2008 Judge's Choice Awards - Contest Winners

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Koopiskeva
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2008 Judge's Choice Awards - Contest Winners

Post by Koopiskeva » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:16 am

This post is the last part of a contest designed to complement the current 2008 Viewer's Choice Awards. This contest is independently sponsored and is in no way affiliated with the actual AnimeMusicVideos.org VCAs aside from it coinciding with the VCAs and using its categories and semi-finalists.

Below are the final winners of the 2008 Judge's Choice Awards! Please visit the link for more information.

Just going over some of the final voting rules:
- Judges were using the semi-finalists of the VCAs as th final voting pool (along with two videos that each judge was allowed to 'add' in any category that they chose) - they each ranked the top 5 in each category, assigning 5 points to the best all the way through 1. I then added up those points per category.
- Judges were not allowed to vote in the category that they were in.
- I (koopiskeva) played the role of a tie-breaker judge (this only occured in two categories).
- The judges did not know who each other were during the voting process.
- I had asked the judges to leave comments on the videos that they ranked (but one judge left a comment on all of them and not all of them left comments).

Aside from that, here are the final winners, along with some comments from the judges for each category/video (Note that there are disagreements in the comments which reflect that the votes were not all uniform and that not all of the judges left comments, so the winner's judging comments may not reflect the consensus on the video):

Best Action:

- The wide variety of art styles was really jarring. I know it's the source but knowing why something I don't like is that way doesn't change the fact I don't like it. Nice shift of editing style to match the music going slow in middle. Constantly shifting style killed it for me.

Best Character Profile:

- Is it still a character profile if I think it doesn't match the character that well? Pretty decent and conveys a definate feeling for the character although doesn't even come close to the feeling the anime gave the character.
- Great character focus and flow.

Best Collaborative Project:

- Good solid beat and great overall editing.

Best Comedy Video:

- If anything, this video deserves the highest place for its sheer awesome parody on the piracy clips in this category.
- Not the type of video that's all that rewatchable. But very very funny that first time. Nice visual gags as well.

Best Dance Video:

- This isn't a dance video. It's a mood piece/effects demo reel. It's also several minutes longer than it should be.
- Simply because it got me bopping along to the music and the combination of imagery and lighting got me thinking immediately of clubbing.
- A good Dance video makes the visuals keep up with the music at the same energy Level. This video does that and more. The edits are flawless and the flow is beyond excellent!

Best Dramatic Video:

- Interesting concept and execution. Would have been better to have a real ending instead of just leaving it there. Big disconnect between text and visual a lot of time.
- A simple video that tells a story in a nice and dramatic way. I like the way this video is executed and it brings a unique feel to the many Girl Who Could Leap Through time videos out there.

Best First Video:

- Technically very good. Artistically crap though. Has potential to be the AUN studio member, like we need yet another one of those. Still, the best so far.
- Good sync and energy.

Best Fun Video:

- Dance, not fun.
- It's like a sugar rush full of goodness that is something you'd want to play at a kid's party, and everyone knows, kid's have the most fun.

Best Horror Video:

- Does a good job of following the audio. Also does well showing us glimpses without giving time to take in exactly what's on screen. Good mix of RL and anime. Too long. Still pretty good.

Best No-Effects Video:

- Good narrative shown with brilliant pacing to convey it. No fancy gimmicks, not even lyrical assistance used to come up with the concept.
- This is one of simplicity of editing, straight cuts and fades and yet delivers a well told story of love and tragedy. I love the way this video build up to the tragedy and the way it handled the end. Bravo!

Best Parody Video:

- The great thing is how he hides jokes all over the place. DVD+RRRR indeed.
- A good parody conveys the message but generally has an outer shell above it, whether to protect itself or to throw of the issue altogether. At the end of it all, the video should get that message across regardless and the correlation it has with its subject matter should now be properly shown in the light that the video tried to put it in. This video achieved that.

Best Romantic Video:

- Well done but doesn't really seem romance. Has more of a sentimental feel to it. OTOH this is the first video yet that had any emotion to it at all.
- Good Romance video and great use of text to enhance it.


Best Sentimental Video:

- Good editing. Doesn't rely on effects to carry the video. Does a good job of presenting the couple without being romance. Also keeps fairly lighthearted, doesn't feel like a heavy drama. If only they used different music I'd actually like this but judging ain't about song choice so this is a strong contender.
- Beautifully done video with a strong Sentimental/Romance theme. The Flow is excellent and the scene selection and use of text push this into the best of all the selections.

Best Trailer Or Commercial:

- Good job of matching the feel of the original.
- Expertly merges different sources to put together the advertisement without needing to use an overly obvious connection.

Best Use of Instrumental Music:

- This video shows a completely new way of dealing with instrumental music and the first to ever succeed in using a post-rock song and keeping its structure intact.
- Does a decent job building up mood. However it builds up to a guy running through an alley then flying in space or something. Definate feeling of 'that was it? That was the payoff?'
- Nice flow to the music in a artistic way.

