Anime Expo 2010 Anime Music Video Contest Rules Up

[The Wired Knight]

I guess I'm not as hardcore as Rider or Castor Troy. I like seeing my AMV's on the big screen.

It's a weird situation, because the contest itself would be run better, but now we're losing out on awesome entries from Castor and Rider. I don't know if that's a trade off I'd like. I know how passionate you guys are about your work and having it be missing from AX is like adding another wound. =[ I don't know, that's my look on it.

I don't know about Ryder and I don't like speaking for Castor but Castor has been editing since he was VegetaInsane and made a bunch of DBZ videos to the same artist (can't remember the name anymore - and I apologize to Castor if this is a memory he doesn't want brought up). But Castor has been doing that since I don't know how long ago. I've been editing since 1998/1999 and I used to be sore when my work didn't make it in to see on a big screen. But I've been editing so damn long frankly it's not a concern anymore - it's nice to see my work there and I would really like to see it and/or win something but it's not going to kill me if I don't. I don't edit to win awards and I don't edit for large audiences, I edit because I like doing it and I wish that realization came to me a lot earlier down the line than it did.

Besides, imo nothing matches the experience of the first time you see your work shown in frong of a large audience - Anthony Bennet told me that the first time my work made it into AX (that was AX 2001 or 2002 if I recall correctly - it was my Berserk video and we still in Anaheim at the time) and damn if he wasn't right.

I'm not attempting to speak for Castor either. But wouldn't you be slightly curious as to why your entry didn't make it in when there are two entires "My Drive Thru" and "Duvet" that are poor videos.
Once again, I continuously use his videos as examples due to the fact that he is a really good editor. Even if I wasn't friends with him, I would still use his videos as examples. They're high quality and I just don't see why certain videos that look to be footage dropped on a time line (examples from this year and last) or videos that are nothing more than poor editing making it in while hours of work get tossed aside without mention?

I also continuously use his videos as examples due to the fact that they're the ones I know about. God knows how many other entries were deemed as "weak" due to the judges not giving them a chance.
When I first watched "Go the Distance" I would've have stopped 30 seconds into it had it not been at a con. Then the video kept going and I saw what brilliant editing and hard work was put into the video. It's been one of my favorites since then and I've yet to hear any bad comments about it. So I just don't see why
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1NGaxGABUY this makes it in, as opposed to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHa6RFwtNDc

I'd be lying if I didn't admit to wondering why some work got in over mine, but that's a natural reaction. I'll be honest and admit that there's always work I think is worse than mine but I never let it affect my judgment. However, your point is valid, I understand that - my point is merely concerning that I don't care if I don't make it into the competition, I do hwoever disagree with results here and there but who doesnt?

This time it easily isn't that, hell the two videos that we're talking about aren't even in the catagory I entered in so it doesn't affect me in the slightest. Last year did however and it annoyed the ever loving shit out of me.


Oh and Niotex - what the hell are you doing waking up at 4:00 in the afternoon?

[Radical_Yue]

I don't know about Ryder and I don't like speaking for Castor but Castor has been editing since he was VegetaInsane and made a bunch of DBZ videos to the same artist (can't remember the name anymore - and I apologize to Castor if this is a memory he doesn't want brought up). But Castor has been doing that since I don't know how long ago. I've been editing since 1998/1999 and I used to be sore when my work didn't make it in to see on a big screen. But I've been editing so damn long frankly it's not a concern anymore - it's nice to see my work there and I would really like to see it and/or win something but it's not going to kill me if I don't. I don't edit to win awards and I don't edit for large audiences, I edit because I like doing it and I wish that realization came to me a lot earlier down the line than it did.

Besides, imo nothing matches the experience of the first time you see your work shown in frong of a large audience - Anthony Bennet told me that the first time my work made it into AX (that was AX 2001 or 2002 if I recall correctly - it was my Berserk video and we still in Anaheim at the time) and damn if he wasn't right.

