NDK AMV rules 2012 *Closed*

[scottanime]

*Update*
*Submissions Closed*



Full rules page at
http://ndkdenver.org/activities/amvs/contest-rules

Submission page at
http://ndkdenver.org/forms/submit-amv-0

Welcome to another year of the NDK Anime Music Video Contest. Please be sure to read through all of these rules before submitting your video. Keep in mind that submitting a video is not a right; we expect to have an overwhelming number of entries this year and there simply will not be enough time to show them all. Also keep in mind that we're aware that some mistakes can be made, both on the editor's end and our own. If any mistakes are made on either end, we have given ourselves enough time to be able to work with you to correct any such mistakes before the con begins.

First off, the Who, What, When, and How:
Who

The contest is open to all participants regardless of age, state, country, planet, etc. Although it is strongly encouraged participants in the contest be attendees, attendance is not a requirement for entry but we'd love to see you there. Please read and understand all the rules listed below – if there are any questions, please feel free to e-mail your questions to the AMV coordinator or post on our forum.
What

AMVS! In case you're new to the hobby that stands for Anime Music Video, a combination of anime and music... to create a video. It's relatively self explanatory, but in case you need a bit more clarification, here it is.

    NO videos with only live action! We know how much you love Edward from Twilight and the way he sparkles, but a video all about him is not really what we're looking for.

    HOWEVER, videos integrated with live action can be an exception. Needs to be a least 70% anime, though. Need a good example? Check out Tyler_yj's Jihaku!
    Video games videos are welcome! You're free to make a video with any video game source, but Japanese source footage would be preferred.
    Original Animation is welcome, but once again, keep it anime style. And when we say ANIMATION, we mean things moving. Please no imageshack slideshows or stolen images from Deviant Art (it's not nice to steal!).
    Multi-editor projects are welcome; just make sure to keep it under the time limit.
    If your video has been submitted to previous NDK AMV competitions, please do NOT resubmit it. We like to keep the contest fresh, so if you've sent it before, please don't send it again.

    This year we are accepting 3 entries per person. Once again, the world famous "Asukas" will be the awards handed out to our top winners of this event. Awards will be given in the following categories:

    Category X
        Best use of artist vision and complex style and for those videos that don't really fit in any of our other categories.
    Action/Adventure
        Best use of movement and pace, the videos that really get your heart pumping!
    Drama/Romance
        This is where you want to make us feel the lovey dovey! Or, you could try to make us grab the nearest box of tissues and cry our eyes out. It's up to you!
    Comedy/Parody
        So, you think you're a comedian? Well, we dare you to make us laugh!

    The audience will vote by ballot for their favorite video in each category, along with their choice for best in show video. Best of show awards will also be awarded by the AMV judging staff, and by the attending AMV editors. There will also be a special award presented for the best video using video game footage; this video can be awarded from any category.

    Editors do not need to be present at the con in order to win or receive an award. Awards will be mailed out to editors not in attendance.

    And of course...
    If you didn't make the video...DON'T ENTER IT! If we catch you stealing someone else's video, then you can count on not being able to enter again. Here at NDK, we value our creators and the time and effort they put into their videos.

NOTE: Please! Try to keep it PG-13! Explicit content is a no-no! So leave the hentai at home and bring the family fun!
When

Now! Go go go! Keep in mind that ALL entries must be in the hands of our coordinators by August 5th, 2012! Otherwise you may have to wait until next year.
How

Starting 2011 we will ONLY be accepting entries via our submission form so that means no more mail-in submissions! If you have any questions on how to use our upload page then please forward them on to the coordinator or AMV staff, or post on our forum.

All video submissions must be accompanied with appropriate video and editor contact information. Failure to provide full information can lead to disqualification of one or all of your videos. Please provide the following information.

