Dear AMV Community,
We know how much time, creativity, and passion you put into your AMVs. That’s exactly why we want to give them the spotlight they deserve.
So grab your editing software, put the finishing touches on your videos, and show us what you’re passionate about. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve just started editing or have been doing it for years. Just like last year, there will be a beginner and an advanced category. This way, everyone has the chance to showcase their work under fair conditions.
Info:
- Exclusive competition
- Beginners and categories
- Submission deadline: October 11, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
- Video length between 1 and 4 minutes
- Anonymous evaluation
Beginners:
All new editors are considered beginners. This means if you have created between 0 and 3 AMVs or have just dived into this fascinating hobby, then you belong in this category. We will take into account the amount of experience you have already gained and how you bring your creative journey to this competition. Whether you’re just starting out or still at the beginning of your editing career, this is your place to shine and develop!
Categories:
This category includes all participants who no longer consider themselves beginners or who are ready to compete with advanced editors, professionals and even veterans based on their experience. If you feel that you have the necessary skill and creativity. In the categories, what matters most to us is the focus and depth of your concepts!
Action & Intensity
This category includes videos that captivate with quick scene changes, rapid cuts, exciting moments or intense action. The focus here is on the energy and dynamics that generate adrenaline or excitement in the viewer.
Keywords: energy, tension, dynamics, speed, fights, rapid cuts, intensity
Emotions & Drama
This category applies to videos that convey emotional depth, dramatic narratives, intense feelings or strong character development. They aim to evoke an emotional response in the viewer such as sadness, love, despair or joy.
Keywords: Emotions, Drama, Romance, Sadness, Despair, Heartbreaking, Strong feelings, Character development, Entertainment, Joy
Creativity, innovation & style/story
This category is about originality, innovative techniques, artistic design or a unique visual aesthetic. It is characterized by new approaches/ideas/story, creative use of editing techniques or visual effects that set the AMV apart from others.
Keywords: Originality, Innovation, Aesthetics, Creative ideas, Visual style, Experimental, Artistic vision, New approaches, Story
IMPORTANT: Please note that you do not have to fulfill all the characteristics of a main category when registering. It is sufficient if your video fulfills only one or some of the mentioned characteristics to fully fit into a certain category. We want to make sure that your video is assigned to the right category based on the aspects that stand out the most.
“Finalists” and “Best of the rest”
If we receive too many submissions, we will unfortunately have to make a selection. However, we will try to show as many AMVs as possible. The finalists are those AMVs that have made it to the finals and are competing for the title.The “Best of the Rest” category includes those videos that narrowly missed making it to the finals but that we definitely don’t want to keep from you, so we’ll be showcasing them separately from the finalists. This breakdown will be announced shortly on Discord.
Prizes:
There will be a winner in the beginners’ category, as well as a crowd favorite.
Each category will have a winner, and a public favorite will be chosen from all the videos.
Additional prizes such as Jury Choice, Best Editing, Best in Show, … etc. will be awarded individually based on the field of participants.
Prizes will be awarded only at the awards ceremony and afterward at the information desk. Prizes that are not claimed will not be mailed to the winners after the convention.
Organizational Info
Competition management: Arcothy B3stEck | Discord: arcothyb3steck
If you have any questions or problems, you can also reach us at amv@hayuko.at.
Apart from that, the Austrian AMV community is super nice and will be happy to help you with general problems or questions about material, video, editing software, etc.
A-AMV Discord: https://cutt.ly/AustrianAMVDiscord
A big thank you to Arrow, who supported us with his graphic talent and designed the banner.
General rules and regulations
Rules for the video
- Video footage:
The video footage may consist of anime, video games, and any other type of animation (cartoons, Disney, stop-motion, etc.). However, it should be noted that the main focus is on the topic of “Anime and Japanese/Asian culture”. We do not wish to exclude Western animation from the contest, but we reserve the right to reject video material if it strays too far from this main focus (e.g. Western video games with no recognizable anime style, Hollywood films with no connection to Japanese/Asian culture, etc.).
