• Disregard for one of the few rules that we have.
• Use of long clips or sequences with minimal or no editing.
• Lingering, uneventful shots that don't change with the music.
• Too many talking heads (constant mouth movement without hearing the dialogue or, in the case of musicals, singing).
• Lack of a steady, consistent pace, buildup, timing and/or visual flow (particularly as it relates to the music being used).
• Too much scene/shot repetition without a thematic purpose.
• A convoluted storyline, lack of a theme, or too many filler clips (ie. just a bunch of random shots or scenes that you happen to like).
• Choppy or jarring transitions that aren't done for thematic reasons.
• An overabundance of effects, textures or campy transitions that serve no real purpose and/or make the video hard to see or appreciate.
• Excessive and dizzying in-shot motion effects.
• Videos that grow repetitive or fail to hold the viewer's interest.
• Distractingly poor sound (or lack of sound editing altogether) when using dialogue, multiple music tracks or in-song editing.
• Extremely poor quality footage that makes the video hard to see.
• In general, the better your editing is, the better you'll do.
• Entertainment value. Does the video start to drag or does it stay riveting all the way through? Does it hold up after repeated viewings?
• Visual flow and musicality. Do the pacing, motion and tone of the visuals reflect and change with the pacing and tone of the music? Do the transitions move smoothly from one shot to the next? Does your editing style fit with the source, music and theme of the video?
• Use of effects. We're very unimpressed by lots of flashy extras and overlays, unless there's a specific thematic reason for them.
• Shot choices. There should be a clear theme or story that the visuals stick to and build over the course of the song, not just random shots or scenes that you happen to like.
• How does the video stand out (ie. great use of visuals, emotional impact, clever idea, compelling atmosphere, unusual editing approach)?
• General appeal. Can the video be enjoyed by anyone whether or not they know or like the source, or do you have to be a fan to appreciate it?
• Content. General overviews and artistic commentaries are on equal footing as long as the video is well edited and structured as a whole.
• Unusual styles, genres or subject matters. Whether your approach is more commercial or arthouse or anything in between makes no difference as long as it works with the video.
• Lyrics. Unless you're specifically competing in the Lyrical Matching category, we are much more interested in how you build the visuals and story (or theme) with the music rather than the lines of the song.
• Music choice. As long as the audio works for the video, it doesn't matter if it's slow and moody, loud screaming metal, hip-hop or anything else. We don't have to like the music, we just need to like the way it's used.
• Editing programs. We ask to have an idea of any technical limitations you may have had when making the video but otherwise it's irrelevant.
• TV logos, watermarks, text typos/misspellings or inconsistent aspect ratios. We can overlook all of these (within reason).
• Running time. If your video suits the category and is well done, it doesn't matter if it's thirty seconds or ten minutes long.
• Overused songs. Yes, the same old tracks can get tedious but if you use them well, we certainly won't complain.