    Editor Name
    Studio or Surname
    Mailing address
    E-mail address
    Phone number

Also for each video provide the following information:

    Title of the Video
    Name of the music or audio artist
    Title of the music or audio
    Name of footage used (if over 3 sources it is ideal to list as various)
    Name of category preferred to be entered in (Although please keep in mind that the AMV staff does reserve the right to move any video into any category they deem it is best suited for)

Pay close attention to the information you're entering, otherwise your video may end up on the big screen, complete with spelling errors and incorrect information!

Note: If submitting a multi-editor project (MEP) please list all the creators in the comment section of the entry form. Wouldn't want your friends to be left out!
File Naming Guidelines

In order to avoid having 30 different video entries named NarutoAMV.avi, please try to keep your file names unique.

Example: NarutosTechniqueBeat_ByDecoy.avi is a great way to name your video!
Video Guidelines

Resolution
    720 x 480 or 640x480, hard-letterboxed if using widescreen footage
    We are now accepting 1280x720 submissions for High Definition footage.
Framerate
    23.976 / 24 fps or 29.97 / 30 fps (Sorry, but our systems don't seem to like 60fps, but we're working on it!)
Audio
    Uncompressed is preferable, 224 kbps or higher, no variable audio bit rates
Video
    8000 kbit/s max, progressive
Accepted File Types

        Mpeg2
        MP4
        AVI (uncompressed, huffyuv or Lagarith)
        WMV

Time Limit
    Please no videos longer than 7 minutes!
Title Bumpers
    Simple, they're NOT allowed! Title bumpers are defined as anything before or after the video itself that says what the video is, or who made it. We will be adding uniform title bumpers to each video shown in the contest. If you send your entry in with title bumpers, a clean version will be requested. We're not asking much with this rule, so please follow it.

WARNING: If your submission has macroblocking, logos, subtitles, interlacing or is downright painful to look at, it can and more than likely WILL be disqualified. We will be emailing entrants about any type of playback issues as soon as the video has been reviewed, in hopes of having it corrected for resubmission. We're not trying to be mean, but due to the large amount of videos we've had to disqualify due to quality issues, we have been given no choice but to implement this rule.

But remember, we're willing to help! We want to see you get better, so don't hesitate to e-mail or post on our forum with your questions!
Entry Checklist

    Is it an AMV?
    Video has NOT been entered into previous NDK contests?
    Does your video meet the file/quality requirements?
    Did you fill our your entry form?
    Is the video named properly?

If you can say YES to all of those questions, then submit! We're looking forward to seeing your entries!

Questions or Comments? Don't hesitate to contact us!

Scott Anime (AMV Contest Coordinator)

[scottanime]

Deadline for submissions is in less than a month, time to get entries in.

[Syd]

I'm having issues uploading some AMVs to the submission. I've been able to upload one video, but that's it. I've tried using different web browsers and different computers. Has this been happening to anyone else? Is there something I can do so I can upload a video? Thanks! =)

[mesona]

This was the first time I submitted Amvs. Do I get an email letting me know they made it safely to the judges?

[scottanime]

We have had one other report of problems uploading, but we have received enteries while this has been mentioned so we are looking into the problem,  but as of right now we haven't found a definative issue on our end.

Yes you should get an email after,  but keep in mind this is our busy time of year so it may take us several days.

[mesona]

No problem. Just thought I'll get an automatic email saying "We successfully recived you're entry" oddly I did get one right after I asked the question for the second one I sent.

[CrazyChoji]

I sent in one of my amvs about mid June but never got a confirmation email, so should I resend it just in case. The amv would have been called Nightmares if you got, should have been an avi file. The anime was Gurren Lagann and it also had my name Kelly McLaughlin in the name of the file. Do you know if that amv  has made it in or should I just resubmit my amv to be safe?

[jameshinauko]

We have had one other report of problems uploading, but we have received enteries while this has been mentioned so we are looking into the problem,  but as of right now we haven't found a definative issue on our end.

Yes you should get an email after,  but keep in mind this is our busy time of year so it may take us several days.

When will you be mailing out badges this year? Sometime mid august?

[scottanime]

two weeks to go till the submission deadline.
Crunch time, get those videos in.


