2009 Anime-Beta Awards - AWARDS UP!

[iceman57]

Wow, sounds problematic...

Here is a mediation deal, why not open "selections" in the second half of 2010 ?...
Enthousiastic people simply leave here there instant comments because this is still a hot event in mind, and their will for the coming events. Then in six months board staff open a poll and here we go.

At my side I'd be honored to arrange award design

[klet]

I hope future BAs merge sketches and cels together once more. This year's event shows the major caveat of separating them was less entries and the elimination of categories as a result. I miss scrolling down pages with copious images. Of course, whatever happens happens.

I actually prefer the awards to be separate, since it gives sketches more of the recognition they deserve.

If you look at the 2008 awards, the vast majority of the entries were cels. Most categories were completely made up of cels. So, I can't see how splitting the awards was the sole contributing factor to how many people participated, or even really a factor. If anything, it was poor timing (everything ended up rushed b/c it started so late in the year) and the ugliness at the beginning of the awards that turned people away more than anything else. I will agree that the sketch awards affected the normal awards in that they ended so late in the year, so the cel awards ended up starting late and being rushed. So, maybe we should get them finished up a bit quicker, yes?


I like the idea of the sketch and cel awards being separate, and of one main organizer taking care of both shows for the year. Think of it as awards a and b of 2010. As always, though, I prefer that discussion of who will organize to take place a little closer to the event, and that past main organizers only take the main reins again if no one else wants to.


Thanks to all of the organizers this year! Also, thanks to everyone who voted for my pieces! It's the first time in 5 years of entering that one of my cels has won 1st place. So, for anyone who didn't win, don't worry! It'll happen one day!

[iceman57]

A small question : Where are located the awards picture on the website ?

[yoshito]

Thanks everyone for being so patient with me! Awards are finished, labeled and ready to go! Just doing some last minute tweaking to make sure that they are completely compatible for everyone and still of the highest quality. I was having issues earlier with white stray bits still showing up when placed over a cel and that just will not do! Rest assured masses that it's going to have been well worth the wait I guarantee that by the 4th I wil have them zipped and ready for Angelic-Lair to issue out! Life got really hectic with the holidays but since then I've been sure to work double time! Thanks again everyone for participating. I absolutely loved the art and am anxious to be involved next year as well (though hopefully not as much >o< lol)

As far as I can tell it is still the 3rd, even in France. Even then, you have to give A-L the time for them to upload the images.

[iceman57]

Winter time, +1h, I'm impatient to see those awaited preciouuuuuus

[wELCOME cONSUMER]

The postings declaring who's going to run the future events, rather than simply expressing the interest in doing so, come off as territorial pissings. You're calling shotgun on a roadtrip that's happening 6 months and/or 11 months from now.

Individuals who have already contributed to and organized a previous awards should be placed on the list of potentials, but at the bottom. Let some fresh blood get a shot first. Passing this event around the community is exactly what makes this event a product of and for the community. Being on both sides of the event gives you a true appreciation for what the organizers have to go through to make this a success.

[syan]

I'm all for rei heading up the awards if she's interested. This *would* be her first time organizing the awards. Having a volunteer from the start isn't a bad thing, and I don't think rei would turn away help from others. I'm a bit suprised you're commenting on rei 'calling shotgun' in advance WC, since you sorta did that for 2007 awards.

I can understand wanting to get a start on them since it does seem to take a couple months between getting suggestions to announcing winners. Assuming we're keeping the awards split (my preference ), it'd be nice if they were @ 6 months apart, so they don't run into each other as much. Maybe starting the organizing now may be a bit premature, but if the sketch awards are in the spring - to keep the cels in the fall - it wouldn't be too farfetched to see a thread in March. Two months can come quickly though!

[wELCOME cONSUMER]

Syan, if you look back on exactly what I said in 2007, it was nothing like the custody battle that's unfolding here. I didn't say I would do it, we (Zetsuai and myself) said we wanted to. And there was tremendous backlash for that sentiment.

