FAQ

About Submission & Rules

- Are streaming sites such as youtube allowed ?
No, they are not. I want to be able to download your video.

- Are AU videos allowed ?
Absolutely. Alternate videos (Alternate Universe Vids, Trailers, Tributes etc) are welcome. But just be aware an Alternate vid might not fit in as many categories as a "traditionnal" video and that might make it harder to win sometimes.

Alternate universe studies will generally fit into relationship, character or narrative categories but sometimes, a tribute might not fit into a lot except maybe "Character Study". But don't worry, an outstanding video is still outstanding and it'll get recognized for its merit.

- Can I re-submit a video ?
You can re-submit a video, if and only if you didn't already win an award with it except "Judge Nod".

However, Here's a little advice on re-submission : No need to resubmit the exact same video. If you didn't win in a round at all and were cut during the first cuts, chances are you won't make it in the next round either. For the same reasons, resubmitting a "Judge Nod" video exactly the same won't make you win "Best Video" another round. So if you choose to resubmit, only submit re-edited videos.

If you won a "Judge Nod" in a previous round, try to use the advice that were given to you in your review then. This will increase your chances for a possible win.

In any case, unless you're willing to make changes and re-edit your vid, your chance of winning in another round are slim to none so I strongly advise you to think this through and ask for feedback before doing it.

- My entry was deleted, why ?
The only reasons for me to delete your entry are that your submission broke one of the rules or that the download link in your entry isn't working and you didn't provide another one before the round closes.

In anycase, when I encounter a problem with your entry, I email you to explain the matter so you can act on it (download problem, breaking a rule etc) so don't be surprised when your entry is deleted when I don't hear from you after having warned you by email.

About Judging

- What are "Honorable Mention" and "Judge Nod" ? Did I win or not ?
No, you didn't win but I still wanted to give you some kind of recognition for your work.

It happens that no matter how awesome your video is, I couldn't award it in any category because of a highly-competitive round or because it didn't fit in a category. But as it only seem fair to me to acknowledge a wonderful video, it would be given an "Honorable Mention". However, this isn't granted lightly to every video that didn't win, it is "awarded" to videos that came very close to winning in a category meaning it's an "almost" runner-up.

Every round is very competitive and mix advanced-level vidders with newbies. As it is a contest, Awards go to the overall most skillfully and creatively made videos. When your video isn't at the same level as other contestants, it's harder for you to win. That's a fact. However, I strongly believe vidders should be encouraged when showing off potential or creativity. The videos that, despite some flaws or being uneven, still made an impact on the judge and displayed some strong points will be awarded a "Judge Nod". This is based on a more subjective judgement, which is why it's called "Judge Nod".

- What are the additionnal awards ? Are they better than the general awards ?
No, they are not better at all. They're at the same level as any other categorie. However, unlike in the other categories, entrants don't really compete in this categorie. The video has to distinguish itself from others to be awarded here.
They're awarded to videos that stands out on a specific aspect of vidding that couldn't be awarded in the traditionnal categories.

- Why isn't there an award in each category every round ?
My video was a "character study" and there were no "Best Insight" award, I don't understand.
Only Best Video is awarded every round. All the other categories are picked up by the judge depending on the entries, meaning the number of them in each category and their qualities. Once your video pass the "first cuts" stage of judging, it is placed in all the categories it fits in. Meaning that if your video is a match the charater study criteria, it'll be placed in this category.
Unless the number of entry in a category is too small, the category will be awarded in the round.

- I have a specific question on the judging process or how awards are granted, can I ask ?
Sure. I wish for the judging and general process of this site to be very clear for everyone. Please read this FAQ, the rules and the judging process carefully before asking. And only ask by email as it is easier for me to keep up with requests and questions this way.

About Reviews

- What do reviews contain ?
Reviews for every winning video contains a feedback on what I really enjoyed about your video, and why it won in the category. The review may contain some down points as well as good ones, especially for "Judge Nod". This is not intented to be mean but to give constructive feedback on your work.

- I didn't win, can I still have a review/critique ?
You can ask although I can't promise you I will be able to do it. It'll depend on my schedule and workload but I will try my best to answer your requests. Most of the time, i won't be able to do it, but you can ask specific questions to me by email. I'll do my best to answer you. Please put your name and the name of your video clearly into the subject of the email. Those requests must be sent in the week following the awards announcement.

- I won and had a little review but I wanna have extra feedback/critique on my video, is that possible ?
Sure. I don't know how much I'll be able to answer, but feel free to email and ask. But I can't repeat this enough, but Please only ask by email as it's way easier for me to keep track of them than constantly checking the tagboard. Please put your name and the name of your video clearly into the subject of the email.

About this site

- Why don't you change the layout every round ?
Simple: Time. I have none. I struggle enough with other stuff to force myself to design a new layout every round. Doing that would only delay the judging and posting awards which I don't want to do since the prime objective of this site is the music video contest and not the prettiness of the website.
Sure, I'll change it from time to time, whether it's every other round or every 5 rounds but don't expect it to change every month.

- How did you make this site ?
I designed the graphics with Adobe Photoshop and coded the layout with XHTML/CSS.
The "business" part of the site is coded in PHP with a MySQL database that stores the entries, awards, reviews etc. I designed and conceived all this by myself and I didn't use any "all done" scripts if that's what you're wondering.