Fanime 2010 - AMV Contest Rules

[Marin Jei El]

FMV Contest Rules and Guidelines

The rules are put in place to make an even playing field for all contestants. Please keep in mind that we at Fanime aren't perfect, so mistakes can happen. If the mistake is found on your end, we will do our best to contact you and give you the chance to fix it. With the large number of entries expected, we can't devote a lot of time to any one FMV, so some corrections may not be allowed. If the mistake is found on our end we will work as fast as possible to correct it. Remember we on the FMV staff work hard and will do our best to do right by all contestants.

A note to all contestants: please do not send your only or master copy, as all materials submitted will not be returned.

All questions and comments can be sent to: fmv@fanime.com or josemarin7_15@yahoo.com

GENERAL SUBMISSION RULES
• Up to, but not exceeding, 2 videos may be submitted per entrant, organization, or group.

• There is no maximum length for videos, but 6 minutes is preferred as the longest length. Keep in mind that videos of excessive length may be cut due to time constraints.

• All videos may not have been submitted to any prior Fanime Con AMV event.

• Any video with extreme sexual and/or excessive violent content will be automatically disqualified from the contest. Keep in mind that some nudity is artistic in nature, but any video that the judges deem in poor taste will be removed.

• Specific dates and times for all FanimeCon events are to be determined at a later date.

• Special seating will be made available for all contestants during the showing. Please be sure we have your E-mail and mailing address when submitting so your seating location, times, and materials may be sent to you.

Video Bumpers
Please don't put opening or closing bumpers in your video if at all possible. We will be putting uniform title bumpers to all the videos ourselves. Having a bumper will not disqualify your video but will be edited out. If you do not want your video to possibly receive a bad edit, please do it yourself.

Submission Due Dates

All videos must be in the hands of the video coordinator no later than the Hard Deadline of midnight on May 12th, 2010. Additional points will be awarded for all entries submitted on the Soft Deadline on or before May 5th, 2010. All videos submitted will be tested to make sure that there are no problems with playback. If there are any problems, there is a short amount of time to fix and/or resubmit your work. Remember this isn't school, so don't delay - submit A.S.A.P.


Digital Submissions
All entries must be submitted in a digital format, this means no VHS, HI8, or BETA Max. To allow complete control over the final appearance and quality of the video submitted, and to prevent quality loss, it is in the submitter's best interest to handle digital conversion.

The inclusion of extra files sent in during your submission will not be tolerated. This infraction depending on the materiel sent may cause you to be disqualified.

Online Submissions
If you’re a very busy person, and a lot of us are, please send your videos online. You can send your file over the Internet via Yousendit.com. Yousendit.com will handle files up to 100mb in size for free, and $2.99 for larger files. There are many other file sharing websites online and you may use any that you want, just don’t send links to any illegal or illicit file hosting websites. Remember all file formatting and type rules still apply. Make sure to send your video to fmv@fanime.com. After the video has made its way to us please send another email with all the info as if it were a mailed entry.

Mailing Media
Multiple entries may be on a single disk, and multiple disks may be in a single mailer. A letter and text file detailing all media included on the disks must be included with the disk and on the disk(s). All media must be turned in on time to meet all requirements for application into the contest.
Disks must be labeled properly with all info in clean legible handwriting.

Info to be included on the label of the disks:
• Fanime FMV 2K10
• Your full name and either your email address or phone number on each disk.
* Note! If multiple individuals are responsible for the content of the disks, a single contact person must be chosen and that persons name included on top.
• If the file is larger then 650 megabytes or 4.7 gigabytes please span it across multiple disks. Please use either (Winzip - .zip) or (Rarsoft - .rar) to break the file into manageable file sizes.

All disks must be clearly labeled in consecutive order as part of a set (example: 3 of 7 or XXX of YYY)

If you wish to submit your file in another format to span media please email fmv@fanime.com to confirm we can handle it.


Info to accompany your disks, as both a written document and a text file on your disks:


* For every production group (or individual if a video was made by themselves)
• Production Group Name (if applicable)
• Full legal names of everybody in the production group
• Mailing address (single address for the group)
• Email address (single address for the group)
• Phone number (single phone number for the group)


* For every video on the disks:
• Name of the video
• Production group responsible (if multiple groups are submitting on one disk)
• Song Artist
• Song Title
• Footage used (If your video uses more than 3 sources, you need only list "various")
• Category to be judged in.

