K-2006 AMV Category suggestions, etc!

[Anonymous]

My first crack at categories:

1. Drama/Romance:
Please tell us a story that is more emotionally involving and interesting than "My Favorite Music set to My Favorite Anime."

2. Japanese Music:
No restriction on style or series, but the music must be Japanese somehow - this can be J-pop or en-ka or anything in between that comes from the Land of the Rising Sun.

3. New Series!
No restriction on style or music, but the series must have aired no earlier
than 1-January-2002. www.animenfo.com is a good reference for release dates. THE ONLY CATCH HERE is that 'earliest air date' is defined as the first element of the franchise. This means that ALL Gundam 'counts' as 1979. (Or we might use an 'overused' list instead.)

4. Action/Effects:
Wham, bam, flash, slice! Fly! Shoot! Launch all weapons! Duck and Roll,
Block and Counterpunch! Magically conjure Pretty and Nasty things! Add transitions and digital effects! Keep the eyes moving and the pulse UP!

5. Comedy:
Make 'em FUNNY! (Stupid can sometimes be funny too, but it can fall pretty FLAT if you aren't careful.)

Anyway, if we use an OVERUSED List -instead- of a time cutoff, www.amv.org so far has:

1. DBZ 10.74%
2. Final Fantasy 9.19%
3. Inu Yasha 8.90%
4. Naruto 6.33%
5. Kenshin 4.87%
6. Sailor Moon 4.72%
7. Evangelion 4.53%
8. Cowboy Bebop 2.85%
9. Trigun 2.73%
10. Yu^2 Hakusho 1.80%
11. Full Metal Alchemist 1.60%
12. Hellsing 1.58%
13. Yu-Gi-Oh 1.52%
14. FLCL 1.49%
15. Love Hina 1.48%
16. Card Captor Sakura 1.45%
17. Fruits Basket 1.37%
18. Gundam 1.15%
19. Kingdom Hearts 1.08%
20. Ranma 1/2 1.02%

Your comments so far?

- G

[Sinaj]

Hmmm you know... I like the list!
I especially like the Japanese music catagory. Good idea with that one. I'm guessing that one will get a flood of entries.

I'm thinking the Overused List should be used in conjuction with the New Series catagory. Also, when you mentioned that all Gundam would be in one group, does that go for something like Gundam Seed Destiny that is very new and very different than let's say Gundam Wing?

[Anonymous]

all Gundam would be in one group, does that go for something like Gundam Seed Destiny that is very new and very different than let's say Gundam Wing?

Yuppers - if them-thar mecha got 'V' thingies on their helmets it's ALL 1979.

By the way, If I ever do a Chibi Annihilation Project II, that red spherical thing that seems to hang out with Lacus if DEFINIETLY a TARGET. (As in 'live action' meets click/BOOM!)

AS A **JOKE** someone suggested to me that we define newness as HOW LONG the ANIMATOR has been producing - say 15 years or less. This is an awfully interesting idea, but it would be nearly impossible for the creators and judges to research and assess - besides, not many of us in the audience really know or care who drew FMA or FMP, or FLCL or whatever we like or hate; we all tend to choose what we like by the individual series, and rarely by the studio. (You don't often hear 'Hey it's XEBEC - this show is gonna RAWK,' right?) OTOH, it would be a great way to say -ALL- Miyazaki automatically is outdated including Howl's Castle!

And -NO- I am not going to actually DO this.

Hey - how 'bout a "Serious Trailer" category?
(Funny trailers go to Comedy.)

- G

[Sinaj]

I still believe trailers should only run against other trailers. Putting them up against full length AMVs puts them at a disadvantage. 1) Because the creative process is completely different, and 2) because trailer audio is very short compare to a musical piece so the trailer has to leave more of an impact in less time than the mainstream AMVs in order for the viewers to remember it.

 I'd suggest just having a Trailer catagory like there used to be last year. Otherwise it's confusing... comedy trailers run in Comedy against mainstream amvs, but serious trailers get their own catagory instead of running them in the Drama/Romance catagory. Not fair.

[Anonymous]

I also agree that one must be careful selecting an even match of video styles within each category - something even SLIGHTLY funny can clean house in a non-Comedy category, for example.

