Sakura-Con 2005 AMV Contest

[Seijin_Dinger]

I wish to appologise about a few points

With the AV Set up in Emerald Ball Room
the Speakers mixer etc are Sakura-Cons new this year. The Projectors Screens Lights are contracted out. and I had no control over that set up and I personally winced when I heard the line "Why are we running composite lines and not component lines to the projectors?"

Also the 3 lines on the screen were projector caused.

With Synch issues, I honestly did not catch that on my home DVD player or TV, I had roughly 14 days from screening to con to finish the contest and I got really depressed when I heard it happen as I was right behind the speakers and the side screen and I was going to myself that I just screwed up.

With that center screen, I wish I could have had control over it, I saw it also cut off half of the title that I put over each video and those titles were made with action and title safe margins, I hope if I do this next year I can have more say in what that room has.

Audio, We found a problem after the contest that was a cabbling issue, they ran 4 of the main lines to speakers from the mixing board to speakers over a bundle of power cords. As for washed out audio, I tyried and a few places failed to get audio equalised to a close to same audio level point so the mixer wouldnt have to be used, a few videos when I tried the audio would start clipping and I chose to leave them at lower level to try and prevent problems.

I also noticed some videos darkening (mauinly the darker toned ones such as the VHD Bloodlust videos) and at that point I no longer had time or DVDs to burn (I burned through my personal stack and I ran out of DVDs)

I do appreciate the lack of "Hazing" This year I meant heckling but I had been up since 7 am thursday and my brain was fried and I meant to say "heckling". With me using a MC, I did because I have a big problem with stage fright and well I also am recovering from bronchitis and m y throat hurt to talk.

If I do this next year Please, any and all help is appreciated. and again I do appologise for the errors that did happen.


With the announcement of videos that win prizes (Winner and runner up) I as was said I will be making that announcement on Sunday approximately 3:00 pm or so, but please understand if I do not announce them here until roughly Monday or Tuesday as I have to pack up and head home, and hook back up there and sleep because I am physically drained. but I will have announcements.

and for those that did enter, thank you, hnestly the videos that did make it in (irregardless of technical issues) as I did say durring the contest, were some of the best videos I have seen in a while and I enjoyed doing this job.

-Dinger-

[Seijin_Dinger]

Forgot

and I do appologise to both Danny Jun and Roy Duran
for having that name mix up involving videos, I was basically copying and pasting info from my database (AKA the approved list on the site) into a template in photoshop, and was working as fast as I could, I reallty am sorry, and I wish I could have printed off the approved list before the contest because I left my copy at home, that way I could have announced the creator of the video, instead of not wanting to try and pull it from my fragmented brain which in my eyes would have been a bigger insult if would have screwed up on the Roy Duran's name a second time in front of the audience.

-Dinger-

[Seijin_Dinger]

Yeah, that's one thing I want to know... results, how long before we know anything? My assumption is that they will be released at the closing ceremony and hence that night, Sakura con time, we will hear something... unless the organisers are dead tired which I'm certain they will be...

From the standpoint of the AMV entrants, I think we can at least say there were no interruptions. A couple of very minor glitches is all that I noticed. There was one vid where the screen went black for maybe 3-4 seconds, but apparently that's the way it was supposed to be. (I would have preferred several more seconds between AMVs to clear out the applause.)

Erm... did that happen to be a Vampire Hunter D video?

I think that was the DBZ video in Exhibition
That black was overlayed over a bumper (No viodeo at all just bumper) that I couldnt just slice off, and it tuned out I forgot to do the same for the bumper at the end. Again I do appologise, and I did give a little more leeway to the exhibition as they were non competition

-Dinger-

[RutKiskasca]

I didn't get to go to the contest, but I did observe dinger working like crazy on it for the past two months at least, and I know that he and everyone involved in the con did everything they could to put on a quality con. I am hearing about the technical issues second hand, so I can't really comment on them, but I just want to make sure that it's put out there that running a con is no small chore, as anyone who has done it can tell you, and aside from the sheer technical knowledge you must have, alot of other aspects must come together for you in order to pull off a quality production, and you don't always have control over all of them, especially as just one person.

I appreciate everything Seijin Dinger did and everything everyone else did to make this the success that it was, and I hope that those of us that did little or nothing to contribute to the preparations for the con show a little gratitude and understanding for the oppertunity he and others worked to make possible for us to showcase our videos. I don't know how mine placed yet, but I know it showed in the finals, and the fact that Seijin Dinger worked so hard to bring my video and everyone elses to such a great group of anime fans has earned him my sincere gratitude. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors, and hope very earnestly that he will continue to be involved in Sakuracon, because I am sure that next year's AMV competition will be even better.

