is there general alignment on categories?

[ComplicatedMuse]

Hi, as newbie to contests, I'm a bit confused about categories. Is it all essentially subjective to each coordinator or is there a real aligned definition (similar to how there is a pretty general set of rules)?

For example, I had a sport-AMV that I thought was "upbeat" because I saw what I perceive as similar style classified as "upbeat" in some other contest. But when I submit, it got reclassified as action. (And most action AMV I saw are largely fight-scenes.)

Then, I also tried to watch videos of "creative" / "artistic" / similar categories. Some are very obvious why it got classified in that group, but others I thought could have been "upbeat".

But all of this could just be because my eyes are not well-trained. If anyone can give me any guidance, that'd be really helpful.

(Of course, I know it would get reclassified as needed anyway. But I just want to know a bit for my own knowledge / understanding.)

Thanks in advance!

[Ileia]

Not really.

First, I want to say it's not anything wrong with your video or a result of being newer to the hobby, recategorization is just something that happens from time to time. Defining a category is complicated and can be subjective, I wouldn't say it's limited to each coordinator, more to the judges who are deciding finalists and placement. Each contest has its own personality, so that can vary.

It's also pretty common for AMVs to fall into multiple categories and get moved around depending on what entries that specific contest received, in order to provide a more balanced show. A video that feels like upbeat when watched by itself could start to feel more like action when compared to other entries in the category that lean more towards dancey or comedic. Especially if their action category was lacking, they might have moved the video to fill that category out better.

Creative/Artistic is not a typical category genre that you would typically be able to submit your video to. An AMV can be any category (upbeat, drama, action, romance, etc) and ALSO be creative or artistic. Generally, you'll only see this as a technical award for the overall contest or in something like the Viewer's Choice Awards when you are comparing every video that was nominated (and if that's what you're talking about it, it just means that people didn't nominate it for "best" upbeat, not that it wasn't considered to be an upbeat video - a common occurrence for the VCAs).

[ComplicatedMuse]

Thanks so much!
I TOTALLY get the idea of reclassifying to put on a more balanced show. That makes so much sense. And to your point, AMVs can sometimes fall into multiple categories. I feel like which one to submit to is strategy in itself....

As far as Creative/Artistic, I'm more referring to some contests have a specific bucket for submission. Take two upcoming one for example:
Thy Geekdom Con has one called "Artistic". Anime Central has one called "Freestyle". Now perhaps there is even difference between these two labels - but at least to this newbie, my first level of understanding is this is not action/drama/upbeat/comedy...

[SpuddStaaa]

Yeah the reason we keep the Freestyle category for Anime Central is because there is only so many categories you can have to capture as many videos as possible, so a catch all is always beneficial. As for categories the definition definitely varies from con to con. As someone who also thought I had an upbeat sport video that got reclassified into action early on, I can understand struggling to figure out categories.

[ComplicatedMuse]

Thanks! I submitted one to freestyle (because honestly, I don't know what category that one falls under... My original idea for the video wasn't grounded on action/drama/upbeat/comedy) So, I'll leave it to you to tell me if that works or not. [I don't envy being coordinator. It seems like this initial screening is a lot of work... Though, I'm sure there is other joys that balance it all out ]

[Ileia]

Thanks so much!
I TOTALLY get the idea of reclassifying to put on a more balanced show. That makes so much sense. And to your point, AMVs can sometimes fall into multiple categories. I feel like which one to submit to is strategy in itself....

As far as Creative/Artistic, I'm more referring to some contests have a specific bucket for submission. Take two upcoming one for example:
Thy Geekdom Con has one called "Artistic". Anime Central has one called "Freestyle". Now perhaps there is even difference between these two labels - but at least to this newbie, my first level of understanding is this is not action/drama/upbeat/comedy...

In those cases, it's always best to ask the coordinator what they mean if it's not explained in the rules. Freestyle I have seen in a few places and Nan Desu Kan used to (maybe still does?) have something similar called Category X. Kind of like the junk drawer of categories. I don't personally think Artistic fits that sort of thing since any genre can absolutely be artistic (action or comedy), but that's what I mean about it being subjective and every con having its own personality. The only way to know then is to ask them or you could even look at prior years contest lineups to get an idea. From their threads here, Artistic seems to be a new category for Thy Geekdom Con, only the past two years. They didn't post the results in 2022, but someone else posted the names of the ones from last year: viewtopic.php?p=1579142#p1579142

[ComplicatedMuse]

Thanks! I went to their con's facebook and found links to the winner announcement last year, and I watched them. I *think* I have a sense, but it definitely feels subjective... That's why I initially was wondering if that was the right take (or if there is objective definitions - like if a video has this one element, it's definitely this category. If only things are always so black & white )