Youmacon 2008 AMV Contest - Submission's Closed

[ngsilver]

The rules, special updates, extra info, and helpful hints can all be found here: http://contests.ngsilver.com/youmacon/

Visit that website for an easily readable format of the rules in both HTML and PDF form.

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Youmacon 2008 AMV Contest Rules

Please read through all the rules before entering!

Entry Requirements:

· All videos must be in the hands of the Contest Coordinator by October 10th. You have until MIDNIGHT on that Friday night to get your video in. (all times Eastern)
· Only videos created after November 3rd 2005 will be accepted as competing entries. All others will be deemed exhibition entries.
· There is no limit to the number of entries per creator that can be submitted to the contest.
· Only 1 video per category, per creator, will be allowed to compete.
· Videos that have competed at a previous Youmacon AMV Contest will not be eligible to compete, however videos cut from previous contests will still be accepted as competing entries.
· Multi-editor videos are also accepted.
· Entries may not contain bumpers, title screens, MTV style credits, or any other form of identification. We will be creating our own uniform bumpers and we will not remove them for you.
· The running time for videos may not exceed 6 minutes or be shorter then 25 seconds.
· Videos must contain at least 50% anime or video game footage.
· By submitting your video(s) to this contest you authorize us to screen and distribute it under the Youmacon AMV Contest Title. All physical media (CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, ect) submitted becomes the property of Youmacon Enterprises and will not be returned.
· Entries may be disqualified for the following reasons:
o Objectionable content in the song or video
o Bad audio or video quality
o Subtitled footage
o Failure to adhere to submission rules
o Lack of entry form
o Or any reason Youmacon AMV Staff deems necessary.
§ If you are unsure if your video would be disqualified due to the above rule e-mail the contest coordinator and we can view the content of your video and make a decision.
· Exceptions to the rules will be made on a video-by-video basis.


Entry Format:

· Entries will ONLY be accepted in the following formats:
o AVI
§ HUFFYUV
§ LAGARITH
§ DIVX
§ XVID
§ DV
o MPEG
o MPEG-2 (preferred)
o H.264
· Videotape and DVD formatted entries will NOT be accepted. WMV, RM, and MOV files will also NOT be accepted.
· All videos should include at least 1 second of black space before and after the video.
· Digital Video File format specifications:
o Videos will be played on a large projection screen. As such, high quality will be expected. For the best results submitting a video that has at least a 640x480 resolution is required (or 640x352 if you are working with widescreen footage.) Submitting videos smaller then this (including using source smaller then this) will degrade the visual quality of the video, which may lead to disqualification.
· You may submit your video with compressed audio, however, your video may be disqualified if there are any problems converting the audio if you do not include an uncompressed wav along with your entry.


Contest Information:

· The contest will be shown either via a computer directly to the projector or via an authored DVD. Those of you submitting via MPEG2 will benefit from following the DVD specifications outlined here.
· All videos not selected for exhibition or disqualified will compete.
· There will be at least 1 showing in Main Events. This showing will only be 2 hours long. As such, videos will be cut from this showing if we receive more entries then can fit in this 2 hour time period.
· All entries will be shown at the convention during designated times in the VAT room.
· In the event that we do not receive enough competing entries to fill the 2-hour block, exhibition entries will be used.
· The following awards will be given:
o Fan Favorite
o Best of Show
o Staff Pick
o Best Action
o Best Drama
o Best Romance
o Best Comedy
o Best Upbeat
o Best Technical
o Most Original Concept
o Best Staff
· In the case where a lack of entries are present in a category in order to compete, those videos will then be added to a similar category. Ex, Romance added to Drama, Upbeat added to Action.
o 2 or more videos will be required in each category for the category to compete.
· If you are curious as to how judging will work this year you may contact the coordinator for more information.
· You do not need to be present to win. However the fastest means of receiving your award will be to either be present or have a proxy at the con to pick your award up for you.
o If you will have a proxy at the con to accept your award(s) send an email to the contest coordinator with the name of your proxy.
o The convention will mail out awards after the con to those who did not pick them up at con.
§ The convention regrets to inform you that this courtesy can only be extended to entrants in the United States. All international entrants will have to send SASE (or cash for postage) in order to receive their award.

