Music Video Competition

Momiji's Challenge 2013

Our mascot, Momiji, loves the cinema! She has been hitting the red carpets, attending premieres, and following the film festival circuit. She is wild about movies and she wants to catch up on her repertoire of anime cinema. This year's challenge is to create a music video using footage from a single source anime film, originally released theatrically in Japan. Only stand-alone movies may be used. Direct-to-video files, OVAs, or anime series tie-in films are not eligible. Otherwise, all other standard judging criteria apply, so please try to conform to our quality guidelines. The winner will receive the Momiji's Challenge Award. Good luck!

2013 Submission Guidelines

The Anime North Music Video Competition is open to everyone except AN MVC staff and judges. Music videos can be submitted for any category. A total of one Competition (Novice or Open) and one Exhibition or Challenge entry per individual entrant will be accepted. Competition entries must have premiered no earlier than November 1st, 2012. A video is considered premiered once it has been uploaded to a public website or shown publicly at a convention or exhibition.

The submission deadline is Monday April 8^th, 2013.

All mailed entries must be postmarked no later than Monday April 8^th, 2013. All entries sent via email must be received by 11:59 EST on April 8^th.

The mailing address for DVDs/CD-ROMs:

Anime North Music Video Competition
398 Lakeview Dr
Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA
N2L 4Z6

For links sent over the Internet, the email address is:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Subject: AN2013 Music Video Entry - (video title here)

Please include all the required entry form information in the body of the email or attach a completed entry form as a Word document, .jpg or .pdf file. These conditions must be met in order for your video to qualify for this year’s competition. Please do not send video files directly. Provide us with a link from which we can download your video file. YouTube and other public file sharing sites like it are not acceptable video link host sites.

Entry form: PDF

PLEASE NOTE: All qualifying videos will be shown at the convention. However, qualifying videos that have been deemed ineligible to compete will not be eligible for award consideration and may be given Exhibition status. Disqualified videos will not be shown at the convention. See regulations below for eligibility requirements. Entrants will be notified of their status before the convention.

Technical Requirements

DO NOT SEND ORIGINALS. Send copies only. DVDs and CD-ROMs cannot be returned and become the property of Anime North. All discs must be clearly labeled with the real full name, e-mail address, mailing address, and phone number of the entrant. Each entry must include a title, source of music (title and artist name), source of video clips (name of anime(s) used), entry category, and a brief statement (maximum 50 words) outlining the artistic vision/intent of the video. The giving of false information or the failure to provide any required information will result in a disqualification.

PLEASE NOTE: We will be projecting your video onto large screens. Videos that are drawn from poor source material, have bad audio quality, or whose resolution is too low may be subject to disqualification.

We accept electronic entries. Entries can be sent on discs that can be read on a PC or by emailing a link to a file hosted on the Internet. (Please do not send links to videos posted on YouTube or similar video sharing sites; we need to be able to download your video file onto our computers so that they can be processed onto disc. We do not want to collect memberships or have to use their downloading software. Guideline: If you can watch the video on the page without downloading it, it is an unacceptable entry host site. You may post your video there if you like, but to enter, you must upload your video to an appropriate host and provide a link for direct download.)

All videos will be converted to DVD, so we require that video codecs conform to MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 standard. We therefore also accept DVD formatted videos.

However, the following container formats are not allowed and anything in these formats will be disqualified:

.mov: MOV files are notorious for having video conversion issues and are not allowed.

.wmv: WMV doesn’t always convert well to another format so, unfortunately, it’s not allowed.

.divx: The DivX/Xvid family of codecs are allowed as they are part of the MPEG-4 standard, but the .divx container itself is not allowed.

The minimum resolution for entries is 640x480 and the preferred resolution is 720x480. There is no maximum resolution. The preferred frame-rate is the NTSC DVD standard of 29.97 fps. However, other standard video frame-rates of 23.976 or 25 fps are also acceptable. Please ensure your video conforms to the above constraints. Non-compliance may lead to your video being disqualified. We do not take responsibility for any degradation in video quality that occurs due to the transfer process.

Bumpers or title cards are acceptable as long as they do not exceed 25 s in length. Ideally, they should be around 10 s.

We are only accepting videos with one audio stream. If you are using multiple audio sources, you must put them onto one audio track. We cannot convert multiple audio tracks for you. Make sure your video has an accessible audio track.

We do not disqualify for file size, but try to keep your file within 40-800 MB. Video files that are too small may not have sufficient resolution and files that are too big may be difficult to manage. Thank you.

