Otakon AMV Contest

[dwchang]

No, no baby eating in here (kudos for those who got that)...

I can certainly understand that since the deadline has been set for so long, it isn't going to be moved, but perhaps Otakon should rethink their deadline altogether since YEAR AFTER YEAR people are begging for an extension. Easily 10x more than any other contest I've ever seen.

Let me perhaps guess why:

The deadline has always been immediately following or during finals week for most college/high school folks and even if we know the deadline in advance, there is no way in hell we're going to be editing that much during that time.

The argument could easily be made that we should just start sooner, but I don't know about anyone else, but I actually *have* been busy this entire time with research, projects and finally the above mentioned finals.

Now I realize there is a lot of work that needs to be put into the pre-screening, but perhaps they should be held later or less of them. I would GLADLY take less prescreenings if we had a deadline closer to nearly every other contest I've submitted to (i.e. a month to two months prior to the actual contest). That would make the deadline well into June and most creators would then be out of school and have a good month of solid editing.

I GUARANTEE you will have more entries and more importantly, more high quality entries that aren't rushed together like most of us are currently doing it (or giving up on. I actually know of at least 3 "regulars" who have given up...myself included *and their was much rejoicing!*)

I'd GLADLY take higher quality entries for less prescreening times any day of the week. Then again, it'd make the contest finalization process a bit more tedious and hectic, but that's the reason I suggest rethinking it.

I guess it's bad to compare, but I know no other contest that requires the entries to be there 2.5 - 3 months in advance (i.e. a quarter year in advance) and it seems kind of ludicrous when you also take into account the time of year it is for most of us.

[genestarwind21122]

No, no baby eating in here (kudos for those who got that)...

I can certainly understand that since the deadline has been set for so long, it isn't going to be moved, but perhaps Otakon should rethink their deadline altogether since YEAR AFTER YEAR people are begging for an extension. Easily 10x more than any other contest I've ever seen.

Let me perhaps guess why:

The deadline has always been immediately following or during finals week for most college/high school folks and even if we know the deadline in advance, there is no way in hell we're going to be editing that much during that time.

The argument could easily be made that we should just start sooner, but I don't know about anyone else, but I actually *have* been busy this entire time with research, projects and finally the above mentioned finals.

Now I realize there is a lot of work that needs to be put into the pre-screening, but perhaps they should be held later or less of them. I would GLADLY take less prescreenings if we had a deadline closer to nearly every other contest I've submitted to (i.e. a month to two months prior to the actual contest). That would make the deadline well into June and most creators would then be out of school and have a good month of solid editing.

I GUARANTEE you will have more entries and more importantly, more high quality entries that aren't rushed together like most of us are currently doing it (or giving up on. I actually know of at least 3 "regulars" who have given up...myself included *and their was much rejoicing!*)

I'd GLADLY take higher quality entries for less prescreening times any day of the week. Then again, it'd make the contest finalization process a bit more tedious and hectic, but that's the reason I suggest rethinking it.

I guess it's bad to compare, but I know no other contest that requires the entries to be there 2.5 - 3 months in advance (i.e. a quarter year in advance) and it seems kind of ludicrous when you also take into account the time of year it is for most of us.

I have to agree with Dwchang here. I knew approximately when the Otakon deadline was going to be back in October because of previous years. So I started to work on my amv then. Considering work and college and then finals right before the amv deadline it was getting hetic for me. I barely finished my amv in time. It took me a little over 6 months to make my Otakon amv. Seriously though I think 2 months in advance is enough time to get everything together for the contest. If you are re-encoding the videos as they come in and not all at once then that will cut down on the time to create the final tape.

Also I can see where Otakon is coming from, they did announce the deadline back on Dec. 27th which gave 5 months notice. So any amv creators that are asking for extension right now just remember in the future that the deadline is usually in May for Otakon and start work in advance on your video so you don't feel rushed. I ran into this problem last year with Back to Paradise and had to send in Pain of War instead. So I learned from the past.

Both sides have a good argument here. My advice is to keep this in mind for next year and maybe start work on your Otakon amv in October so that way you'll have plunty time to finish it, even if Otakon does not extend the deadline.

[dwchang]

Both sides have a good argument here. My advice is to keep this in mind for next year and maybe start work on your Otakon amv in October so that way you'll have plunty time to finish it, even if Otakon does not extend the deadline.

I don't know about anyone else, but starting my Otakon entry in October for a Contest 10 months away hardly seems reasonable or a good argument. Hell that's only two months after the previous Otakon or one month after AWA. I don't know about everyone, but I for one didn't even know what video I wanted to make until maybe a few months before the deadline and then with the above mentioned work and life, it's pretty difficult to meet said deadline.

