Anime Music Videos at Anime Central

This page is intended to provide information to those who wish to view anime music videos during the convention, and also to those who wish to submit entrees to our AMV contest! ACen 2013 Anime Music Video Contest Rules

Basic Entry Requirements:
[] Entries sent to previous Anime Central competitions are not eligible.

[] Mail entries will be accepted starting February 18th, 2013.

[] All entries

must be in the hands of the contest coordinators by April 21st, 2013.

[] Contest Categories available: Action, Comedy, Drama and Freestyle.

[] There are no He**ai or Epic AMV contests this year.

[] Entries may not contain bumpers, title screens, or credits. Under some circumstances creator generated credits will be allowed if they are built into the video, a required part of it, and cannot be removed. This creative use of entrant embedded credits will be judged at our discretion.

[] 50% of the video must contain anime footage.

[] Entries may be disqualified for the following reasons:

[o] Objectionable content of video or lyrics.

[o] Bad audio or video quality.

[o] Failure to adhere to the contest rules. Objectionable content includes excessive profanity, excessive violence, or sexually explicit footage or lyrics. If you are not sure if the above rule means your entry will be disqualified e-mail [email protected] and we can view the content in question and make a decision.

[] By submitting your video to this contest you authorize Anime Central staff to screen and distribute it under the Anime Central Music Video Contest title. Any physical media that entries are submitted on becomes the property of Anime Central and will not be returned.

[] There is a limit of one entry per category per creator.

[] Entrants must supply a working e-mail address with each submission. If you do not supply an e-mail address you will be disqualified.

[] All entries should supply a mailing address.

[] Anime Central staff reserves the right to disqualify entries for any reason they see necessary to protect the overall quality and integrity of the program.

[] Information about this years AMV contest, AMV programming, and other related topics can be found and discussed on our forum, page and website. If your questions do not specifically involve your own videos content please direct all questions to the forum first. File Format Requirements:
[] Entries will only be accepted as MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 computer files.

[] Mail entries will be accepted on the following media: CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, and PC formatted USB flash drives. Media must be labeled in some manner to identify the owner and its contents. Do not send discs burned on re-writeable (-RW +RW) media. Use IS9660 or UDF file system for optical media. Use NTFS or FAT for USB flash drives. We do not recommend mailing USB flash drives. This is a new courtesy service we are offering this year as a last resort for those who cannot send optical media.

[] Do not send authored DVD Video discs or your entry will be disqualified. Please recognize that we simply cannot switch between DVD entries and MPEG-2/4 midway through entries.

[] Your file name should contain its genre (for contest purposes) your name and the title of your video, in that order. Studio names, if used, must be placed in brackets between your name and the title. You must follow this format. (Example: GENRE - Artist - [Artist Studio] - Title.file extension)

[] All entries must have 1 second of black before the video starts and after it ends.

[] Files must conform to the technical specifications outlined below. Please read the technical requirements carefully. If frame sizes, frame rates, and audio sampling frequencies do not match the requirements you will be disqualified. Anime Central staff will not convert entries for you nor give technical support in meeting these format requirements.

[] MPEG-2 file format requirements:

[-] 720x480 Frame Size
[-] Progressive Video Only
[-] 23.976 or 29.97 Frames per Second
[-] 48 kHz MP2 Stereo Audio. We recommend 320 kbps.
[-] Set Display Aspect Ratio to 4:3 for normal video or letterbox widescreen
[-] Set Display Aspect Ratio to 16:9 for anamorphic widescreen
[-] Total file bitrate cannot exceed 15 Mbps

[] MPEG-4 file format requirements
[-] Progressive Video Only
[-] 640 x 480, 848 x 480, 1280x720 Frame Size
[-] 23.976 or 29.97 Frames per Second
[-] H.264 video compression
[-] 48 kHz AAC Stereo Audio. We recommend LC-AAC at 160 kbps instead of HE-AAC.
[-] Display Aspect Ratio 1:1 (Remember you are submitting in square pixels).

[] We recommend you check compatibility against the ffdshow decoder before submitting. MPEG-4 is a file format but also refers to compatible codecs such as Divx and Xvid. We are only accepting H.264 MPEG-4 files. This means an mp4 file created by a program such as Nero, Quicktime, or mp4box using H.264 compression. We do not accept avi, mov, or mkv files. If you are not fully versed in MPEG-4 part10 format we request that you file in the MPEG-2 standard. Entry Submission Instructions:

[] Mail & Online Entries:
E-mail your information to [email protected], even if you have included the information with a physical entry.

[] Online Entries & FTP:
You must be familiar and have access to a FTP program to use this submission method. Anime Central staff cannot provide teaching experience for FTP software. If you are unfamiliar with how to use FTP software you must send your entry via mail.

[] Mail Entries:
Package your media carefully in appropriate mailers. Optical media in standard jewel cases can easily break off a hub during shipping.

[] Mail Entries should be sent to:

Andrew Cardinal
ATTN: ACEN 2013
209 Hessel Boulevard
Champaign IL, 61820

[] Final Step: Perform quality control on your entries and read the FAQ post on our forum before mailing or uploading your entries.