I-CON27 AMV Contest

Executive Publishing Services
475 E. Main Street
Suite 16
Patchogue, NY 11772
Attn: Jen Whitt

• I-CON27 is not responsible for lost or damaged media. We will email you when we receive your videos, but keep in mind that we only email video receival on weekends, so it may take up to two weeks before you are notified by us.
• Submitting on disc
• I-CON27 will be screening the contest digitally, so submitting digitally is the best way to ensure your video will be presented at its best quality. However, explicit care must be taken when submitting to ensure that your video will be presented properly.
• You may submit ONE video to the contest. Please, only send us the video you intend on submitting.
• We will only accept digital submissions on the following mediums:
• DVD-R, DVD+R, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-DL, DVD+DL
• We can accept mpeg1, mpeg2, WMV, ASF and most AVI files.
• If submitting an AVI file, please make sure it uses one of the following codecs:
• Uncompressed AVI
• Huffyuv
• DV
• DivX 3/4/5
• DivX Compatible Xvid
• Indeo 5.11
• Mjpeg
• Microsoft MPEG4
• Audio must be either uncompressed, DivX Audio, or MP3 audio.
• We can accept QuickTime submissions if they are encoded using the default set of codecs included with QuickTime 6.5
• If your footage is widescreen, do try to letterbox is ahead of time so that it displays properly. We’ll make the necessary changes if we catch them, but we don’t know every anime that’s ever been encoded on 16:9, so it’s best not to rely on us.
• Mpeg1 submissions will not be recompressed for the screening, but be advised: at the same bitrate, mpeg2 will produce much better results than mpeg1.
• Mpeg2 is the preferred method of submitting as thats the format the contest will be screened in.
• To ensure that I-CON27 will not recompress your video, please follow these guidelines when submitting your video in mpeg2 format:
• Make sure your video size is 720x480 and encoded with a 4:3 playback flag. Anything else will be scaled to this size. Our hardware does not currently understand how to properly playback 16:9 files on a 4:3 display so videos encoded with a 16:9 flag will look horizontally squished during the contest screening.
• Make sure the framerate is either 29.97, 24 or 23.976.
• Interlaced or progressive scan videos are fine. If submitting interlaced, please check your video on a television first to ensure the field order is correct and there are no interlacing artifacts. We recommend purchasing a Hollywood+ card by Sigma Designs to do so as it is very similar to the hardware we are using. Your PC’s desktop-video-output is NOT a real TV output and thus is NOT a good way to check your video.
• Please use mpeg1 layer 2 audio using the "stereo" setting and whatever bitrate you feel necessary. 2 channel AC3 audio is also perfectly acceptable.
• If submitting on DVD, do not author your disc. Simply burn the file to the disc as a data file.
• If a video is too large to fit on one disc, we recommend splitting the file using WinRAR
• When submitting on disc, please label the disc surface using a Sharpie™ with the following information. Do NOT affix a label to your disc (They tend to peel due to heat, and then they derail the disc while it’s spinning in our drive. We’ve seen it happen.)
• Your real name or studio name (if applicable)
• The title of the video(s) on the disc
• If your video spans more than one disc, please label each disc numerically (IE: "Real Cool Video Disc 2 of 4")
• Each submission must be accompanied by a printed, filled out, and signed copy of the Submission Form
• Download the Submission Form in Adobe PDF format
• Submitted discs can not be returned, so please do not send us the only copy of your video(s)
• Submitting through FTP
• I-CON27 will also accept submissions through FTP instead of snail-mail. This can buy you a little extra time to finish your video. However, we cant be responsible for fixing last minute connection problems, so please, request a login early so that you can confirm that you can connect to our server without issue.
• Submissions sent through FTP adhere to the same rules as submitting digitally on disc. Obviously, there is no disc surface on which you can write down your information when submitting through FTP. Instead, files must be named using the following naming convention:
• Studio Name – Video Name.xxx
• For Studio Name, if the AMV was produced by more than one studio, pick the studio that is associated with the "primary contact information" as indicated on the submission form. For Anime Used, if your video features more than one anime, just list the dominant title. If your video uses multiple animes and there is no real dominant title, then put "Various".
• FTP accounts are set up by us. If you wish to create an ftp account, please email amvtourny@jpproductionsonline.net and let us know you’d like access. Once complete, you will be emailed back with your account name and password, along with all of the other necessary connection information.
• Each entry submitted through FTP MUST be accompanied by a signed submission form. You may print the form, fill it out, scan it, and upload the scans; or mail us the submission form(s) using the “snail mail” procedure. We need your WRITTEN permission to show your video(s) at the con and at the pre-screening.
• Download the Submission Form in Adobe PDF format
• Technical Difficulties
• Bad stuff happens, especially today in the digital age. I-CON27 recognizes that a technical problem with a videos encoding could mar an otherwise excellent video in the public eye. We recognize that the submitters deserve to have their video screened in the best possible light (figuratively of course. Screening rooms tend to be quite dark...) and the audience deserves the best show that we can give them.
• If I-CON27 notices a technical problem that can be corrected, we will email you with a description of the problem, and how we intend to fix it, given your permission. This includes but is not limited to PAL-to-NTSC conversion, aspect ratio problems, and field order issues. Wed rather not have to correct your entry, but if we see a correction is possible, we wont hesitate to make it so that your submission is displayed properly on our hardware.
• We will not re-edit your video for you, and were not magicians. We cant make videos with poor quality, good again. The better quality video you send us, the better it will look. Remember, the contest is screened on large projection screens, not a small TV. Visual anomalies from poor compression will be enlarged.
• The Contest
• The contest will be screened once at I-CON27 2008. The contest will not exceed the length of 2 hours. Should we receive more than 2 hours worth of submissions, all entries will be evaluated and 2 hours of finalists will be chosen to enter the contest. Videos that adhere to the rules but do not make the final cut will be shown during an overflow period, if available.
• The contest will be divided into 4 categories: Drama/Serious, Romance/Sentimental, Action, Upbeat/Comedy.
• Judges will rank the videos on various aspects tailored to the videos category, and a numeric average will then be compiled. The highest score in each category will be declared the winner for that category.
• The audience will also have a ballot listing all the competing videos and will be asked to indicate their favorite. The video with the most votes will win the Audience Choice Award. Recognition will be given for videos that place 2nd and 3rd in the audience choice voting as well.
• Instead of winning its category, the video with the highest overall judge’s score will be awarded the “Best of Show” award.
• Additional awards may be issued at the discretion of the I-CON27 staff.
• Eligibility
• The contest is open to any AMV, regardless of age, that adheres to the content/time limit guidelines.
• The contest is open to any individual with means of getting their video to us, with the exception of the I-CON27 AMV judging staff.

For more information regarding the I-CON27 AMV Contest, Contact us at:: amvtourny@jpproductionsonline.net .