AMV Contest PRELIMINARY PAGE is UP - Still refining categories...

[Prinz Eugen]

OK GANG, here is IS:

http://www.opusnet.com/guy1656/k2009-amv.htm

Excerpt for discussion HERE:

- - - - -

SEVEN AMV CATEGORIES:

TENSION (Replaces DRAMA 1): Any story or strong theme holding the audience in high suspense throughout. This could be (but not limited to) situations like: a conflict of wills, a calculated risk during a race against time, or confronting an ominous and shifting threat, or exploring and probing an unknown menace.

GENKI! (Replaces DRAMA 2): The sugar-blast category. Light and fun exhuberant works, possibly using dance beat. Themes with a fun-for-all, positive feel or outcome.

JAPANESE MUSIC:  An open category using any sort of Japanese music, from traditional to enka to J-pop.

(We're still discussing THIS ONE)
OLD SOMTHING-or-OTHER: This category is still in discussion. Currently the interests [...] lean towards music of a specific style or era, or AMV done in black-and-white or silent movie style, or simply an Instrumental Music category.
 
RANDOM AMUSEMENT: This is a broader category than Comedy / Parody. It will also include bizarre, or 'off-beat' works that amuse .

TRAILERS: Includes fake commercials, TV spots, and movie and game trailers. May use actual advertising audio or a fictitious creation in the style of a commercial or trailer.

ACTION & EFFECTS: This is where the high-speed music and flashy stuff meet. Take your Bonine® and buckle in!

- - - - -

Other than that, please note (esp thundercatlord) that Transfomers does NOT appear in the anime-wannabe lists further down the page. I thank you for your information posted previously elsewhere.

MEANWHILE - What shall we do with the OLD Something-or-other category?
Or do we want that to be just generic 'Instrumental?'

[Pai009]

Dose anyone know how to make it so that one of my videos could possibily be in the contest.

I also think that one of the catigories could be Insperationals: An AMV that has a message to it.

That last thing was just a suggestion.

[Prinz Eugen]

Does anyone know how to make it so that one of my videos could possibly be in the contest?

Yes - any video you submit for 2009, which has never shown at a previous Kumoricon AMV contest, will "possibly be in the contest."
Then, the day after the deadline, a bunch of judges select what they think (as a group) will be most entertaining to the audience.
I don't think that 'tweaking' the judges' panel to purposely select any one AMV or to purposely discard one is fair, and I also don't think it's a good idea.

If you don't select a category, the judges try to fit it in some category or other they think is best for it.

As for a message - well, the audience generally shows up to be ENTERTAINED, but not lectured to. Nor to be 'educated.' But if your message is inspiring, thought-provoking or in any other ways engaging, THEN it'll likely be entertaining as well - even if it's not "happy-happy-joy-joy." But you'll do best to meet the audience where they are.

You might try using one of the category definitions as the vehicle for your message. (Don't tell us what it is here - a surprise is probably better!) If it's a serious theme, can you tell it suspensefully? (Category 1) or maybe with an all-Japanese soundtrack (3) or with visual effects included? (7)

"Tension" doesn't necessarily mean speed. If you can grab the audience and hold them tightly and tensely with your message, tell it in a way that seems SO IMPORTANT and PROFOUND that every butt out there is on a seat edge .... held silently for minutes ....

... then black/credits and it's over, and people gasp for breath long-held...

Can you do it?

Looking forward to your works...

[Pai009]

I've already made the video, and I've also had a few of my friends watch it. They all think it's realy good, and it dose meat people where they're at. I just want to try to get it into the AMV contest, but I don't expect it to be shown at the actual con. If it is, that's great. If it's not, that's ok. I'll try again next year. What I'm woundering is how you make it so that you can actualy send it to the juedges that what I was asking in my last post. thanks.

[thundercatlord]

Other than that, please note (esp thundercatlord) that Transfomers does NOT appear in the anime-wannabe lists further down the page. I thank you for your information posted previously elsewhere.

  No problem

[Prinz Eugen]

I've already made the video, and I've also had a few of my friends watch it. They all think it's realy good

YAY!!!

What I'm wondering is how you make it so that you can actually send it to the judges that what I was asking in my last post.

OK: Submission details have now been ADDED to the contest page:
http://www.opusnet.com/guy1656/k2009-amv.htm

Here's most of the stuff that was changed or added:

HOW MANY AMVs?

    * This year you may submit up to FOUR AMVs, with a maximum of TWO in any one category.

