The 2025 ANIMAZEMENT AMV Contest Guidelines

For 2025, Animazement will feature Three AMV Contests.

 

The Professional AMV Contest*: “THE PRO’s” now have their own AMV Contest, and we are hoping that the competition will be strong. If you want to test your metal against other hardcore AMV creators, then this is the contest for you. Fame and glory could be yours, but do you have the SKILL to take the gold?!!! There will be TWO (2) cash-based prizes for the winners of this contest: First Place Best In Show, and Best In Show Runner Up.
The Amateur AMV Contest*: Have you ever wanted to make an AMV and enter it on the convention level, but were intimidated by the steep competition? Well, this is the contest for you! Who cares if you don’t have the expensive editing software, or the experience? As long as you have a concept, and the ambition, this is the contest to get in on the ground floor. This contest will have ZERO cash based prizes. All prize categories will award anime merch such as figures, statues, toys, manga, art books, and anime / Japanese live action Blu-Rays or DVDs. Unlike the Professional Contest, there will be MANY more prizes given out.

The 18+ AMV Contest: This contest is open to BOTH amateur & professional AMV Creators. THIS IS NOT A HENTAI AMV CONTEST. All hentai submissions WILL be disqualified. If Animazement's family friendly reputation has ever kept you from entering that perfect AMV simply because the song you’ve chosen has explicit lyrics, or a scene from an anime was too bloody, extreme, or had mild nudity, then we’re giving you the chance to show us what you've got. All prizes in this category will award anime merch such as figures, statues, toys, manga, art books, and anime / Japanese live action Blu-Rays or DVDs.
**NOTE** Only “Mild Nudity” will be allowed. For best reference, we are using the term “Ranma Level” to describe how much is acceptable.

*NOTE: For the “Professional” and “Amateur” AMV Contests, you can enter in one or the other, NOT BOTH. You either consider yourself a professional AMV content creator, or an amateur, and the two shall not mingle on the contest stage!!!

AMV Guidelines

1. Your video should be no more than five minutes in length. If you feel your video needs to exceed this length, please include a short explanation in the comments section of your submission form.

2. Try to keep your file size below 500MB. If your video requires a larger size to maintain quality, that's fine. We won’t disqualify anyone for a high quality video.

3. No titles or credits, please. Also, do not include studio bumpers or logos. These take up time, and distract from your actual creation. A standard title card with credits will be provided for you.

4. Footage used must be primarily from an anime, Japanese video game, or Japanese live-action source. You may use multiple video sources. Please list all video sources on the entry form.

5. Audio should be primarily music, without excessive dialogue or narration. You may use multiple audio sources. If you use more than one song, or non-song audio sources, include each of them in the appropriate space on the entry form. Some spoken parts are acceptable given the context of your video (i.e. if you are making a Parody or Trailer-style AMV).

6. No subtitles from fansubs or commercial releases. Subtitles that you add yourself are okay.

7. Avoid using video sources with timestamps, network logos, karaoke text, or other visual distractions.

8. If selected, your video will be shown on the big screen via an LCD projector. Try to use the highest-quality video sources you can, and keep in mind that some video will look different when projected.

9. Animazement is a family-friendly convention, so take this into consideration when it comes to choosing in which contest to participate. Submissions containing nudity, offensive language, and/or excessive violence will be put in the 18+ contest automatically. Try not to include anything over a “PG-13″ rating if your video is intended for a contest other than the 18+ contest.

10. No more than two entries per contestant or studio in each individual contest. If you want us to consider one of your entries as your primary entry, clearly label it in the comments section of your submission form.

11. If your video has won two or more major awards at other conventions prior to your submission it may be disqualified. (This refers to the specific video you submit to us–it’s fine if your past videos have won awards!)

12. While we ask that you select a category for your video within a specific contest, we reserve the right to re-assign or add additional categories if it will better represent the videos we receive.

13. If your video has been publicly accessible online or screened at any contest BEFORE October 31, 2024 it may be disqualified. We’d like to keep entries as “fresh” as possible.

14. Submissions created using AI will be automatically
disqualified. We expect you to “do the work”, and using AI
to compete against other contestants putting in
their blood, sweat, and tears would be disrespectful to both our Attendees and your fellow AMV Creators. If we determine that your AMV was created with AI, it will be immediately cut from the competition, and we will inform other AMV Contest Coordinators in the Anime Convention Network about your entry.

15. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If we determine that you
are using another AMV creator's video, your video will be
automatically disqualified, and we will attempt to contact
the original creator to inform them.

Applications Closed

Submissions

1. Entries can only be accepted in digital format. Physical entries are no longer accepted.

2. Name your file using this format: “CONTEST - CATEGORY – YOUR NAME – VIDEO TITLE”

CATEGORIES FOR 2025

  • Action
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Giant Robot
  • Parody
  • Romance
  • Trailer
  • Upbeat
  • Live-Action (action,drama, romance, comedy)
  • Live-Action (Kaiju Sentai)
  • Yearly Special Category (TBA)

3. Upload your video file to a file hosting service. You may use your own website, or a reputable download service like Dropbox or Google Drive. We require a direct link where we can download your full-quality video file (YouTube does NOT count as a valid download link).

4. Complete the AMV Contest Entry Form here on our website for each of your entries, and paste a direct download link to your video file into the submission form where indicated. Make sure the link you send us is accurate!

6. Deadline for entry is Friday, April 20th, 2025. We understand this date is earlier than past years, but we are putting together THREE unique showings this year, rather than just one.

7. While you don’t need to be present at Animazement to win, it’s a lot more fun for you and everyone else if you are!

Formats
1. We accept entries in virtually any video file format (MP4, AVI, MPEG, MOV, etc.). However, the more common the format and codec you use, the more likely we’ll be able to play it properly. Please don’t use obscure, hard-to-find audio or video codecs.

2. We prefer entries to be 780×480 or higher at 23.97 or 29.97 fps