Katsucon 2006 AMV contest rules are up

[jasper-isis]

In fact, they have been up. But I didn't realize how strange these new submission rules were until I read through them carefully today...

The preferred submission format for the 2006 Katsucon Anime Music Video Awards is: non-interlaced, uncompressed AVI @ 29.97 (or 24.00) frames per second, with a resolution of 720x480 @ 0.9 pixel aspect ratio including 44,000 Hz 16-bit stereo uncompressed WAV audio.

For best results, please make every attempt humanly possible to conform your submission(s) to these standards. If your video is selected to be shown, we cannot guarantee the quality of your video, or even guarantee that it will be able to be shown at all if it does not conform exactly to this format.

If for whatever reason you are unable to provide us with the above format, the following are also acceptable provided that they maintain the requested 720x480 resolution and 29.97 (or 24.00) frame rate; however keep in mind that they are *NOT* preferred:

Video
* Huffyuv (.avi)
* MPEG1 & MPEG2 (.mpeg.mpg.m2v,etc.)
* Divx (.avi)
* Xvid (.avi)

Audio
* Dolby AC3 (.ac3)
* MPEG Audio (.mp3.mp2,etc.)

The following formats are unacceptable, and will almost definitely result in contest forfeiture, so please do us all a favor and make every attempt to not submit anything that matches the following:

* Any video submitted with a resolution other then 720x480
* Any video submitted with a frame rate (fps) other then 29.97 or 24.00
* Any video submitted that is interlaced
* Any video submitted that is in VHS, BetaMAX, or any other non-digital media format

* Any video submitted in the following formats:
*** Motion Jpeg (.mjpeg,etc.)
*** Windows Media Files (.wmv.wmp.wm.asf,etc.)
*** Flash (.swf)
*** Real Player Format (.rm.ram,etc.)
*** Quicktime media (.mov.qt,etc.)
*** Ogg Vorbis (.ogm.mkv,etc.)
*** Animated Gif/Bitmap (.gif.bmp,etc.)
*** Any other format not listed under acceptable video formats.

* Any video submitted containing audio in the following formats:
*** MIDI (.midi)
*** Ogg Vorbis (.ogg,etc.)
*** Real Player Format (.ra,etc.)
*** Windows Media Files (.wma,etc.)
*** AIFF Format sound (.aif.aifc.aiff,etc.)
*** AU Format Sound (.au.snd,etc.)
*** Any other format not listed under acceptable audio formats.

...and generally anything else not listed in "acceptable formats"

If you would like to submit a video that is in a different format then what is listed above, or have any questions or concerns about these formats, please email the Katsucon AMV Department prior to submitting your work.

Please note again however that unless it is listed above as an acceptable format, there is a very good chance that it will be ineligible to compete.

Now THAT is pretty darn specific. I wonder if even half of the entries they get would be able to follow all those rules...

Those are also some pretty gimongous files that they're asking for. It looks like I'm gonna have to go back and uncompress my huffyuv files...

So, anybody else submitting? Any thoughts on these rules? Any words from the Katsucon AMV contest coordinator?

[The deadline seems to be January 14, 2006, if anybody missed it. It's kinda buried in all the text there at the bottom.]

[rogueintellectproductions]

The file format rules are OK by me; the previous rules had .MOV as the preferred file format, which was really strange. I am a bit perturbed by the "no personal subtitles" rule, though. I guess it's there to keep people from using fansubs, or is it to prevent people from making their own subtitles directly from the licensed translation?

Chris

[Scintilla]

Wow, ... just wow.

The preferred submission format for the 2006 Katsucon Anime Music Video Awards is: non-interlaced, uncompressed AVI @ 29.97 (or <b>24.00</b>) frames per second, with a resolution of 720x480 <b>@ 0.9 pixel aspect ratio</b> including <b>44,000 Hz</b> 16-bit stereo uncompressed WAV audio.

So now 23.976 is no good? And I really hope that by "44,000" they meant "44,100".
I kind of see what they mean by "@ 0.9 PAR", but an uncompressed AVI doesn't have any pixel aspect ratio information. Basically what they mean is that you should send them a 720x480 file that is such that if they resize it 640x480, it'll look right. For most 4:3 anime series, this is no problem, but anything using anamorphic 16:9 sources will require major resizing and letterboxing.