Great Job Dinger, and congratulations on surviving the convention. Great job to all the editors that entered videos, too. I downloaded them all today (except Vlad's, which I hope will be available soon) and they were all very impressive. I am proud to have been involved in such a worthy and well received competition.

[Seijin_Dinger]

thank you on the support, but about surviving...

well con isnt even half over yet and I am working on the AMV Dance dvds for tonight....

Not enough time

[Vlad G Pohnert]

Yea, a few issues were present with reqards to the audio and video, but I agree that a lot were due to more of the setup then anything else... Lights contracted out are always an issue as they finally turned all the spotloights off the main screen avout 45 minutes in...

Yea, there were a few bumps.. The audio was out of sync on my video just slightly and with instrumentals it does show a lot. As any creator would think, I was horrified for the first few seconds, but then after dicussing it with seijin_dinger after, I feel that the effirt was there to have a good contest and human error just crept in... I was pleased that tghe effort to make this contest work was there and the crowed did enjoy the videos...

The only other obaservation I did have was there were a few videos that we in the wrong catagory... they were good but unfortunatly the audiance glazed over them in some confusion... One I felt would of been hard to place to begin... It's getting harder to make placement of videos into the traditional catagores. It'll be intereting to see if the audiance votes for a comedy video in the wrong cataglory, but again it's a contest and the important thing is having videos shown to a crowed....

Vlad

[TaranT]

Just wanted to make the point that I'm not upset about the situation either. A little annoyed at first, but I didn't have anything at stake in the exhibition. I can appreciate the amount of work that's involved and the fact that much of the setup is out of the organizer's control. I suspect Dinger underestimated how much would have to be done, but I'm sure every one who takes on the job of AMV contest organizer makes the same assumption.

The main thing is that the audience had a good time. They are the "customer" so that makes the event a success. AMV creators can bitch and moan about stuff, maybe even help improve things. But in the end, we're not much more than part of the volunteer <strike>staff</strike> independent contractors.

[RutKiskasca]

Just to clarify, I certainly did not mean to imply anything negative about TaranT's comments. I appreciate your reports from the con, and hope you will keep them coming. Your original post was clearly respectful, yet honest.

[TaranT]

Well, since you asked, I might as well get these posted before the contest results are known.

These are the notes I took during the show. They're in italics, and where possible, I've followed them with some additional comments (not italicized). I keyed off the titles and didn't have the time to notice or write down the creator names.

I tried to take note of any unusual audience response. If I don't mention it, then assume that there was a good round of applause and cheering. This was the rule for all vids; there was no boo-ing and no "polite" applause.

And keep in mind these are just one guy's opinions, not to be taken too seriously. All of these vids, except for one or two, I've only seen one time each. Also, I can't remember everything that happened, so there are some blanks here.

P.S. RDS Radio is playing in the background while I type this. So, if some of this sounds twisted....


**********


EXHIBITION (non-competing)

1. A Kaleido Star video, missed the title
Nice timing and energy, but...
At the time I decided this was a good video to launch the show. But I have to admit, I was just getting exposed to the audio and visual problems and not really paying attention.

2. Necromatic Power (Final Fantasy)
Fangirl response
That means "screaming fangirls". Which seemed to follow every appearance of a certain Final Fantasy character.

3. DB Busters (Dragonball, obviously)
Good fan response. Scene selection ok; slow in spots. Tires about 1/2 through. Too long? (Divx watermarks)
This video experienced what I noticed several times in this contest. The video begins with lots of audience noise and cheering that lasts maybe two minutes. Then, there's silence. The gimmick is done and the video is not carrying it forward. Or, it just lasts too long. It's the real danger in doing this type of video. Only a few manage to grab audience interest all the way to the end. Other than that, this video was pretty damn funny.

4. Destroy She Said (Metropolis)
Too artsy for this crowd. Speed too high. Way too much bass. No vocals. Re-encoded ? Too dark. And squeezed vertically.
My entry.

5. Mitternacht (Vampire Hunter and Blood)
Same imagery problems, too dark, colors washed. Nice action edits. Some steppiness? intended?
I should probably download this one to watch it again.

6. Fallen Hero (Haibane Renmei)
Oversaturated whites. Overbassed; kills lyric synch. Slow.
Can't recall this one either. I guess I thought it wasn't matching the music well. And if you can't understand the lyrics, then this type of vid isn't going to make much of an impact.

