We invite you and everyone that wishes to come and enjoy the 2016 AMV Track at Anime USA! We wish to put out a challenge to all AMV editors and studios to put on their game face and make their best work to date. If you will be attending the con and you wish to speak about how you edit your AMVs or even if you decide to show people the AMVs that inspired you or even your top 10 AMVs, we have room for panels! If you’d like to watch some fan-made parodies, we will have those too; and we’ll have an After Hours track to allow for the racier AMVs to be shown.

AMV Events

This year we are having the following events:

2016 AMV Contest

This is the standard AMV contest, the rules and submission information follow the descriptions of this year’s AMV Track offerings.

2016 AMV 18+ Contest

(AMVs containing mature content) 18+ content
These videos will be for editors to show us what they can do when the restrictions of language, violence, gore and nudity are relaxed. If your video does not make the cut for this contest it will show during the AMV After Hours track. This will be in the 18+ track, so contest rules #2 and 5 are modified to allow for more explicit content in terms of nudity, offensive language and violence. If videos are received with any of these in extreme excess they will be disqualified.

AMV Showcase

Anime USA AMV staff will choose videos that did not make the final cut. If an AMV is disqualified but it falls within the rules of the contest with the exception of time limit, it will be shown here time permitting.  You cannot request to have a video go directly into this overflow. The AMV staff will determine what content will be placed in this panel.

AMV After Hours

(18+ content) This allows for more violence/gore but still not extreme amounts, some nudity but not extreme amounts, and some offensive language.  This is not a contest but a place where AMVs that are not making the contest and contain mature content. We will automatically shift any video submitted to the main contest that cannot compete to these showcases unless you wish to enter them into the 18+ contest.  The following rules are modified for this: #2, follows the 18+ contest notation, and #4, there are no time restrictions here, but we have to judge what to include and length may cause a video to not be included in these showcases.  Submitting an AMV for this panel will not count against the number of submissions for the contest. There will be a section of the submission form to indicate that a specific AMV is for this panel.  Time limitations will affect our choices as to what will be in this panel, and will have no bearing on the full AMV contest what so ever. Enjoy and be creative!

AMV Panels

Do you like AMVs a lot?  Do you make AMVs?   Are you an AMV Judge at another con?  Well for any reason if you wish to discuss AMVs then apply for a panel spot!  The AMV Coordinator will inform anyone of accepted panels, and the panel times.  These panels are for anything to do with AMVs, your top 10, your best editing tips, your best tips to have AMVs judged well in contests.  Also if you wish to have 18+ content please inform us on your panel submission.

Fan Parodies

We will show some parody movies at AUSA again this year, we will update this section with the ones we will show as we make those selections.  If you know of a fan parody you would like to have shown or you made one yourself let us know!

Anime USA 2016 AMV Contest Rules

Submission deadline: August 29, 2016, 11:59 pm (FOR ALL FORMATS)

  • Each person/studio may submit up to 3 AMVs in total for each contest, but no more than 1 per category. (Note: If you are part of a studio, you may submit AMVs either as yourself or as the studio. You still may only have a combined number of 3 AMVs between them.)
  • Main Contest: No nudity, offensive language or excessive violence or gore. The audience for this will be a general, all age audience!
    18+ Contest: These rules are relaxed somewhat, still extreme amounts of gore, violence, nudity or language can be cause for disqualification from tournament.
  • Videos cannot be more than 1 year old from its creation date, nor have won 3 or more category or best in show awards from separate contests by August 29, 2016. We must keep new ideas coming forward and give everyone the best chance to enjoy winning or participating in a contest.
  • Ensure your Video is between one minute and six minutes in length, exception is the trailer/parody category where the minimum length is 30 seconds.
  • You may use footage from video games, anime, Japanese live action and you may even use stop motion footage you created yourself. At least 50% of your video to be content from Japanese video games or Japanese anime.  You must conform to the general audience rating with all footage no matter where you get it from.
  • Dubbed audio from licensed content is not allowed. You may record your own dialog but you cannot take the script and read it!
  • Do not include any subtitles from your original sources. You may however add in your own as long as you do not just copy the subtitles.  Game footage is included in this; you must have a clean capture.
  • Do not include any bumpers or credits for your video, Title cards will be made by the Anime USA AMV Staff to introduce your video, even if it does not make finalist as we may be showing it in our overflow showcases. We want you to get the exposure, if possible.
  • Do not use any commercial studio logos or other forms of watermarks that you did not create yourself as a parody of said logo or your own logo. No form of reference to the MPAA itself whatsoever; you may, however, parody the formatting of the screen. If you chose to parody the formatting of the MPAA screen without making direct reference to the MPAA, please refer to the following video for an example of what is acceptable. http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=197392.
  • With the exception of the parody/trailer category, excessive narration or dialog could be grounds for disqualification.
  • Submissions should not contain unaltered video from your audio selection’s official music video. If this is seen even in sections of your AMV it may be grounds for disqualification.
  • Attendance to the Convention is not needed to enter, our request to know if you will be at the convention is for our informational use only. We love calling people up and handing you your prize for your hard work!  Please come to the Convention if you can!
  • Anime USA is not responsible for Lost, damaged, misdirected, or stolen submissions or prizes if one needs to be shipped.
  • AUSA AMV Staff and any Judges are precluded from entering this AMV contest. (This means AUSA staff can submit to this contest if they wish).
  • We reserve the right to reject or disqualify any entry for any reason; all rules here are subject to change and will be applied equally to all submissions once posted. An FAQ will be posted if it seems that a rule is ambiguous.
  • All decisions by Anime USA’s AMV staff are final.
  • All submissions must be accompanied with a completely filled out entry form.
  • All submissions become the property of Anime USA and will not be returned.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the AMV Coordinator directly by emailing jon.webb@animeusa.org.

