Anime Central 2005 Music Video Contest Rules

[SailorDeath]

Anime Central 2005 Anime Music Video Contest Rules 2.1 (Jan 23, 2005)
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Entry Requirements

* One entry per individual will be accepted. If you are submitting a video made by more than one person, overlap can be allowed as long as each video has a unique group of people who worked on it.

* Only videos made after April 1st, 2004 are eligible for competition.

* We will only be accepting original entries. If the entry has been shown at another convention before the submission due date then it will be disqualified.

* All entries must be in the hands of the contest coordinators by April 1st, 2005.

* Entries may not contain bumpers/title screens/credits or any other forms of identification in the video.

* Entry running time may not exceed 5 minutes 15 seconds.

* Entries may be disqualified for the following reasons: Objectionable content of video or lyrics, bad audio or video quality, or subtitled footage. Subtitles may or may not be allowed depending on their relevance to the video and/or the source of the subtitles. Objectionable content includes excessive profanity, excessive violence, or sexually explicit footage or lyrics. If you are not sure if the above rule means your entry will be disqualified, e-mail musicvideo@acen.org and we can view the content in question and make a decision.

* 50% of the video must contain anime footage.

* Notify us if your video contains spoilers. We would like to include a warning during the contest so any viewers who haven't seen the end or an important point of a series included in your video won't have it spoiled before they see the actual anime.

* By submitting your video to this contest you authorize us to screen and distribute it under the Anime Central Music Video Contest title. All physical media (i.e., VHS, CD-R. DVD-R, etc.) received become the property of Anime Central and will not be returned.

* Anime Central staff reserve the right to disqualify a video for any reason they see necessary.


Entry Formats

* Entries will be accepted in the following formats: VHS, S-VHS, DVD, AVI computer files, and MPEG-2 computer files. AVI and MPEG-2 files will be accepted on the following media: CD-R, DVD-R, and DVD+R. Accepted AVI codecs as well as formatting requirements for AVI and MPEG-2 are covered in more detail later in this document. Please let us know ahead of time if you have any doubts about us accepting your entry.

* Video Tape and DVD entries MUST include at least 10 seconds of black screen before the video starts. AVI and MPEG-2 files submitted on CD-R or DVD+R/-R MUST have 1 second of black before the video starts and after.

* AVI codecs accepted: M-JPEG, HUFFYUV, and DV

* Digital video file formatting requirements:
- 720x480 Frame Size
- 23.97 or 24 Frames per Second (Progressive)
- 29.97 Frames per Second (Interlaced)
- 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz 16 bit stereo uncompressed PCM audio
- MPEG-2 bitrate must not exceed 15 Mbps
- If submitting MPEG-2, you may include layer-II stereo audio at 224 kbps or better inside your MPEG-2 program stream. However, you must send a copy of your audio in uncompressed form as a separate wave or aiff file.

* How videos will be displayed at the contest:

1) Primary Method – MPEG-2 output via a computer with Hollywood+ card. This allows for the least amount of quality loss if you send us an MPEG-2 file as we will directly play the file you send us.

2) Fallback Method – DVD’s for the contest will be authored. Those of you familiar with DVD authoring will understand that it will most likely be necessary for your submission to be re-encoded for this. As such we recommend sending in the highest quality file possible. For example, if you wish to send an MPEG-2 copy and an AVI encoded in HUFFYUV compression then please feel free to do so. This will allow you the greatest leverage in maximizing the quality of your entry for both playback methods.

Entry Submission

* Entries being sent by mail should be mailed to the following address:

ATTN: Acen 2k5
[Edited per request - #4423]
2412 Kestral Blvd. Apt. C
West Lafayette, IN 47906-6528

* Entries must include the entry form or a typed document including the same information. Label your media clearly in case it is separated from your entry form! If this information is not included you will be disqualified. If you are a staff member you must also label your media as a staff entry. The entry form may be obtained from the Anime Central website http://www.acen.org or by e-mailing the contest coordinator at musicvideo@acen.org. The information sent to us will be kept confidential and will be used to keep track of your music video as well as provide us with your contact information.

* As stated in the entry requirements, contest submissions will not be returned. Do not send us your master or only copy. If you are attending Anime Central, it is a good rule of thumb to bring a back up just in case we were unable to reach you regarding a problem with your entry.

