AMV LEAGUE RULES - SEASON 4
1. AMV stands for "Animated Music Video." Animation from any source - Japanese, American, Video Game, 3D, 2D, etc. - will be accepted. Videos that are primarily live action will not be accepted.
2. Video resolution should be no less than standard definition. Audio should be CD quality or better.
3. We strongly prefer MP4 format. If you submit a video in any other format, we will convert it to MP4. If we cannot convert it to MP4, it will be disqualified.
4. You do not have to be present at an AMV League Event to win.
5. AMV League events consist of three local-level categories - Action, Drama, and Fun/Upbeat.
7. If the judges feel your video would be better suited for a different category, it may be reassigned.
8. If there are fewer than four submissions to any of the three local-level categories OR fewer than twelve qualifying submissions overall, all local-level entries will be placed into a single "Best Overall" category and judged appropriately. If there are fewer than six qualifying submissions overall, we will have an "AMV Showcase" consisting of all qualifying submissions as well as some of our favorite AMVs of all time from around the internet in lieu of a contest. In this case, all qualifying submissions will again be eligible for judging in future AMV League events.
9. AMVs will be judged on the following criteria. Each category will be scored on a scale of 1 to 20, for a maximum of 140 points.
11. ANY SINGLE VIDEO SHOWN AT AN AMV LEAGUE EVENT MAY NOT AGAIN BE SUBMITTED TO ANY OTHER AMV LEAGUE EVENT. Videos previously submitted to non-League AMV contests ARE eligible, as are videos that are submitted to a League Event and not shown at that Event.
12. Videos submitted to AMV League Events may not have been created earlier than two years prior to the deadline of the AMV League Event to which they are submitted. (e.g. If an AMV League Event's deadline is March 30, 2017, videos created earlier than March 30, 2015 are ineligible for that particular AMV League Event.)
13. All videos must be uploaded to a hosting site such as Google Drive or Dropbox. NO YOUTUBE OR OTHER STREAMING LINKS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
14. The following will result in immediate disqualification:
2. Video resolution should be no less than standard definition. Audio should be CD quality or better.
3. We strongly prefer MP4 format. If you submit a video in any other format, we will convert it to MP4. If we cannot convert it to MP4, it will be disqualified.
4. You do not have to be present at an AMV League Event to win.
5. AMV League events consist of three local-level categories - Action, Drama, and Fun/Upbeat.
- Action - High intensity AMVs that focus on movement and excitement. From epic sword battles to high-speed chases and even sports showdowns.
- Drama - AMVs that focus on strong emotions. Heartwarming romance, gut-wrenching tragedy, and tense thrillers all belong here.
- Fun/Upbeat - For all the videos who don't fit in to either of the other categories, whether surreal, funny, quirky, or catchy.
7. If the judges feel your video would be better suited for a different category, it may be reassigned.
8. If there are fewer than four submissions to any of the three local-level categories OR fewer than twelve qualifying submissions overall, all local-level entries will be placed into a single "Best Overall" category and judged appropriately. If there are fewer than six qualifying submissions overall, we will have an "AMV Showcase" consisting of all qualifying submissions as well as some of our favorite AMVs of all time from around the internet in lieu of a contest. In this case, all qualifying submissions will again be eligible for judging in future AMV League events.
9. AMVs will be judged on the following criteria. Each category will be scored on a scale of 1 to 20, for a maximum of 140 points.
- Concept/Originality - Does the basic idea of the video work? Is the story or concept one that is both original and makes sense?
- Emotional Appeal - Does the video make the viewer feel appropriately happy, sad, excited, scared or other feelings (depending on the category submitted)?
- Aesthetic Appeal - Does the video look good? Do the special effects add to the quality of the video or detract from it? Does the music choice enhance the video or make it harder to watch?
- Rhythm/Sync - Does what's happening on screen match the timing of the audio? Is there lip sync or mickey-mousing? Does what's happening on screen seem tied to some part of the song (be it beat, lyrics, or melody)?
- Technical Prowess - Has the editor added any special polish to the video? Are filters, transitions and effects applied in ways that enhance the look of the video, or do they distract from the video? Does it seem like the editor understands how to control and execute those effects? Has the video been rendered and encoded properly, without artifacting or resampling issues?
- Flow/Editing - Are cuts made in appropriate places? Does the motion onscreen flow well between cuts? Does the AMV feel like a single cohesive whole, with scenes transitioning well into one another, or does it feel like just a bunch of random unrelated scenes?
- Rewatchability - Does the video hold up to repeated viewings? Is it one that people would want to experience again and again?
11. ANY SINGLE VIDEO SHOWN AT AN AMV LEAGUE EVENT MAY NOT AGAIN BE SUBMITTED TO ANY OTHER AMV LEAGUE EVENT. Videos previously submitted to non-League AMV contests ARE eligible, as are videos that are submitted to a League Event and not shown at that Event.
12. Videos submitted to AMV League Events may not have been created earlier than two years prior to the deadline of the AMV League Event to which they are submitted. (e.g. If an AMV League Event's deadline is March 30, 2017, videos created earlier than March 30, 2015 are ineligible for that particular AMV League Event.)