Main AMV Contest Categories

  • Action
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Parody/Trailer
  • Upbeat
  • Romance

18+ AMV Contest Categories (separate mature/18+ content contest)

  • Horror
  • Action
  • Comedy
  • Trailer

The AMV Staff will judge the entries to determine the finalists, then the finalists will be presented to the audience to vote.  Awards will be given to AMVs in first place of each category: Best in show, Director’s choice and Judge’s choice. Second place will be announced and recorded.

Submission Formats

This year we will be accepting submissions in the following forms:

  • Digital delivery (delivery via Internet, preferred way)
  • Optical (CD/DVD/Blu-ray) — Please contact the AMV Coordinator if you wish to submit this way.
  • Flash Media (all SD card sizes and USB flash drives) — Please contact the AMV Coordinator if you wish to submit this way.

The deadline for receipt of all forms of submissions is AUGUST 29, 2016 , 11:59PM for all forms of media.  Anime USA is not responsible for lost, damaged, stolen or incorrectly delivered submissions; you MUST take all precautions to protect your media if you ship!  It is recommended that you use Digital delivery for material submission.

During the initial judging of the submissions if there is an issue with your submission we will contact you to allow you to address or dispute the issue, and if you are able to correct or submit a different video, in place of the video with the issue, by the submission deadline that will be accepted.  We cannot guarantee that this will be possible depending on how you will send your submission.

All submissions must meet the following standards:

Video Format:

  • MPEG 1
  • MPEG 2
  • M2TS (MPEG2 Transport Stream)
  • AVI (DivX or XviD for lossy codecs, UTVideo or Lagarith for lossless)
  • HuffYUV avi
  • MP4 (h264)

NOTE: We will not accept .MOV and .WMV so if you are using Windows Movie Maker, please make sure to set your output to .AVI.

Audio Format:

  • Uncompressed wav (PCM)
  • MPEG audio (mp3, mp2, etc.)

Resolution:

Full Screen: DO NOT LETTER BOX these entries or we will have to strip that and resize your work.

  • 640 X 480
  • 960 X 720
  • 1440 X 1080

Wide Screen:

  • 720 X 480 *
  • 848 X 480
  • 1280 X 720
  • 1920 X 1080

* This particular resolution happens to be the default DVD resolution and the actual footage is either 640×480 or 848×480. Should you resize appropriately that is acceptable, if you choose to keep the resolution we recommend that you submit as MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 with a frame rate of either 29.97 or 23.976 flagged for 3:2 pull down. As stated above letterboxing is NOT accepted, please flag fo 16:9 if that is the native aspect ratio of your footage.

Frame Rates:

23.976, 24, 25, 29, 97, 30 and 60. Any deviation from these listed rates and your video will be rejected. (you can re-submit if time allows)

Submission Information

All Submissions must be accompanied with a text file of the submission form and named with “editor/studio name – AMV title”. If you submit multiple videos each MUST have its own submission form.  See the following example:  John Smith – To the MOON.avi   & John Smith – To the MOON.txt

For submissions online we have a DropBox account, file size limit is 5 GB.

You may submit by email: jon.webb@animeusa.org  or by initiating a share of your dropbox folder containing the AMV(s) and the entry form(s).  If you wish to use another entry method like sendspace etc, realize that your entry may be delayed due to access restrictions on our part and this delay could push past the entry deadline, also if you would like to submit physical media, please contact me at the above email to make arrangements.

Any questions or need of clarifications please email the AMV Coordinator at jon.webb@animeusa.org.

AMV Submission Form (make into text file for submission via email):

  • Full Name (as seen on your Government issued ID):
  • Studio name (or editor’s name):
  • Full Mailing Address:
  • Telephone number including Area Code:
  • Email Address:
  • Date of AMV completion:
  • Category of submission:
  • AMV’s Title:
  • Source Video name(s):
  • Source Song title(s):
  • Source Song artist(s):
  • Source Song recording label(s):
  • Is this submission for the 18+ Contest?
  • Is this submission for an AMV After Hours Showcase?
  • Is this submission for any other specific AUSA AMV panel?
  • Any notes you would like to let us know about?

*NOTE*:  Please make sure to list a minimum of 6 Video sources (or all if less), and if you leave any blanks we will be letting you know to correct and re-submit

AMV Panel Submission Form:

To submit a panel to the AMV Track please click the button below to fill out the submission form. The deadline for receipt of all forms of media submissions is AUGUST 29, 2016, 11:59PM.

AUSA AMV panel submission form:

If you wish to apply for a panel please look at the following FAQ first:

F.A.Q.

Once you have read the FAQ, submit the panel here: (Deadline for AMV panels is August 29th, 2016 at 11:59pm)

Submit Panel Application

NOTE: 1) AMV Panel deadline is one month after normal AUSA panel submissions, once the above link will no longer accept submissions please use the form below and send to Jon.Webb@AnimeUSA.org.
2) The decision of what panels will be in the AUSA AMV Track and times will be made by the AMV Track Staff and final. If you will be arriving on Thursday and there are panel slots open, would you like to have this? If you are arriving at a certain time during the convention and cannot present before that time please let us know so we can properly schedule you.

  • Name(s) of Panelist(s):
  • Panelist(s) Contact Information (Phone number and Email):
  • Name of Panel:
  • Length of Panel (in minutes):
  • Will this panel feature mature content/R rated:
  • Please inform us of your panel’s equipment needs:
  • Description of Panel:
  • Other information that would be helpful in scheduling your panels: