AMV Contest

Here are the rules for MTAC Anime Music Video Contest. All videos submitted for the purpose of entry into the contest are subject to the following terms and conditions.  Please be aware that these terms and conditions may change with public notice.

Once videos are received, the final selection of the video categories for the Main Contest is at the discretion of the AMV Contest Coordinator.

For awards this year, the following will be awarded in the AMV contest:

If the overall submissions’ play time is larger than can fit in the appropriate contest time slot, cuts will unfortunately be made. Keep in mind that video selection for the finals will be determined on qualities such as technical aspects, effectiveness of the video, and general execution.  You do not need to attend the convention to enter the contest, although it is highly encouraged.

– The main AMV Contest is an all-ages audience showing.  A good general rule for content is that if the song cannot be played on the radio without edits (bleeps or omission of certain words), contains sexual genitalia (no hentai) or has extreme violence, then it’s not acceptable for the main contest.  Note that MTAC reserves the right to determine what constitutes “extreme” content.  

– The submission cut-off for the MTAC AMV Contest is 11:59pm Central Standard Time on March 7. The video files must be in our hands by 11:59pm Central Standard Time on March 7, 2023. Any video entry still not received by the latter date will be considered disqualified.

– The video file must be submitted as a Google Drive, One Drive, DropBox or any other links with a preview video option hyperlink, with a filename “[Your Name/Studio Name] – [Video Name]”. For example, “AMVEditorPerson-MyVideoRules.mp4”. Any other links must be emailed directly to the Coordinator (mainevents@mtac.net) for further review. (i.e. Youtube, MediaFire, etc).

– Please keep in mind when you submit a music video to our contest that you are submitting to a Japanese anime/culture convention. We prefer, but do not require, that you consider submitting videos with the following: 

• Japanese Anime (i.e. Sailor Moon, Naruto, My Hero Academia)
• Convention Theme: Casino — videos based around casino as a concept (i.e. Kakegurui, Kaiji, Usogui, Tazza: The High Rollers, Akagi, Death Parade)
• Live-Action Music Video (i.e. Star Wars, Marvel (MCU), DC (DCU), Lord of the Rings)
• Western Animation Music Video (i.e. Avatar: The Last Airbender, Disney, Steven Universe)
• Video Game Music Video (i.e. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil)

– With the exception of Movie Trailer Parody and TV Commercial Parody AMVs, at least 80% of the submission’s audio must be a continuous song or music track.  Spoken openings or endings are allowed, but overlaying Japanese or English audio track(s) that are not a part of the original song/music track(s) is not allowed. 

– Qualifying AMV Contest video entries must have been created within two (2) years of the MTAC Blackjack (2023) Convention start date (after April 7, 2023), have not been previously submitted to any past MTAC AMV contests, and have not won a combination of three (3) or more “Best In Show” or “Best in (specific category, i.e. Drama, Action, etc.)” at any other convention contest during that period.

– There is a time limit of 1 minute and 30 second minimum and 5 minutes and 30 second maximum per video. Any music video entry beyond 6 minutes may be acceptable at the AMV Contest Coordinators’ discretion.

– You may submit a maximum of three (3) video entries.  Each video entry should have separate and distinct category tags if possible. Don’t try to make a video entry fit a category it is not suited for (for example, a purely “Action” video in the “Drama” category), please try to select choices that provide the best match for the video content.  Please note that, should you have more than one qualifying entry that fit only one of the categories selected for the main contest, you will be notified and must select which video entry will compete in the contest. If you need some assistance with categorization, please send an inquiry to mainevents@mtac.net.

– No watermarks or logo overlays in the video source(s) will be allowed. This includes, but is not limited to, the DivX logo, any television station identification, production company logo, video editing software logos, streaming site bugs & logos, AMV studio logos, and so on. The video will be deemed instantly disqualified.

– No video will be accepted with “hard subtitles” (subtitles permanently overlaid on video), nor will we accept videos from obviously bootlegged or fan-subbed releases with these subtitles. The only EXCEPTION to this rule is if you create your own subtitles as an actual part of the anime music video.  Please let the coordinator know of any added creator-added subtitles in the Additional Notes section of the Entry Form.

– Because of the nature of the video judging, MTAC Convention Staff and Volunteers are allowed to enter their own qualifying video entries, unless they are actively participating in the coordination or judging of the AMV contest.

The following video formats are the only formats that will be accepted for submission to the contest, in order from most preferred to least:

– AVC/H.264 in an MPEG-4 container (.mp4)

– AVC/H.264 in a Matroska Media container (.mkv)

– HEVC/H.265 in an MPEG-4 Container (.mp4) (acceptable, but will be converted to AVC/H.264 [See Below])

– MPEG-2 Video with MPEG-II Layer Audio (.mpeg, .mpg)

– UTCodec or Lagarith Lossless Codec encoded AVI (.avi)

– DivX / XviD in AVI format (.avi) encoded at the highest quality possible (Quantizer 1 is most preferred)

– Quicktime (.mov) format (acceptable, but not recommended)

– Windows Media (.wmv) format (acceptable, but not recommended)

Any file format not mentioned above will not be considered immediately disqualified. This includes MPEG-1, Real Media, or the use of any video codec in a video file other than DivX, Lagarith, UTCodec, H.264/H.265 standard, or XviD. All video submissions not in AVC/H.264 format will be converted to that format for playback at the convention, so we encourage all entrants to use one of the top two video formats on the list if at all possible. If you need assistance with the technical requirements, please contact the AMV Contest Coordinator (mainevents@mtac.net), and we can try to work out an acceptable solution.

As we use HDMI projectors, acceptable frame rates for your videos are 23.976fps, 29.97fps, and 60fps.  Any other frame rates will be converted to fit one of these frame rates.

If you have any questions, please email your questions to mainevents@mtac.net.

Any video entry that does not follow these AMV Contest rules WILL BE CONSIDERED DISQUALIFIED AND WILL NOT BE ENTERED INTO THE CONTEST.  All submissions are subject to the MTAC AMV Department’s review and approval. MTAC’s AMV Contest Department and MTAC’s Convention Administration Staff reserve the right to prohibit from convention viewing any video submission entered into the contest for any reason.  By submitting your video entry for review, you agree that all decisions made by the MTAC AMV Contest Coordinator, the MTAC Convention Administration, and the AMV Contest judges about your video are FINAL.

All submissions become the property of the Middle Tennessee’s Anime Convention and/or its assigns, and will not be returned to the submitter. Please do not send in your only copy of your video submission.

All submissions received may be used for convention display and promotional purposes.  All videos entered will be considered to be cleared for this purpose.