I'm not attempting to speak for Castor either. But wouldn't you be slightly curious as to why your entry didn't make it in when there are two entires "My Drive Thru" and "Duvet" that are poor videos.
Once again, I continuously use his videos as examples due to the fact that he is a really good editor. Even if I wasn't friends with him, I would still use his videos as examples. They're high quality and I just don't see why certain videos that look to be footage dropped on a time line (examples from this year and last) or videos that are nothing more than poor editing making it in while hours of work get tossed aside without mention?

I also continuously use his videos as examples due to the fact that they're the ones I know about. God knows how many other entries were deemed as "weak" due to the judges not giving them a chance.
When I first watched "Go the Distance" I would've have stopped 30 seconds into it had it not been at a con. Then the video kept going and I saw what brilliant editing and hard work was put into the video. It's been one of my favorites since then and I've yet to hear any bad comments about it. So I just don't see why
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1NGaxGABUY this makes it in, as opposed to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHa6RFwtNDc

I'd be lying if I didn't admit to wondering why some work got in over mine, but that's a natural reaction. I'll be honest and admit that there's always work I think is worse than mine but I never let it affect my judgment. However, your point is valid, I understand that - my point is merely concerning that I don't care if I don't make it into the competition, I do hwoever disagree with results here and there but who doesnt?

This time it easily isn't that, hell the two videos that we're talking about aren't even in the catagory I entered in so it doesn't affect me in the slightest. Last year did however and it annoyed the ever loving shit out of me.


Oh and Niotex - what the hell are you doing waking up at 4:00 in the afternoon?

Sorry, can't help but question entries when we've got excellent examples such as the ones listed above.

Mitchie lives in Holland and he's a sick-otex right now =<

[LittleAtari]

1) I really don't care how others view me and I basically just repeated exact information that Mitch gave me. The only reason he hasn't commented on this thread yet is because Oto asked him to hold off.

If Oto, a mod, is asking Niotex to hold off on speaking, then do not speak on behalf of him. First, it defeats the purpose of him holding off. Second, since he is holding off, he can neither confirm or deny any of what you're saying. Mitch is a friend of mine, too. I know that you are close friends with him. While I do not personally know you, I respect you enough because of that to believe that you are speaking to the best of your abilities on the subject.

2) Yes mix ups happen. But this is just getting out of hand. I'm not sure if you saw last years drama winner which was a Death Note comedy video that was poorly edited in general. Along with Blue Orchid last year, My Drive Thru and Duvet this year...there are just too many obvious "mix ups" that are happening here. You'd have to be a blind moron not to notice them and attempt to draw attention to said entries.

I know the contest is crap. I raised a little of my own hell in last years thread when their were technical mix ups about things as simple as HUFFY playback. My point is, the entrants know this and it's expected at this point, which I agree, this is sad. I think that it's more important for the consistent entrants to make it a point to say that something is wrong here and ask for change and they are doing this.

3) I never attempted to make this all about Digital Panther. I was never trying to single him out. I hold the blame to everyone involved with the judging process. Yes, he is the one in charge. Yes, he is the one who has the final say. But those who work with him are at just as much fault for the giant holes in their rules/judging. Also, just because you enter a contest on a regular basis doesn't mean you've got any standing on the mechanics of how it's judged. Just because I frequent a restaurant that doesn't make me a food critique. I would still like to know how the judging process is done and what standards they go off of. They have never made this process public and due to the lack of responses from actual judges, I really doubt if they plan on it.

While you may not have personally wanted to target DP, his name is what's being tossed around right now the most. Not just with you, but with everyone. My comments on DP were actually directed at everyone in the thread, not just you.

As for people who enter a contest on a regular basis, I'm not talking about them understanding the judging mechanics. I'm simply saying that I'm sure that AX acknowledges that these entrants are what make up their contest. I would hope that they are familiar with these entrants and happy to see them enter every year. So, for these people to stand up and say that they dont like how things are being run and that they may not even enter next year, that says a lot to the coordinators.

