AMV Contest $

LunaAislin · Post by **LunaAislin** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:09 am

I imagine wether you charge a fee or shipping is entirely based on the type of prizes you give out and if it is economical to send them. The reason our shipping cost was so high was due to the prizes we give away. I believe the french guy won 3 prizes which means he had a 3 FT trophy, 2 plaques, 2 DVD VIP sets (about a foot wide and 4 inches deep), box sets, DVDs, CDs, Manga, and some more little stuff I can't remember. So a con t-shirt would hardly be enough padding for a 3ft trophy thats when you have to get into things like... bubble wrap & packing peanuts. I COULD give away less prizes or smaller prizes and arrange shipping but that hardly seems like its what the winners would like to happen. Additionally I feel like if I require people to arrange thier own shipping they will be more responsible with things like providing the correct place to ship the item to. You would assume if one is intelligent enough to create an AMV they would be intelligent enough to write a complete address unfortunately that has proven to not be the case.

Nimthiriel · Post by **Nimthiriel** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:54 am

I'm sure you have read the fees associated with DragonCon2006. This is our first year with the contest and we are not charging shipping but we are charging $7 per entry per person up to 3 entries which will help with some of the cost associated with shipping trophies and other prizes. This fee is not required if you purchase a 4-day membership to the convention. As you read over rules to various conventions you will notice that some may not charge a fee but require attendence which will require a membership to the convention. No matter how you view it many conventions will have a fee hidden in the cost it may not be blatently clear at the time. This may change in the future depending on the popularity of the contest but only time and attendence will tell.

LunaAislin · Post by **LunaAislin** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:14 am

I disagree with charging a fee to enter. There is no cost involved in giving a prize if the editor is present. Nor do I agree with forcing someone to buy a membership because most editors do not attend. The only thing you accomplish with those two things is limiting the submission you get and holding an inferior quality competition. I do agree with requiring the person to pay thier shipping if they are not attending. AMVs should not be a profit generating activity.

anneke · Post by **anneke** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:52 pm

I believe it's completely fair to charge editors who are not attending the convention. The purpose of the AMV contest is an event to draw people to the convention.

As a creator, I get sooo annoyed when I spend the time and money to attend and support a convention (Sometimes hundreds of dollars) and all (or the majority of) the videos in the contest are by people who couldn't even bother to spend an extra $5 to support the convention.

It's nice to have a good contest, but if people didn't actually go to conventions and instead decided to stay home and just watch anime on their computers, and shop on-line, etc...there wouldn't be Anime conventions. So it's not going to hurt creators to support a convention they are hoping to win/get something out of in return.

I get soo annoyed by creators who are so cheap they don't even want to spend the money or time to burn a cd or dvd and Mail it to a contest.

Local small conventions SHOULD be for local creators. There are mega conventions that are widely accepted as the 'battle grounds' for AMV creators to pit themselves against people from across the country.

Another note on 'good contests'. With the advances in technology and the ease of using DVD footage now, on-line submissions, etc..., there is rarely a 'bad contest' any more based on entries. (How the contest is run is another story completely).

-Anneke

LunaAislin · Post by **LunaAislin** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 6:05 pm

AMV Contests are not used as a tool to draw people to conventions they are a form of entertaining the people that your marketing campigns have drawn to your conventions. Its entertainment value and satisfying the audience its not about the editors themselves other than that you reward them for thier contribution. Would you charge a band whos playing for free? No absolutely not and essentially the editors who submit are doing YOU a service because if you didnt have an AMV contest you would have to find something else to fill that 2 hour timeslot that would be unique. Charging the editors a fee is like saying F U we dont need you... Conventions do need the editors, we need you told be able to hold our contest and entertain our audiences and have the best convention possible. We do not provide you a service by playing your videos, you provide us a service by allowing us to play your videos. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE for the editors to show up but thats because I want to be able to show them in person the respect they deserve for a job well done But if they DONT show up I'm not going to criticize them... Not everyone who makes a video can afford to travel across the country or even across the street.

anneke · Post by **anneke** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:28 am

Anime conventions DO NOT have to have an AMV contests. They are not having the contests for the enjoyment of the creators but the enjoyment of those attending. It is therefore a reason for people to attend the convention, it's an event at the convention that does draw people to the convention. If they wanted to fill up 2 hours, they could just run any number of anime movies out there. They show AMVs because it draws a crowd to an anime convention. Same thing with cosplay contests.