The Contest

* The AMV contest running time is 2.5 hours. Based on prior years’ statistics we will receive more entries then our allotted contest running time. If this is the case then Anime Central staff will cut videos from the contest pool until the running time is not exceeded. We are very sorry if your video is not selected for the competition, but this is a necessary step that we have to implement. All videos which do not make it into the contest will be shown at some time during the convention.

* Video selection is broken down into 2 parts.

1. Disqualified videos are removed first.

2. The remaining videos are ordered by category. The number of videos in each category is counted and the categories are equalized to have the same number of videos until entries of one type are exhausted. The remaining categories are then equalized again and this process continues until the running time is no longer exceeded. Example: We receive 50 drama, 20 action, and 10 comedy videos. All categories start at 10 videos. If we have not met the running time then drama and action are increased to 20. If the running time is not met then drama is increased until the running time is no longer exceeded.

* Judges and AMV panelists will be chosen before the convention by the contest coordinator. AMV creators wishing to judge the contest should e-mail musicvideo@acen.org. There will be 6 judges composed of 3 creators and 3 non-creators. Creators can not judge a category they are competing in. All judges must be present at the first showing.

* An entry may only win one award. The award the video wins is at the discretion of the judges.

* The votes of the judges will be tabulated after the primary showing on Friday. Some judging may occur after this should there be problems with Friday’s screening. The judges will make all decisions regarding winners. All decisions are final.

* You need not be present at the convention or the contest to win, but if you want your award and prizes, you must have a proxy at the con to pick them up or send SASE to the contest coordinator (you will be contacted in this case).


Contest Categories

Drama - Videos in this category seek to evoke emotional responses from the audience by successful combination of music, video, and editing which usually involves dramatic subject matter or dramatic elements from the anime. Videos in this category may contain action sequences, but these scenes should not be the focus of the video.

Romance – Videos in this category focus on a love story between characters.

Comedy – Whether parody or just humorous wacky content, videos in this category can be pretty successful as long as someone thinks it’s funny.

Action – Videos will focus on action whether that be fighting sequences, motions of characters, or fast paced colorful imagery. The key word to think of here is adrenaline.

Dance/Upbeat – Music videos in the dance category are uplifting and have a beat that one can groove to.

Best Theme – Any type of video may enter this category as long as they use music from Broadway Musicals.

Best of Show - This award is given to the best overall video from all categories, excluding staff.

Best Staff Video - This is the only category staff members of Anime Central may enter. Entries may be geared towards any of the prior listed categories but will compete in this category.

Anime Central 2004 Music Video Contest Entry Form

Please fill out this form and submit it with your video submission. Please be sure to fill out all fields.


Creator Name: _____________________________________________________

Creator Studio: _____________________________________________________

Name to Be Shown on Credits: ________________________________________

Video Title: ________________________________________________________

Video Source: (if more than 3 enter Various):
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_________________________________

Song Title: ________________________________________________________

Song Artist: _______________________________________________________

Video Category (Please Select ONLY ONE – Note Failure to do so may result in your video being disqualified):

(_) Action (_) Drama (_) Comedy (_) Theme (_) Dance (_) Romance (_) Staff

Video Runtime (Please Exclude the black that we requested you add to your video)
__________________

Contact Information (all personal information will be kept private):

Address: _________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________

Phone Number (______) ______-_______________

E-mail Address ______________________________

[trythil]

I don't see an FTP server listed. Do you need one?

[Scintilla]

- 44.1 kHz or <b>48.1</b> kHz 16 bit stereo uncompressed PCM audio

That's supposed to be 48, right?

[SailorDeath]

I don't see an FTP server listed. Do you need one?

Yes, I've been too busy to inquire about the one that the org was setting up, plus I hadn't heard anything about it's readiness. so I removed it from the rules for now, but if you know what i'd need to do I can append that info to the rules for people to submit.

[SailorDeath]

- 44.1 kHz or <b>48.1</b> kHz 16 bit stereo uncompressed PCM audio

That's supposed to be 48, right?

I think so, dan did the specifications since he's the one who will be doing all the capturing.

[outlawed]

Yes, that should be 48.

Julius please update the docs. Thanks.