Kawaii Kon 2017 VAST Contest - Winners List & Finalists

[Rozelly]

ATTENTION: There is a special category added to the contest. Please read at the end of the main rules.

Hello editors, it is that time of the year again! 2016 was amazing, but 2017 will be better. I would to present ......

Kawaii Kon 2017 Video Art Showcase Theater Contest Rules

Who can enter?
The contest is open to all participants. Although it is strongly encouraged participants in the contest be attendees, attendance is not a requirement for entry. The staffers and judges of VAST will not be able to participate, however other Kawaii Kon staffers are free to enter. Please read and understand all the rules listed below.

What can I enter?
Video art is defined as a video production work of editing, mixing audio sources (mostly, but not limited to, music) and video sources (again mostly, but not limited to, anime). Original production video art is welcome and encouraged. Live action and/or self-animated works (by computer or otherwise) are also welcome, but may be judged separately if warranted by the number of entries submitted.

To enter, you must be the creator (or one of the creators if it is a multi-editor project) of the video production work being entered. You may not enter a video that you did not create nor can you enter a video anonymously.

This year, there are two separate contests you can enter: the main Video Art contest and new for 2017, a themed Special Category contest. (See the bottom of these rules for the full details.) For the main contest, there is a limit of two videos per entrant.

The preferred video limit length is to four minutes or less. Although discouraged, videos will not be disqualified if it exceeds this length.
The only exclusion is for videos that have been sent to previous Kawaii Kon contests. These videos are ineligible for competition in the VAST Contest.

Where can I enter?
You can enter your video into the contest electronically only by public file transfer websites that do not require a membership to download the files or through your own hosting website. Youtube entries are not acceptable.

As the contest will be judged prior to the convention, no entries can be accepted at Kawaii Kon in person.

Google Drive is one of the better public file transfer website to upload your entry to as it offers 10GB+ of cloud storage.

When can I enter?
Video submissions will be accepted starting NOW!
Entries will be accepted until February 17, 2017 @11:59pm HST.

Why do I enter?
To see your video on the big screen in front of a live audience and for the chance to win recognition and fortune!
Best in Showcase, Runner-up, Judges’ Choice, Director’s Choice, Best Theme and Fan Favorite for the VAST Contest will be awarded: additional prizes and awards may be awarded at the discretion of the VAST Department. All prizes and awards have a negligible cash value.

How do I enter?
Entry Form
To enter your video, you must submit a completed an online entry form along with each of your video entries. If you enter multiple videos, you must complete multiple entry forms. It is one form for each video.

Note: If submitting a multi-editor project, list all the editors in the real name and editor name sections in order above, with the contact person as the first person listed. For the address, phone number, and email address, only the contact person’s information is required.

Online entry form can be found here: Kawaii Kon 2017 VAST Online Entry Form
The VAST Department will send you a confirmation email when your entry is received and tested in our system.

Upload:
Please upload your video to any public file transfer websites such as Google Drive or Sendspace etc so that the url will be available to download. Copy and paste the url under “Video File URL” on the online entry form.

File Naming Convention
All video files submitted must be named in the following format:
Creator – title – music artist – music title – anime source.file type
Creator – your editor name (or real name if you prefer)
Title – the title of your video (if any)
Music artist – Artist/group name of the song used in the video, or if using another audio source type, source of the audio file (e.g. – ‘The Matrix’ movie trailer)
Music title – title of the song, or identifying segment for the audio if not using a musical source
File type – the type of video container you are using (MPG, AVI, MP4, WMV, etc)

Video Entry Requirements
Bumpers, title screens, credits, or any other form of creator / footage / audio identification are discouraged, but allowed: you will not be disqualified for their inclusion. We will be adding custom title screens to identify each video so there really isn’t a need for them on your submitted files, so if at all possible, please remove them.

Addition of two seconds of blank / black is optional and not required.

For judging purposes, videos will be scored on the actual submitted file. For contest playback purposes, submitted files will be converted to the preferred format (see below).

Video Formats:
Preferred container format – MP4/MKV. The VAST contest is designed to run off a Windows Media Player Classic – Home Cinema on PC using DXVA GPU acceleration, so the preferred container format for video submissions is either MP4 or MKV.

