Kawaii Kon 2024 Video Art Showcase Theater Contests Rules
Who can enter?
The contest is open to all participants. Attendance is not a requirement for entry, but always encouraged. The crew and judges of the Video & VAST department are not eligible to participate, however other Kawaii Kon crew are free to enter. Please read and understand all the rules listed below.
What can I enter?
Video art is defined as a video production work of editing and mixing of: audio sources mostly, but not limited to, music; and video sources, again mostly, but not limited to, anime. Original production video art is welcome and encouraged. Live action and/or self-animated works by computer or otherwise, are also welcome.
To enter, you must be the creator (or one of the creators if it is a multi-editor project) of the video production work being entered. You may not enter a video that you did not create nor can you enter a video anonymously.
Please be aware that the VAST Video Art Contest is run as a PG-13 event, limiting adult themes and language to an acceptable threshold for our intended audience. This however does not limit your entries nor ability to compete in the contest, just if the video is amongst the finalists, adult-themed videos may be shown at a later time from the main contest if the schedule permits. If you have a PG-13 rated version of your original video, you may submit both versions: the original video will be used for judging, while the edited PG-13 version will be displayed during the contest.
There is a limit of two videos per entrant / group and videos entered must not have been entered into the VAST previously at any time. Although there is no maximum length for a video, a preferred duration of 4 minutes or less is recommended. Videos will not be disqualified if it exceeds this length, but inclusion of longer videos is at the sole discretion of the VAST Director for overall integrity of the contest presentation.
Where can I enter?
Videos are entered via a public file transfer websites that do not require a membership to download files or through your own hosting website. Please provide links to your video in your completed entry form. Google Drive is one of the better public file transfer websites to upload your entry to as it offers 10GB+ of cloud storage.
Entries linking to Youtube videos are not acceptable. Also, no entries will be accepted by mail.
As the contest will be judged prior to the convention, no entries can be accepted at Kawaii Kon in person.
When can I enter?
Video submissions will be accepted starting NOW!
Entries will be accepted now until Friday, 16 February 2024 @ 11:59 pm HST.
Why do I enter?
To see your video on the big screen in front of a live audience and for the chance to win recognition and fortune! Okay well, not fortune, but if you are one of the winners, you can “win some wood”!
Additional prizes and awards may be awarded at the discretion of the VAST Department. All prizes and awards have a negligible cash value.
How do I enter?
To enter your video, you must submit a completed online entry form along with a link to your video. Entry forms allow up to 2 videos being entered (the max per entrant).
Note: If submitting a multi-editor project, list all the editors in the real name and editor name sections in the same order, with the contact person as the first person listed. For the address, phone number, and email address, enter only the primary contact person’s information.
Please make sure the email address you provide is one that is checked regularly: we will use it as a primary means of contacting you if there are any questions or issues with your video.
Once you complete your online form, you will receive an automated confirmation email. We will then download your entry for testing and if all’s good, place it into our judging queue: if there’s an issue, we’ll attempt to contact you to try and fix any problems – so earlier you enter the better.
Upload:
Please upload your video to any public file transfer websites such as Google Drive or Sendspace etc so that the url will be available to download. Copy and paste the url under “Video File URL” on the online entry form.
File Naming Convention
All video files submitted must be named in the following format:
Creator – Title.file type
- Creator – your editor name (or real name if you prefer)
- Title – the title of your video (if any)
- File type – the video format used (MP4, MKV, AVI, etc)
Video Entry Requirements:
KK-VAST will add custom title screens to identify each video so please submit a video without any bumpers if possible. Although bumpers, title screens, credits, or any other form of creator / footage / audio identification are allowed, they are discouraged to allow for a uniform look for all entrants: however if included, you will not be disqualified or judged to any lesser degree.
Addition of two seconds of blank / black space at the front / back of your video is always good to have, but is optional and not required.
For judging purposes, videos will be scored on the actual submitted file. For contest playback purposes, submitted files may be converted to our preferred format (see below) for optimal contest playback at show.
Video Formats:
Preferred container format – The VAST Video Art contest is run from a Windows PC using GPU acceleration. Our preferred video format is as follows.
Preferred format:
MP4 / MKV Container
Resolution: 640×480 minimum to 1920×1080 maximum
Framerate: 23.976 / 24 fps minimum to 29.97 / 30 fps maximum
Audio: AC-3/AAC at 44 kHz, stereo audio, 224 kps or higher
Video: H.264 or x.264
Other video formats and frame rates are also acceptable, but if possible, please confirm to the preferred format: for example, many are still not capable of displaying 4k / 60fps videos. Only exceptions are for AVCHD video (.m2t) and QuickTime (.mov) as they have tended to cause issues on our side in the past. As an option, you may use the alternate URL section of the entry form to enter a video that conforms to the preferred format listed above, but it is not required; however, if not submitted, please be prepared to submit another file if we our judges have difficulty with your original video.
Non-MKV / MP4 Profile:
Resolution: 640×480 is the recommended minimum
Framerate: 23.976 / 24 fps minimum, 30 fps maximum
AVI containers using the following codecs – DIVX, XVID, HuffYUV, Lagarith, DV-AVI, or the standard complement of codecs installed by Windows.
Audio: any suitable audio format per your container files at a suitably high (128 kbps or higher) bitrate. Stereo only, no multi-channel audio options are currently supported.
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