· You may submit entries to the following categories:
o Drama:
§ Videos in this category seek to evoke emotional responses from viewers by the successful combination of music, video, and editing which usually involves dramatic subject matter or dramatic elements from the anime.
o Upbeat
§ Music Videos in the upbeat category are uplifting and have a beat that one can groove to.
o Comedy
§ Whether parody or just wacky content, videos in this category can be pretty successful as long as someone thinks it’s funny.
o Romance
§ Videos here are much like drama, except they focus on the relationships between two people. The aww factor plays heavily in this category.
o Action
§ Videos will focus on action whether that is fighting sequences, motions of characters, or fast paced colorful imagery. The key word here is adrenaline.
o Staff
§ If you are Youmacon staff this is the only category you are allowed to compete in.
o Exhibition
§ Videos in this category do not compete for awards. They are there purely to be shown off to the masses at the con.


Entry Submissions:

· We will be employing a new AMV Contest Database system for keeping track of entries this year. The system will be used to fill out entry forms, request priority seating at the contest, request ftp information, view status of entries, and much more.
· All entries must contain an entry form. Those submitting multiple entries will need to submit a form for each video. The entry form will be announced when it is ready.
o Entry forms will be filled out at the website given. Directions for filling out the form will be available when the form is released.

· FTP will be available upon request only. Requests will be made via the entry form. After you have entered in a video you may request an FTP account by going to the Video Status area and clicking on the request link. Make sure you click on the proper link for the contest you are wanting and FTP account for.

· Entries may also be mailed. Send your video and printed entry form to:
o ATTN: Youmacon 2008
o Nathan Silverthorn
o 15750 Gulley
o Taylor, Mi, 48180
· Please make sure to include a printed copy of your entry form with your snail-mailed entry.
· The following media types will be accepted: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-DL, DVD+DL
o Remember that all media submitted will not be returned. Do not send us your master copy.
· Label the disk with your name and the video title(s) on the disk
· You may put multiple videos on a single disk.
o If your file is larger then the space available on a disk you may split the file using a program like WinRAR. Simply label the disks as 1,2,3,ect


Any and all questions regarding the contest may be directed to the contest coordinator at amv [AT] youmacon [DOT] com.


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The Youmacon 2008 Hentai AMV Contest


Information:
· You may submit as many videos as you want to the Hentai Contest, as long as you made them.
· There is no time limit on videos.
· There are no Quality standards.
· You can submit a video that’s as old as your grandmother if you so wish.
· Fill out the AMV Contest Entry Form and select Hentai as the category.
· You will request FTP access through the entry form.
· Submit your videos also to the same snail-mail address, however, Hentai videos need to be on a separate disk from normal contest videos. (they can be shipped together)
· The contest itself will be 2-4 hours long, depending on how many entries are received.
· Entries will compete for the top 10 places.
· Videos will be voted on by those in attendance of the showing.
· Videos must contain all animated clips (no live action smut). Since this is a hentai contest, 50% of the video must contain hentai material.
· Hentai material will be defined as pornographic, ultra violent, sick, nasty, and utterly wrong. (any or all of these need be present in each video)
· Videos will be pre-selected for the showing. However, the videos that will be screened will not be announced.
· The contest will take place late night one of the nights of the convention
· All persons entering this contest must be 18 years of age or older.

[ngsilver]

At the moment the entry form / amv database system is down for final checks and testing. We want to be sure that it is ready to handle the load put on it before we release it for the masses to use.

We are in the process of acquiring FTP space and when it is ready the function will be added to the database.

The system is new and many of you may not have used a system like this before, so there is a help section within the database to help explain how things work and assist you as you fill out all the required sections.

