The deadline is March 16 at 11:59 PM! The Contest is March 23rd
The rules are as follows:
1. No nudity, or excessive gore/violence. Keep it PG-13.
2. Run time may be anywhere between 1 minute and 6 minutes. This will be strictly enforced.
3. Each entrant is permitted a single entry per category.
4. Acceptable footage includes Anime and Japanese Video Game footage. 'American' anime such as Afro Samurai, Animatrix, etc. is accepted, so long as it is animated by a Japanese Animation Studio.
5. Audio must be primarily music and may not include excessive dialogue/narration. The exception is videos that qualify as "trailers."
6. Entries will be sent through an upload site such as Rapidshare, or through the AnimeMusicVideos.org catalog. With the exception of AnimeMusicVideos.org, one should not have to register or pay anything to be able to download a video. If we find it's behind a registration wall/paywall, we will ask for another link. If you do not provide one, you will be disqualified.
7. The categories will be Action, Drama, Upbeat/Dance, Romance/Sentimental, Comedy/Parody. Trailers should be entered in the category most closely related to subject matter. Categories that do not receive at least 4 entries may be merged with their nearest counterpart.
9. The contest will be screened at a resolution of 720x480. Entrees not in this format will be scaled appropriately, so it is strongly encouraged that entrees submit in this format. In addition, please ensure that your video is flagged for 4:3 playback. If it is flagged in 16:9, then everything will appear stretched out when we play it. We highly recommend you letterbox the footage ahead of time. We will do what we can, but we can't promise anything.
10. Videos will be played back as either MPEG's or MPEG-2's. Videos that are not submitted to one of these formats will be converted into MPEG-2's. Entrants are strongly encouraged to submit in 720X480 4:3 Flagged MPEG-2, at either 29.97 fps, or 23.976 with 3:2 pulldown selected (see Scintilla's guide link below for the best way to do this). If you are encoding in MPEG-2, please encode your audio as MPEG-1 Layer 2 or AC3. MP3s, WAVs, and others will not work and we will be forced to convert them.
11. We accept the following frame rates: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, and 30. If your submission is not in one of those, it will be rejected outright.
12. We accept the most file formats and methods of compression, however, we will not accept .mov or .wmv files. If you are using Windows Movie Maker, please output to AVI. If we are unable to convert to .MPG, we will attempt to contact you. There is a filesize limit of 2 Gigabytes.
13. No studio bumpers or official logos. If we can't remove it, and you can't get us a backup, the video is disqualified.
14. No audio from the official English dubs.
15. Entrants who knowingly attempt to circumvent these rules will have ALL of their submissions disqualified.
16. We reserve the right to reject any video for any reason whatsoever.
This guide might be useful for making your video MPEG-2 for conventions: http://www.aquilinestudios.org/mpegforcons.html (Yes, link to the AMV App on that page is outdated as hell, I know. You can find the most current version here: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech31/.
HOW TO ENTER:
Send your submissions to anime@cnu.edu with the subject line "AMV CONTEST ENTRY." If you do not submit it with that subject line, there is no guarantee we will enter it. Videos should contain either the studio name or the name you want to appear on the ballot, followed by a dash and a video title, like this: "Studio name - Video Title.mpeg"
In your email, include a link to download your video, and a text file containing the following:
Name (Please use your real name)
Video Title
Source Anime
Song Used
Song Artist
Category desired (we reserve the right to change this)
Email (again, this is in case we have to contact you. We will not give away your email for any reason).
Address (so we may mail prizes out, should you win)
Are you attending the con? (Y/N).
We will email you when we have received and tested your entry to play on our system. The later you send your entry, the later we will get back to you. If you send at the last minute, you will NOT receive confirmation until after the deadline has passed, and you won't be able to resubmit if something goes wrong, so get it in early! THERE IS NO DEADLINE EXTENSION, BECAUSE THERE WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TIME TO TEST NEW ENTRIES!
Contestants found to be falsifying information will be disqualified.
Awards include first place in each category, Best in Show, and Coordinators choice.
Each category winner, along with Coordinators Choice, shall receive a $5 gift certificate to Best Buy, with the Best in Show receiving a $20 gift certificate. There shall be no prizes for runner ups this year, however, if this contest is well received and the convention is successful enough, expect prize value to increase in the future.
NOTE: PRIZES SHALL ONLY BE AWARDED TO UNITED STATES CITIZENS! If you live in the US, we'll mail it to you. Cost and legal issues prevent us from mailing it elsewhere.
Finalists shall be determined by a panel of four judges, including myself. Entrees will be examined based on originality, editing skill, video/audio output quality, and entertainment value.
If I forgot anything I'll add it as soon as I remember it. Remember, if you enter, as long as you follow the rules, your chances of getting in are pretty strong. This is a brand-new contest, and we hope to make it a grand tradition, so please help us forge that tradition! Thank you and happy editing!
The Convention is being hosted by the CNU Anime Club at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA (really close to Nekocon)! If you are interested in attending, our Convention Website is Here. Registration is $10, online or at the door.
UPDATE w/winrars!!!!! MARCH 25
So we had a bit of a miscount. There were actually 42 entries. I don't always herp, but when I herp, I derp.
We had a great contest with many, many fabulous entries. I'll be posting a copy of the finals sheet as well, but sleep first.
Here's how it broke down:
WINNERS
Action:
Bubble Pop Unlimited - Soul Anime Productions
Comedy:
Clubbin with Lupin - l33tmeatwad
Drama:
Fate Matrix - Shin & GuntherAMV's
Romance/Sentimental:
(Bunny Love) - StarTrinity009
Upbeat/Fun;
Hands Up! - Drabatz
Welp, I forgot to list best in show and Con Coordinators Choice. Here they are:
Best in Show: Spiral Rangers!
Con Co-ordinators Choice: Redlimit