AMV music, popular song = better chance of winning contest?

Org Profile · Post by **808-buma** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:28 pm

Hey all,
well, the second anime convention in Hawaii (www.kawaiikon.org) will be in 2006 and they will most likely have an AMV contest. I have several ideas for entries, but as I was thinking about which ones to work on and perhaps enter, a question popped into my little mind:

are the chances of winning an AMV contest increased / decreased by song selection?

For example, take 2 relatively good AMV-makers of equal skill and using the same source material - the only difference would be the music selection. Do you think that the more popular song would win over the less known but equally appropriate song, if all other things are equal?

the reason I ask is that of the half-dozen or so ideas I currently have, I think that only 1 of them is an 'A-side' song. The rest are at best 'B-sides' or at worst, only a fan of the artist would know them. Would this hamper my chances if I use a song that isn't so familiar to the viewing / judging audience?

I know, I know, winning isn't everything (it's the only thing... j/k). But, it would be nice, and if I can concentrate my efforts on any of them, I'd think I'd want the one that has the better chance of a win.

So, what do you guys / gals think?

ANTDrakko · Post by **ANTDrakko** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:38 pm

Heh, this is kind of a confusing subject to some, but here goes:

Popular music and Good music are two different things.

Popular music is, in most cases, already very played out and will most likely be shunned upon by creators. The audience at a convention will probably like the music, though. Lets say that gives you a +2 .

Good music, however, is not quite as known. Its a really good song that you believe (or have done a bit of social research on) the audience will really like. Creators here at the org will like the video more due to its originality and audience members will like it and have it stuck in their mind thinking "Wow, I've never heard that song before and I really like it.". That gives you a +6327234 .

Hard part? Finding out if the majority of people in your target audience would think of that song as Good or Bad.

This is why Good Music + Good Editing = Great video.

~Seen

AquaSky · Post by **AquaSky** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:51 pm

I've been around the con scene for a few years, and I can honestly tell you that the popluarity of the music doesn't seem to be the deciding factor by a long shot. Perhaps that might not be the case in a situation where the audience votes, but in my experience, judges seem to value editing quality above all else.

Scintilla · Post by **Scintilla** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:54 pm

If by "popular song" you mean "After Effects", then yes.

But seriously, as far as I've seen, videos using lesser-known songs can and do win all over the place.

SuperFusion · Post by **SuperFusion** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:56 pm

If it were the audience voting, your anime choice and music will pretty much give you a good shot at winning. Outside of the AMV creators, I doubt the crowd knows what editing really is. :/

Scintilla · Post by **Scintilla** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:31 pm

SuperFusion wrote:If it were the audience voting, your anime choice and music will pretty much give you a good shot at winning. Outside of the AMV creators, I doubt the crowd knows what editing really is. :/

I'd like to think the crowd generally knows what bad editing is...

Kalium · Post by **Kalium** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:31 pm

Scintilla wrote:
SuperFusion wrote:If it were the audience voting, your anime choice and music will pretty much give you a good shot at winning. Outside of the AMV creators, I doubt the crowd knows what editing really is. :/
I'd like to think the crowd generally knows what bad editing is...

They may, but my own experiences indicate that the presence of Naruto will totally outweigh it.

Flint the Dwarf · Post by **Flint the Dwarf** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:32 pm

Kalium wrote:
Scintilla wrote:I'd like to think the crowd generally knows what bad editing is...
They may, but my own experiences indicate that the presence of Naruto will totally outweigh it.

Or dancing Vash.

dokool · Post by **dokool** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:33 pm

There's a lot of fanboy factor when it comes to the audience choosing a winner, but don't totally discount them - once in a while they shock you and know a genuinely good AMV when they see it.

Seriously, it doesn't matter. Don't be like some editors who seem to live only for con recognition, edit something you'll have fun editing.

Org Profile · Post by **808-buma** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:44 pm

dokool wrote:There's a lot of fanboy factor when it comes to the audience choosing a winner, but don't totally discount them - once in a while they shock you and know a genuinely good AMV when they see it.

Seriously, it doesn't matter. Don't be like some editors who seem to live only for con recognition, edit something you'll have fun editing.

yeah, that I think is good advice. I most likely will do just that. If for some reason I have extra time (buahahahahaha) I may have one tweaked for a viewer voting catagory, but with so many to choose from, I think that I should just my first AMV done (which is like at the 50% stage... for the last 2 months...)

So, any other opinions?