Coordinator: Sheryl Adsit Oafgirl@aol.com
Videotaped programming at MW*C is provided to creatively further the interests of society through the study of techniques used in television, film, and other media. Videotapes are used productively to further interest and self-expression through the visual arts and literature, and we believe this to be a fair usage not intended as any form of copyright infringement.
The Fannish Video Room at MW*C is for videos made by fans. While these have been predominantly music videos, other forms are also welcomed.
Who May Enter: All video producers must be at least supporting members of MediaWest*Con 30.
Time Limits: There is a limit of 15 minutes per person. This means that individual producers may enter 15 minutes of video; a group of four producers may enter an hour of video all together. This limit is inclusive of any credits.
Scrutiny of Group Production Time Limit: The 15 minute per producer time limit was established in the interest of fairness. Groups such as California Crew were granted an "umbrella" time limit of 15 minutes per group member. Group time must not be unreasonably dominated by a single member of the group, or the videos will not be accepted for competition.
Tape/DVD Preparation: All entries must be in VHS or DVD format. The entry should be the only material on the cassette/disk and should begin within a few seconds of starting the tape/disk. Mature, Gen, and Slash videos must be on separate cassettes/disks. Slash includes same-sex relationships (Queer As Folk, Will & Grace, Oz, etc.). Videos that more than hint about a physical relationship (Slash or Gen) should be labeled Mature.
Entry Procedures: Producers should send Sheryl the list of videos (in the order they appear on the tapes/disks) and specify Song/Title, Fandom/Multi-Fandom, Category, Mature, Gen, or Slash, and total running time of tape/disk. Please include producer names and contact info.
If an entry has not been completed prior to that time, producers must be ready to provide the following information for each individual video: Song/Title, Fandom/Multi-Fandom, Category, Gen or Slash, if Mature (adult) content, and total running time of tape. Slash and Mature videos should be on separate tapes/disks from Gen (general audience) videos. Tape/disk entry info deadline is 11pm Thursday. All tapes and disks must be in the hands of the video competition organizer by 5 pm, Friday.
Failure to follow entry rules may result in disqualification of all videos by that producer or group.
There will be Gen, Mature, and Slash divisions for the categories below. There will be no award in categories in which there are no competing entries.
Slash and Mature videos will be shown in separate groups, both groups will be shown after 9pm.
The Mature rating includes videos of all orientations that are of an adult nature. This would include such "steamy" examples as the Bunnies from Hell "Addicted to Love" Wiseguy video of a dozen years ago (it certainly raised the ambient room temperature back in the old Waverly Room...). Also included would be songs with questionable lyrics, such as "Big Balls" from KOBA-TV -- which was ostensibly about large spheres, but was clearly intended to be a double entendre RE, ahem, manly endowment.
These Mature tapes/disks should be placed on a separate tape/disk, for showing in a separate session after 9pm. The time limit per entry remains 15 minutes per producer, Mature, Slash, and Gen videos combined. Slash and Mature vids will be shown in separate groups, but both groups will be shown after 9pm. This will allow those who do not want to see Slash to leave after Mature vids are played.
If a producer has any question about the rating of a particular video, there will be a screening session Thursday evening in the Fannish Video HQ (my room). It will be open to all producers who want to talk about video topics (not just ratings); this is the place to see if that "artsy" video really says what you want it to.
Definitions of Categories:
Song Interpretation: The basic type of fannish video. The action interprets the title and/or lyrics of the song. This category is divided into Single fandom and Multi-Fandom entries. Outstanding examples of song interpretation are "In the Living Years" (Magnum, P.I.) by California Crew, "Hotel California" (The Prisoner) by Bunnies from Hell, "Holding Out for a Hero" (Multi-Fandom) from a number of producers.
Constructed Reality: This type of video edits together video clips to create an all-new storyline. To date, most have been Multi-Fandom, although there was a very fine Wallace & Gromit single medium constructed reality created to "Something Strange is Happening." Examples are "Centerfield" (multi-baseball game), and "Bohemian Rhapsody" (the detectives convention) -- both by California Crew.
Humorous: These videos are intentionally funny, and can be either single Fandom or Multi-Fandom. Con Dog's "Just When You Need Someone to Turn To" (Beauty & the Beast to the tune of the Sheba cat food commercial) and California Crew's "Trigger Happy" (Multi-Fandom gun footage, including the best use of the royal Moldavian wedding massacre sequence from Dynasty) are outstanding examples.
Original: As the name implies, this is for the occasional foray into original video production. Less than 10% of the video may be "quoted" material from media sources. The subject matter should be of general fannish interest. California Crew created a video to the tune of "Pressure" about a weekend spent editing a fannish video.
Credits: With the rise in video software for personal computers, credits have become more and more sophisticated. This category includes opening and closing credits, as well as any credits between videos.
Video Box/DVD Jewel Case: This category may be entered by anyone with a video box or jewel case. (There need not be any music videos entered.) The inclusion of this category was prompted by the outstanding graphic work of Steele, Inc. - Atlanta Division in boxing their Remington Steele videos.
Flyer: In years past, California Crew and Steele, Inc. -- Atlanta Division have created their own flyers to publicize the contents of their competition videos, independent of the schedule postings of the Fannish Video Competition. We decided to add this Category to the 2000 MW*C Competition to promote creativity among video fen. As with Video Box/Jewel Case, an entrant need not have any actual video(s) to show. This would be an excellent way to showcase that killer video concept that you never got around to making. Entries in the Flyer category would be displayed outside the Fannish Video Room for all to enjoy.
What Happens Next: Competition videos are shown three times over the course of the convention. They are "premiered" during Friday Night Videos, then shown once each on Saturday and Sunday. The order of play is varied during each showing so that no video suffers (or shines) in comparison to any other played before or afterward. Also, the videos are scheduled at different times of day to accommodate as many fans as possible. Gen, Slash, and Mature vids will be scheduled separately; Slash and Mature vids will be shown after 9 pm.
Balloting: Ballots will be available Friday night. Fans may list their favorite three videos in all categories. Three points are awarded for each first place vote, two points for second, and one point for third. In case of a tie for first place in any category, the video receiving the most first place votes will win. Ballots are due at Noon on Monday.
Entry "Fee": There is no monetary fee for entering videos in the competition. However, due to the need for staffing the fannish video room, each producer will be expected to provide one hour of attendance in the room for each 15 minutes of video entered. Thus, a single video producer would be expected to arrange to be in the room for one hour during the convention. A group of four producers with an hour of videos would be expected to provide four hours of coverage. The specific hour(s) would be arranged Friday afternoon, at the time the competition videos are turned in.
MediaWest*Con 23 Fannish Video Competition Awards
The MW*C 22 Fannish Video Competition Awards list was lost to a computer virus. If the data is recovered we will post it.
MediaWest*Con 2001 Fannish Video Competition Awards
MediaWest*Con 20 Fannish Video Competition Awards
This official MediaWest*Con page was updated June 5, 2010