MP4 / MKV Container Profile (Preferred Format):
Resolution: 640x480 minimum, 1920x1080 maximum
Framerate: 23.976 / 24 fps minimum
Audio: AC-3/AAC at 44 kHz, stereo audio, 224 kps or higher
Video: H.264 or x.264

MPEG-2 Profile:
Resolution: 720 x 480 (if you use the correct aspect ratio flag, letterboxing is not required)
Framerate: 29.970 fps
Audio: MP2 at 48 kHz, stereo audio only, 224 kbps or higher, no variable audio bit rates
Video: 8000 kbit/s max, progressive

Other video formats are welcome except for AVCHD video (.m2t) and QuickTime (.mov). Just in case, be prepared to create other file types if we are unable to convert your file to the preferred format.

Non-MPEG-2 Profile:
Resolution: 640x480 is the recommended minimum
Framerate: 23.976 / 24 fps minimum
Audio: any suitable audio format per your container files at a suitably high (192 kbps or higher) bitrate.

AVI containers using the following codecs – DIVX, XVID, HuffYUV, Lagarith, DV-AVI, or the standard compliment of codecs installed by Windows.

WMV - Please follow the resolution/sound rules above for any Windows Media format. Please make sure the video is UNLOCKED, and use high bitrates for better quality. Better still would be to output to DV-AVI and submit this instead (or use this to convert to H.265/x.264 yourself).

Final Notes
By submitting your video to this contest, you authorize Kawaii Kon staff to screen and distribute it under the Kawaii Kon and / or Kawaii Kon Video Art Showcase Theater (VAST) Contest title. Kawaii Kon staff reserves the right to disqualify entries for any reason deemed necessary to protect the overall quality and integrity of the event. Entries may be disqualified for any of the following reasons: objectionable content, low quality video / audio, failure to adhere to the contest rules, and / or at the discretion of the VAST Department.

Kawaii Kon VAST Contest Information
The information thread will be posted on AnimeMusicVideos.org forums and Kawaii Kon website. The winners / playlist will also be posted after the contest is over.

If you have any questions or concerns on any of the above, please feel free to contact the VAST Department:
vast@kawaiikon.com
Thank you for participating and good luck to all!


VAST 2017 Theme Rules
(All regular rules for VAST contest apply, here are the differences.)

The theme of the category is Video Games. Video entered must follow the theme of “video games.” Entries are not restricted to only the use of video games video / audio sources. They may utilize any acceptable source as long as the overall feel of the video is related show back to the theme.

For the special category, there is a limit of one entry person person/group in addition to the videos allowed in the main Video Art Contest. Video limit length are the same as the general contest.

To see an example of what a video game entry can look like, see the video below:

Super Punch Stab Shooter: Championship Edition (Acen Version) - Copycat_Revolver

[Rozelly]

Hurray we have a first entry in!

[jt_x]

can I enter nsfw videos ? or is this for kids ?

[BladEra123]

Sent in an AMV

[Rozelly]

Hello everybody! I know it is crunch time for those who are in school. I would like to announce that there is three months left until the deadline. Remember to turn them in early. The deadline is February 17, 2017 @ 11:59PM HST. Don't forget that we have a special category for the contest, which is video games. We need them!

[Rozelly]

Good news everyone! This is a monthly reminder. There is two months left until the deadline. The deadline is Februrary 17, 2017 @ 11:59PM HST. There are no exception! If you have a confirmation email, you are set. If not, those entries aren't gotta turn themselves in. We need (love) entries for the special category.

[Rider4Z]

Entered 2

[Rozelly]

Entered 2

[Rozelly]

Hello everyone, this is another monthly reminder. There is a month left until the deadline. The deadline is February 17, 2017 @ 11:59 PM HST. I will not be accepting any late entries after the deadline. No exception. Don't forget that there is a special category in the contest. The special category is Video Games theme. The category needs more entries. Only one so far have entered.

[Xophilarus]

Hey, I am asking this on behalf of myself and a couple other editor friends I have, but is it OK if the amount of emails sent is tonned down? This year, I just feel like I have gotten an insane amount from you guys. An email a few weeks before the deadline and maybe one other earlier is not an issue, but the amount we have been receiving has been a little annoying. Especially since we have been getting the emails since October... which is SUPER early... >.< I still plan to enter of course I just wanted to inform you about how some of us were feeling when it comes to the emails.