Anime Music Video Contest

Bring your A-game as we celebrate our 14th year showcasing the best fan created works from around the world!

Anime Music Videos, or AMVs, are short fan-made music videos that pay homage to many of our favorite shows. Whether you are a renowned award winning talent or just starting out with your first ever project, our event welcomes creators of all skills and experiences. With some persistence, a desire to create, and admittedly a bit of luck, you just might see your work compete on the main stage!

Of course, if you prefer to sit back and enjoy an evening of awesome videos, we have you covered too! Our judges spend many weeks collectively deciding the best of the many submissions we receive in order to present to you a night of unique, one-of-a-kind entertainment that can only be seen at ALA! Best of all, YOU the audience get to decide the winners of each of the main categories, as well as the coveted Audience Choice award granted only to the best of the best.

Please be sure to review all of the rules below before submitting your videos, and send any questions you have to amv@animelosangeles.org. We can’t wait to see what creations you’ll serve up this year. Good luck!

Main Categories

• Action / Adrenaline
  Power, Intensity, Adventure
• Drama / Theater
  Suspense, Angst, Thriller
• Fun / Upbeat
  Whimsy, Energy, Swing
• Sentiment / Feels
  Passion, Nostalgia, Character
• Comedy / Humor
  Quirky, Silly, Outrageous

Bonus Categories

• Trailer
  Film, Games, Teasers
• TV Intro
  Parody of TV Show Openings
• Commercial
  Short Advertising Spots

Note: The final categories are subject to change depending on the amount and type of entries we receive

Entry Guidelines

Please review all of the guidelines. Contact us with any questions before submitting your entry.

Guidelines – All Entries

• The majority of your entry’s video content must consist of anime-styled or manga-styled sources. Consideration may be given to other sources that fit within the spirit of this event.
• This is a PG-13 / TV-14 event. Excessive violence, coarse language, or adult situations/innuendo may lead to disqualification.
• Must satisfy our technical requirements
• Must not have any corner watermark trademarks or logos
• Must not have premiered online or participated in any public event prior to January 1, 2016
  • Bonus category entries are exempt from this rule

Guidelines – Main Categories

• Up to 3 entries per creator or group
• Duration: 1 minute minimum, 6 minutes maximum
• Audio content must be primarily driven by music. No excessive dialog.
• No unnecessary or excessive subtitles, text, or credits
  • Artistically relevant titles may be accepted
• Multiple entries may be entered into the same category
  • Only 1 entry per category may advance to the finals. The judges and coordinator reserve the right to recategorize your entry where appropriate.
• “AMV Hell” styled clip-show entries are not accepted into the contest

Guidelines – Bonus Categories

• Up to 5 bonus entries per creator or group
  • These entries do not count against your main category maximum
• Duration limits:
  • Trailer: 1 minute minimum, 3 minutes & 30 seconds maximum
  • TV Intro: No minimum, 1 minute & 30 seconds maximum
  • Commercial: No minimum, 1 minute maximum

Note: Winners from this category are determined by the judges. Trailers may be considered for Audience Choice.

Technical Standards

• Resolution: 640×480 minimum, 1920×1080 maximum
• File Size: 300 megabytes maximum
• Formats: MP4 (preferred), MOV, AVI, MKV or MPG
  • Windows Media Format (WMV) will not be accepted.
• The following video technical flaws may be subject to disqualification depending on severity:
  • Interlacing
  • Incorrect, or squashed/stretched aspect ratios
  • Chunky/blocky video (often caused by low quality source or excessive data compression)
  • Extreme Banding (i.e. Color gradients caused by video re-compression)
• The following audio technical flaws may be subject to disqualification depending on severity:
  • Audible distortion
  • Levels that are too high, overdriven, or clipped
  • Levels that are too low or inaudible
  • Audible discontinuities caused by flawed audio edits
  • Pitch-shifted or speed-adjusted audio (unless by obvious artistic necessity)

Disqualification and Rejection

Entries may be disqualified or rejected for any reason listed in these rules or for any reason not foreseen by these rules as deemed by the coordinators or staff volunteers. All entries will be screened prior to judging to test for playback and rules compliance.

• Disqualified entries may be resubmitted at any time prior to the submission deadline with advised corrections.
• Rejected entries may not be resubmitted. A rejection may result in a temporary or permanent ban from this event depending on severity.

Your entry may be rejected for the following reasons (subject to change, not limited to…):

• Plagiarism
  You may not submit another AMV creator’s work as your own. You may not use another AMV creator’s work, even partially, without explicit acknowledgement. All persons involved in an entry must be listed on the submission form at the time of submission, and all must give consent to participate in this event.
• Dishonorable Behavior
  You may not engage in behavior that causes grief, harm, or in any way violates the rules of the convention with other creators, ALA attendees or ALA volunteer staff. This includes conduct on social media sites and private encounters.
• Dishonesty
  You may not submit false, inaccurate or misleading information when submitting an entry or while discussing with the contest coordinator or ALA volunteer staff. This includes stating you have read all of the rules before submitting an entry.
• Minimal Effort / Zero Edit Submissions
  You may not submit an entry that is deemed to have little to no editing of original sources.
• Troll Submissions
  You may not submit an entry for malicious purposes towards anyone.

Deadline

All entries must be submitted no later than 11:59pm PST on Saturday, December 2, 2017. You must fill out the online submission form and include a working download link to your entry by this time.

Entry Submission

• Entries must be submitted digitally – no physical media of any kind will be accepted
• Please use an appropriate file sharing service like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.
• Please do not link to video sharing sites like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.

Submission Form: Anime Los Angeles 2018 – AMV Contest Submission Form

Contact Information

Please email any questions, comments or concerns to: amv@animelosangeles.org