How do you judge contest credibility?

This forum is for the announcement and discussion of anime music video contests.

How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby BasharOfTheAges » Wed May 04, 2011 9:14 pm

I was having a meta-discussion with a few people that both run and / or submit to lots of contests (over the course of a few years actually) about what makes a contest credible in the eyes of the community and figured i'd ask what people here thought.

Most people don't seem to go out and say it, but there are reasons you submit to one and not the other. What screams reputable? What's worth your time?
Another Anime Convention AMV Contest Coordinator 2008-2014 & Head of the AAC Fan-works Theater - follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AACFanTheater
:sorcerer: :sorcerer: |RD: "Oh, Action!" (side-by-side) | |
User avatar
BasharOfTheAges
Just zis guy, you know?
 
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Location: Merrimack, NH
Status: Extreeeeeeeeeme

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby Nya-chan Production » Thu May 05, 2011 12:15 am

Smooth processing, fast feedback (or replies to my questions) and delivering those shinies to my home. All of this applies for contests I have entered in the past.

For the first time contests... presence of some technical rules on one side, and the file formats on the other side. I fecking dislike 720x480 mpeg standard which is forced on some US cons, so if contest allows h264, its chances for my submission rise quite quickly.
ImageImageImageImageImageImageImage
User avatar
Nya-chan Production
The :< point of view
 
Joined: 15 Nov 2006
Location: Ward 7F
Status: White bracelet

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby Castor Troy » Thu May 05, 2011 12:21 am

If I make the finals. :ying:
Image
"Vlad, you will not get my new blockbuster video. Sorry bro." - Chemix800, Hollywood Editor
User avatar
Castor Troy
Ryan Molina, A.C.E
 
Joined: 16 Jan 2001
Location: California
Status: Retired from AMVs

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby Amo-Chan » Thu May 05, 2011 12:43 am

If a contest tells me they'll send an award of some sort, and then don't (or in a few cases, don't even bother responding to emails I've sent asking if something happened that prevented sending), then I don't usually bother entering anymore. Sure, that may sound selfish of me, but oh well.
Another biggie is the length of a convention. You tend to get people that seem to care a bit more when you enter conventions that have been around awhile.
User avatar
Amo-Chan
 
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
Location: Back in the Black Hole a.k.a. the Midwest

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby CodeZTM » Thu May 05, 2011 6:30 am

Amo-Chan wrote:If a contest tells me they'll send an award of some sort, and then don't (or in a few cases, don't even bother responding to emails I've sent asking if something happened that prevented sending), then I don't usually bother entering anymore. Sure, that may sound selfish of me, but oh well.


x2

Moreover, the following things are IMMEDIATE detractors that make me withdraw or not even consider entering.

1) Paper forms to be mailed. [Really, just really? in this day in age with scanning software and e-mail or digital signatures?]
2) Ridiculous file formatting requirements.
3) Unclear rules or BS regarding submission deadlines, which turn out to be a lie.
4) When I send in an entry and then get an e-mail 4 weeks later saying "whoops. Sorry. We didn't wait to download your video until now, and the link has expired. Please to be resending in the next couple of days or you're DQ'd."

I know that contests get a lot of entries, but if they honestly knew what they were doing, I feel like they should be able to handle #2 easily and allow all the typical formats. #1 has to do with legal issues, but I'm sure that if the fecking IRS lets us send client information through fax/email with proper authorization, that we can enter a fecking contest with an online signature or a scanned entry form. :roll: #4 should be self-explanatory, as is #3.
User avatar
CodeZTM
Spin Me Round
 
Joined: 03 Mar 2006
Location: Arkansas
Status: Flapping Lips

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby BasharOfTheAges » Thu May 05, 2011 7:33 am

I'll throw mine in since I started the thread:

1) Submission process:
Handle your own. If you're accepting youtube links, nobody is taking you seriously. If you're requiring upload to a 3rd party hosting site, you're on thin ice. FTP or a self-rolled upload solution on your website - please.
2) Adherence to your own rules:
If it's on the form, you enforce it. If the rules need to be changed because of oversight, you change them, but otherwise enforce what's there AS WRITTEN. Rules are a two way street that specifies a level playing field for everyone - the coordinator is as bound by them as the creators are. Smaller contests that get absolutely no entries can be cut a little slack for playing one or two videos that may have been DQ'd because of the rules if they don't have anything to show otherwise, but if you have rules against watermarks and subtitles and a pre-screening process and there are still videos with subs or watermarks in the contest itself, you're going to lose major credibility.
Another Anime Convention AMV Contest Coordinator 2008-2014 & Head of the AAC Fan-works Theater - follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AACFanTheater
:sorcerer: :sorcerer: |RD: "Oh, Action!" (side-by-side) | |
User avatar
BasharOfTheAges
Just zis guy, you know?
 
