AMV Contest Tips

[William]

Currently transplanted from the rules page, but I'll be updating and clarifying them shortly.

* Subtitles and watermarks make your video look unprofessional. Videos featuring subs and watermarks are the first to go into overflow or be cut from the contest due to time constraints, so try to avoid them if at all possible.
* Use DVD source footage. Downloaded footage is lower quality, less stable in video editors, and tends to result in watermarks that make your video look terrible. If you need help with DVD ripping, consult Animemusicvideos.org .
* Use uncompressed CD-ripped audio rather than MP3s for the same reasons as above.
* Try to keep your credit length down. I'll be including title slides anyway, so they aren't even necessary and will be clipped if they're longer than five to seven seconds.
* We project our videos in a theatrical environment, so try to use video footage that shows up in a dark room. Videos with very high or very low contrast come off as very white or very black, neither of which project well.
* Try to avoid making "generic" music videos. This means avoid combining series like Dragonball and Naruto with grunge rock. Linkin Park music is overdone, as is Evanescence. We suggest this because you don't want someone else to submit a video exactly like yours and kill both of your chances at winning. Consult the Most Used Anime and Most Used Music pages to make sure you aren't beating a dead cat. This is not a rule, merely a suggestion from someone who doesn't want to see your talents hindered by fan biases.

[William]

Edits: Added a note about subtitles and watermarks. Also added links to Most Used Music and Most Used Anime listings. Also added the part about credit lengths as I've noticed more than a few entries have credits ranging 10 to 40 (yes 40) seconds.

[William]

Okay, nothing personal people, but I'm seriously running into the snag of every third or fourth video I receive being done to Kingdom Hearts 1/2 this year. While one or two is fine, at this rate we're going to run into some painful footage overlap, so I hope you'll forgive me if your KH videos get bumped in the name of sanity.

[David F Smith]

Okay, nothing personal people, but I'm seriously running into the snag of every third or fourth video I receive being done to Kingdom Hearts 1/2 this year.

Still? Didn't Kingdom Hearts 2 drop...three years ago already?

EDIT: Okay, about two and a half. Still, that's some staying power there.

[Xarathion]

I've got something different to throw into the mix. Should be able to finish it by the deadline.

[frozendevil]

I'm not sure if this is the proper venue for this... but, what's the average turnaround for submission conformation? I sent in my email on the 5th, but haven't received a conformation yet.

[William]

Normally within a day or two, but for some reason this year I was blitzed with a ton of them at once. I'm trying to get through as many as possible tonight, so I'm making a priority to get through everything submitted to me between tonight and tomorrow night. I know for a fact I already have yours, for what that's worth, I just haven't gotten to it in playtesting yet.

[Xarathion]

Yay...managed to finish and submit before the deadline.

[NemiWrathe]

The majority of subtitles in my AMV are there for clarification purposes, so it would be easier to understand. Venus Versus Virus is fairly new, and not a lot of people are familiar with it. Plus, I didn't have time to recapture my video with the captions off. Is this okay or not?

[William]

If they're fansubs then it'll still be points against them. In general, subtitles are highly distracting and if you can't get the message across without the subs then you might want to consider another approach. Part of the problem is that if subs come up, people will reflexively try to read them and stop looking at your video.

As for it being new, I've found that new footage without context is much easier to work with given you have more control over everything.

[William]

Okay peoples, it just took me a few hours to widdle down the two playlists. I know Sunday is called overflow, but honestly I've got enough videos for it to essentially be a second contest. Good videos, too, so show up.

[Ranmafan477]

If they're fansubs then it'll still be points against them. In general, subtitles are highly distracting and if you can't get the message across without the subs then you might want to consider another approach. Part of the problem is that if subs come up, people will reflexively try to read them and stop looking at your video.

As for it being new, I've found that new footage without context is much easier to work with given you have more control over everything.

Editing tip - If your working with fansubs (Or any other source material where you cant remove the subs) try making the complete video with the subs, then throwing the whole project back into the editing software, cropping the bottom of the screen and adjusting the position so, although it cuts off the bottom of the screen, it removes the subtitles and it looks widescreened.

[tranquil_waters69]

Is there a rule where it says you have to use an English, instead of Japanese? Do you get points off if you do so?

[kawaii-ness]

There is not a rule about using Japanese songs. Just make sure that if/when they do use English words, they aren't swear words.

[MsWvC]

There goes my idea for an AMV set to Dr. Dre

[alarnia]

will there be a new contest for 2010? is there a certain rating that the amv must fall under? obviously not nc-17 or R right? but what about pg-13?

[jeromejacobzy]

Thank you for sharing these contest tips.I am really looking for this.

[Postal]

Where is the AMV contest being held?

I missed it last year

[Kaji]

Where is the AMV contest being held?

I missed it last year

Lemme be honest, this is not a question worth asking here. You'll have to wait until the schedule is made public and see what room and time have been set for the contest.

Also, don't bother asking when the schedule will be made public. Just pay attention to the website and you'll know.

[Postal]

Jeez no need to get snarky. I was asking about last year so I can get an idea of it.