My main contention is that year after year, the same problem happens because of exactly when the deadline is. Given these circumstances and the statistical consistency of the problem, perhaps this would imply that the problem needs to be solved in a difference sense than totally ignored.

[genestarwind21122]

So would you rather have Otakon be a non-prescreening contest?
That would be the only way to do it then since it takes time to get the prescreening tapes together. Or if the deadline was June 1st would that give you enough time to work on your amv's those 2 extra weeks. Personally myself I have ton of ideas for amv's that I have written down in a book. Whenever I hear a song and I get and idea I write it down so I don't forget it. So when I finish one idea I go through my list of songs and animes that I have ideas for and which ever one inspires me or makes me say that is the one I want to do. I go for it. That's why I have no problems with ideas. For some people ideas don't come as easily as others. So right now I'm up in the air. I think if the deadline was June 1st it would be easier on the creators giving them 2 more weeks.

Gene Starwind 21122

[dokool]

So would you rather have Otakon be a non-prescreening contest?

I think people would rather have Otakon be a good contest. I agree that there's value to pre-screenings, but given that Otakon's reliance on having public prescreenings is forcing the hands of the editors (and thus making it so that fewer and fewer "known" editors are submitting), maybe they need to examine new ways to wade through the submissions they recieve.

Everyone has different methods for developing ideas and making AMVs - it's unfair to expect everyone to start working on their vid 7-8 months ahead of a deadline, especially given that most editors have local cons they want to make stuff for, things like exams and finals that happen during deadlines, and so on. I agree with <b>dwchang</b>, Otakon has continued to set the same deadline for years with little to no consideration of the people most likely to enter the contest in the first place.

[anneke]

If you don't like the deadline, don't enter. It's as simple as that. You know what the deadline is, you plan accordingly, or you don't enter.

I've also seen that alot of people/most people submit the same video to a whole bunch of conventions, so the whole idea of needing time for making a specific video for one convention is silly. I DO make videos specifically for conventions, but I also plan accordingly so I'm sure the video I want to enter is done by the deadline.

People who want the deadline extended should have started earlier in anticipation of problems, but are also most likely just procrastinators who are trying to bully their way into a contest.

As for how Otakon wishes to judge their contest, that's their choice. Don't like it...well... Don't enter. I'll still be seeing the same videos at Otakon at other conventions before and long after Otakon.

Anneke

[Darkseid]

Situation could be much worse though. For example checked out Anime Expo's submission rules/deadline, lately?

I honestly don't mind the submission rules for Otakon here simply because they did set such a deadline in advance, though I do think a bit of reminders every so often could be used. I didn't see too many but if there were some, my bad.

[Bakadeshi]

I wasn't realy counting on entering, seeing as the amv i was planning to do for it fell through, but I did happen to finish a beta of my latest video yesterday that I sent in for the hell of it ;p

I say beta, but its pretty much release quality. I will just be changing a few scenes before release, and the way the ending is edited, that I didn't have time to do before the deadline.

so, AuN Studios' last minute backup entry is on the way, express mail ;p

[hackerzc]

BIG REPLY

One thing that the AMV staff might want to pay attention to is that most of New England is under a ton of water and thus many editors can't get to post offices to send out last-minute entries. I think allowing an extension until the end of next week would be fair to them.

I for one was unaware of this. However, I do not see it effecting the deadline at all. "Many Editors" may be exaggerating a bit, though I understand what you mean.

It may be disappointing, or hard for some to accept... but a deadline is a deadline.
The Director was contacted the same day everyone started talking about getting an extension, and the topic was discussed. Issues such as finals did enter conversation, and in the end the Director made the decision that the current May 17th deadline stands.

For those which are effected by this natural disaster, you have our condolences. However there is nothing we can do to un-flood your area, nor do we know how long a disruption this will cause.

*NOTE* I just got off the phone with the US Post Office. I called to inquire about problems with the mail in MA and to quote what I was told:

"We have not received any reports of Flooding or disruption in service. Since there is no report you can assume carriers are running on schedule".

From what I've being told, the mail seems to be fine.

I was going to submit something as non-competing and am currently in the process of taking finals and getting home this week. I live in a city that's half-under water (Peabody MA) and am currently right next to the very-much-flooding Merimack River in Lowell. Any help in that area would be appreciated.

Currently non-competing entries are being held to the same rules as competing entries.
Next year we are looking into changing some things around to allow non-comp entries to be submitted closer to the con (they do not need to be rated at the prescreening since they are non competing) so we can simply place them onto the overflow tapes.
If you still wish to submit this year but can not make the deadline (and this goes for any non-comp entries) you should email the Director and ask permission to send in your entry late. Make sure to explain that it is non-comp. He will then make a decision as to weather you should send it or not.