3) Don't you dare start thinking you know why I'm upset. My bestest buddies in the whole wideset world not making it to the big shiny contest have NOTHING to do with any of my rants. I simply use Eidolon and Castor Troy's previous entries as prime examples. Are they both my friends? Yes. Do I feel like got burned? Yes. Is that my drive? No.
Other than their entries I have no idea who entered what but due the fact that they claim to have massive amount of amazing entries...the finalists they've chosen...no way in hell could those be the "cream of the crop"

I'm vulgar, I'm brash, I'm loud and I speak what's on my mind. I'm not going to change for anyone. If you don't like my opinion there is a glorious little "Ignore" button. I enjoy going to this convention and I would love to see something done about the miserable state of the contest.
I never use examples from other editors/contests unless I know them to be 100% true.
And don't you DARE accuse me of being a pathetic little circle jerking moron who makes an outburst when her bestest friends don't make it into the contest. That was never my intent and never will be my intent.

THIS is what you needed to clarify and this is what I wanted hear from you because you are coming across as someone who just cheers for their friends because these are the names that you are constantly dropping and while you may not care for your own image here, at least care for their image here. I think most of the points that you brought up here are valid. I agree with most of them. I do not agree with how you're handling it because I dont think it gets much done. Yes, we know you're upset and yes, you should be. You did offer one example from A-kon, that's good. Thank you for contributing that because suggestions like those help.

I'd kinda like to see why nothing has been done. No excuses. I'd like the truth. And if you'd like me to stop cursing and using "childish" language...then that's a bit too bad. Once again, you may not like it...but it's who I am.

I think your opinion matters quite a bit here and as stated before, I do agree with a lot of you've said. The reason I made my post is to make sure that you acknowledge the other side of what may be going on and to clarify your position. I would like your voice to be heard instead of you to be looked over because you may seem like just an angry person or a circle jerk. We both know you're above that and so you should be treated above that, but you wont be unless you present yourself that way.

[s0matic]

I guess I didn't really wanna state it bluntly in my earlier post, but since recent posts have been touching on the dubious quality of the judging process (effectively pointing out what I didn't want to say initially), I can only reiterate some what has been said, though I can add a few more points of my own.

As it stands, much of the judging process is not clear to the public (effectively us, the editors.) While it seems from DP's tone that this is intentional, I feel that making this process a bit more public would help out in the long run. Right now, we (non-judges) have no way to ascertain if certain videos were judged to the standard they were meant to be. While I don't doubt it's DP's intention for judging to pick the best possible videos, the actual process and/or personal bias of judges, intentional or not, seems to be working against this goal.

This is just going from the top of my head, but one suggestion, as hinted earlier, WOULD be to make more of this judging process publicly known. As far to how much of it being public, that's up to AX to decide, but the more you can get editors & regular people involved without incriminating or needlessly defaming/embarrassing any of the entrants or judges would be HIGHLY desired.

Going back to the possible point of bias, and since we can't effectively know if judging is being as objective as possible, I'd point out more steps are needed to make the judging more objective. Judging should definitely be blind. Judges shouldn't have to be pointed out who made what video. If this is already done, then great, but as of right now, we really don't know because we're in the dark on this.

And one thing to consider, considering the volume of entries AX receives each year, I'd have to wonder about the amount of mental fatigue that's going on. From what I understand judging of categories are done by showing all of the category's entries in succession. Something could be done about this I feel. Ensure judging is based on the merits of its category, i.e. "This drama isn't really good because it's not as fun as that comedy one!" Of course not. In case you didn't notice I'm looking at Death Note Rhapsody right here. What else? Maybe take even more time for the judging process. Space the judging out more. Yes, that's right. Take even more time to get list out . As others have stated the technical and logistical aspects of this contest are sound, but the judging process looks to be the part that could be worked upon more. Given that DP has already stated intention to make scheduling of all processes better, I think there should be no reason not to devote more time to the judging process in order to get it right.

At this point I'm just rambling so my thoughts are bound to get out of order, so I'll stop there for now.

