Topic Renamed: FINAL PREP for the AMV Contest!!

[Prinz Eugen]

These are easy and fun!!
Here's another chance for local (to the extent that Kumoricon forum members are "local") talent to get UP ON THE SCREEN at the CON.
Yey!

OK we have SIX SEVEN Categories:

Intensity, Instrumental, Trailers, Retro, HORROR, Mislead the Audience and G-Rated Comedy


This is what you do: You make a mini-AMV on 1280 x 720p or larger format. The AMV itself is smaller, such as 848, 720, or even 640 wide by 360 to 480 high, centered in the larger black screen.  They can be mpg, avi, or mp4, but not 3gp, wmv, or m2ts. You have:

a. 1 second lead-in of silent all-black, with a 2 to 3 second fade-in from black. Music fades in at this time.
b. 15- 30 seconds of your choice of anime and music TO DEMONSTRATE the CATEGORY. It must satisfy the category definitions. (i.e, the Instrumental category OP must be an instrumental work; no words, etc.)
c. Fade to category still in easily readable font (example: Arial Black) and hold for 2-3 seconds. Music is still playing.
d. 2 second fade-out to black. Music fades out at this time. During this pahse you may fade in a name or studio name or nickname for 1 sec. Keep it small and to the lower left or lower right of the frame.  This is optional.
e. 2 more seconds silent black.

PM me or e-mail me when these are ready, and provide a download link.
I will play-test it and feedback if there are any problems or if I have any ideas for improvement.

Then, I will post here as the categories fill in!

OK gang let's see what you can do!

- G

[Prinz Eugen]

OK, we have TWO DONE.
I will take a stab at Instrumental, and this leaves the following:

Instrumental
Trailers
Horror
Retro
Mislead the Audience
Comedy <- (Renamed by the judges)
Intensity

I will update this list as each intro gets done.
Thank any and all for help.
(Also you get to know you 'made it' onto the screen in any case... )
Nothing else is guaranteed in the contest!

EDIT: ALL DONE!

[Runa]

Oh, and you forgot to add Horror to the list of needed openers since we added it as a new category (and I'm certain you haven't created that one yet) 

[Prinz Eugen]

Got 'Horror' added to the list!

Other Stuff to do:

Review videos for all 7 categories

Review of contest category winners (a pre-made project where I can drop in the clips the winners determined by ballot, and run this at closing ceremonies.

I HAVE TWO LAST 7-SECOND SCENES TO GO on the Opener!!
They are coming out 'okay' but they are taking me A LOT of TIME!

Extremely grateful for a volunteer assisting me by making some of the category OP's!!

[murder_of_raven]

I'm a little out of practice but I enjoyed doing this last year and would be happy to pick one or two categories up. For now, count on me to have one for G-Rated Comedy; I have a short video I've been threatening to make for years that I think would fit the bill perfectly.

Oh, and sorry for not getting the PM until just now, I haven't actually been on my forum account in like, six months. Hope I'm not too late but I don't think it is This first one will be really quick, I already have the footage and audio ready to go.

Update: And there we go! Haha, made it between midnight and 3AM so I'm going to send it in the morning to make sure I'm not overlooking something huge and/or awful.

[Prinz Eugen]

Thanks for the help!
 
I will PM you for what openers are available and what others are already being worked on...
 
- G

[superjaz]

in case I don't have a chance at con, thank ya for all the hard work that goes into the amv contest, it is always a ton of fun!

[absolute_apocalypse]

murder_of_raven/absolute_apocalypse here. I'm switching over to this (new) account so that I'm not using two screen-names anymore; really should've done this years ago (when I started using the kcon forums 95% for discussing AMV stuff).

Anyway, I've responded to your PM and also sent you an email. Please just respond to my email, definitely don't want to keep checking in on my old account!

[Prinz Eugen]

@ murder of the ravenously absolute apocalypse:

Go ahead and give "Trailers" a stab now.

Your "Comedy' opener will work fine, and I just threw together a couple of workable openers for 'Horror' and 'Mislead the Audience.'

- G

[absolute_apocalypse]

Oh yay! I hope people like it

And yes, I think I can commit to the trailer opener too, I have a concept down and am starting preliminary work on it (it'll take me a little longer; unlike that first video, I don't literally have all the scenes cut out and waiting on my hard-drive!).

[absolute_apocalypse]

Alright, it's encoding right now! I'll email it to you right after!

[Prinz Eugen]

OK, that'll do!

Great Job!

Now there's one problem that cropped up...
not your fault at all..

(I pm'd you)

[Prinz Eugen]

OK this whole weekend I did the 4th of 6 CGI scenes for the end of the opener.
The 6th scene and transition to end titles are already DONE.

It took about 3 weeknights and this whole weekend to put this together.
Doesn't mean it's especially awsome, just that that's how long it took me
(at my level of skill, which is often just moderate.)

Anyways, ONE more SIX SECOND scene to go.