I can certainly understand that since the deadline has been set for so long, it isn't going to be moved, but perhaps Otakon should rethink their deadline altogether since YEAR AFTER YEAR people are begging for an extension. Easily 10x more than any other contest I've ever seen.

It's also because Otakon is the largest AMV contest in the US if you are counting number of submitters (yes AX has had more videos, but they allow multiple submissions per person).
It's also because year after year people usually get an extension of some sort. So everyone expecting there to be one waits until the last minute, thinking "oh they will make an extension". However this year there just isn't one.

As for no longer having prescreenings, the question has been presented in the past whether or not we should do away with them, and each time it was asked there was an overwhelming response to keep them.
Holding them later simply does not work as we saw last year. The Prescreenings were so close to the con (they ended 2 weeks before the con) that we were unable to release the names of finalists (as everyone remembers there was much discussion about this).
Also, the pre-screenings we had last year were all run at pretty much the same time.

More entries is not even an issue (we are not really concerned about numbers). It would actually be pretty wonderful if everyone who sent entries in was able to be in the contest. Though we know that would never happen.
Quality of an entry is purely subjective. There are people who can work on an entry for 1 day and make something great, and those that can work for a year and make something terrible.
Something we have discovered since no longer taking FTP entries (aside from a slight drop in number of entries) is that the quality of the entries we get, has increased. That's not to say FTP submissions are bad, but from what I have seen, people who are willing to take the time and mail in an entry seem to be the ones who also put more effort into their work.

My main contention is that year after year, the same problem happens because of exactly when the deadline is. Given these circumstances and the statistical consistency of the problem, perhaps this would imply that the problem needs to be solved in a difference sense than totally ignored.

Yet (to risk sounding a bit harsh) 130-180 people somehow make it in on time.
I am sorry to bring this up. But the fact of the matter is that the majority of people DO get their entries in on time. A good number of them come early in fact.
The thing is, with a contest of this size, the majority wins out over the minority. That's not to say we do not care about your opinions. Everything that is being said this year will be looked at for next year, and changes may happen. The thing is... we need to be able to balance out what you want, with what we need. Mostly that means "time". Time to get entries, time to fix problems with videos. If we get an entry that has an issue we don't just say "oh well, better luck next year" (though some people think we should). No, we work to fix the problem (and some times that means we need the entry sent again, which will take time).
I won't go into everything that needs to be done, because to be frank, you shouldn't have to know. But every year when the deadline is set, the date is picked based on how things went the year before, and is adjusted to suit what we can get done and when it CAN be done. We also have to abide by certain convention deadlines. Creators want things to happen later, the con wants them to happen earlier.... the Director has to find the balance.
But hey, if the contest looks like it's so easy to run that everything can be done in a month or two max, then I'm glad we make it look so easy.


And Dokool.... we do give consideration to everyone we can. I'm an AMV creator myself. I may not be some big name, or pop out a new video every month.... but I know how it is.
The only reason I am part of the contest is because I want to make sure that the contest is the best it can be for you guys. I know what it's like to enter at Otakon and I know how it is to win there too.
To say that I or anyone involved in the contest just doesn't care can't be any further from the truth!
If I didn't care I wouldn't be here in this forum. I wouldn't be emailing or calling the Director and getting certain issues resolved. I wouldn't have called the post office to find out about the status of mail service in Mass. And I wouldn't be hand typing the video slates for every single entry that comes in.

In the end, you simple can not please everyone. No matter how hard you try. If the rules or deadline are too much of a hassle, you always have the option of not submitting. I always hate saying that, but it's true. No one is holding any guns to anyone's heads and saying "do it or else".
If you do submit though, you have to remember that the contest has it's deadline... and it has it's rules. Just like every other contest.

Something for everyone to take note of:
Next year the Convention will be in late July....
Expect the earlier con date to effect the deadline (just a heads up).

[BasharOfTheAges]

"We have not received any reports of Flooding or disruption in service. Since there is no report you can assume carriers are running on schedule".

Um...
http://cbs4boston.com/
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/index.html
http://www.weather.com/multimedia/video ... nter_video
http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/


Notice anything from those front page stories?

I just lost all respect for the USPS

Also, the city of Lowell's homepage: http://www.lowellma.gov/newsitems/060515weather
We are currently approaching the 100 year flood zone record

ALSO:

This is international news. My roomate's grandparents in FRANCE heard about the flooding and called to see if he was okay.