The following formats are unacceptable, and will almost definitely result in contest forfeiture, so please do us all a favor and make every attempt to not submit anything that matches the following:

* Any video submitted with a resolution other then 720x480
* Any video submitted with a frame rate (fps) other then 29.97 or 24.00

Once again, I am annoyed that this does not seem to include the much easier 23.976.

* Any video submitted that is interlaced
* Any video submitted that is in VHS, BetaMAX, or any other non-digital media format

I'm actually kind of amused that they put Betamax on the list

*** Ogg Vorbis (.ogm.mkv,etc.)

Okay, what the hell? Vorbis is an <i>audio</i> format. OGM is the Ogg Media container. And MKV is Matroska, which has nothing to do with Ogg (I'm sure you can put Vorbis streams in a Matroska container, but that is irrelevant).

*** Animated Gif/Bitmap (.gif.bmp,etc.)

* Any video submitted containing audio in the following formats:
*** MIDI (.midi)

And technically, MIDI files aren't <i>audio</i> files, they're instructions for MIDI instruments.

*** Ogg Vorbis (.ogg,etc.)

That's better. Kind of.

[JudgeHolden]

[quote="Scintilla"]
I kind of see what they mean by "@ 0.9 PAR", but an uncompressed AVI doesn't have any pixel aspect ratio information. Basically what they mean is that you should send them a 720x480 file that is such that if they resize it 640x480, it'll look right. For most 4:3 anime series, this is no problem, but anything using anamorphic 16:9 sources will require major resizing and letterboxing.

The 16:9 is also my concern .......

[Joykiller]

They really need a spell check for this sort of shit

So now 23.976 is no good?

That is what I meant to put.. good catch. I will get it updated to say "23.976fps w/pulldown"...

And I really hope that by "44,000" they meant "44,100".

Indeed I did ;;^_^ Will get that corrected also.

I kind of see what they mean by "@ 0.9 PAR", but an uncompressed AVI doesn't have any pixel aspect ratio information. Basically what they mean is that you should send them a 720x480 file that is such that if they resize it 640x480, it'll look right.

That is more or less what I was going for... I generally just wanted people to know to set that PAR in their editor so the end result looked the same as when they edited it...

Once again, I am annoyed that this does not seem to include the much easier 23.976.

Once again.... wasn't trying to annoy.....

I'm actually kind of amused that they put Betamax on the list

That was intended to be a small joke. >_< We actually had "flipbook" as an unacceptable format too, but I thought that was overkill....

Okay, what the hell? Vorbis is an <i>audio</i> format. OGM is the Ogg Media container. And MKV is Matroska, which has nothing to do with Ogg (I'm sure you can put Vorbis streams in a Matroska container, but that is irrelevant).

I admit that my knowledge of Ogg and MKV is VERY limited. I have a directshow filter that handles both of them, so I assumed they were similar or the same. My apologies. I will get that text fixed also.

*** Animated Gif/Bitmap (.gif.bmp,etc.)

* Any video submitted containing audio in the following formats:
*** MIDI (.midi)

And technically, MIDI files aren't <i>audio</i> files, they're instructions for MIDI instruments.

More dork humor on my part. I would like to state for the record that I *never* intended for any of that to be taken seriously. I have never actually *seen* an AMV done with either of those, but I would have to give some credit to a person insane enough to try....

*** Ogg Vorbis (.ogg,etc.)

That's better. Kind of.

Well at least I got one part of the ogg thing semi correct....

At anyrate... I really hope people aren't having true aneurysms over these rules...

They are largely an attempt to limit the flood of emails I got last time I ran a contest that contained questions similar to the following:

"Is WMV a type of MPEG2?"

Perhaps some of you might see the massive breakdown of formats as unnessesary/obvious/idiotic, but it really is just more of what to do / what not to do sort of thing for people that might not know as much about AMVs as some of you do. I have actually gotten quite a few thank you's from newbies for "spelling it all out".

It looks like I'm gonna have to go back and uncompress my huffyuv files...

For the love of god, please don't do that.... Huff files are awesome, and are welcome (as was stated in the rules).

People don't seem to be processing the word "Preferred" in the rules...
My personal understanding of the word "preferred" is that it denotes a preference... not an axis for the world to spin on...

I have already written a Q&A about why I prefer that format in the Katsucon forums, so I won't retype it all, but will instead link you to it...
http://forums.katsucon.org/viewtopic.php?p=4328#4328

That should clarify a few things about the rules also.

I hope this all helps shed some light on things!

-Drew

Edit: I don't really understand why after all of the complaints, confusion, and actual good ideas I have read about this years rules in various places on the internet I have yet to recieve a single email from anyone pointing any of these things out to me personally. Meh. Thank god I actually take the time to troll around a bunch of these places....

[Scintilla]

It looks like I'm gonna have to go back and uncompress my huffyuv files...

For the love of god, please don't do that.... Huff files are awesome, and are welcome (as was stated in the rules).

People don't seem to be processing the word "Preferred" in the rules...
My personal understanding of the word "preferred" is that it denotes a preference... not an axis for the world to spin on...

Well yes, but...

For best results, <b>please make every attempt humanly possible</b> to conform your submission(s) to these standards. If your video is selected to be shown, we cannot guarantee the quality of your video, or even guarantee that it will be able to be shown at all if it does not <b>conform exactly to this format.</b>

I'll shut up now.

[krzT]

Thanks for all the clarifications. It really helps with some of the more abstruse rules.

People don't seem to be processing the word "Preferred" in the rules...
My personal understanding of the word "preferred" is that it denotes a preference... not an axis for the world to spin on...

Sorry if I'm nitpicking at this point (I really don't mean to be), but I just thought that I'd mention that there is no issue with the use of the word "preferred" but rather that on the Katsucon rules page the use of "*NOT* preferred" makes more of an impact on people. Though I understand your intent now (thanks to your clarification), I wouldn't have found myself in the position to go against what was "preferred" by the contest coordinator(s). Personally I'd do my best to stick to the rules straight down to the letter, but when the "preferred" methods are so much more impratical than what editors like myself are generally used to, it makes the situation all the more frustrating.

But again, thank you for the various clarifications dealing with the specific rules.

[jasper-isis]

Ah yes. Scintilla and krzT have voiced my thoughts exactly.

Anyway, I was ready to follow those guidelines as closely as possible, but your clarifications make things much easier. Thanks!

[Joykiller]

I can see where you all are coming from. I think that I should have been more clear on some of my points. If it's any consolation, it all sounded really good in my own head >_<.

With reguards to this line:
"If your video is selected to be shown, we cannot guarantee the quality of your video, or even guarantee that it will be able to be shown at all if it does not conform exactly to this format."

To be honest, when I wrote that out, I was specifically thinking about a video I recieved for a different contest that was 30.00 FPS, and some oddball resolution. (it was also a WMV file, but we worked that part out...) Anyway, I really wanted to help that person out since it was their first video ever and they were really excited, so I read ALOT of tutorials about frame rate conversion, and finally managed to get their video to the proper frame rate and properly synced. In total I prolly spent as much time "fixing" their video as they did making it...

Luckily I had the time to do that for that contest. With the number of submissions Katsucon gets, there is just no way I could.

So in short, that statement had less to do with the codec used, and more to do with the other specs.

But enough about that.

I really appreciate you all acting mature about these concerns. I'll be the first to admit that running a contest (especially one of this size) is a constant learning experiance, and I am *far* from knowing all there is to know.

I have a lot of respect for the fact that you all managed to make intellegent arguments instead of the "WTF!!11 TEH KATSU AVM DEWD SI a FARKING RETAWD!!111" posts that I have seen on certain other sites. (you know who you are...)

If I have missed / messed up anything else, I would certainly appreciate hearing about it either in this post, a PM, an email, or on the Katsucon forums.

It will only help the contest in the long run to hear about it.

NOW GET CRACKING ON THOSE VIDEOS!!! I want some good submissions this year so get those puppies in here!

-Drew