*** Note! Judging staff reserves the right to place your video in any category if they feel the video was misplaced. To avoid any conflicts we will contact you before this move.

No media formatted as VCD, SVCD, or DVD-Video will be accepted. All media should be data formatted and readable as a simple file, usable on a PC or MAC.

Your entry's package must be properly labeled on both the package itself and the disks included. And must include the full name of the contest you are entering as follows:

ATTN: Fanime FMV 2K10
Your name and address

Mail all entries to:

ATTN: Fanime FMV 2K10
C/o Jose Marin
611 Emerald Ave Unit E
El Cajon, CA 92020


File Formats
We are only accepting files that are formatted in MPEG2, AVI, MP4, or MOV. If you choose to select a format that is different from the one’s listed we will contact you and ask that you change it’s format. Please, when exporting your files stay within official resolutions 720X480 or an HD size of 1280x720 and with stereo audio.

Suggested Programs for file conversion
If you need to convert your video to an accepted file format we suggest using one of these two programs. MPEG Streamclip and TMPGEnc. Both are free and easy to use.

ASF, WMV, MKV, Windows Media, Flash/Shockwave Animation, Real Media Files are unacceptable.

General File Settings
Video:
• 29.97 Frames Per second
• Encode with an aspect ratio of 16:9, 4:3 is allowed but might be stretched during our conversion process.
• If your original source was film or 24fps add a 3:2 Pulldown this will convert it to 29.97 fps
• Please encode your video as deinterlaced. Interlaced is OK but we will deinterlace the video for the contest.
• Video size must be either 720X480 4:3 Format or 1280X720 16:9 Format
• Single pass set to a variable bit rate and select 16 megabits per second
• If you use two pass VBR set to 2 megabits as the minimum, 8 megabits as the average, and 16 megabits as the maximum.

Audio:
• Use Layer-II or Layer-III audio at 224 Kilobits per second or better
• Choose stereo over joint stereo for best quality
• Sample at 44.1Khz

We have a lot of hard drive space available and would rather sacrifice size over quality. If you're unsure of how or what resolution/frame rate/bit rate/audio settings to choose, please send the source file and let us do the conversion for you.

*Note! When resizing your video the choice of maintaining the aspect ratio will be determined on a video-to-video basis.

Events and Judging
Judging staff will consist of Fanime FMV coordination staff, Fanime Con staff, outside technical and artistic judges, and AMV editors not participating in Fanime AMV events for the current year.
Judging staff will separate all videos submitted into 4 genres as follows:
• Action/Adventure/Horror
• Drama/Romance
• Comedy/Parody
• Experimental (any FMV that pushes the limits and crosses genre barriers, A.K.A the ones we can't categorize)
*Note! If we decide to move you video to another category we will attempt to contact you, if we get no reply we will make the change.

Notifications
Different notifications will be sent out to each contestant depending on how far they made it through judging. I will post copies of the Email’s on the forums and a description of what they mean to avoid any confusion.


1st Email – This will be sent to you notifying you that your video has been received and logged into our system.


2nd Email – There will be two different types sent out. Type A will be informing you that you have made it into the contest. Type B will be informing you yours was not chosen this year.


3rd Email – This Email will be sent to everyone giving you the time, date, and seating arrangements.


100 Point Judging Scale:
35 Points – Skill/Technical Prowess
35 Points – Creativity/Concept – “does the Video go with the music?” “Does your Music Video flow gracefully or does it roll like Square wheels”
10 Points – Choice of Audio Selection – “Does the music fit the tone or selection of anime used in your Music Video”
15 Points – Quality of source material – “Does you video have the DivX Logo? Does your video look grainy when expanded to full screen?”
5 Points - Submitted properly – This one must be self evident, you need to submit the right forms, format, and have it in on time.


EXTRA POINTS:
2 Extra points will be given to those who submit on or before May 5th, 2010


*Note! Please keep in mind that the 100 point scale and any extra points are assigned per judge on the judges panel. This means that every point has the potential to make or break a winner.


The judging staff will view each entry and choose which entries will make it into the finals. Don't despair - those that don't make it into the finals will still be shown along with those that did make it into the contest during the con in-between programming during the convention.