We are also instituting a new system for our entrants who wish to take advantage of priority seating during the contest showings at the con. This feature will also be added to the database system once it is ready. Essentially, you will receive a ticket which will grant you the ability to seat before the platinum attendees in main events as well as before any other attendees during all re-showings in the VAT. It will also be your pass to front row seats during the award ceremony.

[ngsilver]

The entry database is up and ready to take on users.

You can access the database here: http://contests.ngsilver.com/login.htm

You will need to create an account before you can log in. Once you have logged in there is a help section to assist you with questions you may have on some of the basic functions.

Before you can enter a new video you will need to alter your creator information.

If you have any question feel free to send them my way.

[ngsilver]

Just a friendly reminder that there is little under a month and a half left to get your videos in for this year's Youmacon. Let's see what you got!

[ngsilver]

Friendly Reminder, all entrants have aprox. 3 weeks to get their videos in. Remember, deadline is October 10th! (Contest closes at midnight that Friday. All Dates/Times Eastern)

[ngsilver]

Those of you who have recently requested FTP access and have been trying to upload your videos have had issues connecting to the FTP server. This is a known issue, as the server itself has been prone to crashes lately.

As of today the server is currently down due to a cataclysmic system crash. I know this really sucks so close to the deadline. I am in the process of procuring a secondary option for those of you submitting via FTP. Please be patient as I secure this new FTP server.

I will post an update here when the new server is ready. This should hopefully only take a few days. Depending on how long it takes I may look into allowing a short extension for FTP users.

Thank you for your understanding.

[ngsilver]

Alright, new FTP server info is ready.

server: youmaconamv.serveftp.com
port: 21
user: YoumaAMV
pass: M5KNHY8O

Server maximum video size limit: 350 MB (if your file is larger then this better plan to send the video in via the mail)

You will have access to upload your files, but you will not be able to delete or download from this server. Also, if you have problems please contact iceman.f1@gmail.com

Info on the server from the one hosting it
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello,

I am the person currently running the server. I currently have the server setup to log any login attempts so as to see what the exact problems may occur when trying to login. If you have a problem, use the email provided however I'll need the following information to be able to help out as quickly as possible.

- The approx. date/time that was tired to access the server. Time in EST (Eastern Standard Time). The best bet for this is to email me right after it didn't connect so you are more aware of the time and date instead of trying to guess later on.
- The FTP client that was used to try and connect. This way I can see if there are any common issues in the past in regards to that client.

I do not have the time to go into depth about how to use a FTP server and the very basics on how it works. I can only help with connection issues. There are plenty of free FTP clients and instructions on how to use them. Please only email with connection problems.

There have been minimal issues in the past and the setup hasn't changed since then so there hopefully will be minimal problems this time.

One last note is that this login does not allow you to resume uploads. So if the uploads fails part of the way through, I will have to manually delete the file and you will have to re-upload. There will be exceptions if the file size is too big but that will happen on a case by case basis. As such, on my server, there will be a cap of 350 MB per video file. This is to reduce as many problems as possible while still having a high quality video file. If you needed a bigger video file, you should really be sending it in VIA CD/DVD.

Once again, email with any connection issues and I'll try and deal with it as fast as possible.

Thanks.

[ngsilver]

Final reminder. Everyone has until the crack of Midnight on Oct 11th to get their video in. As long as you have initiated your FTP transfer you will be fine, but it MUST be started before Midnight! Mail in entries need to be in MY HANDs no later then Oct 11th (this is a Saturday) all late entries will not be allowed to compete. Get ready to pay for overnight or be ready to upload your videos to the FTP announced in a post prior. Keep in mind the FTP video size limit.

Remember, all entries require an entry form, and all entry forms require an actual entry.

[CodeZTM]

I'd just like to say this. I wish all contests worked like this one.

Easiest/most efficient process I've ever gone through.

[Bauzi]

Let´s submit a hentai vid.