ANYWAYS - we have SIX possible categories so far, at 3 - 6 sentries each:.
(Also, I want to keep the show close to 1 hr total duration.)

1.  Drama/Romance
2. Japanese Music
3. New / Unseen Series
4. Serious Trailers
5. Action & Effects
6. Fun, Comedy, & Parody Trailers

Any other suggestions? Any of these SIX we might want to eliminate?

- G

[Pie Row Maniac]

Good idea having two trailer categories (one serious, one comedy/parody). Only thing that worries me is what Sinaj said: pitting trailers against music videos does put one or the other at a disadvantage. What you could do, and this might be asking for too many categories, but have another for comedy trailers.
If by the end of the deadline you don't have very many videos in the category you could always put them in the comedy section.

[HaSanGo]

Yuppers - if them-thar mecha got 'V' thingies on their helmets it's ALL 1979.

But what about my Gravion? :p It is mecha and it has a V thingy in their helmet. LOL!

but the music must be Japanese somehow - this can be J-pop or en-ka or anything in between that comes from the Land of the Rising Sun.

The music needs to be Japanese, sung on in Japanese? What about mixed songs like a lot of JPop is amix of Japanese/English. Also what about songs that were/are originally Japanese but played by English bands?

New Series

I would also note anything played on Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Anime Network, WB, Fox Kids, syndicated television not be considered new. Usually by the time an anime hits that market even if it just came out, the market is saturated with toys, advertising, etc.

we have SIX possible categories so far, at 3 - 6 sentries each:.
(Also, I want to keep the show close to 1 hr total duration.)

With what you currently have set you are going to be hard set to make that 1 hour duration, it will be close.

I would like to make a suggestion though. If you pick categories, set them up then please don't change them halfway or rearrange at the end of things before the Con. I realize that you don't honestly want a category to only have 2 entries but if that is all that is entered, that is all that should be played. When a person designs something with a particular category in mind then finds out they get moved later, it places them and their video at a disadvantage because it is being moved to a category it wasn't designed for.

[Sinaj]

we have SIX possible categories so far, at 3 - 6 sentries each:.
(Also, I want to keep the show close to 1 hr total duration.)

The block of time for the Contest was 4 - 7, if I remember correctly. So that's  3 hours to play with. I noticed the room was packed during the contest, then people filtered out, then as it got closer to 7pm people filtered back in (not sure why unless they thought the winners were going to be announced at the end).  There was enough time to show lots of misc. AMVs after the actual contest was done. People watched those, and I'm pretty sure people would stay for a longer show no matter if it was 1 hour, or an hour and a half, or even 2 hours. Personally, I love watching AMVs and I would have loved to see a longer show. Heck, I would have loved to see some of the entries that didn't make the cut mixed in with the trailers shown after the show if it would have been possible.

[Anonymous]

... I'll just try test formatting:

FROM: Han-San-Go ("HSG") {Hey, would 'Hans Sango' be the son of Sango and Hans Solo, right? As in, her ditching Miroku for an older, more seasoned stud!}

GLL: Yuppers - if them-thar mecha got 'V' thingies on their helmets it's ALL 1979.
HSG: But what about my Gravion? :p It is mecha and it has a V thingy in their helmet. LOL!

Answer: Very Funny! Gravion and Gravion ZWEI (2004) both count as "Gravion," which is 2002. BTW I know you were kidding, but Grav/Zwei might -technically- make it under PG-13, but it's almost as service-y as, say, Pneumatic Nurse Nanako, right?

GLL (previously):  ...but the music must be Japanese somehow - this can be J-pop or en-ka or anything in between that comes from the Land of the Rising Sun.

HSG: The music needs to be Japanese, sung on in Japanese? What about mixed songs like a lot of JPop is a mix of Japanese/English. Also what about songs that were/are originally Japanese but played by English bands?

Answer: That's a toughie! I'd offer this: (for discussion and adjustment)
a. the composer(s) is/are Japanese, -OR-
b. a Japanese band singing Japanese lyrics as a 'cover' of a non Japanese source, -OR-
c. The piece is generally known as a traditional melody, and it is played as an instrumental.