Most conventions don't charge for people to enter their AMVs because they want a large selection of AMVs beyond their local creators and attendants. They are also appreciating the work that AMV creators put into their AMVs, etc... Realizing the AMV creator don't have to submit to help them out. But trust me, if no one submitted AMVs, they would still be able to fill the time with not a care for the AMVs.

I have no problem with contests that charge for AMV entries. As stated above the AMV contest is for the attendants of the convention. If your not attending or willing to support the convention, then why should the convention bow down to you? Sure they should respect your work, by playing it as best they can, etc... but they are not required to show your videos. If you attended the convention there is some obligation because you are then paying for the convention, your paying for that entertainment.

AMVs vs a Band... A band can provide a unique experience, where as anyone can now download AMVs and show them at a convention.

There is always just the general rule of 'follow the money'. AMV creators putting money into/supporting the convention are worth alot more to the convention then AMV creators who don't. It's simple as that.

-Anneke

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:45 am

anneke wrote: AMVs vs a Band... A band can provide a unique experience, where as anyone can now download AMVs and show them at a convention.

There is always just the general rule of 'follow the money'. AMV creators putting money into/supporting the convention are worth alot more to the convention then AMV creators who don't. It's simple as that.

-Anneke

You're making some rather concerning statements right there. Are you suggesting that contest coordinators download and show whatever videos they want? It's sounding a lot like that.

In the end, it IS up to the coordinator to decide what kind of contest they want to hold. If you are in an area with lots of local talent that has the time and money to get to your con, then all is good, but if not, your going to be holding a contest that noone is going to enjoy - one that is going to reflect poorly on your con. I'd also wager there's at least a few editors that wouldn't enter because they're not going up against an even playing field.

I'm sorry you seem to think cons are all about money. If it has come to that, it is truely sad.

anneke · Post by **anneke** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:39 pm

BasharOfTheAges wrote:
You're making some rather concerning statements right there. Are you suggesting that contest coordinators download and show whatever videos they want? It's sounding a lot like that.

In the end, it IS up to the coordinator to decide what kind of contest they want to hold. If you are in an area with lots of local talent that has the time and money to get to your con, then all is good, but if not, your going to be holding a contest that noone is going to enjoy - one that is going to reflect poorly on your con. I'd also wager there's at least a few editors that wouldn't enter because they're not going up against an even playing field.

I'm sorry you seem to think cons are all about money. If it has come to that, it is truely sad.

There ARE conventions that the AMV stuff is nothing more then whatever the person wanted to download and show. Even big contests come down to showing what a smaller group of people of people decide to show, based on what was submitted.

As for an AMV contest reflecting on an anime convention, it's true. However there is a rather big correlation between size of the convention and quality of the contest. No one is expecting a small con to have a top notch contest (but nice when it happens), and then people get annoyed when a big con ends up with a crappy contest. Usually it's smaller conventions that feel a need to charge for contests, because every little cent helps out to continue the convention. They ask for a fee to enter to draw in more people, while having the income to justify the extra expense of running a contest that may be beyond their convention's ability. At the same time this tactic is used to limit entries at a bigger convention, to allow for special treatment for those attending, and so those entered are given better treatment as there are less entries.

And in the end, Cons may not be about the money, but like the rest of the world they are constrained and must revolve around it. It may not be about making money/profit for the convention, but money is the biggest concern for a convention. They want to atleast break even. If they don't they are in trouble, if they have extra money it goes towards better guests, and making the convention bigger and better the next year.

-Anneke

Nimthiriel · Post by **Nimthiriel** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 1:38 pm

In the case of DragonCon I want everyone to know that the proceeds earned from DragonCon go to charity. DragonCon is not-for-profit and there are only two people in the whole con who are actually paid employees of the convention. We may be a large con but we are not hording the money.

Nimthiriel · Post by **Nimthiriel** » Tue May 16, 2006 3:11 pm

The fee for the DragonCon AMV Contest has been removed.