7. New Year Special
Euphoria clone? Some scenes have no FX. More teenage angst. FX execution ok, but consistency?
If it's going to have big-time effects, then it should have effects at least most of the time. The clean, no-FX scenes were kind of unsettling. The effects themselves were well-executed.

8. Message Through Time (Hoshi no Koe)
Nice mood. Needs slow, gentler transitions
This one needed a softer touch: fewer cuts, much longer crossfades. AMV makers seem to have a reluctance for long (several seconds) transitions even though they are very common in real movies.

9. Van D (Vampire Hunter)
Not fast enough; more scenes. Better scene selection
Good audience response. Trailers for real action movies are edited for impact: short clips, cuts, implied and actual action. The idea is to grab the viewer by the throat and beat him until he buys a ticket. This vid was a great idea, but lacked impact.


ACTION/ADVENTURE

10. Chibi Things...Ma Deuce (plushie annihilation)
Funny. Good fan reaction.
This should have been in the Comedy category. It's wrong to admit it, but I love watching plushies explode. ("Who doesn't?!" - Vic Romano)

11. Truly (Nausicaa)
Good action edits. Timing feels off, but might be over-bass again. Does it go anywhere (plotted?) ?

12. Eternal Hime
OK, but ?

13. Classical Flight (miscellaneous Ghibli)
Timing badly off in some parts Doesn't make sense, though...Too many cuts. Not enough fluid motion.
When I say, "doesn't make sense", it's because this is one of Vlad's videos. I can't believe he would miss beats like that. Maybe he was doing something that I couldn't grasp at the time. Anyway, my problem with this was the concept. Short clips and fast cuts are not the way to present "flight". Miyazaki himself presented it in these long scenes of fluid motion of the object or person. So, this one didn't work for me (good song, though).

14. Stand Your Ground (VHD Bloodlust)
Pretty.
I guess that says it. Sorry, can't remember this one now.

15. Bang Bang (Area 88)
Not enough action editing. Too long.
Nice flight scenes in this, but the story or plot scenes dragged.

16. Memories
Good song (as always). Attempting to be moody, but not quite there.

17. Pain of War (Kenshin)
Odd synching. w/ blank space.
Not sure what this comment means. I'd have to watch it again.

18. Flight of the Stars (Crest/Banner of the Stars)
Cute idea. Needs more fast edits. Running too long. It's not Caffeine Encomium.
This was a good concept that, like so many AMV concepts, wasn't carried far enough. Better if it was about half as long.


DRAMA

19. Space and Time (Hoshi no Koe)
Inconsistent beat matching. Inconsistent use of piano keys. Out of synch??

20. The Tomorrow Sky (Millenium Actress)
?
I remember this as an OK vid. Guess I brain-locked at the time.

21. My Evil Alien (FLCL)
Good edits, but means what ?
There are some videos that just stand out and say, "This guy knows what he's doing." This was one of them. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the meaning of the vid.

22. Escape (Animatrix)
Odd combination of scenes, but it seems to work.

23. Halos Beneath Us
Angsty guitar rock. Done well enough.
Confession time: I have this thing about teenage angst in rock music (i.e. it bores me). It's a personal defect. I'm working on it. Sometimes I take medication. And I'm sure this type of video has an audience somewhere. And it was good editing.

24. Contego Temptatio (did I spell this right?)
Video game (HALO?)
Kind of an odd story. Didn't make it with me, although the crowd seemed to like it.

25. Idealistic Dreamer (Last Exile)
(Imagine) Out of synch on piano notes. Photoshop cutouts: needs blur edge.
As long as I'm making confessions...<cough> I don't like Lennon's "Imagine". This song was decomposing even when I was in high school. Incineration in a nuclear furnace is called for, but probably wouldn't work. <end of rant> It's a nice enough video; not terribly inspiring, but that's me. Oh, and the figure cutouts really need feathering or drop shadows or something.

26. Omoidaite Ida (spelling?)
(Gasaraki theme song) Fast fades washed out.
Can't remember this one, so I'm not sure why I made this comment.

27. Silence of a Black Heaven (Black Heaven)
Too-literal lyric synch. Odd scene selection at times (filler?).
There were parts of this that I really liked, but the scene selection seemed a little heavy handed at times.