Of course, all I'm saying may very well end up on deaf ears yet again. Given AX's track record I'm inclined to take the pessimistic route, and really not expect the best, cause I don't expect it to happen to be honest.

With all that we're saying, it seems like harsh criticism to what otherwise seems like a smootly run contest. But I guess sometimes it takes harsh criticism to figure out what's wrong and hopefully move forward with that. And if that's not enough incentive to go "We should really take these into consideration to make this contest better in the future," then I really don't know what to say.

But hey, you'd be proving my pessimism right.

[Radical_Yue]

1) I really don't care how others view me and I basically just repeated exact information that Mitch gave me. The only reason he hasn't commented on this thread yet is because Oto asked him to hold off.

If Oto, a mod, is asking Niotex to hold off on speaking, then do not speak on behalf of him. First, it defeats the purpose of him holding off. Second, since he is holding off, he can neither confirm or deny any of what you're saying. Mitch is a friend of mine, too. I know that you are close friends with him. While I do not personally know you, I respect you enough because of that to believe that you are speaking to the best of your abilities on the subject.

Oto told him to hold off as a friend, not a mod. We both know how Mitch can get if he is upset with things. Everyone knows of the "Angry Dutchmen"

2) Yes mix ups happen. But this is just getting out of hand. I'm not sure if you saw last years drama winner which was a Death Note comedy video that was poorly edited in general. Along with Blue Orchid last year, My Drive Thru and Duvet this year...there are just too many obvious "mix ups" that are happening here. You'd have to be a blind moron not to notice them and attempt to draw attention to said entries.

I know the contest is crap. I raised a little of my own hell in last years thread when their were technical mix ups about things as simple as HUFFY playback. My point is, the entrants know this and it's expected at this point, which I agree, this is sad. I think that it's more important for the consistent entrants to make it a point to say that something is wrong here and ask for change and they are doing this.

From what I can tell, nothing was mentioned along the lines either last year or this year concerning poor entires/judging until someone else got in there to stir things up. I can't help myself, there is noway in hell I can sit back and watch wounds bleed all over the place while they're looked at others as paper cuts by others.

3) I never attempted to make this all about Digital Panther. I was never trying to single him out. I hold the blame to everyone involved with the judging process. Yes, he is the one in charge. Yes, he is the one who has the final say. But those who work with him are at just as much fault for the giant holes in their rules/judging. Also, just because you enter a contest on a regular basis doesn't mean you've got any standing on the mechanics of how it's judged. Just because I frequent a restaurant that doesn't make me a food critique. I would still like to know how the judging process is done and what standards they go off of. They have never made this process public and due to the lack of responses from actual judges, I really doubt if they plan on it.

While you may not have personally wanted to target DP, his name is what's being tossed around right now the most. Not just with you, but with everyone. My comments on DP were actually directed at everyone in the thread, not just you.

As for people who enter a contest on a regular basis, I'm not talking about them understanding the judging mechanics. I'm simply saying that I'm sure that AX acknowledges that these entrants are what make up their contest. I would hope that they are familiar with these entrants and happy to see them enter every year. So, for these people to stand up and say that they dont like how things are being run and that they may not even enter next year, that says a lot to the coordinators.

I agree, but it would have quite a bit easier and a lot less of a headache to act on these issues last year when the problems were first brought up, would they not? Hence my anger with the delays.

3) Don't you dare start thinking you know why I'm upset. My bestest buddies in the whole wideset world not making it to the big shiny contest have NOTHING to do with any of my rants. I simply use Eidolon and Castor Troy's previous entries as prime examples. Are they both my friends? Yes. Do I feel like got burned? Yes. Is that my drive? No.
Other than their entries I have no idea who entered what but due the fact that they claim to have massive amount of amazing entries...the finalists they've chosen...no way in hell could those be the "cream of the crop"

I'm vulgar, I'm brash, I'm loud and I speak what's on my mind. I'm not going to change for anyone. If you don't like my opinion there is a glorious little "Ignore" button. I enjoy going to this convention and I would love to see something done about the miserable state of the contest.
I never use examples from other editors/contests unless I know them to be 100% true.
And don't you DARE accuse me of being a pathetic little circle jerking moron who makes an outburst when her bestest friends don't make it into the contest. That was never my intent and never will be my intent.

