Otakon contest rules

[Superios]

Someone told me it would be a good idea to post the rules up on the ORG's forum...here it is...I'm sending it to the AMV mailing list today and it should be on otakon's website before February. In another topic will be the sign up sheet (the ML and website shall be updated to this as well...same times)

some important notes-

...I've taken input from various people, myself included, and some minor changes reflect that
...I've ran the technical side of the rules past the Screen Savers staffers...they said I covered everything neccesary
...btw, for those who don't know...the rules have tips on how to submit your video by VCD, FTP, etc., so that you don't HAVE to send in a VHS tape....unless you want to, your decision.
...Have fun! please enjoy yourselves when creating these vids...I can't wait to see them
...The deadline marked in the rules here is correct, however, I'm sitting down with some people and I may give a 10 day delay...maybe more. If you KNOW you can't make the deadline, send an email to amv2004 at otakon dot com

without further ado...the rules.

OTAKON 2004 ANIME MUSIC VIDEO SCREENINGS & CONTEST

OTAKON 2004 (July 30 through August 1st in Baltimore, MD) will be
holding Anime Music Video (AMV) Screenings this year, allowing fan-
produced anime music videos to be shown at the convention for anyone who
cares to watch.

Some AMV submissions from the general screenings will also be nominated
to compete for recognition and prizes in a contest to be held during the
convention. The winners of the AMV Contest will be determined by ballots
cast by the members of OTAKON 2004, and prizes will be awarded to the
makers of the winning AMVs. (Additional awards to recognize technical
merit, concept, etc. may be bestowed at the discretion of convention
staff.)

If you have never submitted an AMV to OTAKON (or to any anime
convention) before this, please read *all* the rules before submitting,
and be aware that we received over 180 AMV submissions last year. So
that we can still handle this large volume of submissions properly with
the limited resources available to us, we require that submitters adhere
strictly to the rules set forth below.

(AMV Rules are subject to change at any time. Version 2004.01.06)

I. AMV SUBMISSION RULES

01. GETTING YOUR AMV SUBMISSION TO US

Whether you send your AMV submission to Otaku Video through the mail or
through the Internet, the OTAKON 2004 AMV Contest Coordinator must
receive a signed printout of your completed submission form in the mail
at:

OTAKON 2004 AMV
c/o Geoffrey Beebe
7404 Barkdoll Ct Apt#B
Baltimore, MD 21237

[EDITED BY MODS]

Your signature on the filled out submission form constitutes your
written consent to use your AMV in the contest and to show it at the
convention. The Submission Form must be received by the contest
coordinator before the deadline, or your AMV will be disqualified.

E-mailing us, phoning us, or faxing us isn't the same thing as mailing
us written permission with a postmark on the envelope.

A. Submitting by Internet FTP

We prefer to accept AMV submissions by Internet FTP (File Transfer
Protocol) at the Otaku Video computer server. Please visit the Otaku
Video web site at http://contest.otakuvideo.com to register for
permission to upload your AMV submission for OTAKON 2004's AMV Contest.
Otaku Video's recommended digital video encoding formats are described
below.

(If you don't already know what "FTP" is this option probably won't help
you very much. Also, you can't use a peer-to-peer filesharing network to
get your AMV to us electronically. Neither do we have the free time to
download two hundred people's AMVs from their websites, so that's out
too.)

All submission uploads must be COMPLETED by the end of the day Saturday,
April 24th, 2004. Neither OTAKON nor Otaku Video is responsible for
delays or any other problems caused by your ISP or by any intermediate
Internet sites between your ISP and Otaku Video's ISP.

It is recommended that you snail-mail the signed printout of the
permission form to the AMV Contest coordinator as soon as you have
registered your AMV with the Otaku Video web site, or even before then.

B. Submitting by mail

We also accept AMV submissions on VHS or S-VHS videotape or on CD-R
(Compact Disc Recordable) or DVD-R (Digital Versatile Disc Recordable)
computer disc. Otaku Video can also digitize from several other
videotape formats, described below.

