AWA 2005 Pro Contest Discussion Thread

[Castor Troy]

I love how this community always complains about people doing the same thing ove rand over and not trying something different.

... and when someone does, they still complain.

[Beowulf]

I've been reading this thread a long time and thinking really hard about what to say to the various people criticizing the video.

Just watch it a couple times. You'll get it.

[Brakus]

I love how this community always complains about people doing the same thing ove rand over and not trying something different.

... and when someone does, they still complain.

We're not compaining because someone chose to do something different. We're complaining because most of us were not expecting such a project to be submitted for AWA Pro this year.

And to be fair to the person that made that particular video, I did watch it through, and I somehow pieced together the common thread. I still didn't feel too comfortable sitting through it. My complaint was not so much the content but for the length -- especially when there was no indication of how long it would be without looking at a "time remaining" meter on the DVD player.

[Tsunami Jones]

55 people who did not create the long-form video project had to sit through the entire thing. They were uncomfortable with it and making their opinions known. If they were uncomfortable with it, just think how Average Joe Otaku would feel if he had to sit through it too.

if you can't hold the viewer's attention for 3 minutes, much less 26 minutes, then your video isn't going to be effective. It was a herculean task just for the person/people creating the video to think that we could just sit there for 26 minutes in amazement for this video. Obviously that just was not the case.

Hey Brakus, how about you speak for yourself instead of all 55 of us? Very few people actually have complained about it (I'm seeing eight or nine, here in this thread). It held my attention just fine, and I don't even like Marilyn Manson.

especially when there was no indication of how long it would be without looking at a "time remaining" meter on the DVD player.

Didn't you say that you watched the contest in reverse order just to watch the vid later in the contest becuase of how long it was? So I think you already roughly knew about its length. Besides that this contest is labeled as "professional." I think that means we should all act like a professional when it comes to veiwing these videos regardless of how long they may or may not be, and not bother repatedly complaining about something as trivial as a video's running time.

[AquaSky]

I'll agree that it felt (or rather, was) quite long. Whether or not it was too long for its own good is subjective. While there have been longer videos that I've enjoyed, this particular one just wasn't my cup of tea. I do believe there should be a time limit in place next year - that's standard operating procedure for just about every other convention.

[RutKiskasca]

First, I don't recall a time limit being specified, so who are any of us to make duration a criteria for judging the worthiness of an entry?

Answer, we are the judges. If you feel that the video is monotonous or monolithic, then vote against it on that basis. You are entitled to do so. But don't vote against it because you don't want to sit through it at the award ceremony. You aren't voting on good programming, or how soon the cosplayers or concert or whatever can take the stage...you are supposed to be voting for or against a work of ART...and whatever else this video is, it is ART. My video is masturbation...it is self-stimulation...it's simplistic, rhythmic blinking and flashing images...and you should all vote for it for the WIN. This is 26 minutes of ART. If it wins, it should be played in its entirety, because that is what was voted for...the ENTIRE work. Let the audience decide whether we are worthy to be considered professional judges of the genre, or practitioners of the art.

This video is not mine. I regret that it is not, because it would be one of the great prides of my creative life. I am glad that it is not, because to have it measured and judged and evaluated on the basis of its ability to fit conveniently into a block of programming, would crush me. To think that I had spent so many months (this video HAD to take months to make) laboring on something so inspired, only to have people complain that their butts were going numb after 26 minutes of having my video inflicted upon them...I would have to assume that my labor spent trying to touch people emotionally and tribute some great sources of music and cinema had been utterly wasted.

Well, fellow editor (I won't use your name, in case the mods choose to edit your post, maybe they can keep my post up.) Your video was amazing. Every frame of it was well conceived and directed. I gasped in awe. My skin crawled. I got goosebumps. I shivered, shuddered, and said OH MY GOD! It was beautiful. I may or may not vote for it, because I may or may not be up against you in one or more category, and I'm a selfish bastard with no scruples, but THREE CHEERS for originality, artistry, and imagination.

I hope I kick your ass!

[Mod646] This and above posts edited in vain attempt to minimize damage.

[MeriC]

I do believe there should be a time limit in place next year - that's standard operating procedure for just about every other convention.

There already is a time limit of 15 minutes stated in the rules.

http://www.awa-con.com/index.php?id=70#pro

You may submit only one video. The total running time of your entry may not exceed 15 minutes. VERY rarely, exception may be made for longer videos.

[anneke]

Were not suppose to say who made what.

I watched the video a few times. I figured out what it was about the first time, the whole common thread, etc... I didn't think it needed to be so long to get 'the message' across. My friend watched it in fast forward with me one time threw (was showing her some contest videos), and she figured it out on FAST FORWARD! The same 'message' could have come across in a much shorter manner. I've seen videos that do the same thing in much less time.

I again also felt that it was seperate videos vs one whole video. The 'tie' for them was a theme. However the songs were each seperate and the animes were seperate as well. When the 'video' was put together was it done all at once in premiere, or was each 'piece'/song worked on seperately and then put together at the end? I was sitting threw the whole thing and hoped at the end that the last song or last part would tie all the music and/or anime together to justify it being 'one video' vs parts of a long project. So that when I got to the end there was a reason to sit threw each part. The parts built on each other (on the theme), but that doesn't mean they are connected, as each part could be enjoyed without the other surrounding parts, as each part also had it's 'sub theme' within the overall theme.

I have no problem with someone doing something different. I did mind the unneccassary length. It didn't fit with what a 'music video' is. If anything it was an 'art piece', but it wasn't a 'music video'.

Edit: Unneccassary length meaning... That if they wanted to get their 'theme' across they could have done it in a much shorter manner. That they didn't need five/six songs to do so. (Not that the video should have been limited to save people's sore rears.)

-Anneke

[Brakus]

Didn't you say that you watched the contest in reverse order just to watch the vid later in the contest becuase of how long it was?

No. I said I watched the contest in reverse order just to be different -- it had NOTHING AT ALL to do with the particular video. IN FACT, I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA THAT THIS VIDEO WOULD BE TWENTY-SIX MINUTES LONG. (It's also why I pegged #39, and not #3, as the odds-on favorite for best in show; in fact, I thought the person who did #39 actually did #3, until someone pointed out to me that someone else did #3.)

Besides that this contest is labeled as "professional." I think that means we should all act like a professional when it comes to veiwing these videos regardless of how long they may or may not be, and not bother repatedly complaining about something as trivial as a video's running time.

So in other words we should just watch the videos like good little boys and girls and not complain about how good or bad the videos are and just vote? I think this totally defeats the purpose of having a discussion thread like this. And the fact that several people *are* complaining about a particular video (and that several other people *are* *defending* it) is pretty good discussion.

And in many people's opinions including mine, a video's running time certainly isn't trivial in a contest (hence the time limits in many other contests), especially when exactly 1 video is significantly longer than any of the others.

Again to be fair, I DID SIT THROUGH THE VIDEO WHEN I GOT THE DVDs, and I pieced together the message. However, I still felt uncomfortable sitting through the whole thing. And dammit, I'm entitled to my opinion, and if it just happens that a few other people are expressing similar opinions, so be it.

[Tsunami Jones]

So in other words we should just watch the videos like good little boys and girls and not complain about how good or bad the videos are and just vote?

Your words, not mine.

I simply believe that discussion around a particular video should be based around its actual editing skill/quality etc., very little of which was actually happening (a bit more is now).