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Location: Merrimack, NH
Status: Extreeeeeeeeeme

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby kiarrens » Thu May 05, 2011 8:56 am

I usually only submit to conventions I've actually been to... If I go to a con, and like what I see as far as quality of videos and organization, I'll at least consider submitting.

This said, contest coordinator communication is a big factor for me. If the coordinator isn't communicating with the editors, there's a big problem.
ConnectiCon 2009 - 2013: FMV Contest Coordinator
AnimeBoston 2010 - 2013: Cosplay Chess Coordinator
AnimeBoston 2012/2013: Assistant Masquerade Coordinator
User avatar
kiarrens
Hagane no Aikousha
 
Joined: 04 Mar 2001
Location: The United States of Whatever

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby HalOfBorg » Thu May 05, 2011 9:11 am

Main gripes I have are contests with very specific rules about filetypes/settings/leaders/trailer type stuff.
It's very annoying to have to upload a file for THIS contest to megaupload, then have to add a couple seconds of black and upload it again, or worse have to rename it and upload it again.

If the community at large could develop one standard for contest submission - so wonderful!

And contests that never post results. I have several on my list where I have never found out what happened, get no replies.
Help HalOfBorg fight his cancer - http://www.gofundme.com/21ygdk

ImageImageImage
ImageImageImage
User avatar
HalOfBorg
 
Joined: 14 May 2008

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby TritioAFB » Thu May 05, 2011 9:18 am

What about contests that requires your physical presence during the con to claim your prize? Man, for the foreign, non-living editors in USA that's a pain in the neck
ImageImage
User avatar
TritioAFB
Ambassador of the AMVWorld
 
Joined: 04 Sep 2009
Location: Honduras
Status: Doctor

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby Cyanna » Thu May 05, 2011 9:22 am

I usually just submit to the cons I attend unless they're before the Otakon deadline (juuuuuuust in case I get myself disqualified). I usually make only one video a year and everything pretty much revolves around Otakon.

Though I admit I send stuff to Nan Desu Kan because of their unique trophy. I'm a pretty big Eva fan and...it's a little statue of Asuka.

If I have a horrible experience then I don't enter the following year. But I really haven't had that experience. I like clear rules and a coordinator that gives a care. If I'm ineligible then that's that. Very little bothers me...
ImageImage
User avatar
Cyanna
 
Joined: 06 May 2003
Location: New Jersey

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby l33tmeatwad » Thu May 05, 2011 12:12 pm

When it comes to credibility, the first thing I think of is the age and size of the convention. After that it comes down to reputation. I think for most people Otakon would be considered a bigger deal AMV wise than AX (despite AX being larger) because of the contest's reputation. After that I think the key thing is the category selection, usually those that have fewer categories, you know they get less submissions (excluding AX and Sakura-con, who still avoid splitting drama and romance). Lastly it's the award they give out. Conventions who hand out trophies tend to appear more "legit" than those that just hand you "bragging rights" on a win.

When it comes to me personally sending, since my first convention was Katsucon, I send there because of it being my first. Anime Boston I send to because it's a larger convention and respectable (IMO). Animazement I send to because I attend that convention every year. Any others I have sent to it is either because they had a "late night" contests (non-hentai), or I have sent to some smaller cons that were frantically begging for submissions near the deadline.

Now I also have a few comments on contests in general. When it comes to communication, some of them are a bit lacking, or the submission process isn't ironed out. When it comes to "acceptable content," EVERYONE throws up the PG-13, yet NO ONE sticks by it. Perhaps I just push the line a little bit, but I have gotten comments from some judges about my videos containing unacceptable content in the video, yet there is typically FAR WORSE content in actual PG-13 movies.

