"Big contests" - do they exist anymore?

[BasharOfTheAges]

The following came out of a conversation I was having with a friend about big AMV contests....

So, back as little as 5 years ago, there seemed to be big buzz around certain cons as having great contests that people prided themselves on entering and were genuinely excited to win. We still see it now occasionally, but it seems more subdued than in the past. Am I imagining this, or has the AMV contest landscape traded in it's giants for lots of less hyped and less coveted "good" contests? Have we gone to a state of supporting our regional big cons and helping out with a vid here or there when our friend, the coordinator, asks us to send something in?

[Castor Troy]

Anime Expo used to be huge until it kept deteriorating each year.

AWA all the way.

[Otohiko]

I think AWA is still relatively major, at least within the North American scene.

Otherwise everything is increasingly moving online and east. AKROSS Con ("con" as in contest, not convention) is arguably the biggest (in terms of generated exposure) AMV contest in the world and has been for about 4 years, followed closely by AMVNews' Big Con.

[dwchang]

I also remember when people prided themselves on premiering videos at these "larger more prestigious" cons and submitting to far less cons so as to keep the video "special" (i.e. it was only shown in X, Y and Z). Also as you said, it meant more to win at those few cons. Times change though so oh well.

[BasharOfTheAges]

I think AWA is still relatively major, at least within the North American scene.

I think it's the only con that still has any big vibe to it that isn't just from locals pumping themselves up. I'd add ACEN to the list, but I get the distinct feeling that there are just so many locals around it (here at least) that it skews overall perception.

I'd go through the top 10 cons list (from animecons.com) for last year to see where everyone thinks they stand, but it seems the list hasn't been assembled yet.

[Castor Troy]

I also remember when people prided themselves on premiering videos at these "larger more prestigious" cons and submitting to far less cons so as to keep the video "special" (i.e. it was only shown in X, Y and Z). Also as you said, it meant more to win at those few cons. Times change though so oh well.

Library Con was huge!

[Nya-chan Production]

Soul's Team IC felt pretty big to me this year - I mean, 20+ teams is pretty good in numbers and quality wasn't bad either.

[ngsilver]

I've always considered AWA and ACEN to be the two big cons for AMVs. I still do. Though some might think my idea is skewed because I work ACEN, but really the reason I work that con and help with the contest is because I held it in such high regard that I jumped at the chance when it appeared. True, to me they are both in my region (I've never really sent anything big to AX or Otakon before) but those are the ones I've known to be considered big amongst locals as well as non-locals.

I've been trying to work Youmacon up to being something more then a local or even regional contest (as it is the con is trying to broaden it's reach as well.) How people view it I don't know. I do know the con gets a lot of local creator support but also a lot of non-local support as well, so whatever that means.

[godix]

I think part of it is just familiarity and being jaded. It's easier to be impressed when you don't know quite so much about something. When you talk to the guy in charge of the contest regularly, things go from "OMG! I was shown at Acen! 20,000 people saw my video! *SQUEE*" to "Eh, Sailor Death is right, it is time to kill theme. Oh well, congrats to whoever won". When you know many of the people who entered, it goes from 'Wow! Did you see that one video? It was so funny and exciting and blah blah blah" to "Oh, I remember beta testing this. It's not bad..." Plus there's a familiarity breeds contempt thing going on. My attitude towards cons is "whee, bumfuck bob and his WMM piece of shit won", or if I do well it's "Did all the other entries suck so much they couldn't beat me?". I've seen plenty of other editors take similar attitudes, although few would phrase it like I have.

Anyway, I think Acen and AWA are still big deals for a lot of people. AKROSS is a pretty big deal for online competitions. I suppose VCAs are still a big deal, although I'm so jaded about them it's hard to see why anymore. So no, I don't think contests aren't big anymore, it's just that many users have gotten so used to the hobby we barely remember the excitement we once had.

[Bauzi]

For me AKROSS is THE biggest contest and competition out there. You need enormous skill to win this contest. It always outputs lots of impressive videos.

Also the VCAs is a big contest. You need a wide fanbase and a pretty good vid to win this. It's huge even if it's not as huge as it probably was years ago.

AMV contests are a bitch. So many cons have it. Some sort of cheap event that doesn't need too much work behind it and people love it. A lot of people tend to only make a hand full of AMVs per year and most of them are made for local cons where they attend. They don't bother to submit it to other cons. Well that's okay.