Competition Structure

[DriftRoot]

I don't think the issue of comedy blowing away the competition for a Best of Show audience award is as rock-solid as has been made out here.

First, comedy is hard to do well - if you've got entries that aren't up to snuff, then the entire category is eliminated from BoS territory. Comedy AMVs also generally do not employ massive quantities of eye candy - something the audience almost always thinks is uber fantabulous. You get a special effects extravaganza drama/action/dance AMV in the competition and you can pretty much guarantee it's going to come out on top somewhere.

Second, audiences seem to be getting better informed about what makes a good AMV. I personally suspect its the influence of UToob, but in any case they aren't making as many kneejerk voting decisions as before. Not saying they're now making the right decisions, but it does seem like they are rising above what gives them a good laugh.

Third, a lot of the voting is dependent what there is to vote ON. If you get a field of competitors who overall are lackluster, who don't get the crowd going, then chances are that comedy has an edge because it is a more interactive type of AMV - its success IS measured by the reaction it can garner. But if you get entries which get a response from the audience despite the fact that they are NOT comedy, then the playing field levels off.