28. Love In Digital (Video Girl Ai)
NICE, but you have to know the anime.
As I was watching this, I thought it would be cool if it avoided any of the fantasy elements in the actual story; just keep it a simple teenage romance triangle (quadrangle?). I guess this was my favorite video in the whole show. Even better than exploding plushie guts.

29. Touched (Cowboy Bebop)
Not matching the rhythm/music well enough.
I'd have to see this again. The comment is about more than just beat synching.

30. Push Away (Sailor Moon)
Was that something at the edges? Overlay is too large (safe area).
We don't see many Sailor Moon vids anymore. There was kind of a mix of "OMG!" and cheers from the audience when this started up. Nice enough, but yeah, those overlays were too big if you wanted anything behind them to be seen. All I saw was some flickering around the edges of the screen.

31. Ballad For Two (Hoshi no Koe)
<audience disconnected!> Timing off here, too. (contest masters?) OK, but...another HnK?
This was actually a nice video. Unfortunately, it was unlucky. There is not much footage to get from HnK to begin with. So, the third one was not going to stand out. Personally, I think the audience over-reacted.

32. A Tribute to Mahoro
<more audience groans> Strobing is annoying. Better with the crossfades and overlays. Sweet and...?
I'm not sure why the audience was down on this one. That might be because I have not seen the anime. Is it Mahoromatic? The strobing really bugged me, though.

COMEDY/PARODY

33. Hold Me For Awhile (FF X-2)
Very smooth. Hope this isn't the original music.
This was so good I thought it might have been pulled completely from the game. Of course, that was not the case; people would have known. Damn fine editing job, but it shouldn't be in the comedy category.

34. Simultaneous
Nice idea, not taken far enough.

35. Gunsmoke Outlaws (Trigun)
Needs faster edits. More of same. Major audience response.
This video like the previous one suffered from what I call "lack of commitment". This is when the creator has a good idea, gimmick, or whatever, and doesn't push it far enough, long enough, fast enough, etc. Sometimes you need to kick it in gear and keep the moves coming. This rap vid, for example, could have been slipping, wiping, PiP-ing on every single beat. Otherwise, you get what I saw this afternoon: the audience cracks up half a dozen times. Then, it's silence, waiting for the next new thing.

36. Jungle Boogie
needs faster edits. Scenes are lasting too long. Suffered from bad contrast/video.
Same problem. Good idea. A few really funny scenes.

37. Disney in D(wchang) Minor
Can't hear above laughter
I was looking forward to this, but the humor appeared to be in the lyrics - which I could not understand at all.

38. I Like Birds (Evangelion)
Cute stops. Weakens after midway. Turns into drama.
This was strange. The Pen-Pen scenes were real gut-busters. Then things turned depressing. At the end, the audience is like, "WTH ?"

39. Against All Odds
<fangirl city> This is comedy? Some cute scenes, but what ?
Sorry, can't recall this one. I guess there was plenty of screaming, though.


My onsite comments get really short from here on since the videos were very short; i.e. not enough time to write anything.

TRAILERS/COMMERCIALS

40. The Prescott Affair (Evangelion)
Some dialogue incomprehensible. Not a trailer or commercial.
I'm ready to change my mind and admit this was a trailer, but it didn't feel like one at the time. It was more like an actual story. The audience was really into it while I was struggling to hear the dialogue.

41. Somewhere Else
Great ending!
Short, sweet, and perfect. It really took the audience by surprise.

42. Duellists of the Caribbean
Not bad.
I'm not familiar with the anime or the characters. The audience appreciated this better than I could.

43. Ace Combat Zero Trailer 2
Nicely done.
Can't remember this one.

44. Lord of the Transformers (Transformers)
Cute. Fangirls again.
Must be a local favorite. Screaming....again.

45. Ramen Feel Great
Lips flap too fast. Can't understand most of the dialogue. Good audience response.
Real lips don't flap like that - except maybe on fangirls (OK,OK, bad joke!). If I had not already downloaded this one, I wouldn't have understood it at all. Too much noise.

46. Hellsing Boy (Hellsing)
Nice edits.
Done the way an action trailer should be.

47. Pimp My Ride Intro
Fun
The images were there, but I didn't get the connection with Ranma characters. I could see it, but didn't feel it. This may have worked better with a car-oriented anime like Initial D, Gunsmith Cats, or maybe YUA. It did get a positive audience reaction, however.

[RutKiskasca]

Thanks, TaranT, for the great con review. Very informative. I am sorry to hear that Vlad's video appeared to have technical playback issues. I am sure that, when it is available for download, the quality will show clearly.