AMV submissions on videotape or computer disc(s) must be mailed to:

OTAKON 2004 AMV
c/o Patrick Bohnet
2955 Lula Lane
Kennesaw, GA 30144

All submissions must be RECEIVED by the end of the day Saturday, April
24th, 2004. Neither OTAKON nor Otaku Video is responsible for items
that are delayed, damaged, lost, or otherwise adversely affected in the
mail.

The closer to the deadline you mail in your submission, the longer it
will take for us to acknowledge receiving it and load it onto the
server. However, if you haven't heard from us within three weeks after
mailing your AMV submission, please contact us at "amv2004 at otakon dot
com" and bring it to our attention.

02. IDENTIFYING YOUR AMV SUBMISSION

A. Submitting Digital Files by Internet FTP

When registering your AMV submission at http://contest.otakuvideo.com,
please fill in the requested information about you and your AMV
correctly and completely. We value your privacy highly and will keep
your personal information private, and use it only for the minimally
necessary functioning of the AMV Contest.

While it is not required, it would help us if you named your file using
something similar to Otaku Video's internal file naming convention,
which is: "Studio_Name-AMV_Title-Song_Artist-Song_Title-Anime_Footage"

Some (non-actual) examples:
"MoonPrincessStudios-ExcruciatingLamentofSadness-WeirdAlYankovic-
BohemianPolka-VariousAnime.mpg"
or
"BobWSmith-KasumiFreaksOut-PsychoKiller-TalkingHeads-RanmaOneHalf.avi"
or
"ZakuFanZeta-Godhood-AlsoSprachZarathustra-RichardStrauss-
CharsCounterattack.mpg"

B. Submitting on Analog or Digital media by Snail-Mail

Label your submission videotape or disc(s) with (at the very least)
"OTAKON 2004", plus your REAL name, mailing address, and telephone
number.

If you're sending in a videotape, please use the face label instead of
the spine label for the identifying information because we usually need
to use the spine label for our own notes.

If you're sending in CD-R or DVD-R disc(s), use a Sharpie(R) marker to
write on the top surface of the disc instead of putting an adhesive
label on it. If you need to use multiple discs, don't forget to mark
each one with *all* of your identifying information.

03. NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS

Because of the large number of submissions in recent years, we can
accept only one (1) AMV submission per person or group of collaborators.
If you submit two or more AMVs, we'll only show one of them.

Past experience has shown us that when we're forced to select among
multiple submissions from the a submitter, we always hear from them
after the con complaining that they lost the contest, had to put a paper
bag over their head, change their name, and move to another town and/or
country because we picked the "wrong" AMV of theirs to show. If you
don't leave that choice up to us, then we'll both be happier in the end.

04. MEDIA & FILE FORMATS

A. Digital Submissions

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 are the preferred file formats to submit in, as all
other formats will be converted to MPEG-2 format for playback and tape
mastering.

If you are using a Personal Computer running Microsoft Windows there is
a program called Tsunami MPEG Encoder that we use. MPEG encoders are
available for other operating systems as well. Tsunami, available at
http://www.tmpgenc.net, is cheap for a high quality MPEG-2 encoder and
has a 30-day trial period.

The TMPGEnc 2.X profiles that Otaku Video uses for all its conversions
are available at http://www.otakuvideo.com/files/mpegprofiles.zip

Video is preferred to be 720x480 pixels in size and at a frame rate of
29.97 fps (NTSC "drop frame"). If your source material came from a 23.97
fps source (film) that's okay too; Otaku Video can handle doing the 3:2
framerate conversion if you can't. If your vertical resolution is 480,
encode your AMV as interlaced instead of progressive; it is much easier
to change the interlace field order than to undo a bad 'Interlace to
Progressive' encoding.

We have to scale all smaller frame sizes up to 720x480, so please don't
send in videos with frames much smaller than that size or it will
look... bad... when resized to 720x480 for the convention.

We suggest using Variable Bit Rate (VBR) for MPEG-2 files with 12
megabits per second as the maximum data rate. If you want to use Two-
Pass VBR, set 2 megabits as the minimum, 8 megabits as the average, and
12 megabits as the maximum; otherwise simply use constant quality VBR
and leave the quality setting at maximum with the maximum bit rate at 12
megabits per second.

