Hi,
Thanks for such awesome feedback!
I would like to directly address some of your thoughts with my own. You bring up many valid points.
I'm really glad that your overall feeling is that the FMV Contest is improving. I'm glad that getting the editors priority seating was well received. I will make sure continue that next year, hopefully with signs and better information about it prior to the show. I know that this was an important aspect to other editors as well and something that I would be more than happy to make happen.
The viewing had some set backs as the Civic had just received major upgrades to its equipment and the few problems we experienced hadn't been faced with the new equipment so troubleshooting was trial and error versus having a ready manual for it. I have spoken with the lead tech for the Civic about this issue and have let him know that many people were upset by this. They understand and we have reached an agreement that we will be doing dry runs on days prior to the show to allow plenty of time for any problems that may arise.
As for the sound, I will do more on my end to adjust volumes prior to the show (the entire show is edited and put together prior to FanimeCon)
and we will use the mentioned dry run prior to the show to catch any further adjustments needed. I will also make sure to include larger amounts of time in between each video and in between each category. We will definitely be providing a quick recap and a list of the videos for the audience to refer to when voting. We left that time short so that we could include more videos, but we will look for a balance on that in next year's show.
Our delay in starting also attributed to the sudden "everyone get out" scenario that we had to endure as the Civic's schedule is VERY strict. Because of this, the audience had little to no time to vote after the show and a couple of AMV's, bumpers, and sneak peak videos got cut off at the end. Again, this was attributed largely to the late start. I agree with you that many AMV's do inspire us to seek out new anime. We will make sure that everyone has plenty of time to vote and knows exactly what they are watching.
I'm glad that the prizes were such a big hit as well. We do plan on keeping some sort of prize system implemented. ;D
As far as the categories being equalized, I also agree, but as you stated, it is largely due to the amount of entries that are received. If we had more comedy or more experimental, those sections would be longer. This year submissions were heavily dominated by drama and action.
Lastly, to address your concern about the judges, we had a great mix of judges this year and hope to in the coming years. While every submission was watched and discussed, different points of view were also brought up about everything from the technical ability to the AMV in context of the anime. We had a diverse mix of not only artists, but all of them have had some sort of experience in editing, animation (all types), audio production, and anime. For the most part, all of them were actually in the animation departments that dealt with all the criteria of the judging. I understand what you mean about being concerned about the judging the AMV's, and while I agree with you, I also know that an great AMV can also be judged without bias regardless of the level of anime knowledge. Many animes are discovered by all when you watch AMV's, as you stated before. We had a great mix of anime experience ranging from casual to very, very knowledgeable, but again that is only one factor out of many that go into judging the FMV Contest.
I really do appreciate feedback, especially feedback this specific. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm in making the FMV Contest better every year. I would still like to hear ANY and ALL questions, comments, concerns, and suggestions. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
"We can do our best to make a better show, but without our fans, we cannot make a show at all!" - Jose Marin
Thanks for such awesome feedback!
I would like to directly address some of your thoughts with my own. You bring up many valid points.
I'm really glad that your overall feeling is that the FMV Contest is improving. I'm glad that getting the editors priority seating was well received. I will make sure continue that next year, hopefully with signs and better information about it prior to the show. I know that this was an important aspect to other editors as well and something that I would be more than happy to make happen.
The viewing had some set backs as the Civic had just received major upgrades to its equipment and the few problems we experienced hadn't been faced with the new equipment so troubleshooting was trial and error versus having a ready manual for it. I have spoken with the lead tech for the Civic about this issue and have let him know that many people were upset by this. They understand and we have reached an agreement that we will be doing dry runs on days prior to the show to allow plenty of time for any problems that may arise.
As for the sound, I will do more on my end to adjust volumes prior to the show (the entire show is edited and put together prior to FanimeCon)
and we will use the mentioned dry run prior to the show to catch any further adjustments needed. I will also make sure to include larger amounts of time in between each video and in between each category. We will definitely be providing a quick recap and a list of the videos for the audience to refer to when voting. We left that time short so that we could include more videos, but we will look for a balance on that in next year's show.
Our delay in starting also attributed to the sudden "everyone get out" scenario that we had to endure as the Civic's schedule is VERY strict. Because of this, the audience had little to no time to vote after the show and a couple of AMV's, bumpers, and sneak peak videos got cut off at the end. Again, this was attributed largely to the late start. I agree with you that many AMV's do inspire us to seek out new anime. We will make sure that everyone has plenty of time to vote and knows exactly what they are watching.
I'm glad that the prizes were such a big hit as well. We do plan on keeping some sort of prize system implemented. ;D
As far as the categories being equalized, I also agree, but as you stated, it is largely due to the amount of entries that are received. If we had more comedy or more experimental, those sections would be longer. This year submissions were heavily dominated by drama and action.
Lastly, to address your concern about the judges, we had a great mix of judges this year and hope to in the coming years. While every submission was watched and discussed, different points of view were also brought up about everything from the technical ability to the AMV in context of the anime. We had a diverse mix of not only artists, but all of them have had some sort of experience in editing, animation (all types), audio production, and anime. For the most part, all of them were actually in the animation departments that dealt with all the criteria of the judging. I understand what you mean about being concerned about the judging the AMV's, and while I agree with you, I also know that an great AMV can also be judged without bias regardless of the level of anime knowledge. Many animes are discovered by all when you watch AMV's, as you stated before. We had a great mix of anime experience ranging from casual to very, very knowledgeable, but again that is only one factor out of many that go into judging the FMV Contest.
I really do appreciate feedback, especially feedback this specific. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm in making the FMV Contest better every year. I would still like to hear ANY and ALL questions, comments, concerns, and suggestions. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
"We can do our best to make a better show, but without our fans, we cannot make a show at all!" - Jose Marin