Announcement & discussion of Anime Music Video contests
Forum rules
Coordinators who fail to maintain necessary communication with entrants, or provide timey updates on results may be barred from announcing future events.
Celebrating the heroes of fan-made tributes, we invite you all to join us as Anime Los Angeles returns for our 15th year!
Anime Music Videos, or AMVs, are short fan-made music videos that pay homage to many of our favorite shows. Whether you are a renowned award winning talent or just starting out with your first ever project, our event welcomes creators of all skills and experiences. With some persistence, a desire to create, and admittedly a bit of luck, you just might see your work compete on the main stage!
Of course, if you prefer to sit back and enjoy an evening of awesome videos, we have you covered too! Our judges spend many weeks collectively deciding the best of the many submissions we receive in order to present to you a night of unique, one-of-a-kind entertainment that can only be seen at ALA! Best of all, YOU the audience get to decide the winners of each of the main categories, as well as the coveted Audience Choice award granted only to the best of the best.
Please be sure to review all of the rules below before submitting your videos, and send any questions you have to amv@animelosangeles.org. We can't wait to see what creations you'll serve up this year. Good luck!
The Rules
Spoiler :
Main Categories
Action / Adrenaline
Power, Intensity, Adventure
Drama / Theater
Suspense, Angst, Thriller
Fun / Upbeat
Whimsy, Energy, Swing
Sentiment / Feels
Passion, Nostalgia, Character
Comedy / Humor
Quirky, Silly, Outrageous
Bonus Categories
Trailer
Film, Games, Teasers
TV Intro
Parody of TV Show Openings
Commercial
Short Advertising Spots
Note: The final categories are subject to change depending on the amount and type of entries we receive
Entry Guidelines
Please review all of the guidelines. Contact us with any questions before submitting your entry.
Guidelines - All Entries
The majority of your entry's video content must consist of anime-styled or manga-styled sources. Consideration may be given to other sources that fit within the spirit of this event.
This is a PG-13 / TV-14 event. Excessive violence, coarse language, or adult situations/innuendo may lead to disqualification.
Must satisfy our technical standards
Must not have any corner watermark trademarks or logos
Must not have premiered online or participated in any public event prior to January 1, 2017
Bonus category entries are exempt from this rule
Guidelines - Main Categories
Up to 3 entries per creator or group
Duration: 1 minute minimum, 6 minutes maximum
Audio content must be primarily driven by music. No excessive dialog.
No unnecessary or excessive subtitles, text, or credits
Artistically relevant titles may be accepted
Multiple entries may be entered into the same category
Only 1 entry per category may advance to the finals. The judges and coordinator reserve the right to recategorize your entry where appropriate.
"AMV Hell" styled clip-show entries are not accepted into the contest
Guidelines - Bonus Categories
Up to 5 bonus entries per creator or group
These entries do not count against your main category maximum
Duration limits:
Trailer: 1 minute minimum, 3 minutes & 30 seconds maximum
TV Intro: No minimum, 1 minute & 30 seconds maximum
Commercial: No minimum, 1 minute maximum
Winners from these categories are determined by the judges. Trailers may be considered for Audience Choice.
Technical Standards
Resolution: 640x480 minimum, 1920x1080 maximum
File Size: 300 megabytes maximum
Formats: MP4 (preferred), MOV, AVI, MKV or MPG
Windows Media Format (WMV) will not be accepted.
The following video technical flaws may be subject to disqualification depending on severity:
Interlacing
Incorrect, or squashed/stretched aspect ratios
Chunky/blocky video (often caused by low quality source or excessive data compression)
Extreme Banding (i.e. Color gradients caused by video re-compression)
The following audio technical flaws may be subject to disqualification depending on severity:
Audible distortion
Levels that are too high, overdriven, or clipped
Levels that are too low or inaudible
Audible discontinuities caused by flawed audio edits
Pitch-shifted or speed-adjusted audio (unless by obvious artistic necessity)
Disqualification and Rejection
Entries may be disqualified or rejected for any reason listed in these rules or for any reason not foreseen by these rules as deemed by the coordinators or staff volunteers. All entries will be screened prior to judging to test for playback and rules compliance.
