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AMV Contest

Otafest's AMV Contest is open to everyone who wants to submit an AMV video into competition provided it conforms to all the rules as listed below. You do not need to be present at the event to enter, but attendance is always encouraged when possible.

The Otafest AMV (Anime Music Video) Contest is your chance to share your video editing talent and creativity. If you have a knack for anything from syncing epic action sequences with heart-pounding music to crafting emotional tributes to your favorite characters, we want to see what you can create. You don’t need to attend Otafest to enter, but we’d love to see you there for the awards ceremony!

Good luck and we look forward to seeing your amazing videos!

Awards

  • Up to 7 special awards.
  • 2 judges' top awards. (Best in Show, Runner Up)
  • 2 audience favorite awards.

Awards and prizes will be distributed at the event, however If you are unable to attend the festival, you will be notified after the event by email. Your mailing address will then be requested so that any awards and prizes may be sent to you.

Rules summary

  • Length: 60 sec - 6 min (AMV) OR 30 sec - 3:30 min (Trailer/Commercial/Intro).
  • Limit: No more than 2 entries per person, whether as part of a group or individually.
  • Premiere date: Must not have premiered before June 1, 2026.
  • Content: Must be age 14+ appropriate.
  • Visuals: No subtitles, watermarks, logos, credits, references to other contests or text that is unnecessary to the concept.
  • Audio: Audio for all AMV entries (except Trailer/Commercial/Intro) must be majority music. No excessive dialogue.
  • Source: The majority of your entry's video content must consist of either anime-styled or manga-styled content. Consideration will be given to other animation sources that also fit the spirit of this event.
  • Originality: AMV-Hell style entries will not be accepted.
  • Technical: Must satisfy our technical requirements.
AMV room being loadedThe crowd

Entry types

AMV entries

  • Length: 60 sec minimum, 6 min maximum.
  • Audio: Must be primarily music (minimal dialogue/narration).
  • Suggested Content: Tell a story, create emotion, showcase your editing skills.

Trailer/commercial/intro entries

  • Length: 30 sec minimum, 3 min 30 sec maximum.
  • Audio: Dialogue and narration allowed.
  • Suggested Content: Hype videos, promotional style, intro sequences.

General rules

  • Only two (2) entries will be accepted per individual regardless if submitted as part of a group or not.
  • Previously released videos (i.e. AMVs shown publicly at other contests or downloadable on the internet) must not have premiered prior to June 1, 2026 to qualify.
  • Dishonesty, plagiarism of other AMVs (in whole or in part), or any actions that cause grief or dishonour to the event or to others may result in the offender being excluded from future Otafest AMV activities. Severe cases may result in banishment from all Otafest events.
  • The content and context of each entry must be suitable for an age 14+ audience. This includes (but is not limited to) gore, vulgar language, nudity, heavy sexual innuendo, and material that is demeaning, demoralizing, or debasing.
  • Entries that use footage containing subtitles, watermarks, text, studio logos or graphic overlays may be disqualified. Exceptions may be granted if such usage is intentional and plainly necessary to the video's concept.
  • Entries that include any inextricable credits, bumpers or slates will be disqualified. Otafest will create custom-designed titles.
  • The majority of the entry's video content must consist of animated content. Content can be anime-styled, manga-styled, or any other animation sources that also fit the spirit of the event.
  • The audio content of all AMV entries must primarily be music. Entries with an excess of non-musical content (i.e. narration or dialogue) may be disqualified. Trailers, commercials, and intros are exempt from this rule.
  • Entries that are primarily a reel of multiple unrelated and random micro-AMVs (AKA: AMV-Hell styled entries) are not eligible.
  • All entries must meet the requirements listed in the Technical Requirements section below.
  • No music and/or dialogue generated by Machine Learning technologies (AI) or voice-cloning technologies (deepfake audio).
  • Entries created using Machine Learning technologies (AI) and not the creation of the entrant will be disqualified unless satisfactory details on how it is used are provided.
  • Otafest AMV staff and contest judges are ineligible to compete.
  • Entrants unconditionally grant us eternal, irrevocable, and limitless permission to use, copy, share, and exhibit your submission(s) in any way including for purposes and usages outside of or unrelated to this event, and you grant this permission with no expectation of compensation, remuneration, or any form of obligation from us of any kind.
  • The AMV Contest Coordinator and Judges' interpretation and implementation of the rules and contest winners are final. All judging methods and decisions are final. Otafest reserves the right not to show entries for any reason.

Technical requirements

  • File Format: MP4
  • Video Codec: H.264/AVC 8-bit
  • Resolution: 1080p (don't upscale to 4K)
  • File Size: 450 MB or smaller
  • Audio Level: Normalized to -0.5 dB peak
  • Bookends: 1 second of black silence at start and end

Do NOT submit entries with:

  • Next-gen codecs (10-bit, AV1, H.265/HEVC, HDR)
  • 4K resolution
  • Excessively large files
For the convenience of our judges, we reserve the right to transcode any entries to fit the above recommendations.

Quality metrics

The following issues are considered technical flaws.

Video issues

  • Interlacing
  • Squashed/stretched aspect ratios or improper letterboxing/matting
  • Blocky or chunky video
  • Color banding (i.e. color gradients caused by video re-compression)
  • Heavily aliased/jagged lines
  • Low resolution entries (minimum 720p for sources officially released in HD; 480p for sources that were never released in HD)

Audio issues

  • Audible distortion or clipping
  • Levels too low, overdriven, or clipped (we recommend normalizing to -0.5db peak)
  • Low sample-rate/bitrate
  • Audible jumps from flawed edits
  • Pitch-shifted or speed-adjusted audio (unless by obvious artistic necessity)

Entries that require a strange or unusual degree of difficulty to work with are considered technically flawed.

If you have questions about these technical requirements, please email us at amv@otafest.com

AMV room

Contest format

Since the contest runs 2 hours, all accepted entries will be pre-screened by a panel of judges to determine finalists.

Finalist videos will be shown during the main contest event at Otafest, where both judges and the audience will vote for their favorites.

Submission

In order to submit your entries, you will need to enter all the required information into the online form (link below) and provide a link for us to download your video.

Videos are accepted via third party upload sites (i.e., web links, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) so long as they do not require us to register to access. Links to streaming only sites such as YouTube are not accepted.

If you have questions, please email us at amv@otafest.com.

Submit Your Entry