THIS is what you needed to clarify and this is what I wanted hear from you because you are coming across as someone who just cheers for their friends because these are the names that you are constantly dropping and while you may not care for your own image here, at least care for their image here. I think most of the points that you brought up here are valid. I agree with most of them. I do not agree with how you're handling it because I dont think it gets much done. Yes, we know you're upset and yes, you should be. You did offer one example from A-kon, that's good. Thank you for contributing that because suggestions like those help.

I don't see how I'm hurting them by using them as examples when they work perfectly as so. You can ask anyone who knows me, I'm one of the first people to get upset when someone goes on the defense when criticism is directed at a friend. Life happens, not everyone likes you, so don't have your friends coming to the rescue every time some gives you a dirty look.
Once again, I only use these examples due to the fact they are the main/best ones I know of.

I'd kinda like to see why nothing has been done. No excuses. I'd like the truth. And if you'd like me to stop cursing and using "childish" language...then that's a bit too bad. Once again, you may not like it...but it's who I am.

I think your opinion matters quite a bit here and as stated before, I do agree with a lot of you've said. The reason I made my post is to make sure that you acknowledge the other side of what may be going on and to clarify your position. I would like your voice to be heard instead of you to be looked over because you may seem like just an angry person or a circle jerk. We both know you're above that and so you should be treated above that, but you wont be unless you present yourself that way.

That's what Kisanzi keeps telling me and hitting me over the head for (quite literally occasionally) but I'm really a person who is ruled by her emotions. That sounds cheesey, but I have a bit of a hard time expressing these things via forum posts. Like I said, I would be more than happy to have a conversation about these problems in person or even over skype. I can keep myself composed but when blatantly wrong things are kicking me in the face and no one else seems to think that they're more than "a simple mistake" I get angry. And ask Mitchie or Todd, or anyone. You won't like me when I'm really angry


EDIT::

Going back to the possible point of bias, and since we can't effectively know if judging is being as objective as possible, I'd point out more steps are needed to make the judging more objective. Judging should definitely be blind. Judges shouldn't have to be pointed out who made what video. If this is already done, then great, but as of right now, we really don't know because we're in the dark on this.

And one thing to consider, considering the volume of entries AX receives each year, I'd have to wonder about the amount of mental fatigue that's going on. From what I understand judging of categories are done by showing all of the category's entries in succession. Something could be done about this I feel. Ensure judging is based on the merits of its category, i.e. "This drama isn't really good because it's not as fun as that comedy one!" Of course not. In case you didn't notice I'm looking at Death Note Rhapsody right here. What else? Maybe take even more time for the judging process. Space the judging out more. Yes, that's right. Take even more time to get list out . As others have stated the technical and logistical aspects of this contest are sound, but the judging process looks to be the part that could be worked upon more. Given that DP has already stated intention to make scheduling of all processes better, I think there should be no reason not to devote more time to the judging process in order to get it right.

Blind judging is not the issue here. They really don't seem to care who it's from, from what I can tell, if only there was a way to make a type of "blind judging concerning sources"

There are months to judge the videos. You can eliminate most within first glance of technical aspects. When it starts playing, are there subtitles and constantly changing aspect ratios with a poor encode? Yes. There ya go. You've knocked one out. Are there bumpers? Yes. Knocked another another out. Is there one of those fugly logos that have become all the rage nowadays in the corner of the video? Yes. You've knocked another out.
Once you've unloaded all the auto-crap videos then you're left with a small percentage of what was submitted. Now all you have to do is clear out maybe an hour of your day out of the week for a month or so to watch some videos.
If you sit there marathoning, of course you'll get burnt out. Life is all about balance. And if you claim that watching AMVs/judging them is an overload then you might want to take a closer look at your life.
AX begins taking entries around the same time Acen does and yet stops taking them before Acen does...and happens over two months later. I believe there is plenty of time to watch some AMVs, especially when you've got a large group of people in on the process.

