Tekko 2017 AMV Contest
The following are the contractual rules for Tekko’s Anime Music Video Contest. All videos submitted for the purpose of entry into the contest are subject to the following terms and conditions.
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PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE TEKKO 2017 AMV CONTEST SUBMISSION FORM
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CATEGORIES
There will be two categories of awards presented:
- Those by the audience of the AMV Contest at the time of the convention; and
- Those selected by the judges of the Tekko AMV contest.
Here are the possible categories for the contest:
PRIMARY CATEGORIES
- Action
- Comedy
- Drama
- Romance / Sentimental
- Upbeat
SECONDARY CATEGORIES
- TV Series Opening Parody
- Trailer or Commercial Parody
- Extreme (please review the “Tekko Extreme AMV Contest” rules below)
- Convention Theme: SUPERNATURAL HORROR
- Western Animation Music Video
- Video Game Music Video
- Live Action Music Video
SPECIAL CATEGORIES
- Adventure
- Classic (defined here as “anime of Japanese vintage before 2000 as per AnimeNewsNetwork.com Encyclopedia”)
- Dance
- Horror
- Instrumental (a music track that does not contain lyrics or voice overs)
- Offbeat
- Tribute
Once videos are received, the top six video categories of all videos presented will be selected and used for judging. As arranged above, normally the contest will consist of the five primary categories and one of the secondary categories. If we receive enough videos to replace a primary category with a secondary or special category, we will do so. Final selection of the video categories is at the discretion of the convention coordinator(s).
In addition to awards for the video categories, we also award:
- The Audience’s Favorite Video at the convention;
- The Judges’ selection of their Best in Show; and
- The AMV Department Coordinator's AMV Choice.
If the overall submissions’ play time is larger than can fit in the appropriate contest time slot, cuts will unfortunately be made. Keep in mind that video selection for the finals will be determined on qualities such as technical aspects, effectiveness of the video and general execution. All accepted, qualifying entries will be played at least once in the AMV Theater during the duration of the convention.
You do not need to attend the convention to enter the contest, although it is highly encouraged.
MAIN CONTEST RULES
- The main AMV Contest is an all-ages audience showing. A good general rule for content is that if the song cannot be played on the radio without edits (bleeps or omission of certain words), contains sexual genitalia (no hentai) or has extreme violence, then it’s not acceptable for the main contest. Note that the administration and AMV staff of Tekko reserve the right to determine what constitutes “extreme” content. Any video that would not qualify for the main contest may qualify for the AMV Extreme contest — see the “AMV Extreme Contest Rules” below for more information.
- The submission cut-off for the Tekko 2017 AMV Contest is 11:59pm Eastern Time on March 9 2017. The actual files and mail-in submissions must be in our hands by 11:59pm Eastern Time on March 12, 2017.
- As this is an Japanese anime music video contest, the majority (approximately 51% or more) of your video must contain Japanese-originated anime, Japanese-originated video game-related media, or Japanese-originated anime-based live-action adaptations.
- We will also review for consideration as entry videos with 51% or more Western Animation in a Japanese animation style or based on a Japanese-originated property (examples include but are not limited to RWBY, the 2011 reboot of Thundercats, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, and Voltron: Legendary Defender). The decision to accept videos with this condition lies with the AMV Department staff, Tekko Administration, and the Board of the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society.
- With the exception of trailer and TV commercial parody AMVs, at least 80% of the submission’s audio must be a continuous song or music track. Spoken Japanese openings or endings are allowed, but overlaying of Japanese or English audio that is not part of the original song/music is not.
There is a time limit of 30 seconds minimum and 6 minutes maximum. Any video exceeding 6 minutes may be acceptable at the AMV Contest Coordinators’ discretion.
- You may submit a maximum of three (3) videos to the contest. Each video must fit at least two of the three categories selected for the video entry, and these entries must be separate from each other. Don’t try to make a video fit a category it is not suited for — for example, a purely “Action” video being categorized for the Primary “Drama” category. The video(s) may be re-categorized at the AMV Department staff or judges' discretion. If you need assistance with categorization, please contact the Coordinator at
amvs@teamtekko.us.
- Qualifying AMV Contest video entries must have been created within one (1) year of the Tekko 2017 start date (after April 7, 2016), have not been previously submitted to any of the past Tekko / Tekkoshocon contests, and have not won a combination of three (3) or more “Best In Show” or “Best in (specific category, i.e. Drama, Action, etc.)” at any other convention contest during that period, not including videos that have won Staff-based (like Coordinator’s Choice, Staffer’s Choice, etc.) or Judging-based Awards (like Best Artistic, Best Storytelling, etc.).
- No watermarks in the video will be allowed. This includes, but is not limited to, the DivX logo, any television station, producer, or streaming site bugs & logos, AMV studio logos, and so on.
- No video will be accepted with “hard subtitles” (subtitles permanently overlaid on video), nor will we accept videos from obviously bootlegged or fan-subbed releases with these subtitles. The only EXCEPTION to this rule is if you create your own subtitles as an actual part of the anime music video. Please note this when you fill out the submission form.
