 8pm EDT or March 27th 12am GMT]Best Parody Video
Best Romantic Video
Best Sentimental Video
Best Single Source Video
Best Storytelling
[Semis: March 20th 8pm EDT or March 21st 12am GMT][Finals: March 27th 8pm EDT or March 28th 12am GMT]Best Trailer or Commercial
Best Use of Instrumental Music
Best Use of Lip Synch
Best Use of Multiple Avatar
Best Use of Special Effects
[Semis: March 21st 8pm EDT or March 22nd 12am GMT][Finals: March 28th 8pm EDT or March 29th 12am GMT]Most Artistic Video
Most Original Video
Video of the Year
Best Multi-Editor Project
[Finals: March 29th 8pm EDT or March 30th 12am GMT]Nate's picks for the VCA Finals
FAQs:
In what order will you be playing the videos?Alphabetically by category. So we start with the first category based on the ABC sort and then the first video based on the ABC sort.
How will you be sorting these videos? What is the key you will sort by?Videos will be sorted by video title. This should hopefully keep 2 videos by the same editor from playing back-to-back.
How do we know what each video is when it plays?I'm looking into multiple options right now. I will try to setup a file name overlay in the video feed that will show for the first min of a video. Conversely I also plan to have the playback system update either the twiamvs IRC channel of each title or have the current playing title appear on the twiamvs website.
How are you going to name each video so we know what to vote for?As the org doesn't rename videos, and many editors name their uploads in odd ways, videos will be re-named according to the following naming scheme: [category] Editor - Video Title ? ext
If a video is in multiple categories in a night, will that video only be played once to save on time and sanity?No. Each category will be played in it's entirety. So if a video is in all 5 categories for a night it will be played 5 times that night, wherever it lands in the alphabetical order of each category as they play.