So:
- Yo Yo Ma conducting the Tokyo symphony doing Beethoven would -NOT- be 'Japanese.'
- GACK [sic] (or whoever) singing a Japanese 'filk' lyrics done to an old New England whaling song: "The Kyuushuu Come-All Ye?" - would be VERY STRANGE but would be 'Japanese.'
- An English string quartet plays variations on 'Sakura, Sakura,' or any military band playing the 'Kaigun March' (Imperial Japanese Navy.)

Grey Area: What happens when a non-Japanese melody is played on traditional Japanese instruments? "The Dueling Kotos?" or Scots Piobrochead played on shakuhachi? (THAT would be EERIE as heck!)

HSG: Quote: New Series I would also note anything played on Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Anime Network,  WB, Fox Kids, syndicated television not be considered new. Usually by the time an anime hits that market even if it just came out, the market is saturated with toys, advertising, etc.

Answer: Would anyone be willing to volunteer to keep tabs on that? I don't buy or receive cable, (TV is SUPPOSED to be FREE, right?) So how do we tell what's been corrupted?

JOKE: How about "Anything that gets broadcast in DUB no longer 'counts' as New Anime?"

HSG: I would like to make a suggestion though. If you pick categories, set them up then please don't change them halfway or rearrange at the end of things before the Con.  I realize that you don't honestly want a category to only have 2 entries but if  that is all that is entered, that is all that should be played. When a person designs something with a particular category in mind then finds out they get moved later, it places them and their video at a disadvantage because it is being moved to a category it wasn't designed for.

Answer: Good comments. What do you do if only ONE entry comes in for a category. Is it a default winner? (This would save review time and voting!)

Sinaj: The block of time for the Contest was 4 - 7, if I remember correctly.

Answer: Actually, that was the contest + the show. I broke that up into 3 1-hour sections: contest, AMV trailers, and general AMV's.

Sinaj: Personally, I love watching AMVs and I would have loved to see a longer show. Heck, I would have loved to see some of the entries that didn't make the cut mixed in with the trailers shown after the show if it would have been possible.

Answer: Last year there had been an open room to set up in, but this year there was a panel butting right up to the contest. I too, had had a selection of runner-ups which I had wanted to fire up starting about, say 20 min before the scheduled beginning of the contest. That would also allow the sound folks to dial in a little bit.

I hope we can do it that way next time.

LASTLY: how about a NEW challenge category: CROSSOVERS!
Possible definition: Any format OK, any series OK. The Crossover is a story in which characters from two or more different series are interacting:

A Funny example is "Wizard of Ozaka"
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=79195

A Drama example:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=23614

This would replace one of the other 5 categories...

- G

[Sinaj]

"LASTLY: how about a NEW challenge category: CROSSOVERS!"

That's getting waaaay to specialized for me. That would be like making a category for lip sync. The examples you gave fit well into the way you labeled them - Funny (Comedy) and Drama. And the categories are good - the Japanese music one is definitely unique. I don't think you have to call the Action category "Action & Effects" though. People use effects in all kinds of videos, not just action. So it could be something like:

1)Drama/Romance - Serious videos at a slower pace than action
2) Japanese Music - Japanese artists doing Japanese pieces. Can be a mix of Japanese and English.
3) New - Can't be too old or too overdone, see the list.
4) Trailers (yes, I'm still a stickler that this should be on it's own for the sake of the creators getting a fair platform, otherwise, you might as well just put serious trailers into Drama/Romance. No reason they should be special enough to get their own category while the comedy trailers get lumped in with other AMVs.)
5) Action - upbeat, heart pounding with lots of movement and tension
6) Comedy - funny stuff

And is there some reason the contest can't be longer than an hour? Do we have to see an hour of misc trailers and an hour of misc AMVs? The focus of the room space is for the AMV contest, so I am a bit baffled as to why it seems to have to fit in the space around the misc trailers and amvs that are shown after it. The contest should be priority and as long as it needs to be, and the rest of the stuff should be there to fill in time. To me, it seemed the contest was an afterthought of the stuff shown after it this year.

And I don't think we need to keep a list of syndication though. Just by extending the over-used list, the syndication stuff will take care of itself. Look how quick FMA caught up.

As far as if there is a single entry into a category - I do think it should win by default, but I don't see that happening.  And if it does, no big deal. It will encourage people to make more for next year.