EDIT: Corrected typo...
Last edited by l33tmeatwad on Thu May 05, 2011 12:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sites: Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Guides & Scripts: AMV 101 | AviSynth 101 | Anime Upscale
PixelBlended Studios: Website | Facebook | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube
User avatar
l33tmeatwad
 
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Location: Charleston, SC
Status: Trolling

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby Pwolf » Thu May 05, 2011 12:20 pm

Since contest are so vastly different, I like to look at the coordinators. If they are clear on their rules, no matter what they are, and are willing to listen to their participants while also remaining unbais, then they have my respect (even if they show bias, they should have the balls to admit it). Above all, i want to participate in a contest and feel proud to participate. Technical specs, the rules themselves, forms, awards, and even presentation are minor in my eyes after that because those things can be changed easily.
ImageImage
ImageImage
Like the AMV .Org App? Think about donating to help me make it better.
User avatar
Pwolf
Friendly Neighborhood Pwaffle
 
Joined: 03 May 2001
Location: Some where in California, I forgot :\

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby BasharOfTheAges » Thu May 05, 2011 12:21 pm

l33tmeatwad wrote:When it comes to "acceptable content," EVERYONE throws up the PG-13, yet NO ONE sticks by it. Perhaps I just push the line a little bit, but I have gotten comments for some judges about my videos containing unacceptable content in the video, yet there is typically FAR WORSE content in actual PG-13 movies.

This is an important one. Know what PG13 means before you set it as your standard. It allows for conditional use of foul language, non-sexual nudity, somewhat bloody violence, etc. There are lines you have to cross to hit an R rating, and they're much more difficult to do with animated footage than with live action.
Another Anime Convention AMV Contest Coordinator 2008-2014 & Head of the AAC Fan-works Theater - follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AACFanTheater
:sorcerer: :sorcerer: |RD: "Oh, Action!" (side-by-side) | |
User avatar
BasharOfTheAges
Just zis guy, you know?
 
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Location: Merrimack, NH
Status: Extreeeeeeeeeme

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby Shin-AMV » Thu May 05, 2011 12:41 pm

HalOfBorg wrote:And contests that never post results. I have several on my list where I have never found out what happened, get no replies.


Lol. This. There are a few contests I will skip next year because they have never posted or emailed the results anywhere. One emailed me back 3 months after the contest to respond to an email I sent a week after it had finished asking about the results only to be told that "We lost the piece of paper that we jotted down the winners on." It told me that they didn't take the contest seriously at all so I won't take them seriously next year. I managed to find one of the winners on youtube for it, but I still have no idea the results of the other categories.

Other than that, I try to check to see if the contest has a decent set of rules that make them seem like they know what they are doing and the size of the convention and other things like that. If they do things like give confirmation emails, post lists of finalists before the contest, give out physical awards, have fairly respectable attendance numbers, and announce winners somewhere online than those all give it more credibility.
Image
User avatar
Shin-AMV
 
Joined: 15 Mar 2010
Status: Emo Poptart

Re: How do you judge contest credibility?

Postby Seijin_Dinger » Thu May 05, 2011 3:13 pm

BasharOfTheAges wrote:
l33tmeatwad wrote:When it comes to "acceptable content," EVERYONE throws up the PG-13, yet NO ONE sticks by it. Perhaps I just push the line a little bit, but I have gotten comments for some judges about my videos containing unacceptable content in the video, yet there is typically FAR WORSE content in actual PG-13 movies.

This is an important one. Know what PG13 means before you set it as your standard. It allows for conditional use of foul language, non-sexual nudity, somewhat bloody violence, etc. There are lines you have to cross to hit an R rating, and they're much more difficult to do with animated footage than with live action.


Also some of the language constraints in PG-13 does add up
one example is PG-13 allows for the use of the word fuck, once. Say you get 2 or 3 excellent videos that say fuck, and by how you make cuts all 3 would make the contest, how fair is it to at that point only choose one of those videos. Same goes with violence, you can only show so much up to a point and while the video itself may be PG-13, combined with the other videos as a whole in the contest you may push past the line into R.


For me, I look at how clearly the rules are stated, and if the rules have any form of checks and balances to hold the processing side of the contest accountable as well as the entrant side.

Also a familiarity with the entrants. Over the years getting to know the people who enter the contest instead of remaining cold to everyone
Image
Sakura-Con AMV Contest 2005-2012, Vice Chairman 2013-2014
User avatar
Seijin_Dinger
Moron #69
 
Joined: 18 Mar 2001
Location: Puyallup, WA
Status: in a relationship

Next

Return to AMV Contests

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests