Hi Folks!
For those who entered the AMV competition, I want to say a BIG thank you to all those who have participated! I could not believe how many entries came in this year... Last year's record (and also the former record of SMASH!) we had 20 entrants, with 44 AMVs. This year... I'll let the picture do the talking:
Yes, last year's record has been SMASHed! Because of this, myself, the AMV Co-ordinator and other judges are all happy about this, and as a result, we got around to judge them. Drama just edges out Action as our most popular category for this year at SMASH!
What happens now?
Earlier today (Sydney time of course), we started grading the AMVs. We go through EVERY single one and grade them based on the following:
Originality: Does the AMV show an original concept? Or is it something we usually see all the time?
Engagement: Do we get pulled into the anime in around 15-60 seconds? Also, is it something that would keep us focused throughout the whole AMV (consistency)? We also find out if it has any replay value, as well as if its something that the general public would pickup very fast and enjoy every single second of it.
Visual Effects: We look to see how well the visual effects have been used. Even the most basic of transitions, if used correctly (that matches the music, as well as the flow and feeling of the AMV), can score high. Also, we check if the scenes used matches the music correctly (from the beats, to the lyrics, and other melodies that occur in the song).
Sound effects and Usage: We look into song choice to see if the scenes correctly correspond with your concept. Also, if there are any edits to the original song (ie. cutting a song from 5 mins to 3 mins, or other remixing methods), we also check to make sure that there aren't any rude interuptions or sudden cuts that could affect your score.
Quality Check: We check to see if the video and audio quality are of high quality.
We also look at AMVs that have followed tech specs and whether they relate to the category it was selected in, however, this does not affect the final score a lot as we are more focused on the things mentioned above.
After we finish grading them, us judges meet with each other where we add the scores altogether that gives us the final scores for each AMV, which we use to determine the winner and the runner-up. If there are any ties or any disputes regarding certain AMVs, we go through a 2nd round of judging where we look further into the AMV. If there is still no distance between two or more AMVs when it comes to selecting a winner, then the following takes place:
Stage 1
A conscience vote takes place between judges. The AMV with the highest amount of vote will determine the winner and/or runner up.
Stage 2
If there is still a tie between the two videos (i.e. 3 votes for AMV A, 3 votes for AMV B), then ONLY the high ranking SMASH! staff involved in the AMV competition will vote on the tied videos. An AMV that has a unanimous amount of votes will take the winner/runner up spot.
Stage 3
If there is still a tie after all that voting with the SMASH! staff, then the AMV Co-ordinator reserves the FULL RIGHT to choose the winning entry.
This is the process we go through to select our winning entries for the categories. For other awards, they are as of the following:
Judge's Choice Award
The AMV Co-ordinator is the only person to choose the winner of this award. It would be an AMV that has caught his attention and has been entertained and inspired.
Best Technical Award
The winner of this has to show great technical skills and correct use of effects and music in their AMV.
People's Choice Award
The only award where us judges do not decide on who gets this award. Everyone who participated in the AMV competition will have all their entries up for contention for this award. Voting will start on July 5 (starting time will be determined very soon). End of voting will occur on 12 July 2012, on 11:59 p.m., Sydney time. I will get back to you on this very soon.
Side note: Putting up 96 AMVs is a time consuming task for me and the IT crew here, so we will do our best to put it up before July 5, however I will let you guys know if there is a date/time change.
There will also be
honourable mentions, as we have a great amount of entries that have come in this year.
Finally, we have put some notes on what we have seen so far in this year's AMV competition:
- Local talent has slightly improved from last year in terms of executing a good AMV, while others have blown our minds away.
- More internationals have come in, which is very welcoming for us and usually they have inspired our locals to up their game and make better AMVs.
- This year's AMV competition is the hardest ever to judge on, due to the amount of quality entries we have received. This makes us more determined to make sure that the correct top winners are selected.
- Us judges have been arguing a lot.
That's all there is to it. Until July 5, just sit back and relax for now folks!
Renato
