Click on this link to register
Official Contest Information:
There will be two different showings: the official contest and an exhibition showing. Both presentations are scheduled to run approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes long and will be shown via DVD.
The official contest list along with the exhibition list will be posted tentatively on January 24th (a week before Ohayocon) through the official Ohayocon Twitter feed, Ohayocon Facebook page, Ohayocon.org forums, and finally the AnimeMusicVideos.org forums. The approximate times of the contest and exhibition will also be posted as well. Keep in mind these dates and times are subject to change. Please see video submission info in this section for further information on how to submit the video as well as what to expect from the submission and contest process.
For editors submitting to the contest, there will be 5 categories to choose from. If there is a shortage of entries for one or more of the categories after the submission deadline, the AMV liaison will announce on the forums the category(s) that have been dropped and the editors will be informed if their video will be assigned to another category. The categories are as follows:
• Drama
• Upbeat/Dance
• Parody/Trailer
• Romance
• Action
As was the case in previous years, MMVs (Manga Music Videos) and GMVs (Gaming Music Videos), provided the source is Japanese-produced, will be accepted in its appropriate categories. There will not be a themed category this year.
A selection committee, which will include the Ohayocon AMV Liaison, will select the video submissions that will represent the Ohayocon 15 AMV contest. The panel of judges will return for Ohayocon 15 to help decide the best videos of the contest. For audience participation, they will vote for their favorite videos as well. An awards show will be held on Sunday, in which awards and prizes will be given out for the following:
• Best of each category (Drama, Upbeat/Dance, Parody/Trailer, Romance, Action) as picked by the judges
• Ohayocon 15 Audience Favorite (as picked by the audience)
• Ohayocon 15 Best of Show (Judges’ favorite video)
The winner of the best overall video will not qualify for the best in its category. That will go the video with the next best score in that category. Awards and prizes will be given out at the awards ceremony for editors who attend. A proxy will be allowed to pick up the awards and prizes, but the name of the proxy must be either mentioned in the registration or e-mailed to the AMV liaison. This year, the Ohayocon AMV contest will offer trophies as awards (along with a prize) which will be mailed out for the winners who are not attending.
Contest Submission Information:
All video registrations and submissions will be accepted starting October 1st, 2014. Registration will close at 11:59 PM EST Dec 30st, 2013, and video submissions must be turned in in by 11:59 PM January 3th, 2015.
All videos submitted will undergo a thorough screening process by the AMV liaison to ensure they comply with the rules. All entries will receive a notification e-mail that states their contest submission was received. In the event the video doesn’t meet the expectations, the notification e-mail will also include instructions on changes that need to be made or state if the AMV is rejected outright depending on the severity of the violation. Once a contest submitted video has been cleared, it will then be put in a queue of accepted videos to be screened by the contest selection committee. To clarify, just because the video passed the initial screening, does not mean that the video is automatically entered into the contest.
When registering online, editors will be asked to fill in the following information:
• Full Legal Name (including everyone who worked on the video)
• Nickname or name that you would like to use in the credits.
• Studio (if applicable)
• E-mail address where the editor(s) can be reached
• AMV Title
• File name of the AMV
• Category of the AMV
• Alternate category of the AMV
• Video source
• Audio source
• Submission type
For the submission type, there will be two choices: either through physical media which will be mailed in or through a Dropbox upload. If through a dropbox upload, the editor will be e-mailed a link where he/she/they can upload the video. If through physical media, it must be put on a DVD-RW or BD-RW and burned as a DATA disk, not authored. All physical media submitted will become property of Ohayocon and thus will not be returned.
The file name of the AMV must be formatted using the following:
“<name that the editor would like to appear on the credits> – <video title>.avi” (although not required, it is highly recommended to send the AMV as an AVI file). All submitted AMVs must have the file name match what was submitted in registration. This is how the videos will be sorted out properly. If there is confusion in this regard, it may cause a delay in the video screening.
Although not required, it is highly recommended the editor include an additional, separate audio file with the submission. If not provided and there are issues with the audio, the editor will have to provide the audio file. If not, the video will be rejected outright.
Online registration starts on October 1st, 2014. Online registration ends at 11:59PM December 30th 2014. All videos must be received 11:59PM January 3rd. That means all videos even the ones that will be a part of the exhibition. NO EXCEPTIONS! Please see the Clean-Up section for any questions as well as where to submit physical media.
Exhibition Submission Information:
The following videos will take part of the exhibition showing:
• When the editor registers the video for exhibition only
• If the editor’s video was registered for the contest, passes the screening, but is not voted into the contest.
If the editor wishes to take part in the exhibition only, he/she/they must specify “exhibition” as the category during registration. All exhibition submitted videos will automatically be shown in the exhibition provided it passes the screening test and meets all of the rule requirements.
If a contest video entry doesn’t get voted into the contest (but passes the first screening test) it may qualify for the exhibition. But due to time, it is not a guarantee. This will be determined by the AMV liason and will be posted along with the contest showing. The videos that are a part of the exhibition showing umbrella will not be assigned the category that it was registered for.