    * Generally, (and this is a goal rather than an "official rule,") the judges tend to select AMVs so that any particular anime series appears only ONCE per category. For example, there may be one Kara no Kyoukai AMV in Instrumental and another in Action/Effects, but as an example again they would tend not to select TWO D.Gray Man AMVs for Instrumental. They would pick the better of those two first, then make room in the category for a different AMV using a different series. The effect is that while wildly popular characters may hit the screen a little less often, the audience gets to see many more anime series over the course of the contest.

    * One other General Goal is that any given audio source should play ONLY ONCE in the entire contest.

WHERE and HOW to SUBMIT:

    * By email: Send an e-mail message to the contest coordinator with "KUMORICON 2009 AMV ENTRY" in the subject line. The e-mail address to use is in the characters below, just delete the four 'r' letters:

      grury1656@oprusnert.com

      The email should include a download link to some hosting site where users can download the file. The site must be free to download, must work OK when browsing with Java and Javascript disabled, and must not REQUIRE cookies.
      DO NOT SEND AN AMV AS AN ATTACHMENT IN AN EMAIL, because LARGE EMAILS (over 1500kb) GET DELETED at the remote server and we won't even get a chance to see them!

    * By physical mail: Burn a CD or a DVD, then check for compatibility by testing it on at least one computer running something ELSE besides Windows XP or Windows Vista. Once you see that the disk works, you can send it to:

      Kumoricon 2009 AMV Contest
      33470 Chinook Plaza
      Scappoose, OR 97056

      Physical media can be acommpanied by a paper list of the information required below. Or you can write it in an ASCII .txt file burned onto the disk. DO NOT send MS Office files like .doc or .xls. Physical media will not be returned, and will be destroyed for privacy shortly after the contest ends.

    * NOT by forum private messages (PMs.) Although the contest coordinator and other Kumoricon staff participate on the Kumoricon forums board and other forums as well, there is generally no way to guarantee that messages on one or two dozen anime fandom, conventions, and AMV forums all get checked in any sort of timely or reliable manner.
      (cf "herding cats")

    * ALL ENTRIES must include the following contact information:
          o Your title for your AMV
          o The anime used (or 'various' if the list is long,)
          o The music or audio source used
          o Your full, real name
          o Your city or town
          o A mailing address or an e-mail address
          o A telephone number is optional
      ALL of this information is kept private and confidential, and is only retained so that contest and category winners can be notified.

So now you should be able to submit, by e-mail or physical mail.
Is that what you needed?

[thundercatlord]

Four AMVs!?! Yes!!....I'll be busy this next year... 

[gladimus]

Whelp, that crushed my dream *pokes fingers together* all my AMVs are over 5 minutes and the best one is 9... Grr..

[superjaz]

it begins I wonder what chris will do this year hes been kickin around a hell project for the longest time

[Prinz Eugen]

...all my AMVs are over 5 minutes and the best one is 9... Grr..

Here's a weird idea that just might work: try re-encoding them at 60 frames per second with audio at 2x speed + pitchbend down 1 octave, and see if they work!

I have been watching fansubs for over 6yrs and am also getting into raws (having learned Japanese by watching subs,) and I've become a faster reader - last weekend I watched all of Burst Angel at 1.5x - 2x and followed the story just fine.

Attention spans are always shortening. Many good AMVs can get in, punch the story line and shut the door in little over 3min.

[LtCommanderRichie]

Er... Bit of a question here. The rules says no watermarks, but about half of my source material has a watermark because the file itself came with it.

So, in short... The 'TvTokyo' watermark in the upper right corner of a good half of my anime, would I have to make the margins even smaller to get rid of it or is it fine because it isn't too noticeable?

[Prinz Eugen]

... The 'TvTokyo' watermark in the upper right corner of a good half of my anime, would I have to make the margins even smaller to get rid of it or is it fine because it isn't too noticeable?

Please do your best to obliterate it as best you can. You can sometimes stretch and smear a fuzzy patch (this is another project layer in your editing program) from the nearby background.

This too is for the judges' final call, but the basic premise is that since "TV Tokyo" isn't *paying* Kumoricon or you or me to advertise their little brand name logo, we're not about to give them (or Divx, or any other for-profit company) *any* sort of free advertising space. Not after how the industries mistreat their own customer base with lawsuits  (but don't get me started on that subject here, please <fume, fume, rant...>)

"Lt, this is the bridge...  We need Max power to web bug deflector screens!"

[LtCommanderRichie]

You got it, d00d. After really, really fiddling with something in Vegas Pro 8 to completely and absolutely delete credits from a scroll-over of a fixed picture... I think I can do just about anything.

[Prinz Eugen]

OK GANG, we are FINAL!
Thank you for the consultation of fans & Kumoricon staff.

http://www.opusnet.com/guy1656/k2009-amv.htm

(New announcement topic opening soon.)