Anime Central 2011 AMV Contest

[ngsilver]

A final note for those of you who still have outstanding FTP accounts. You must close the account before the system will release your video for the staff to begin basic QC and for your entry to be accepted. Once the deadline hits all accounts will automatically be closed. However please keep in mind that there may not be time for resubmission after the deadline for those of you who submitted entries that do not stand up to our requirements. So the sooner you close your account, the sooner we can QC your video and you can be notified if there are errors that need fixing so that you can re-submit.

If there is time for re-submission after the deadline, also keep in mind that you will only be given 1 shot to fix your errors. As I have had quite a few resubmissions so far that needed to be fixed multiple times this could be a problem. To keep this from happening PLEASE QC your video BEFORE submitting. I've received mail-in's that forgot this step that I've had to DQ.

Keep the following in mind as the deadline looms closer.

[•] MPEG-4 file format requirements

• [-] Progressive Video Only
  [-] 640 x 480, 848 x 480, 1280x720 Frame Size
  [-] 23.976 or 29.97 Frames per Second
  [-] H.264 video compression
  [-] 48 kHz AAC Stereo Audio. We recommend LC-AAC at 160 kbps instead of HE-AAC.
  [-] Display Aspect Ratio 1:1 (Remember you are submitting in square pixels).

Perform Quality Control
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The majority of the tech problems we see with submissions are the result of poor Quality Control. Do not create extra work for yourself. Just because your file plays in your media player do not assume you have formatted it properly. Always double check your file and compare the output you encoded. If you burned a disc don't assume a verify pass means its good. You must play back the file and watch it all the way through.

A program like http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en is useful for checking your file's formatting from its header but you should still always watch the entire video through to see if there are problems. Programs like this can often report things slightly different from playback so it still does not hurt to triple check and use another program to check and see how the file is actually being decoded.

I use both the program listed in the FAQ above as well as GSpot in order to check the settings of a video, as well as watch it all the way through, before it passes the first QC check and the video is received.

[competitionbros]

Ugh, finally done sending my crap in.



Edit: GAAAAAAAAAAAAH. Messed something up.

[SailorDeath]

Ugh, finally done sending my crap in.



Edit: GAAAAAAAAAAAAH. Messed something up.

That mistake is gonna cost you

[competitionbros]

Yea, yea. I'm getting it together.

[SailorDeath]

Yea, yea. I'm getting it together.

Consequences will never be the same.

[ngsilver]

Hey all, now may be a VERY good time to check the entry status page to be sure that you're video wasn't received with problems and in need to re-submission. I have gotten a LOT of videos within the last 24 hours and most of which I have had to DQ.

Please, QC your videos BEFORE sending them. Otherwise you will have to send your video again.

[xDreww2]

I sent my videos, I'm waiting for FTP request.

[Sephiroth]

Be careful on the audio end that's been biting me on the ass for submitting.

[SailorDeath]

Protip:

ZarxGUI is very easy to configure, and supports the audio/video encoded formats we require. It's simple to use, if you're having issues with passing out QC, try using that.

[ngsilver]

Protip #2:

Tmpegenc also supports all the formatting requirements that we have for mpeg-2. It's free to try and fairly cheap to buy. (I've had more people having issues with our mpeg2 requirements then mp4)


Also, as I've already stated multiple times, including part of the FTP process. It may take up to 3 days for your accounts to be created. As the deadline is near I am making sure accounts are created as soon as possible, however between work and school I only have a few hours during the day in which to do this, which is why I recommended submitting your entries sooner. If I am busy at work (which I have been these last few weeks) I don't have the time to authorize accounts. I will get to them as soon as I get them, but that only takes place in the evening.

Also keep in mind, you do have through the weekend in order to finally send your video in through FTP, you just have through midnight tomorrow in order to request an FTP account.