As always, your hard work and effort on all the awesome entries is always appreciated and I'm excited to see what you all have in store for this year! Without waiting any further, let me lay out the categories and rules for this year's contest!!!
***NEW FOR THIS YEAR!***
We are still the AMV Contest but are changing from Anime Music Videos to ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEOS! So feel free to submit ANY form of animated media! In lieu of the Fandom Free For All Category we had last year due to this change, we are replacing it with a Live Action Category!
***ALSO NEW FOR THIS YEAR We will allow English Audio in the videos submitted. More details are provided in the rules.***
Categories for the contest are as follows:
Action
Romance/Sentimental
Upbeat
Drama
Comedy/Parody
Live Action***
You may submit up to 3 videos, to 3 separate categories for the first five categories
***HOWEVER you may submit a 4th video if you submit to the Live Action category. The Live Action Category DOES NOT have a freshness date
We do ask that your video submissions for all other non-Live Action categories be made AFTER August 25th, 2024. Any previous existing entries that have been submitted to any previous NekoCon AMV Contest will not be allowed, even if you didn’t make the finals!
Submission guidelines and rules are as follows:
1) This should go without saying, but plagiarism will NOT be tolerated! Any attempt to submit the work belonging to anyone other than yourself will result in you being BLACKLISTED PERMANENTLY!!!
2) We ask for entries to be submitted in a .mp4 format (no quicktime, please) and with a 720p to 1080p resolution. This ensures quality for you and the contest. Do not submit a video in 4k as it will not be played in that format.
3) PLEASE when uploading your submission try to have your file the same name as your AMV title. This makes it easier for organization purposes and is greatly appreciated.
4) NO BUMPERS OR CREDITS permitted! We will provide title screens to introduce each entry for the finals. This includes editor names and video titles being placed before, after, or anywhere in your video as well.
5) The contest IS PG-13, but the following excessive materials may not be allowed: blatant nudity, excessive blood/spilling of guts or scenes with major dismemberment, overly foul language/lyrics, racial or verbal obscenities. Videos with content that is questionable will be put in a special screening to see if it is acceptable for showing to a con audience. If allowed, your video may have a trigger warning shown on the title card before playing to prepare the audience.If not allowed your video may be moved to the NSFW Showcase.
6) That being said, we reserve the right to reject any video for any reason.
7) Submissions with significant audio or visual degradation, watermarks, logos, and Japanese-produced credits (ex: opening and closing credits), or fan-produced (fansub) or licensed subtitles, will not be accepted and result in automatic disqualification. The ONLY subtitles that will be accepted are those added it by you the editor (ex: adding subtitles for lyrics) We will accept English/Japanese audio from your source material in the videos HOWEVER it must not take up the majority of the video and be used in “samples” due to legalities. If you have any questions or want me to review your video reach out to me personally!
8) On the subject of audio no AI (deepfake) audio is allowed. Period.
9) Entries must be at least 1 minute in length and not to exceed 5 minutes, 30 seconds running time. They must contain at least 75% of animated material with the exception of the Live Action Category. You may submit still if your video is under or over the suggested time limit but note your entry may judged more harshly.
10) ***IF YOU SUBMIT TO THE LIVE ACTION CATEGORY*** You may submit ANY non-animated video. The videos submitted to this category will NOT need a freshness date since the category is new for the show for this year. All other rules will apply.
11) DVD copies of the contest will not be available due to legal concerns. The contest will also NOT be streamed for the same reasons. However there will be a YouTube playlist made after the contest showcasing the works uploaded by the original editors
12) Awards will be given in the form of digital certificates. Please allow up to 2 weeks after the convention for these to be sent to your email of choice. Awards will be given for the following:
Best in Category
Best in Show
Best Con Theme (Cy-purr-punk is the theme for 2025)
Judge’s Personal Picks
Coordinator’s Choice
Best Non-Finalist
If you have any questions/concerns please email them to amv@nekocon.com.
Replies are usually done within 2 – 4 days but please allow more time to reply as time draws closer to the deadline for submissions as that is when the most videos are sent in.
Please submit through the link below:
https://forms.gle/YtK9oCWVp7a1xE7YA
*** IF YOU HAVE ANY 18+ AMV MATERIAL PLEASE SUBMIT TO THE NSFW SHOWCASE**
We will be accepting NSFW AMV Material for our NSFW Showcase. Videos will be chosen in this non-competitive 2 hour showcase to view the best (or worst
) videos for adult viewing pleasure. All technical rules will apply but videos can be shown without censorship. You MUST be 18+ to submit. A list of editors who will be showcased will be revealed with the finalists of the main contest. You may submit up to 3 videos to be shown in the link below.Submit to the NSFW Showcase in the link below:
https://forms.gle/83shRP3xMiiRzxj49
The deadline for both the AMV Contest & NSFW Showcase is SUNDAY AUGUST 31ST, 2025 AT 11:59 EST. There will be NO extensions. Judges will be given a month’s time to review the material given so expect results posted in early October.
We look forward to what you have to share! Best of luck & happy editing!
Kaylee/PrincessMareep