Award Classifications

• Judges Choice:
Judges Choice will be decided prior to Fanime Con and will not be announced until the Award Ceremony.
• Viewers Choice
The attending audience of the finals judging will decide Viewers Choice. All audience members will vote on their favorite video by ballot. Each genre will have a winner. There will also be a Best of Show from all genres. Awards will be submitted to all winners during the Award Ceremony, which is held during con. You do not have to be present at the con to receive your award but it would be nice if you were.


Exhibition Videos
Exhibition videos will be accepted and may be shown at other events during the con. If you wish to submit an exhibition FMV please make sure your documentation says that it specifically is for the exhibition. Otherwise it will be judged as a regular FMV and may or may not be disqualified.

Notice!!! Fanime Con 2010 reserves the right to make amendments to the rules at any time.

[Scintilla]

Online Submissions
If you’re a very busy person, and a lot of us are, please send your videos online. You can send your file over the Internet via Yousendit.com. Yousendit.com will handle files up to 100mb in size for free, and $2.99 for larger files. There are many other file sharing websites online and you may use any that you want, just don’t send links to any illegal or illicit file hosting websites.

If we have our own webspace, can we just host a video there instead and send you the link?

File Formats
We are only accepting files that are formatted in MPEG2, AVI, MP4, or MOV. If you choose to select a format that is different from the one’s listed we will contact you and ask that you change it’s format. Please, when exporting your files stay within official resolutions 720X480 or an HD size of 1280x720 and with stereo audio.

If someone was to send in an AVI, 720x480 wouldn't be a proper resolution for either 4:3 or 16:9. What should be done in this case?

• Encode with an aspect ratio of 16:9, 4:3 is allowed but might be stretched during our conversion process.
[...]
• Video size must be either 720X480 4:3 Format or 1280X720 16:9 Format

Er, these two points are incompatible for standard-def videos.

• If your original source was film or 24fps add a 3:2 Pulldown this will convert it to 29.97 fps
• Please encode your video as deinterlaced. Interlaced is OK but we will deinterlace the video for the contest.

These two points also don't make sense when taken together. Setting the 3:2 pulldown flag on a 23.976fps video will make it display at 29.97fps interlaced, IF you're running it through a DVD player or MPEG player card; if you're just playing the file off a computer, it won't have any effect and the video will display at the original 23.976fps progressive. Either way, you won't get 29.97fps progressive.

• Single pass set to a variable bit rate and select 16 megabits per second
• If you use two pass VBR set to 2 megabits as the minimum, 8 megabits as the average, and 16 megabits as the maximum.

I'm going to assume this is for MPEG-2. What about for the other formats? In fact, what video codecs are even acceptable for those formats (since you didn't list them anywhere)?

Audio:
• Use Layer-II or Layer-III audio at 224 Kilobits per second or better
• Choose stereo over joint stereo for best quality
• Sample at 44.1Khz

See above note. What audio codecs are acceptable for AVI, MP4, and MOV?

• Viewers Choice
The attending audience of the finals judging will decide Viewers Choice. All audience members will vote on their favorite video by ballot. Each genre will have a winner. There will also be a Best of Show from all genres. Awards will be submitted to all winners during the Award Ceremony, which is held during con. You do not have to be present at the con to receive your award but it would be nice if you were.

Do you ship awards internationally?

[Kazemon15]

I won Best Action last year and my award was never shipped (and I live in the same state the con is hosted at), so I'm kinda doubtful about the whole shipping award thing...

[Marin Jei El]

I won Best Action last year and my award was never shipped (and I live in the same state the con is hosted at), so I'm kinda doubtful about the whole shipping award thing...

I understand your doubt. We had all the awards in hand and ready to hand out at the awards but not everyone was able to receive them at the con. I hate to say this, but it came down to the ability to get them sent. We have taken steps to make sure that this years budget for the show has covered mailing for this and last years. Those 2009 awards will be sent out before 2010 Fanime. We are aware of this issue and are working to ensure that this delay doesn't happen again.

-Marin

[Kazemon15]

Video:
• Encode with an aspect ratio of 16:9, 4:3 is allowed but might be stretched during our conversion process.
• Video size must be either 720X480 4:3 Format or 1280X720 16:9 Format

I have a question about this.


So does this mean if I send in a letterboxed video or a fullscreen video, it's going to be stretched to widescreen? Would it be better to just submit it 16:9?


Also, I'll be attending this year, so don't worry about that shipping. =3

[Marin Jei El]

It would be best to just send in your video formatted to 16:9. We will do our best to accommodate the files sent in, but some files may need to be stretched in order to fit the format.