Disqualified entries may be resubmitted at any time prior to the submission deadline with advised corrections.
Rejected entries may not be resubmitted. A rejection may result in a temporary or permanent ban from this event depending on severity.
Your entry may be rejected for the following reasons (subject to change, not limited to...):
Plagiarism
You may not submit another AMV creator's work as your own. You may not use another AMV creator's work, even partially, without explicit acknowledgement. All persons involved in an entry must be listed on the submission form at the time of submission, and all must give consent to participate in this event.
Dishonorable Behavior
You may not engage in behavior that causes grief, harm, or in any way violates the rules of the convention with other creators, ALA attendees or ALA volunteer staff. This includes conduct on social media sites and private encounters.
Dishonesty
You may not submit false, inaccurate or misleading information when submitting an entry or while discussing with the contest coordinator or ALA volunteer staff. This includes stating you have read all of the rules before submitting an entry.
Minimal Effort / Zero Edit Submissions
You may not submit an entry that is deemed to have little to no editing of original sources.
Troll Submissions
You may not submit an entry for malicious purposes towards anyone.
Deadline
All entries must be submitted no later than 11:59pm PST on Sunday, December 2, 2018. You must fill out the online submission form and include a working download link to your entry by this time.
Entry Submission
Entries must be submitted digitally
no physical media of any kind will be accepted
Please use an appropriate file sharing service like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.
Please do not link to video sharing sites like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
On behalf of Anime Los Angeles, all of the volunteer staff, and as a personal message from me, thank you. We would be no where without your continued support!
After weeks of discussion and debate, our panel of judges have narrowed down the finalists for this year's AMV Contest.
We are proud to present finalist entries from the following creators:
AnimeTwins
BecauseImBored1
Bimyou
BioticAMVs
Cneq
Davey Dalmascus
drewaconclusion
General Agemo
Glitzer
JanikaChan & Trenzilla
King Redeem
Kirbygal
Kyci
Maboroshi Studio
MadMegatax
MarikoAMV
Mysunsai
Nekokitkat
Obsidian Zero
PaNTSU oF d00m
Rider4Z
Sean.PNG
SerAvium
shorisquared
Speedy180
Tasha Livingstone
TheDestineeAMV
Tigrin
UnluckyArtist
Xophilarus
Zandersen
To all of the finalists listed above, you should have received an email confirming your entry information. Please check to make sure the information we have is accurate.
Even if your name is not listed above, your AMV entry may still be played! We will once again highlight some of the best of the non-finalists and honorable mentions during our pre-show block on the main stage, and we will showcase many more inside our AMV Room all weekend long.
Once again, thank you so much for being a part of this event. I hope to continue to see more works by you for years to come.
Thank you so much to everyone who has entered so far. I know the rules were announced much later than they should have been, and there has not been a lot of time to get submissions ready. Please accept my deepest apologies. Personal issues in my life took me away from my responsibilities to all of you. I don’t say that to excuse this behavior, but it is the truth, and I try to opt for transparency wherever possible.
I look forward to all the amazing entries still to come. Good luck, everyone!
I just submitted but I have a question. My brother wants me to submit my "Time to Rise" amv but I think it might be too graphic for the contest. I just want to double check please and thank you!
I just submitted but I have a question. My brother wants me to submit my "Time to Rise" amv but I think it might be too graphic for the contest. I just want to double check please and thank you!
If they showed my "Hell of a Feeling" video last year, I think you're fine, haha. BUT! It's still always nice to ask. Just in case.
I just submitted but I have a question. My brother wants me to submit my "Time to Rise" amv but I think it might be too graphic for the contest. I just want to double check please and thank you!
Is that your Fate video that's up on your YouTube? I'd say that's fine. It doesn't cross any issues as far as I'm concerned.
Are there any limits to how big a file size can be?
I am trying out different mp4 converting methods. When I run my video through the highest quality of Zarx, I get some blockiness on the darker scenes. It's around 146mb so the size is not the problem there. However, when I run it through another program I have, there is no blockiness at all...however, the size is around 0.98gb, so I am unsure which version to send. Thanks.
