Go to
www.animemusicvideos.org, and you can not only download TENS of THOUSANDS of these works (over 51 thousand!!!) but also they have FAQ's about making your own. Different people use different computers and software; there is a recent surge of .wmv formats because they are easy if not free, even thought the video and audio quality is much poorer than MPG or AVI formats.
Content & theme? Everything goes. It's basically "animation + music = magic." My personal favorites are 'fake' or parody movie trailers - you're listening to a commercial for a movie you know or would likely be interested to go see, but the scenes are being acted out by your favorite anime characters! They can be a riot. Other works are serious, emotional, romantic, or just a pyrotechnic ride through smashing digital effects.
Anyway, good luck if you want to try making one yourself - it can be a HELLACIOUS time-eating hobby, especially when you are first learning and don't have all the E-Z software tricks down pat... then there's encoding the output so it doesn't look like grainy pixelated crap and hissy, tinny music output ...
BUT IT CAN BE DONE!
And even your first tries can be stunning.
The latest contest info is at
http://www.ados.com/~guy1656/KumoriCon/2005-AMV.htmwhich will go 'live' at the start of March. (There may be a few minor tweaks & additions between now and then ...)
- G
PS: Sinaj: Glad you are entering again!
To everyone else: Make those AMV's!