August 30th – September 1st, 2024 @ SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, CA

Film and Video Events at SacAnime

The Anime Music Video contest showcases submissions from attendee editors, combining music and clips from anime, video games, and original art. Video entires will be played on Friday and Saturday nights on the Main Events screen, with awards handed out at Closing Ceremonies on Sunday.

The Mini-Movie contest offers a chance for local film makers to really flex their creative muscles, by creating short films based on a randomly chosen theme. Film entries will be screened throughout the weekend by SacAnime attendees.

AMV Contest
Mini-Movie Contest (Summer Only)

AMV Contest

The SacAnime AMV Contest takes place on Friday and Saturday night. Come laugh, cry, or “awwww” at the great entries from our talented contestants, then fill out your ballot to vote for the winners!

General Guidelines
Submissions can be either Competition or Exhibition:

  • Competition – Videos submitted for consideration of an award.
  • Exhibition – Videos submitted only to be played for the audience.

Video Categories

  • Action – Fast paced videos usually showing adventure, action, or horror anime.
  • Drama – Slower videos that show usually more sad or serious situations.
  • Comedy – Videos that make the crowd laugh using hilarious anime or music.
  • Love – Videos that show some sort of love whether that be romantic, parental, or platonic.
  • Fun – Something fun to watch that doesn’t really fit in any of the other categories, including video trailers.

AMV Contest Rules
The AMV Contest is open to all attendees of SacAnime, but the awards will be given out on Sunday at Closing Ceremonies. If you are unsure if you will be attending on Sunday, please contact us to designate a person to pick up possible awards. amvsacanime@gmail.com

Your submission should be MPG or AVI format, in HD. Remember, your video will be displayed on a very large projector screen, so high resolution files will look best. Also, please include your name and the name of the video in the file. (Example: “john_q_smith_naruto_space_battle.avi”)

  • You may submit up to FIVE (5) videos to this contest, either in the same category, or multiple categories.
  • Videos must be between 30 seconds and 4 minutes and 30 seconds in length.
  • No more than 15% of your video may contain live action clips. The rest of your video has to be a type of animation and/or gaming.
  • Editors can not use clips from other people’s AMVs.
  • Any animated clips can be used in the competition, i.e. anime, cartoon, video game etc. Fan art or animation can be used as well, but proof of permission from the original artist must be obtained, and emailed to amvsacanime@gmail.com before videos will be considered.
  • No vulgar language, extreme violence, or sexual themes. The AMV staff reserve the right to disqualify any video they deem in poor taste. WHEN IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT OUT.
  • Do not include title bumpers to your videos. We will be adding uniform title bumpers to each video shown in the contest. If your video is submitted with a title bumper, we will ask you to resubmit the video without the bumper. We are not responsible for late entries due to re-editing time.
  • Do not submit videos that include subtitles, watermarks, or other logos not associated with the video. (I.E. no subtitles unless it is important to the video and no Cartoon Network/Disney/TV Tokyo logos etc.).
  • No videos shown at a previous SacAnime AMV contest are allowed to be entered again. If you entered a video in the past but it did not make it into competition or exhibition you are allowed to resubmit it.

SacAnime AMV staff reserves the right to make changes to these rules at any time.

For question about the AMV Contest, please email: amvsacanime@gmail.com

AMV Submission Form
Submissions close March 2nd, 11:59 PM PST.

When you submit a video you will get a confirmation email within 24 hours. If you do not get a confirmation email, please contact us at: amvsacanime@gmail.com

Want editing tips? Check out the AMV Contest Guide.

Previous SacAnime AMV Contest Submissions

Mini-Movie Contest – Summer Only

The Mini-Movie Contest is open to all attendees of SacAnime, but the awards will be given out on Sunday at Closing Ceremonies. If you are unsure if you will be attending on Sunday, please designate a person to pick up any awards. SacAnime will not ship awards or prizes.

The theme for the contest will be announced when the submission form is released. (Films that do not reference the chosen theme will not be shown during the show weekend.) The genre of film is entirely up to you. (Comedy, Reality Show, …Infomercial?)

Your submission should be MPG or AVI format, in HD. Remember, your video will be displayed on a large projector screen, so high resolution files will look best. All submissions will be screened by SacAnime, and editors may be asked to make revisions if content is deemed inappropriate for general audiences.

Mini-Movie Rules

  • Completed film length, including title and credits cannot exceed five (5) minutes.
  • All original content – your film cannot contain clips, sound bytes, or audio/video excepts from other published works.
  • Any music used in your film must be licensed for use by you, (be prepared to show proof) or your original creation.
  • No explicit language, sexual content, or extreme violence.
  • No drug references.
  • Subtitles are allowed.