- Because of the nature of the video judging, Tekko Staff are allowed to enter their own qualifying anime music videos unless they are participating in the coordination or judging of the AMV contest.
AMV EXTREME CONTEST RULES
Tekko also hosts an Extreme Contest for videos with “extreme content”. “Extreme Content” includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Coarse Language
- Excessive violence (well known example can be seen in Berserk)
- Innuendo or other situational humor that could be considered offensive
- Nudity
- Strong and/or graphic sexual situations
Videos that have any of the above may be directly submitted for the Extreme Contest for consideration. Any videos submitted for the main contest entry that contains content that the AMV Department staff, Tekko administration, or the Board of the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society decides is not suitable for showing at the Main Contest will also be considered for entry into the Extreme Contest. The Extreme Contest has only one award, with judging performed by the Tekko AMV Department staff.
In addition to the General Contest Rules, the following additional rules will apply:
- Qualifying entries that are not deemed “Extreme” will be placed into the main contest pool under the 2nd and 3rd categories chosen. Therefore, even though you intend for it to be in the Extreme Contest, you are encouraged to fill out the 2nd and 3rd categories with appropriate contest choices.
- All Extreme Contest submissions require the same information as the regular AMV contest, except that on the contest entry form select “Extreme” in the 1st category choice to have your video placed into the Extreme Contest. If you submit by disc in the mail and have entries for both contests, please have separate sheets for the Extreme Contest submissions versus the main contest submissions and label all videos clearly.
- THE CREATOR (AND/OR SUBMITTER) OF THE VIDEO MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONTEST. There will be a form provided by e-mail that will act as a waiver to enter these categories for viewing and for being awarded if the video should win the Extreme Contest.
There is no limit to the number of submissions you can give as long as it has not premiered in any Tekko / Tekkoshocon AMV contest prior nor in another AMV contest 2 or more years ago.
- Please note that there is NO PEDOPHILIA ALLOWED IN ANY OF THE CONTESTS. Just because the box and the disclaimers say that s/he is legal does not mean s/he is. Please, do not submit anything that has visually identifiable underage girls or boys performing sexual or perverted acts.
Anything else that is deemed to be illegal in the United States is also not allowed into the Extreme Contest. Just because it’s animated does not excuse it from certain laws that may govern what can be shown in the United States.
Please note, to attend the AMV Extreme Contest showing at Tekko, you must verify that you are 18 years of age or older. Please review the Tekko site (
www.teamtekko.us) and Tekko 2017 convention program guide for details on admission requirements for 18+ age restricted events.
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Any video that does not follow the guidelines above and rules below WILL BE CONSIDERED DISQUALIFIED AND NOT BE ENTERED INTO THE CONTEST. All submissions are subject to the Tekko AMV Department’s review and approval. The Tekko AMV Department, Tekko Administration, and the Board of the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society reserve the right to prohibit from convention viewing any video submission entered into the contest for any reason.
By submitting your video for review, you agree that all decisions made by the Tekko AMV Department, the Tekko Convention Administration, the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society, and the contest judges about your video are FINAL.
All submissions become the property of the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society and/or its assigns, and will not be returned to the submitter. Please do not send in your only copy of your video submission.
All submissions may be used for display and promotional purposes. All videos entered will be considered to be cleared for this purpose.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
The following video formats are the only formats that will be accepted for submission to the contest, in order from most preferred to least:
- AVC/H.264 MP4 format (.mp4)
- Matroska (.mkv)
- MPEG-2 Video with MPEG-II Layer Audio (.mpeg, .mpg)
- UTCodec or Lagarith Lossless Codec encoded AVI (.avi)
- DivX / XviD in AVI format (.avi) encoded at the highest quality possible (Quantizer 1 is most preferred)
- Quicktime (.mov) format (acceptable, but not recommended)
- Windows Media (.wmv) format (acceptable, but not recommended)
Any file format not mentioned above will not be considered and immediately disqualified. This includes MPEG-1, Real Media, or the use of any codec other than DivX, Lagarith, or XviD. If all else fails, contact the Contest Coordinator and we can try to work out an acceptable solution.
As we use HDMI projectors, acceptable frame rates for your videos are 23.976fps, 29.97fps, and 60fps. Any other frame rates will be converted to fit one of these frame rates.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
A submission form is being provided this year for entering contest videos. The contest will accept three methods of video acquisition:
- A download link to a file sharing location (such as AnimeMusicVideos.Org, Dropbox, Google Drive, or other similar service);
- A file folder created on the contest coordinator's Tekko Google Drive for uploading files; or
- A file DVD by mail to the coordinator directly.
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PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE TEKKO 2017 AMV CONTEST SUBMISSION FORM
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The AMV Contest Coordinator will review all entries for the above rules and guideline compliance, sending an e-mail directly to the entrant with the status of their video entry when a determination is reached.
CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about submitting to the contest or any of the rules and guidelines above, please e-mail the coordinator at
amvs@teamtekko.us.
