To start of quickly, this year was a better year for AX as the past 2 have been. Things are improving but still haven't gotten to the point of fixed status yet. But overall I had fun attending again this year. I agree with all the points mentioned already. The official AMV events weren't bad, they just had flaws that need to be fixed.
As for some constructive griping, I am a firm advocate of removing the "Pro" from AMTV Pro as the judging is obviously not adhering to the whole point of what a Pro video is. As a judge, a pro video is something that exhibits an excellence in editing above the standard AMV. Whether that be with effects or other advanced editing practices. A Pro video is not to be judged by how much the judge likes the song and/or anime used or how "funny" the video appears to be. I mention this because a couple of the vids in the Pro category this year really made me think that the latter is what happened with the judging. I was honestly upset as an editor to see what videos out of 300+ entries were picked for Pro compared to what only made preshow. If this was just an upbeat/dance category then I'd have no complaints about the selection process, but it's the Pro definition found in the rules that is being blatantly ignored that bothers me. This all would be remedied if "Pro" was removed from the category and AMTV went back to being dance/upbeat like it was in the past.
Hagaren Viper wrote:Also, am I the only one who is a bit iffy about next year's R rating? Yes, I know that when it was announced that people were excited, and I know that it wouldn't be exclusively R-Rated entries, but the few people I spoke to about it were pretty skeptical, with a couple a bit unsure if they wanted to attend the contest next year [I know you cant please everyone, but not everyone appreciates pushing the PG-13 rating to the limit]. It seems like it would be better to have a R-Rated category/Contest on top of what we have, not a Rated R contest and a 'Kid Contest'. Again, I know it's a bit early to be baawing, but still wanted to give my two cents.
This decision honestly does not surprise me. Most AMV contests label themselves as PG-13 but are in fact lying to the audience and pushing an R. I think Michael is making a smart decision to cover his basis with AX being as big as it is. I've seen so many contests sporting a PG-13 rating which feature videos with graphic head violence, sexual references, songs with multiple F-bombs, etc. These things automatically earn you an "R" rating. If a parent was angry enough they could probably wreak some havoc on the con heads about some content featured in these "PG-13" contests. If anyone wants to disagree then please go find a movie rated PG-13 made in the past 4 years that shows someones face cut in half on screen in the nature of Samurai X or Garden of Sinners; scenes of which I have seen used in many PG-13 contests. Just sayin.
On the other hand, if this rating hike is happening just for more overly foul content videos to make the cut then I take back my aforementioned opinion.