If you use MPEG-1 please either create a file that matches VCD
specifications (but don't create an actual VCD disk) or alternately set
the bit rate to 1.5 megabits per second when encoding. Using the highest
bit rate allowed (within reason) will increase quality. MPEG-2 will,
however, encode a 352x240 file better than MPEG-1 can at the same bit
rate. It's your choice to make.

For audio please use layer-II audio at 224 kilobits per second or
better, and choose stereo sound (not "joint stereo") as opposed to mono
sound. We recommend using the highest bit rate for maximum quality
sound. Please don't use layer-III audio (commonly known as "MP3"), as
our video hardware cannot decode this.

It is extremely helpful to have your digital AMV file start out with
exactly one (1) second of silent black leader before the first image or
sound at the beginning of the AMV, and to have exactly one (1) second of
silent black leader after the last image or sound at the end of the AMV.
No more, no less.

That minimum of one second of black gives the MPEG2 playback card enough
time to sync up to the video stream without missing the first second of
the AMV. The one second maximum ensures that there is never more than
two seconds of "dead" time between AMVs during the screenings (which may
not seem very long, until you actually have to sit through it a couple
dozen times in a darkened room).

An inexpensive (less than US$50) MPEG-2 playback card that you can use
to output MPEG files to a VCR and/or television is the Hollywood+. The
hardware that Otaku Video uses at conventions (a Netstream 2000) is
based on the same technology as this card. Caveat: if you do get a
Hollywood+ do not trust its VGA output, only its TV output.

If you are unsure on how or what resolution/frame rate/bit rate/audio
settings to choose, you may submit the original source file and let
Otaku Video do the conversion for you. This is preferable to salvaging a
bad conversion, since Otaku Video can & will experiment to find the
conversion method that gives the best results on their specific
equipment setup.

If a file is too large to fit on a single media disc -- such as a 1 GB
AVI file that won't fit on a 650 MB CD-ROM -- you may span it across
multiple discs. Use ZIP (WinZip) or RAR (Rarsoft) to break the file into
manageable parts and burn those to the discs, clearly labeling each of
them as part of a set: "Disc 1 of 3", "Disc 2 of 3" etc.

Please don't mail us VCDs or DVDs that are meant to be playable in DVD
players -- we aren't going to play your actual submission disk at the
convention. We only need the actual video file on a regular computer-
readable disk; having to rip the track off the VCD or DVD to get it into
the server uses up limited time and makes it more likely that we'll
accidentally degrade the technical quality of your AMV submission in the
process.

When you submit your AMV in digital format, we encourage you to include
-- in the same package with your disc(s) -- a videotape recording of
your AMV submission as a backup. If we are unable to use the video file
on your disc then we'll digitize the version on the tape. If we're
unable to use the tape either, you're probably out of luck.

When you burn your AMV file onto a disc, please include on each CD-R or
DVD-R a plain ASCII text file named README.TXT with the same information
as your paper submission form, along with any technical information
we'll need to know to sucessfully play & convert your AMV file.

Submission discs become the property of OTAKON and can't be returned, so
please DON'T send in your only copy of your AMV.

B. Videotape Submissions

Basically if you can output to NTSC/PAL/SECAM VHS, S-VHS, or MiniDV then
Otaku Video can probably digitize it for the contest. With videotape you
never have to worry about digital compatibility issues or digital
playback errors.

Remember to put one minute of black leader before and after your AMV
when submitting on video tape. This is to ensure that the tape is fully
up to speed and tracking correctly before the content to be digitized
begins playing.

Always record at SP (Standard Play) speed because our equipment doesn't
play tapes recorded in EP (Extended Play, also known as SLP - Super Long
Play). EP recordings will come out sounding like hyperkinetic chipmunks
and, after we finish laughing at it, we will disqualify your tape.