Best Use of Lip Synch:

- Lipsync is too static and too much. Of course, the same could be said of what he's making fun of so it works for what it was meant to do. Is bad lipsync still bad when it's intentional?
- The lip synching wasn't cheesey, it was accurate, and was definitely required to progress the story.

Best Use of Multiple Anime:

- Magic Pad, original, amazing or not, uses nostromos trademarks, being the zooms, the scanlines etc in the most ideal way, in the multiple anime sector and succeeds.
- I still think the point of this video is to be an effects reel and the anime is just there because something had to act as a base for his effects.
- Totally cohesive and the effective use of clever transitioning meant a good clean convergence of different anime even if they were of very contrasting nature.

Best Use Special Effects:

- Very clean merging of original material and as such, complemented the overall video rather than detracted to it, even when the effects were actually the centre of focus.
- Original use of effects and mostly very well done.

Editor of the Year

ZephyrStar

- Arguably the most experimental editor of the year and certainly inspired people to do things better and in places that haven't been trodden before.
- Several good videos. Strong sparks of creativity and originality.
- There were about 4 remarkable editors this year, but ZephyrStar kept a constant quality throughout the whole year and has the special, orginal videos, daydream and his 8bit Lucky Star video.

Most Artistic Video:

- Decent use of effects/editing to create a mood. Had a meaning beyond just doing weird crap. Overall had a feel to it like few other vids.

Most Helpful Member

dokidoki

- Dokidoki's efforts this year in coding and thus making the org a better place are praise-worthy, even more than zarxrax's new amv app.
- In the past year, many changes happened in the org, many of which have definitely been an improvement. This is all thanks to this man. At the same time, his videos continue to challenge everyone to be better themselves.

Most Improved Editor

Chiikaboom

- Starting to come into her own. Sucks at dramas still.
- Obvious improvement with how technical her videos have become in the past year. She already had the concept down pat, but now she's dared to be more adventurous with her work.

Most Original Video:

- Even discounting the insertion of original animation it has an overall feel that isn't common, especially for azumanga daioh. Once you add in that I can't recall anyone trying original animation in the way he did and you got a damn original video.
- Daydream is the only video except for Woolongs for Nothing using original animation and the first ova/anime video ever where I didn't think it was a waste to combine the effort with another anime, making it the highlight amv of the year.

Rookie of the Year

ScorpionP

- Has done a wide variety of videos. None of them really wowed me but most of them are pretty good and none made me think 'what a noob.'
- Come on… this should be obvious. His video has reached top 10% in a year, showing popularity which isn't overhyped because he produced the goods. Performance in conventions has been good too.

Video of the Year:

- For me, Most Original and Video for the Year are two of the same kind, so daydream is the video of the year for the same reason as the Most Original Video.
- Decent editing. Nice use of original animation.

And that's it!

Congratulations to all the winners and everyone that participated! I will be contacting all winners to get their mailing addresses for their respective awards.

For all those wondering who the judges are, I am allowing them to reveal themselves in this thread. So, if you were a judge, please feel free to let yourself be known. I will update this post as needed.

List of revealed judges (5 total):
1. AtomX
2. Godix
3. -Gfn-
4. Vlad G. Pohnert
5. ? (hint: not from the US)

As requested, here is a small side-by-side comparison of the results:
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Last edited by Koopiskeva on Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:33 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Mamo!
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Post by Mamo! » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:23 am

Grats to all the winners! :o

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Post by OropherZero » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:24 am

Nice variety and contrast to VCA. I personally would lean towards the winners of the VCAs rather than this but that's mainly because I go by purely 'what is in front of me' enjoyment rather than critically analysing every bit of detail. At the end of the day we all have our preferences but I like how this contest was executed in conjunction with the VCAs and believe it should continue to cater for people with different views on AMVs and AMV making, good job Jay. Congratulations to the winners of this contest!

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Post by Pas » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:26 am

Congrats to the winners, I concur with this list a lot more than I do with the VCA results, but that's just me >.>

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Post by Kristyrat » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:27 am

JCAs > VCAs

No question.

Even if I might disagree with some of the results, I disagree a hell of a lot less.

Congrats to the winners. :up:

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Re: 2008 Judge's Choice Awards - Contest Winners

Post by CrackTheSky » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:29 am

Koopiskeva wrote:Best Horror Video:

- Does a good job of following the audio. Also does well showing us glimpses without giving time to take in exactly what's on screen. Good mix of RL and anime. Too long. Still pretty good.
O:

Thanks!

And I can easily tell who at least ONE of the judges was...:roll:

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Post by Ileia » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:34 am

Yay! :D
:cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake:

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Post by wurpess » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:38 am

I'm with the "I agree more/disagree less with this list" people. Not saying the VCA winner list is bad, I just agree more with this one. Congrats everyone! *^_^*
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Post by Nessephanie » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:39 am

Wow cool beans! Thanks Judges! ^o^ Congrats to everyone else that was chosen!


Obviously not counting the categories we won in, I tend to lean more towards this list then the VCA's as well. Not having Ileia or ZS win in the VCA's is just a complete rip off >:|
Last edited by Nessephanie on Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Brad » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:40 am

Congratulations to the winners :)


And yes, I was a judge. :O
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