It is permitted to use alternative material (this includes, for example, live action or content that does not fit the above rule). However, this may only be included in a maximum of ⅓ of the total video length. If you are unsure whether certain video material is permitted, you are welcome to ask us at any time. - Prohibited material:
As the competition has an age rating of FSK16, the finished video must not contain any content with a higher age rating. You can check the age rating for your video material on the FSK website (https://www.fsk.de/freigaben). Of course, video material with a higher age rating can also be used, as long as the finished AMV censors the problematic scenes enough to guarantee an age rating of FSK16. Conversely, the video material should not be edited in such a way that an FSK16 release is exceeded. - Technical requirements:
The video must have a minimum resolution of 720p and should be submitted in a 16:9, 21:9, or 4:3 aspect ratio. A resolution of 1920 x 1080 is recommended by default, which corresponds to a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Furthermore, the video file should be playable with a standard video player (e.g., VLC Player). To ensure a smooth show, PLEASE submit your AMV in: MP4 with the H264 codec - Reuse of AMVs:
The video must consist exclusively of your own cuts and may not contain any content from AMVs from other editors. - Subtitles / watermarks / third-party logos:
Third-party logos, watermarks and subtitles from the original material should be removed to the best of your ability, as this could have a negative impact on the rating.
However, if the concept of your video requires one of these things, then this rule is of course not relevant for you. - Intro / Outro:
As the competition will be judged anonymously, we ask you not to use an intro/outro for your entry. During the contest, we will do our best to display all relevant information about the video and the editor and give them by name.
Rules for submission
- Accuracy of the submission:
All details of the video material and music used must be correct to the best of your knowledge when submitting the video. - Download link:
We ask you to send the video via a file hosting service (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.).
Please note, however, that you often have to share the link to share the video first so that it can be used by other people. - Number of entries:
Only one AMV entry is permitted per participant and cooperation project. However, passive assistance or feedback does not count as active collaboration on a cooperation project, which means that the editor in question may of course also send in their own video. - Late submissions:
Please stick to the deadline.
Other rules
- Breach of rules:
The competition management reserves the right to disqualify an entry in the event of a breach of the rules. - Publishing the AMV:
AMVs may not be published until after the competition.
FAQ
How many AMVs will be shown on stage?
It is our aim to show all submitted videos on stage. However, depending on the schedule of the event and the number of entries, this is sometimes not possible.
If the number of entries exceeds a certain level, we may not be able to show all AMVs on stage and give priority to the entries with a higher score.
Will I receive a confirmation when you have received my AMV?
We will endeavor to send a confirmation of receipt of your AMV within 72 hours. If you have not received a confirmation message after a longer period of time, please contact us.
However, sometimes the confirmation emails end up in the spam folder, so it always makes sense to check this.
How is the jury made up?
We always try to put together a jury consisting of people who have experience in various aspects of AMVs.
These include:
– Professional or many years of experience with editing
– Participation in many contests and therefore experience with the process of AMV contests
– Experience with a variety of current and popular anime
We endeavor to put together a jury that is as diverse as possible.
How does the jury rate?
Aspects such as originality, first impression, story, effort, execution, editing, choice of scenes, effects, mood/atmosphere, quality and recognition value are evaluated. Points will be awarded in several categories, which will be added up to an overall ranking at the end.
The audience favorite will be chosen by the audience of the convention. The exact procedure may change depending on the convention, but a vote is usually held at the convention after the videos have been shown.
The jury will carry out an anonymous evaluation to the best of their knowledge and will therefore not know the editor of the AMV. Hereby we would like to promote a fair evaluation.
Can I see the AMVs somewhere after the convention?
It is entirely up to the creators whether they make their video publicly accessible. While we will endeavor to publish a list of submissions, it is up to the editors to decide if they want to publish their AMV.
How do I know if my AMV is not too extreme or complies with the rules?
Follow the rules to the best of your ability and there should normally be no breach of the rules. In case of doubt, however, you can contact us at any time and if there has been a breach of the rules, you will be contacted and informed of the exact breach.
If your video contains a rule violation and you can no longer make the video compliant in time, we will gladly give you some extra time to adjust the problematic parts and send us the corrected video.
Will there be feedback on every AMV submission?
If you would like feedback on your entry or information on the scoring, you can contact us and we will endeavor to provide you with the feedback you require.
Is the use of AI tools permitted?
The use of AI tools to help edit the AMV is allowed. Entire video, audio and image material generated by an AI is FORBIDDEN. Examples: Use of Content Aware Fill is okay, but not complete generation of images/auto/clips from e.g. Midjourney, DALL-E etc. etc.