[Castor Troy]

I don't know about Ryder and I don't like speaking for Castor but Castor has been editing since he was VegetaInsane and made a bunch of DBZ videos to the same artist (can't remember the name anymore - and I apologize to Castor if this is a memory he doesn't want brought up). But Castor has been doing that since I don't know how long ago. I've been editing since 1998/1999 and I used to be sore when my work didn't make it in to see on a big screen. But I've been editing so damn long frankly it's not a concern anymore - it's nice to see my work there and I would really like to see it and/or win something but it's not going to kill me if I don't. I don't edit to win awards and I don't edit for large audiences, I edit because I like doing it and I wish that realization came to me a lot earlier down the line than it did.

Besides, imo nothing matches the experience of the first time you see your work shown in frong of a large audience - Anthony Bennet told me that the first time my work made it into AX (that was AX 2001 or 2002 if I recall correctly - it was my Berserk video and we still in Anaheim at the time) and damn if he wasn't right.

Megumi Hayashibara.

But yeah, absolutely nothing can match the experience of watching your videos on the big screen in front of thousands of people. If you put in so much work into a video and are proud of it, you're definitely gonna take it hard when it doesn't get in.

[XStylus]

For one...as stated by others, this isn't the first embarrassment you've let into your contest. Watch the creator's youtube...The Blue Orchid video you let in last year is just one of the damn intros to Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei.

And if all else fails, look up the damn source. It took 3 seconds to search for "Persona 4 opening." If you're not sure, look a little deeper.

The problem there is we weren't even suspicious of the video in question.

So, since our suspicion radar is a bit out of whack, that'd mean that we'd need to start hunting for and watching torrents and YouTube vids for source material from nearly all of the over 100 vids submitted. That will take way longer than 3 seconds (or even 3 minutes) per vid, I assure you. It took us 30 freaking hours to blaze through the pre-screenings. This is not a viable request to ask.

Maybe it could be something that can be done before it gets to the prescreeners by a dedicated AMV staff, but really, this is sounding way overkill to me. There's got to be a more elegant or efficient solution.

Honestly, HOW ARE THESE VIDEOS JUDGED AND WHO IS JUDGING THEM?

A group of ten to fifteen staffers (mostly AMV fans and/or people whose opinion Michael trusts) are invited to the office. They sit and watch a vid. They write a score for that vid on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 to 10 for AMTV) on the criteria of "Fun", "Tech", and "Concept". They move on to the next vid. Repeat until ridiculously late hours.

...ability to follow proper rules and regulations and provide a clean encode.

One point that Michael and I consistently debate about is regarding minimum standards for source material and video quality. I think Michael is too lenient, whereas he thinks I'm far too harsh. Let's just say pre-screening time would probably drop from thirty hours to six if my standards were imposed.

But the judging really needs to strengthen up a bit.

If you've got suggestions, let's hear them.

I'd love to compare notes with how other competitions do their judging. For instance, I was gobsmacked to hear that Otakon opens their before-con pre-screenings to the public, even to the AMV editors themselves. If I'd ever heard that suggested for our competition I'd say that's crazy talk, but they obviously seemed to have made it work. Frankly, there have been times in which I wished that some editors could be present at the pre-screenings.

[Vlad G Pohnert]

drama MUST be impressive if my Ponyo/Little Mermaid vid didn't make the cut!

Lol, i would say the same thing... surprised i'm not into the finals too!

Edit: Oh, yep, good luck to the finalists!

Indeed same here.. and see, it just goes to show that there is not garantee of anything no matter who you are..