Badges will be sent out before late October

[mesona]

two weeks to go till the submission deadline.
Crunch time, get those videos in.


Badges will be sent out before late October

Should I resend my Amv if I never got an email about it? Also what badges?

[CrazyChoji]

Its the editors badge that you get for participating in the contest it also gets you in to the contest abou 15 minutes early to find seating. But i have the same question too i sent in one amv about a month back but never got a confirmation email should i re send it. I was planning on sending an email when i get off work tonight but if someone knows and can answer now that would probablly be easier for both the judges and those with the same question

[mesona]

"gets you in"  to only this panel or the con? Also if we get an email does that mean we are in or just you received the Amv?

[scottanime]

Again, we are in the final stretch for submissions. As a result we are backed up in getting confirmation emails out to submitting editors.  However, when you submit a video, once it finishes you should see a message on the page that says we received your video. If you see this, we have your video, we just need to process it.  If you receive an email, it simply means we have received your video, this does not guarantee you a spot in the final contest or in the overload event.  The finals will not be decided until a week or so prior to the con.

The badges we mail out after the submission deadline are a token of gratitude from us the AMV staff to you the editors who have contributed to this event.  Details concerning the badge will be included when you receive it, however to be clear, the badge does NOT substitute for an official convention badge of any type.  It does not gain you access on its own to any event or area of the convention or the hotel.  You must still have an attendee pass to have access to any part of the convention.  The only perk of the amv editor badge is that it grant you early seating to the main AMV event.  It will not gain you access to any other event or any amv event for the convention.  You must also have an attendee pass or other official convention pass to take advantage of early seating.

[scottanime]

Last week to get videos in.  Those of you who like to wait till the last minute... well here it is.

[jameshinauko]

Last week to get videos in.  Those of you who like to wait till the last minute... well here it is.

I had to resubmit my video just wondering if i will get another email or not.

[Syd]

two weeks to go till the submission deadline.
Crunch time, get those videos in.


Badges will be sent out before late October

Um...Do you mean late August?...NDK's in September. >_<

[ToxikElement]

I know submissions are closed, but I have two questions so I know for next yr.   One, I saw "Title bumpers are defined as anything before or after the video itself that says what the video is, or who made it."  Does that also apply to credits, (I always put them at end of my vids for people online who want to know) -and I'm trying not to be stupid about what the video thing of"what the video is".  Just need to know if meant name of show/movie, or what it was about/meant for, etc.  How I do it. Ex: ~Loveless~Band{name}~song {name}.  If not preferred obviously can just edit video cutting it off before that stuff  ^^

Second, I saw subtitles may get a disqualification.  I do have one vid (and only spot with it) I had used that was the entry of the movie, so it is a spot that shows a tad bit of opening credits.  It isn't across the whole screen, just down to the side.  Is something like that a problem? Or you would like us to not even have that pop up. 

Other than that, all stated rules are very clear and understandable (:

[scottanime]

1 )  Title bumpers also include all credits.  We prefer you add nothing to the video that describes the contents of the video or the creator. We will produce title bumpers for each video so they are clear to attendees.  Any attached title bumpers or credits will be asked to be removed by you or we will remove them. ( if so you run the risk of us editing your video for you )

2)  We prefer no subtitles or credits in any form.  Almost exclusively all videos on dvd's will have creditless intros as a special feature so there should be no reason for these additions.

[ToxikElement]

ok thanks!

Oh, I just remembered, what about video game amvs?  As far as I know there isn't an option to not have subtitles (unless I'm just an infernal idiot..>_>;

I hope no one is getting annoyed with my sudden forum presence and continuous questions.  I'm no stranger to conventions, but this is the first time I've ever actually gone further with actual activity participation. 

[scottanime]

VGR videos can be awfully tricky when it comes to subtitles.  While it is rare to find footage of certain scenes without subtitles, we still count it against you.  yes its unfair, but it is usually a distraction to a viewer so we discourage it regardless.