Don't use SVHS-ET -- a 'feature' that records S-VHS signals on cheaper
VHS tapes -- because real S-VHS machines won't play back those
recordings properly. Make sure to record VHS mode on VHS tapes and S-VHS
mode on S-VHS tapes only.

Watch your videotape before mailing it to us! We probably won't catch
errors in time for you to fix them before the deadline. Check your
recording's volume with this simple test: can you listen to your
videotape at a comfortable volume right after a watching a
professionally produced videotape *without* having to change the TV's
volume up or down?

Submission tapes become the property of OTAKON and can't be returned, so
DON'T send in your only master tape: please send a first-generation copy
of the master tape instead.

05. FILLING OUT THE SUBMISSION FORM

All AMV submissions, whether on tape or disc, must be accompanied by a
photocopy of the filled-out submission form. You don't have to send in a
printed copy of the submission guidelines... we already have plenty of
them, thanks.

Anonymous submissions, or submissions without a real name, cannot be
accepted. However, if you do have a name other than your normal one that
you would like your video to be attributed to during the screenings (and
potentially on the contest voting ballot), please include it on your
submission form in the space provided.

Your anime music video submission must be your own work and no one
else's. Everyone whose work contributed to the creation of the AMV must
be credited as contributing. You must identify the artist(s) & title(s)
of the music used in your AMV as well as the title(s) of the anime
footage used. If you know the original Japanese title of the anime you
used, please include it on the form too. We think that it's a cool thing
to do, and educational all around.

Members of a group who collaborate on making an anime music video
submission may not send in additional submissions under their individual
names as "solo" projects, or in combination with another group of a
different composition. Fair is fair.

If you forget to include the submission form when you send in your
submission, send it in as soon as you remember that you forgot. You must
fill out the part where you give OTAKON permission to use your video. If
you don't give us permission, then we'll have to skip over your
submission. Really.

When you submit your AMV file on computer disk remember to burn a
README.TXT file of the filled-out submission form on the disk so we can
easily identify who the disc came from. If we can't figure out who a CD
came from, we'll probably fry it in the microwave to watch the pretty
sparks.

06. PRIOR WINNING AMVs SHALL NOT COMPETE

Please submit only music videos that have not already won awards or
prizes at other conventions' AMV contests. We don't mind it if a music
video happens to be submitted to multiple conventions (including ours)
all at the same time, but it's bad form to send out an AMV that you know
has already gotten prior recognition elsewhere (this practice has become
known as "Trolling for Prizes").

If you've made an AMV that has achieved recognition at another
convention's AMV Contest and you'd still like to have it screened at
OTAKON, you can submit it as a non-competing submission and we'll be
more than happy to show it. Just send it in like a regular AMV
submission, but check the appropriate boxes on the submission form.

07. NO CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

Staff and Guests of OTAKON may submit anime music videos for screening,
but are not eligible to compete in the anime music video contest. Non-
competing submissions will be marked as such during the screenings.

08. PEER AND STAFF AMV EVALUATIONS

Finalists for the AMV Contest are selected by the Contest Coordinator(s)
based on evaluations of all the AMV submissions performed by members of
OTAKON's staff, associated fanclub(s), and submitters of AMVs for the
contest. Your participation in pre-convention evaluation screening
sessions is strictly voluntary, and will not affect your AMV's
evaluation in any way.

Starting approximately ten weeks before the convention, we will have a
couple weekend evaluation sessions (to be scheduled later). Please check
the appropriate box on your submission form if you are interested in
receiving information about attending these evaluation sessions.

09. HOW TO GET A COPY OF THE CONTEST

We are no longer accepting requests for copies of the AMV Contest tape
(or of the general screening tapes) from everyone who makes a
submission. Spending half a year organizing the AMV Contest is all that
we can handle, without the extra work of being an ad-hoc tape distro for
months afterwards on top of it. It's too much.

If your AMV submission appears in the OTAKON 2004 AMV Contest, then you
can -- after the convention is over -- request a copy of the contest
tape from the OTAKON AMV Contest coordinator by the usual SASE method as
in past years (send a package containing a blank tape, a return mailer,
and return postage). To forestall Internet bootlegging, the OTAKON AMV
Contest & Screenings will not be made available on DVD, or made
available on Otakon's site on the World Wide Web.

