Otakon 2011 AMV Contest Rules

So, you want to submit your AMV to Otakon 2011? Who doesn't?! Otakon accepts AMVs in a wide variety of formats, but you must follow the rules so that we can handle your video properly!

General Rules

• Each entrant is allowed one (1) submission. Users found creating multiple studios with the intent to circumvent the submission limit will have all of their entries disqualified.
  • If you are submitting a solo project but also want collaboration credit on someone else's video, please contact vboruta@otakon.org for details on how to do this.
• We will only accept entries that are sent to us through our FTP server or through the mail. We will not download your entry for you from your rapidshare/sendspace/whatever, nor will we accept entries sent by e-mail/AIM/MSN etc.
• Do not include studio bumpers or video credits. Any lead-in/lead-out that we can not remove will be grounds for disqualification.
  • Otakon creates custom, uniform title cards for each entry, finalist or not. Adding bumpers/credits on top of that just uses more screen time than is necessary.
• Your entry must be primarily anime and/or video game footage. The exception to this rule is a live-action adaptation of an anime or video-game, intended for television broadcast or release to movie theaters. Such live-action adaptations will be accepted without penalty.
• Your entry's audio must be primarily music. Excessive narration/dialog may be grounds for disqualification. This rule does not apply to entries that are sent to the "Trailer/Parody" category. Dialog that you recorded yourself is perfectly fine.
• Your entry may not contain any audio taken from a commercial English dub.
  • Audio from a Japanese dub is perfectly fine. There will be an abundance of North American voice actors and actresses at Otakon and they would not be very happy if they found out that you used their voice without their permission, so don't do it.
• Your entry may not contain any commercial studio logos, only parodies of said logos. This includes DivX and website watermarks.
  • Copyrighted logos that have been modified are also NOT OK. If you wish to parody a logo, you can not use the original logo as a base.
  • Submissions to the "Trailer/Parody" category which contain the popular green approval screen beforehand may NOT contain any mention of the MPAA.
    • That means if you are going to parody the screen that traditionally appears before trailers, you can't mention the MPAA unless they actually DID approve your trailer, which we doubt.
• The minimum length of each entry is 30 seconds. There is no maximum length.
  • During the pre-screening period where we determine which entries make the finals, we will watch every entry that runs under 6 minutes, in its entirety. For entries that run over the 6-minute mark, we reserve the right to skip the remainder of the video after 6 minutes have passed. Also, entries over 6 minutes in length that do not make the final cut will most likely be bumped to the bottom of the overflow playlist, meaning there is a chance that they will not be shown at the convention.
• Submissions with nudity, offensive language, and/or excessive violence may be disqualified at the coordinator's discretion.
  • The contest screening will be open to the general public, and thus the content must be appropriate for the general public. Depending on what time the overflow screening is, entries disqualified for inappropriate content may or may not be shown at all.
• Convention attendance is not required to enter. Attending the convention will not boost your chances of winning and/or making the final cut.
  • The checkbox on the submission form asking whether or not you will be attending is purely for informational purposes.
• Anti-Trolling Policy: If your entry has won First Place or Best in Show at any convention that has screened their contest before the Otakon AMV contest submission deadline, then your entry will be automatically disqualified.
  • Second Place, Runner-Up, Judge's Choice, etc. all DO NOT count and you may submit any entry that has won any of these awards without penalty.
  • As far as we know, there are no other contests taking place on “deadline weekend” this year, but Otakon AMV Staff reserves the right to interpret the anti-trolling rule as they see fit, should we find out otherwise.
  • Entries that were featured in the final AMV contest at any previous Otakon will be disqualified.
• The better quality video that you send us, the better it will look. Visual anomalies from poor compression will be enlarged as our screen is bigger than your computer monitor.
• The Otakon 2011 AMV Contest will accept submissions from anyone except for Otakon AMV Contest staffers.
• Otakon reserves the right to reject any video on any legitimate grounds.

Format-Specific Rules