Vlad

[s0matic]

There are months to judge the videos. You can eliminate most within first glance of technical aspects. When it starts playing, are there subtitles and constantly changing aspect ratios with a poor encode? Yes. There ya go. You've knocked one out. Are there bumpers? Yes. Knocked another another out. Is there one of those fugly logos that have become all the rage nowadays in the corner of the video? Yes. You've knocked another out.
Once you've unloaded all the auto-crap videos then you're left with a small percentage of what was submitted. Now all you have to do is clear out maybe an hour of your day out of the week for a month or so to watch some videos.
If you sit there marathoning, of course you'll get burnt out. Life is all about balance. And if you claim that watching AMVs/judging them is an overload then you might want to take a closer look at your life.
AX begins taking entries around the same time Acen does and yet stops taking them before Acen does...and happens over two months later. I believe there is plenty of time to watch some AMVs, especially when you've got a large group of people in on the process.

Bolded point is what I'm referring to, yes. I'm not saying the process itself is an overload, but given the circumstances, which for AX would be mental fatigue due to marathoning, excessive entries in certain categories than others, and a large amount of entries in general, then suggestions you bring up would definitely go towards helping balance out the process.

Blind judging is not the issue here. They really don't seem to care who it's from, from what I can tell, if only there was a way to make a type of "blind judging concerning sources"

At this point yes I agree. It doesn't really take priority given the more serious issues that need to be taken care of first. I was thinking more of the big picture when I said this.

But if miraculously all other points are taken care of, then blind judging would just be icing on the cake, because the quality of entries/judging would be verified in the first place.

[The Wired Knight]

For one...as stated by others, this isn't the first embarrassment you've let into your contest. Watch the creator's youtube...The Blue Orchid video you let in last year is just one of the damn intros to Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei.

And if all else fails, look up the damn source. It took 3 seconds to search for "Persona 4 opening." If you're not sure, look a little deeper.

The problem there is we weren't even suspicious of the video in question.

So, since our suspicion radar is a bit out of whack, that'd mean that we'd need to start hunting for and watching torrents and YouTube vids for source material from nearly all of the over 100 vids submitted. That will take way longer than 3 seconds (or even 3 minutes) per vid, I assure you. It took us 30 freaking hours to blaze through the pre-screenings. This is not a viable request to ask.

Maybe it could be something that can be done before it gets to the prescreeners by a dedicated AMV staff, but really, this is sounding way overkill to me. There's got to be a more elegant or efficient solution.

Honestly, HOW ARE THESE VIDEOS JUDGED AND WHO IS JUDGING THEM?

A group of ten to fifteen staffers (mostly AMV fans and/or people whose opinion Michael trusts) are invited to the office. They sit and watch a vid. They write a score for that vid on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 to 10 for AMTV) on the criteria of "Fun", "Tech", and "Concept". They move on to the next vid. Repeat until ridiculously late hours.

Frankly I'd recomend doing the check after you've got tentative finalists. It's a screwy time to do it but then youv'e cut your work down substantially from hundreds of videos down to 28 which is far more reasonable to check. Some scenes are clear if they are cut or not but it's mostly openings and endings that some hacks will do that to so a fast youtube search for the final 28 is pretty quick and if one is caught then you just put in the next video in the scoring table.

As far as scoring, I do not like the "fun" catagory to be honest. I think that's how DNR got in last year because despite being technically lacking and being in drama it can suddenly get ramped up for being a "fun" video in drama where a lot of other people will be scoring videos low. How do you rate how "fun" a movie is in drama? If I applied the same criteria to a moviel ike Schindler's List it would do fine in Tech and Concept but absolutely bomb a fun catagory. So submitting a borderline comedy/action video into drama suddenly gives it an edge in one catagory where otehrs fail, and by a large margin relatively speaking. Fun can work fine in something like comedy or action but honestly I just don't like the idea of that one criteria, I think it's far to amorphous and too inaplicable in certain situations. Hell it's even hard to apply to AMTV as a dramatic amv with high technical and concept merrits can loose out to a silly one because, well, comedy is more fun than drama.