II. AMV CONTENT RULES

01. COMPONENTS/INGREDIENTS OF SUBMISSIONS

Anime Music Videos that don't fulfill these requirements will be
disqualified and will not be shown:

A. Since these are Anime Music Videos, they must have two things:
* Music. Your AMV must be set predominantly to some kind of music.
* Anime. Your AMV must use predominantly anime footage.

"Invader Zim", for all its creepy wonderfulness, is not anime, so says
P.O.O.P.-DOG!

B. Anime Music Videos cannot incorporate the subtitles or dubbed sound
from licensed commercial translations. The companies that license
and produce these commercially translated versions of anime attend
the convention, and we just don't need grief from them over this
issue.

C. Anime Music Videos that incorporate sound from the original Japanese
soundtrack are, however, okay by us. You're already using the
footage -- using the soundtrack too can't be any more transgressive.

D. Anime Music Videos that incorporate footage with random subtitles
from fan-subtitled anime will be disqualified. People will be so
distracted trying to read the meaningless subtitles that they can't
watch the rest of the video. Please edit around them, or letterbox
your video to hide them, or paint them out.

E. Anime Music Videos that incorporate titles, subtitles, or sound
effects/narration of your own creation, which were added by you
during the production of the AMV, are okay. Mention on your
submission form that you added the narration or subtitles yourself so
we don't mistakenly disqualify your AMV submission for having them.

F. Please be aware of the "graphics-safe area" of the TV screen, and
respect it when you're composing shots and adding titles or graphics.
Basically, assume that the 10% at the extreme edges of the TV screen
might get cut off (unlike a computer monitor which shows everything).

02. DURATION OF SUBMISSIONS

AMVs may not be shorter than 25 seconds, or longer than 6 minutes. An
AMV whose running time falls outside this range by one second at either
end will be disqualifed.

03. NO CREDITS AND LOGOS

When we screen AMVs at the convention, we provide standard credits at
the head and tail of each AMV so that the audience can easily recognize
each AMV presented. It is not necessary for you to include your own
credits as well.

Please submit a version of your AMV that does not include bumpers such
as intros, logos, credits, stingers, etc. If you do include them, be
aware that they will probably have to be abridged or removed entirely
for the AMV Contest. We strive to include as many AMVs in the AMV
Contest as our 120-minute timeslot will accomodate.

If you are really attached to your studio logo, and just want to have it
seen during the general screenings, then you may submit one version of
your AMV with the bumpers in addition to the shorter version without
them.

Please note that the credits/logos/etc *will* count against your time
limit, and if they cause your AMV to be too long, then we'll only be
able to show the short version at the convention.

(If you are considering burning a logo 'bug' on the corner of the screen
during your AMV, realize that audiences do get annoyed by this
distracting practice. They get *really* annoyed if the bug appears on
the screen frequently, is large, or fully opaque, or continuously
animated.)

05. NO OLD AMVs

To keep the screenings at the convention contemporary, we ask that you
submit an Anime Music Video that you've completed within the last 2 years.
Please include on the submission form the approximate date your
video was completed.

Classic AMVs are great but we'd prefer to showcase them in their own
screenings so they can be appreciated in their proper context.

06. NO REPEAT SUBMISSIONS

Once we screen your AMV at OTAKON, that's it for that video as far as
the contest is concerned. Don't resubmit a "finished" version of it
later, claiming that the original one was just a "work in progress". If
it was good enough to send to a contest in the first place, then it was
finished.

07. NO OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT

Content of videos must be suitable for viewing by our under-21 members
(or worse, their parents). We may have problems with songs that are too
explicit for radio airplay, or footage that is too extreme for general
broadcast. Videos with "objectionable" content shall be dealt with on a
case-by-case basis.

We might be able to screen AMVs with potentially objectionable content
in a special late night screening, but this is not at all guaranteed.

