Cover Art

ConnectiCon’s Fanmade Music Video Contest (FMV Contest) is an exhibition and competition of fan-created music videos. Videos that are chosen as finalists will be screened before an audience during the Friday session of ConnectiCon XXI. The audience will vote for their favorite videos and the winners will be featured during the Death Match pre-show on Saturday night.

RULES

Submission Rules

  • Any entries that violate the contest rules are disqualified. You will be entitled to an email stating why your entry was disqualified and you will be given one chance to edit and resubmit your creation. If your resubmitted work still violates the contest rules, you will be notified and you will not be permitted to submit again.
  • Your entry must be your own work and no one else's. Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted. If you are caught fraudulently submitting videos, you will be barred from participating in all future ConnectiCon FMV Contests and your information will be shared with the coordinators of other contests, who may take further action at their discretion.
  • All entries must be less than one year old as of the date of the 2024 convention.
    • Ineligible videos include:
      • Anything first publicly exhibited (convention showing or uploaded to an online video service) prior to July 18th, 2023.
      • A remastered version of anything previously submitted to ConnectiCon.
  • Contestants are limited to a maximum of two videos total and to one video per category, either as a sole creator or part of a collaboration. The FMV Contest Coordinator reserves the right to change a video’s category assignment if it more properly fits a different category than the one chosen by the creator. If this recategorization results in a creator having two entries in one category, this will not immediately count against the one video per category rule. Based on the total number of entries per category reached by the deadline, the FMV Contest Coordinator may reach out to the creator to withdraw a video and/or submit an alternate video. We ask that creators keep an eye on their email during the weeks leading up the convention for updates.
  • All entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on June 8th, 2024.
  • By submitting an entry, each contestant agrees:
    • They have read, understand, and will comply with these official rules, and to the extent permitted by law, consent to the use of the entrant's name and/or studio name for purposes of advertising and promotion by ConnectiCon, without further consent, compensation, or approval.
    • By submitting a video to ConnectiCon FMV Contest, the video creator grants ConnectiCon irrevocable permission to exhibit that video. The video creator otherwise retains all rights and responsibilities relating to its creation. Many submissions that are not selected as finalists will likely be featured during the Sunday session in one of the event rooms.
  • We reserve the right to modify these rules at any time without notice.

Editor Rules

  • Due to COPPA regulations, any applicant under the age of 13 will need a parent or guardian to submit an entry on their behalf. The minor may include their name or editor handle in the "Display Name for Credits" field on the form.
  • Contestants do not need a ConnectiCon membership to enter the contest.
  • ConnectiCon staff members — except those directly involved in planning and running the contest — may enter the FMV Contest.
  • Contestants must have a valid United States mailing address.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

  • Entries may not be shorter than 30 seconds, nor longer than five minutes.
  • Your initial submission must be linked via Google Drive (make sure Link Sharing stays enabled until July 18th, 2024 (!)), Dropbox or SendSpace. The following file extensions are preferred: AVI, FLV, MPEG4, MP4, MOV and WMV
  • For best results, we recommend a resolution setting of 1280x720 or 1920x1080 for widescreen, and 960x720 or 1440x1080 for fullscreen. Please ensure your videos have appropriate frame rate settings and high quality audio.
  • The maximum file size of each entry is 1 GB. There are online tools available to compress the file size of videos that are too large (an example would be Flixier).
  • Videos that have significant video or audio quality issues may be disqualified depending on the severity. Examples of issues that qualify include interlacing, squashed/stretched aspect ratios, chunky/blocky video, jagged lines, and audio distortion.

CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

  • Video footage must be motion capture from either cartoons, anime, video games, or a live-action drama/movie/series. Motions and animations to comic/manga/manhwa panels are acceptable.
  • Footage must not contain more than 15 seconds of completely unedited video content.
  • Footage of active game play from a video game where the game interface is visible is not acceptable.
  • Footage recorded from live TV broadcasts is eligible, but not encouraged, as it frequently contains watermarks and is often of lower quality.
  • Footage may not contain ANY watermarks, commercial subtitles, title screens, logos, credits, introductions, or audio from the commercial English dub of any show.
  • Editors may add their own subtitles where appropriate, but many find these distracting and thus they may reduce the chances of an entry being a finalist.
  • At least 75% of the entry must be set to music. This rule does not apply to trailer and commercial parodies.
  • Videos may not be collections of shorts. "AMV Hell"–style videos are not eligible for entry to the contest.
  • Entries must conform to CARA PG-13 rating standards as defined in the official ratings guidelines. In particular, there should be no sexually oriented nudity and violence should not be excessive, gratuitous, or constant.

CATEGORIES

  • Action — Videos that feature adrenaline. Whether through combat, competition, or just plain speed, these are the videos that get the heart pumping faster
  • Drama — Videos that tell a story, tug at the heartstrings, or feature an emotion such as sadness, nostalgia, or anger
  • Upbeat/Comedy — Videos that make you happy, smile and either want to dance or laugh out loud
  • Romance/Sentimental — Videos about relationships: platonic, familial, or romantic love that a person feels for someone or something else
  • Experimental — Videos that don't precisely fit into the rest of the categories: experimental videos, artistic pieces, etc
  • Trailer/Commercial — Original or parody movie trailers, commercials, and opening sequences
  • If we get enough submissions for 2024, the Upbeat and Comedy categories are subject to being split into their own divisions.

AWARDS

Audience Voted

  • Best Action
  • Best Drama
  • Best Upbeat/Comedy
  • Best Romance/Sentimental
  • Best Experimental
  • Best Trailer/Commercial

Judges' Awards

  • Best Concept — The best-executed idea behind a video
  • Best Editing — The best technical accomplishment in editing
  • Judges' Choice — The favorite video of the panel of judges
  • Coordinator's Choice — All videos that qualify for the contest are eligible to win this award; it is not restricted to only the finalists
  • Made In Connecticut Award *NEW* — All videos that qualify for the contest and are made by a creator who is a Connecticut resident are eligible to win this award
  • Best Of Show — Best Of Show will be determined by a combination of audience votes and votes by the Judges' Award panel

PRIZES

  • All prizes for awards will be mailed out after the convention by October 15th, 2024. Prizes are subject to yearly availability as well as the ranking of awards, but will generally include at least two of the following items:
    • Various ConnectiCon merchandise
    • Rosette award ribbon
    • Award plaque
    • A complementary 2025 ConnectiCon membership voucher

FINAL GUIDELINES

  • If you do not hear from us two weeks after your submission or within two weeks after the deadline, contact the FMV Contest Coordinator.
  • All entries are prescreened by ConnectiCon staff to determine five finalist videos per category to be shown at the convention. The finalists will be announced in a ConnectiCon XXI newsletter email prior to the convention. Finalists themselves will also get a separate email announcing their selection.
  • ConnectiCon schedules overflow screenings on Sunday for entries not selected as finalists. We will show as many videos as time allows, but cannot guarantee that all videos will be shown.

HOW TO APPLY

Entries may be submitted by filling out the electronic form below beginning March 1st, 2024.

Looking to become a Participating Member at ConnectiCon?