Entry Processing

Each entry will be pre-screened based on the judging criteria noted below. All qualifying videos entered will be shown at Anime North. However, videos that fail to meet our specified standards will be disqualified and will not be shown this year. Awards will be decided from among the competitive finalist videos reviewed by the full judging panel. These awards will be presented immediately following the viewing of these finalist entries. Every effort will be made to show every qualifying video submitted at least once in convention function space.

Judging Criteria

Competition entries must use music as the main soundtrack. Vocal and instrumental music from any genre and language is acceptable. Spoken word is also acceptable as long as it is set to music. Entries must be no shorter than 1 minute and no longer than 6 minutes. At least two thirds of the footage must be from Japanese animation (video game animation is also acceptable as long as the game is Japanese in origin). The remainder may be provided from other sources such as Live Action or North American animation. Eroticism, sensuality (ecchi, lemon), violent action, and ludicrous over-the-top cartoon violence are acceptable. Acceptable gore imagery includes blood splatter, but images of viscera, decapitation, dismemberment, or mutilation will not be allowed. Language in song lyrics should conform to that which is acceptable according to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council Code of Ethics for radio. Coarse language must be censored.

Videos that do not meet the above requirements will be ineligible to compete. Videos that include corporate logos, personal watermarks, graphic sex, extreme violence or gore, coarse language, sexual violence (hentai), or a length over 8 min will be disqualified. Anime North reserves the right to disqualify any video.

Corporate logos are defined as anything which may be construed to imply that the video has been produced, endorsed, or licensed by a recognized individual, organization, ratings board or corporation. (e.g. North American television station IDs are corporate logos.)

WARNING: Videos that use footage from other Anime Music Videos without the written consent of the original creator of the source video (along with original creator contact information) will be disqualified. Multi-Editor Projects may only be entered in Exhibition, with the proviso that the entrant indicates that all editors involved have agreed to its being shown. MEPs are not allowed to compete, since they do not meet the criteria on which this competition is judged. However, collaborations are allowed to compete, provided that all editors are credited.

Music videos will be judged based on the following criteria:

Editing: This includes the technical aspects of the AMV, including technical execution of special effects, cutting, fading and pacing of the images to the music. (35% of the objective mark)

Cinematography: This includes the overall quality of the AMV visual and audio components. This also includes how special effects enhance or detract from the video. (25% of the objective mark)

Creativity: This includes the creative use of footage and music to make the video into something unique. (20% of the objective mark)

Artistic Vision: This is an assessment of the boldness and clarity of the editor’s vision or theme. It also includes the mood and atmosphere created by the audio and visual selections and the visceral impact it has on the audience, good or bad. (20% of the objective mark)

Judges’ Impression: This is the most subjective of the criteria - how well the judges like the video. (Not included in the objective mark)

Categories

There will be four categories for entry this year. They are:

Open: This category is open to any and all AMV creators in anime fandom who want to pit his or her entry against some of the best in the business. The winner of this category will receive the Northern Lights Award.

Novice: This category is for entrants who do not feel comfortable entering the Open category. These neophytes have never won an award or prize for their work. In the spirit of fairness, you should consider entering the Open category if you have made more than 10 videos. The winner of this category will receive the Newbie Award and a promotion to the Open category next year.

Exhibition: This category is not judged and is open to anyone who wishes to submit a video for the general viewing pleasure of the convention attendees. As an exception to the general rules, the AMVs in this category are exempt from all our competition eligibility restrictions, including premiere date and length. However, Exhibition videos are still subject to all qualification requirements and may be disqualified if they fail to conform.

Momiji's Challenge: This year's challenge is to create a music video using footage from a single source theatrically released anime film. Only single source films may be used. No direct-to-video films, OVAs, or anime series tie-in films may be used. This is to help simplify confirmation of the meeting of eligibility requirements. Videos will be judged according to the standard jduging criteria, but due to our dual entry policy Challenge Videos are ineligible to win other awards. The winner will receive the Momiji's Challenge Award.

Entries from the Open and Novice categories will be eligible for the four Criterion Awards and the Momiji no Video Award.

Awards

Anime North awards the venerable Inukshuks for creative excellence. Winners will have their name and video title engraved on trophies to be presented during the convention.

The Music Video Competition awards include:

• • Northern Lights Award: Best Overall Music Video
  • Momiji no Video Award: Judges’ Favorite Music Video
  • Newbie Award: Winner of the Novice category
  • Momiji’s Challenge Award: Winner of the Momiji’s Challenge category
  • Criterion Awards: Awards for excellence in Editing, Cinematography, Creativity, and Artistic Vision

Some videos will merit Honourable Mention Medals.

If anyone requires further clarification, please contact the Anime Music Video Competition Coordinator at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it