08. NO NON-AMVs IN THE AMV CONTEST

For the purposes of the Anime Music Video Contest and Screenings, AMVs
are considered to be distinct from other short-duration fan productions
such as movie trailers, animations, fake commercials, eyecatches, and so
forth.

Other short-duration fan productions such as trailers will be shown at
OTAKON in screenings other than those dedicated to Anime Music Videos.

09. BECAUSE WE SAY SO

Although they are open-minded, fair, impartial, easy-going, good-
looking, virtuous AND humble -- on top of being willing to listen to
contrasting viewpoints & learn from them -- the decisions of the AMV
Coordinator(s) regarding the AMV Screenings and the AMV Contest are
final. The buck stops here, and the coordinator(s) reserve the right to
reject any video.

* * *

Coordination for the OTAKON 2004 Anime Music Video Screenings and
Contest provided by Geoffrey Beebe (send e-mail "amv2004 at otakon
dot com"). Technical services provided by Patrick Bohnet of Otaku Video
(send e-mail to "contest at otakuvideo dot com").

A copy of these rules is available online from OTAKON's site on the
World Wide Web, http://www.otakon.com, or by sending a business-size
Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) to the AMV Coordinator(s).

For further information and answers to questions please e-mail the AMV
Coordinator. Please be patient awaiting a reply: the AMV staffers have
full time jobs in the real world, and all this music video stuff only
gets done as time permits (mostly evenings and weekends).


*************************************************************

[Fungie½]

Good times ^_^ I'm still not sure what to send in, but I'll send in something!!

[Scintilla]

It is extremely helpful to have your digital AMV file start out with exactly one (1) second of silent black leader before the first image or sound at the beginning of the AMV, and to have exactly one (1) second of silent black leader after the last image or sound at the end of the AMV. <b>No more, no less.</b>

One shalt be the number of seconds thou shalt count off, and the number of the seconds shall be one.


One question I should ask: what about including major spoilers in videos? I know there's no explicit rule against them, but will they hurt our chances of getting to the finals?

[BogoSort]

One question I should ask: what about including major spoilers in videos? I know there's no explicit rule against them, but will they hurt our chances of getting to the finals?

It never has in the past, I don't see why it should matter now. There does happen to be this wonderful warning at the beginning of the tape that mentions the possibility of major spoilers.

[dokool]

One question I should ask: what about including major spoilers in videos? I know there's no explicit rule against them, but will they hurt our chances of getting to the finals?

It never has in the past, I don't see why it should matter now. There does happen to be this wonderful warning at the beginning of the tape that mentions the possibility of major spoilers.

I'm curious as to how many people who watch the AMV contest actually cover their eyes or something to avoid spoilers. After all, if they decide to vote, then they've more or less denied one video a fair chance...

[genestarwind21122]

I'll be participating again. I wish everyone who enters the best of luck.

Gene Starwind 21122

[dokool]

The deadline marked in the rules here is correct, however, I'm sitting down with some people and I may give a 10 day delay...maybe more. If you KNOW you can't make the deadline, send an email to amv2004 at otakon dot com

The problem with this is that if you're not impartial in giving extensions, then it's unfair, especiall if you give some people more time than others. If you're going to offer delays of "10 days or maybe more," then just make the deadline 10 days later anyway. To quote Clerks, shit or get off the pot.

-DOKool

[Toji Fujawara]

Quick question as this will be my first time entering an amv into the otakon contest.

A. Submitting by Internet FTP

Ok is there a file size limit for this. I mean is it like the org where you cant have a file over 100MB

[trythil]

Quick question as this will be my first time entering an amv into the otakon contest.

A. Submitting by Internet FTP

Ok is there a file size limit for this. I mean is it like the org where you cant have a file over 100MB

No, there is no limit. Submit the largest file that retains the best quality/size ratio. When contest.otakuvideo.com comes back up there will be encoding guidelines. There's also guidelines in the rules as well.

[Toji Fujawara]

No, there is no limit. Submit the largest file that retains the best quality/size ratio. When contest.otakuvideo.com comes back up there will be encoding guidelines. There's also guidelines in the rules as well.

alright thanks alot