Multiple awards in a single contest?

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Vlad G Pohnert
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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by Vlad G Pohnert » Fri Apr 11, 2014 12:55 pm

Ileia wrote:I've been on both ends. I've had a video take Best in Show at cons where the category award went to the next in line.....and I've been that next in line before. From the Best in Show standpoint, not getting the category award isn't a huge deal (and making a big deal out of it seems almost greedy). But when I'm the "second best" and I'm given the award for best? I hate that feeling.

Knowing that you weren't really the winner, that you were only chosen on a technicality, robs that win of any of its meaning. If I'm competing with other videos in a category, I want to compete with all of them. Taking one out of the running because it won Best in Show is like demoting the rest of the videos. I would rather lose fair and square than be given an award where it's basically, "Yeah, you can be the best...out of the rest. This one is too good for the likes of you guys." If a video wins, it wins. Simple as that.
Wow.. that sums is it real nicely and says it much better then I could of ever said it from the perspective of the contestant... In the end I'm in full agreement with that.

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BasharOfTheAges
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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by BasharOfTheAges » Fri Apr 11, 2014 2:01 pm

2 awards? Fine. 3? You may be pushing tolerance a bit. Once you get to the point you're giving a single video 4 or more awards at a single contest, though? Even the audience starts to think (and sometimes vocalize) a sentiment of "hey, this just feels wrong."

It's foolish to think even professional awards committees don't have an "OK, this shit is getting ridiculous" limit in place for their shows - if for nothing more than guilt over contributing to drama and resentment.
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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by BasharOfTheAges » Fri Apr 11, 2014 2:13 pm

Should have added: I've won 50% of the awards in a contest before. It felt good at first... Then it felt shameful. It felt wrong. I never sent anything to that con again afterwards.
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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by ngsilver » Fri Apr 11, 2014 2:43 pm

I'm with Iliea on the sentiment about being the runner up. Even as a coordinator it feels like I'm giving out a pity prize. If a video deserves an award why take it away? That's why we shifted the award model at Youmacon because we felt too many videos were being either pudge holed into a category to just take an award and not enough other videos were winning what they deserved.

Either way. The award model you go with should be what works best for you and your core audience. Over the years I've found the current award model at youma has yielded very little issues with creator resentment and overall everyone seems to enjoy the style. So that's what we're sticking with.

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Vlad G Pohnert
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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by Vlad G Pohnert » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:12 pm

BasharOfTheAges wrote:2 awards? Fine. 3? You may be pushing tolerance a bit. Once you get to the point you're giving a single video 4 or more awards at a single contest, though? Even the audience starts to think (and sometimes vocalize) a sentiment of "hey, this just feels wrong."

It's foolish to think even professional awards committees don't have an "OK, this shit is getting ridiculous" limit in place for their shows - if for nothing more than guilt over contributing to drama and resentment.
In that respect, you must really hate the Academy Awards when they give a movie more then two awards :P

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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by BasharOfTheAges » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:30 pm

Vlad G Pohnert wrote:
BasharOfTheAges wrote:2 awards? Fine. 3? You may be pushing tolerance a bit. Once you get to the point you're giving a single video 4 or more awards at a single contest, though? Even the audience starts to think (and sometimes vocalize) a sentiment of "hey, this just feels wrong."

It's foolish to think even professional awards committees don't have an "OK, this shit is getting ridiculous" limit in place for their shows - if for nothing more than guilt over contributing to drama and resentment.
In that respect, you must really hate the Academy Awards when they give a movie more then two awards :P

Vlad
It's a preponderance thing. When you have a contest that gives out 30 or so awards, winning 3 isn't a big deal. When you have 10, 3 is a much bigger deal. There's a point at which if feels like it's no longer about recognition, but rather, about rubbing everyone elses' face in it.
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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by TritioAFB » Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:47 pm

Sorry that I can't quote at the moment but:

There's a point at which if feels like it's no longer about recognition, but rather, about rubbing everyone elses' face in it

^ This. In the last months there have been contests that due the lack of money, they can't offer prizes for the winners, and when I ask some friends if they want to submit something. They say no since the contest doesn't offer any prize, which makes me wonder if people is actually doing this for the fun.

I want to bring another question to the topic:

Let's say you as coordinator get a video that fits 4 categories (Action, Drama, Romance and Trailer)
It's the best video during the judgement and no video in the 4 categories can't really compete against it.
It's time to decide the winners, Will you give the 4 Best categories awards to the same video plus Best in Show, Best Technical and Judge Choice awards?
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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by ngsilver » Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:51 pm

TritioAFB wrote:I want to bring another question to the topic:

Let's say you as coordinator get a video that fits 4 categories (Action, Drama, Romance and Trailer)
It's the best video during the judgement and no video in the 4 categories can't really compete against it.
It's time to decide the winners, Will you give the 4 Best categories awards to the same video plus Best in Show, Best Technical and Judge Choice awards?
Why is the video competing in all 4 categories to begin with? Normally if there are categories then a video is only tied to 1.

Now, if we are talking about a contest where there is one pool to draw from for awards (Like AWA or Youmacon) and your deciding awards and want to give out those specific ones, then yes, I would put that video up for all of those awards.
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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by Vlad G Pohnert » Fri Apr 11, 2014 6:40 pm

Actually, that is what could (and has) happened with the AWA Professional awards as the creators may give an Video a lot of awards in multiple categories...

Look, I don't want this to become a heated debate with firebombs or scare away creators from contests because they will be tormented, ridiculed or forced to feet guilty, etc. just because they win multiple awards. Quite honestly, there is no right or wrong here but lots of opinions and as it's up to the contest how they want to do things in their rules... Hmmm... Funny, this is just like the debate many years ago on how many awards at different cons a video could win... :P

Lastly, the way I see it, winning multiple awards is not "rubbing it into everyone's else's' face", it an honor and only really the creator who won is who can rub it into everyone's else' face if they decide that is what they want to do with it (and that is a whole different story then).

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Re: Multiple awards in a single contest?

Post by XStylus » Fri Apr 11, 2014 10:48 pm

TritioAFB wrote:Can I ask about what you think of a video that keeps winning all the Best of Show in a year and it's still being submitted?
This debate always seems to around now and then.

If you've got a vid that's racking up awards at all the top events, I don't see a problem. In fact, I applaud that. However, if you're also sending it to every single tiny podunk con within the northern hemisphere, that might be a bit much.

I don't think that's what often happens though. What happens is now and then there's a vid that wins at three or four big cons and then people start pressuring the creator to retire it so that their good-but-not-as-good vid can have a chance. I just roll my eyes.

I also don't think too highly of competitions exhibitions that ban vids that have won awards at other events. I equate it to a kids soccer match where the refs don't keep score because "everybody is a winner". Penalizing a vid for being good just seems profoundly and disgustingly asinine to me.

I've also heard the argument that spamming a winning vid to multiple events ends up making competitions stale. Well, no, that's what freshness rules are for. Those do a more effective job and are more fair.
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