13. All videos must be uploaded to a hosting site such as Google Drive or Dropbox. NO YOUTUBE OR OTHER STREAMING LINKS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
14. The following will result in immediate disqualification:
- Exceedingly poor audio or video quality.
- Visible watermarks (e.g. "TV Tokyo" or "Funimation" logo in the corner) or subtitles (such as fansubs) that are unrelated to the video. Covering subtitles or watermarks with black boxes, blur, pixelation, etc. or blowing your video up so that subtitles and watermarks are out of frame will also result in disqualification.
- Any instance of opening or closing credits from the anime. Some exception may be made for the title of the anime, if related to the video.
- Nudity, gore, or any use of profanity that would not be permitted in a PG-13 film.
- Any credits, bumpers, etc. will be removed. If they cannot be removed, the video will be disqualified. We will add our own "MTV-Style" credits to each video. Some exception may be made for the title of the AMV, if it looks professional and is relevant to the video.
- Any questions regarding this AMV League event should be directed to pathos@vitaminh.info.
AMV League National Championships
The AMV League National Championships will consist of all winning videos from every Season 4 AMV League Qualifying Event, plus two “Wild Card” videos (the two highest-scoring videos from the entire season that have not yet made it into the Nationals). These videos will be ranked against each other in order for each of the 8 judgment criteria. For example, if there are 25 videos, the video with the best Concept/Originality will get 25 points. The video with the second-best Concept/Originality will get 24 points, and so on. Then we do the same for Emotional Appeal, Aesthetic Appeal, Rhythm/Sync, Special Effects, and Flow/Editing.
The video that scores the most points will receive the coveted title of Best AMV of the Year! We will also have awards for Runner-Up and 2nd Runner-Up.
The video that scores the most points will receive the coveted title of Best AMV of the Year! We will also have awards for Runner-Up and 2nd Runner-Up.
What's changed in Season 4?
1. We understand that the whole "one shot" nature of AMV League has a tendency to make some editors reluctant to submit.
So the biggest change is that there will be far more videos going to the AMV League Nationals this year. In addition to all "Best" winners, we will be sending one "Honorable Mention" from each contest! While 'Honorable Mention' before was just kind of an informal way of calling out videos we felt deserved more attention, in Season 4, Honorable Mention will be defined as "the highest scoring video that did not win a Best award."
2. The two "Wild Card" videos added to the Nationals at the end of the Season will no longer be chosen by us, but will instead be the two highest scoring videos from all contests that have not yet made it into the Nationals.
Between these two rules changes, we feel that it will remove some subjectivity from the contests and make it more fair to editors - good videos that score well will rise to the top, even if they were unlucky enough to be submitted to a crowded contest.
3. We've removed the X-Factor criterion in order to eliminate more subjectivity. 'Special Effects' has reverted to 'Technical Prowess' and will now include video issues such as aspect ratio, encoding, and rendering.
4. Each category will now be out of 20 points rather than 10, to allow for more fine-tuning when judging.
5. 'General' has been renamed 'Fun/Upbeat.' This is to discourage the pattern we've been seeing over the last season where people will try and sneak in an extra Action or Drama video in by categorizing it as General, or submitting their Action/Drama videos to General because they think the competition will be easier.
6. As part of the last rule, AMV League judges will be faaaaaar stricter this year when it comes to categorization, and will be less hesitant to recategorize a video if necessary.
7. Finally, we're not doing the Comedy/Trailer Nationals again in Season 4 because hooooo boy that didn't work. We will now be accepting Comedy submissions in Fun/Upbeat and Trailers in the appropriate category for the 'feel' of the Trailer.
So the biggest change is that there will be far more videos going to the AMV League Nationals this year. In addition to all "Best" winners, we will be sending one "Honorable Mention" from each contest! While 'Honorable Mention' before was just kind of an informal way of calling out videos we felt deserved more attention, in Season 4, Honorable Mention will be defined as "the highest scoring video that did not win a Best award."
2. The two "Wild Card" videos added to the Nationals at the end of the Season will no longer be chosen by us, but will instead be the two highest scoring videos from all contests that have not yet made it into the Nationals.
Between these two rules changes, we feel that it will remove some subjectivity from the contests and make it more fair to editors - good videos that score well will rise to the top, even if they were unlucky enough to be submitted to a crowded contest.
3. We've removed the X-Factor criterion in order to eliminate more subjectivity. 'Special Effects' has reverted to 'Technical Prowess' and will now include video issues such as aspect ratio, encoding, and rendering.
4. Each category will now be out of 20 points rather than 10, to allow for more fine-tuning when judging.
5. 'General' has been renamed 'Fun/Upbeat.' This is to discourage the pattern we've been seeing over the last season where people will try and sneak in an extra Action or Drama video in by categorizing it as General, or submitting their Action/Drama videos to General because they think the competition will be easier.
6. As part of the last rule, AMV League judges will be faaaaaar stricter this year when it comes to categorization, and will be less hesitant to recategorize a video if necessary.
7. Finally, we're not doing the Comedy/Trailer Nationals again in Season 4 because hooooo boy that didn't work. We will now be accepting Comedy submissions in Fun/Upbeat and Trailers in the appropriate category for the 'feel' of the Trailer.