Contest Rules:
Collaborations or multi-editor projects (MEPs) will be accepted. No more than 3 people are allowed to participate in the collaboration. All names of the collaborators are to be included when filling out the registration (even if a studio name is applicable). Please see the contest registration info for more details.
Editor(s) are allowed to submit up to two videos to the contest and one more in the exhibition. Multiple contest submissions must be in different categories. For those who are submitting a collaboration/MEP video, all names used in the submission will count as submitting one AMV. Any solo submissions afterwards will count as a second entry and would have to be in a separate category from the collaboration.
All submitted videos (regardless of if they are for the contest or exhibition showing) must be registered in full using the online registration form found at Ohayocon.org before they can be submitted.
Only videos created after Feb 1st, 2014 (first time Ohayocon entry) will be allowed. All video submissions that have won four or more major awards (best in category, best in show, etc.) in previous AMV contests must be designated for the exhibition showing only as it does not qualify for the contest. If the video does wins its fourth award after the registration deadline has passed (December 30th 2014), it will not be counted against the contestant- though the editor should notify the AMV liaison so they are aware. All editors must utilize the honor system in this regard when registering the video.
The video length must be more than 1 min (60 seconds) long and less than 5 min (300 seconds) long.
The video must contain at least 80% of Japanese Animation, Manga, or Japanese-produced Video Game footage.
No “copied” videos are allowed. The definition of copied is any or all use of material from AMVs edited by someone other than the submitter. If a submitted AMV is found to contain copied material, that video will be disqualified and the editor(s) will be banned from entering future Ohayocon AMV contests. No exceptions.
The video’s content must be PG-13. No songs with racial content (deliberately expressing the superiority of one race over another), sexually explicit content, or the “7 words you can never say on television” (you can submit “language” as long as you edit/bleep words sufficiently), no gore (a little blood is acceptable but not much beyond that), and any and all bodies need to be covered with at least 45% of clothing (no private parts shown). Innuendo is acceptable as long as images and words are not explicit.
All major video formats will be accepted as long as the video is of clear, viewable quality and the audio is clear and concise. However, please keep in mind that the presentation will be created using Sony Vegas software. If for whatever reason, the AMV isn’t recognizable by this software, the editor will be given a chance to redo the video so it is recognizable. This will be a part of the screening process by the AMV liaison. Otherwise, it will be disqualified.
All submissions, with the exceptions of videos submitted to the Parody/Trailer categories, must be set, primarily, to a musical song. Parody/Trailer categories can be set to any other sound track of the editor’s choosing, so as long as it meets all of the other rules.
There are no banned songs or audio clips for the Ohayocon 15 AMV contest (provided that they meet the PG-13 rule).
Both the contest and exhibition will be shown via DVD. In other words, all videos will be burned on a DVD for both presentations. It is not required but it is recommended the video resolution is 720 x 480, the aspect ratio is 4:3 (letterbox is allowed), and the frame rate is 29.97 fps. All videos submitted that are not of this scale, will be scaled down to this format, doing so without stretching or reducing the video quality, as best as possible. Please make sure the audio is 2-Channel or 48000hz.
The following will not be allowed in the video:
• Audio sound (not video footage) from any anime or video game that is not licensed for commercial distribution in North America, Europe, or anywhere outside of Japan/Pacific Rim area. Audio sound from an anime or video game that is licensed for commercial distribution in North America, Europe, or anywhere outside of Japan/Pacific Rim area will be allowed.
• Bumpers or Credits (Uniform bumpers will be provided in the contest presentation for all submitted and qualified AMVs)
• All logos
• All watermarks
• Screen Names
• Fan or commercially produced subtitles (This only pertains to the video source of the AMV or GMV. Editors are allowed to create their own subtitles or any other text for any reason of their choosing (ex: for translation purposes) as long as it relates to the AMV. Please keep in mind that this will be shown on a DVD format, which may stretch the video out, resulting in the subtitles getting cut off)
The AMV Liaison reserves the right to reject any video for any other reason not mentioned in the rules.
Clean-Up:
As of October 1st, 2014, all rules shown above will be deemed final and non-negotiable. Before that date, these rules may be subject to change. All questions on rules, registration, etc, must be submitted to the following e-mail address: amv@ohayocon.org. All physical submissions must be mailed to the following address:
Ohayocon AMV Contest
6499 Nottinghill Trail Drive
Canal Winchester, OH 43110
And finally from the AMV Liasion: “To all AMV editors out there, thank you for taking the time to read the rules for the Ohayocon 15 AMV contest. You are the reason that this contest exists so I want you to fell that your contributions will be treated with care and respect. If you have any questions regarding this contest, the rules, etc. please do not hesitate to ask. Otherwise, I am looking forward to a great contest and I hope you will be a part of it.”6499 Nottinghill Trail Drive
Canal Winchester, OH 43110