Then there are 7 review clips to do (but they can go pretty fast.)
and we have some "challenges" with the comedy category opener.

We'll get it done...

Meanwhile it has been a marathon slog for me; time for an intermediate reward.
Way out on the west side of town there was a wine shop called "Vino 100."
They had many value-priced offerings, and a few that one could buy on the
cheap and cellar oneself. They had many awesome, nearly unknown grenaches,
riojas, and tempranillos to boot - all around $7.50 - $9.50.
The store closed a few years ago.

$11 got me a 2005 Buisson-Redon back then.
Just made a veal and turkey meatloaf, topped with sandalwood powder.
It paired very well, and it's tasting better than many of today's offerings at twice the price.
2005 was a really wild year for Bordeaux, the Rhone, and the Loire anyways.
Even some Spanish riojas are showing nicely from that year.

Onward....

- G
 

[Prinz Eugen]

Render-Render Crunch Crunch Crunch!
Play-testing the FINISHED AMV Contest Opener!

I just have a little smoothening to do on one transition,
and then I should have a download link for folks to check it out!!

Then it will be on to the "Review Clips"
which end each category. These link 10-second selections of each AMV,
so as to help the audiece remember the whole set and pick their favorites.

I am still workig on an Instrumental category opener, and I also have tow Comedy openers
made by a gallant volunterr here, and I will make a decision about what best to do there.
I may contact a fw of the judges to help, so it's not just my own opinion.

Alrighty - end of a furious work week...

[Prinz Eugen]

@ Absolute_Apocalypse - you are good to go, and thanks again!

OK: Category Reviews get checked off here:

Instrumental review
Horror review
Retro review
Mislead the Audience review
Comedy review
Trailers review
Intensity review

EDIT: I have sampled 10-second cuts for all 35 AMVs.
The challenge was to pick WHICH 10-second section is MOST representative
or evocative of the whole work.

More updates as these things get done.

EDIT: All Reviews Done!

[Prinz Eugen]

OK - this weekend's projects:

Last two review clips
My Instrumental opener <- Edit: Finished it, dag-nabbit!

Get a flexible project ready to crank out the 7 category winners,
Best of Show, and the other three judges' prizes ( I have to work these
so as to drop in whichever ones win, then render the project in time for Closing Ceremonies.)

There are also 74 AMVs in the show play-list following the contest, and I want to trim that to just about half - a 45-minute show of the Cream of the Crop of 2012-2013.
Not to mention weekend household chores AND this weekend is the Expo Center gun show - I need to bop out there and get a couple thousand rounds of 9mm and also some bat-shot (in 22 LR.)

And tweak the Off Hours playlist so that if I have anything edgy or skanky in there, that stuff should only come out after 11pm.

Busy!!

[Prinz Eugen]

OK -

Got the winners' project templates (After Effects *and* Premiere) done and ready. I have predicted two 2X double prize winners; one was the Judges' Choice which I also think is likely to take the category prize, even though previous judges' panels have tried to look for an underdog or honorable mention in a particular category, and the other one might be their choice for Master of Technical Effects, which may also take its category prize.

But anything can happen - we might get a 3X Triple Crown Winner ( Judges choice or Master of Techncal Effects + Category Winner + Audience Best in Show.)

THREE MORE TASKS AND WE ARE CLEAR FOR LAUNCH!

a) Instrumental Category opener (I need a better DVD ripper than DVD Fab)
b) I have thinned down the AMV Show t 74 videos; usually I need 25 - 30. So I need to go through those and cull all but a few the slower-paced, character driven, or "high art" pieces. I keep about 4 of them though as a "breather" between action, comedy and trailer type fare.
c) Same goes for Off-Hours; I'll go through and weed out anything "merely ho-hum" that I might have put in there earlier in the year...

Gawd it would be nice to have gotten in a little time on my PS3 this weekend ...

Another optional project for me will be to go to the playlist page and put up d/l links to the various AMVs.

Also, just as last year, we will have a download URL for the contest AMVs which will be up for about a month,
as graciously donated by another Kumoricon staffer...

[Prinz Eugen]

OK: Next stuff to do!

Thin down and sequence the AMV Show.

Select about 20 min of material for the "Pre-Show"
(I may show the 1st nine AMV contest openers as sound checks and while people are just beggining to file in...)

Weed out weaker entries and 'meh' stuff from the Overnighter playlist.

Make (2) back-up copies of the AMV Show and Contest - one on a spare laptop and another on a NAS box.

Get all my other equipment (back up projector, sound system, a sheet, twine and duct tape for a back-up screen)
small suitcase of cables sorted by tyep: audio, video (VGA, HDMI, etc) extension, power strips, cool and socially
inappropriate power adapters I bought in Akihabara...
extra monitor, PS3 and a couple of my favorite games in progress...
...a few selections from our cellar...

But we are now over the hump...

Yey. (thud.)