Rei did not say she wanted to, she declared she was going to. She later edited it, I see. And that's a much more reasonable statement than what she originally posted. Nothing wrong with enthusiasm. My post was barely directed at her, it was directed at the apparent ownership of this event.

I agree with you about a thread appearing later, even as early as two months from now. Egos could cool off. There should be distance, considering an Awards just ended. My point was, it does not take 6 months to plan and execute a successful event. Planning and preparing is great but that long is excessive for a task that is not accompanied by a paycheck.

[Olivier]

One more (hopefully constructive) comment, since I have been surprised by something I read here - I think a real misunderstanding has been cleared.

People vote based not necessarily on the artwork, but instead if the scene fits the category which it was entered. [...] I don't vote based on who owns the piece, how much they paid, or how much more detailed it is compared to another. I vote based on the category and if the piece best represents it.

Thanks for this explanation. I have to say I did not realise this before I read your post. If most people vote based on the same criteria I understand the results. It is just not what I thought!
In my mind, if the artwork was accepted it meant it was considered a good enough fit to the category. When I voted, instead I asked myself the following question: "Which of these cels would I most like to have in my collection?". My judgment was solely based on the artwork quality and my attachment to the series the cels were coming from.
Quite frankly, if this is not an artwork contest but a "which item fits best the category name" contest, I don't see the point of it. The awards, as we can all witness, end-up being given to items that may have no artistic value whatsoever, that may even be unidentified, only because they fit an arbitrary category name. Is this what we should value, as cel collectors? Do you buy a cel just because it represents an accessory, a child or a robot, even if it comes from a show you have never even heard of? I don't think so. You buy a cel because you think it is beautiful, comes from a show you like, and that happens to be representing an accessory, a child or a robot.
In addition, this criteria is not always sufficient to make a decision. For example, in the "cute" section, I reckon you chose the cutest cel, fine, but how did you pick a cel for the "children" section, since all submitted cels represent children? I could make the same remark for many categories, including "Background", "Fan art", "Female", "Hanken", "Harmony", "Male", and so on. All submitted cels did fit equally the category name.
This being said, I respect this choice. It is just not mine.

[ReiTheJelly]

My point was, it does not take 6 months to plan and execute a successful event. Planning and preparing is great but that long is excessive for a task that is not accompanied by a paycheck.

Then it is a good thing I'm willing to do this for free. Perhaps it is just my background as a teacher, but it just seems wrong to let the work pile up until the last minute. This just makes people cranky. And, as we have seen in the last few contests, not everything gets done on the desired schedule.


DISCLAIMER: Do not construe the following time-line as my declaration of administrator. It is just to illustrate my point that we might actually want to start thinking about these awards as early as possible, so as to allow the maximum number of A-B members to participate.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

February
--- call for volunteers, allowing for plenty of time for folks to visit the site and decide what they'd like to do.
--- create separate discussions for categories/rules

March/April
--- have webdesigner create website
--- volunteers test the site on multiple makes/models of computers, multiple browsers, and multiple connection types/speeds
--- a single volunteer create an entire set of trophies (even if a category or two get axed during submissions, we'll still have 'em all ahead of time)

May
--- announce the deadlines, rules and categories to everyone, allowing plenty of time for lurkers to visit the site.

June
--- submit artwork (days 1-7)
--- volunteers check entries for errors; owners resubmit artwork (days 8 + 9)
--- voting (days 10 - 16)
--- volunteers double-check tally info and check uploaded awards graphics (day 17)
--- winners announced (day 18

JULY HAS NOTHING SCHEDULED, AS IT IS A VERY BUSY VACATION TIME AND CONTAINS MANY LARGE ANIME CONVENTIONS AROUND THE WORLD.

August/September
--- get new volunteers if needed/wanted (it would be smoother if we used the same volunteers, but I'm open to everyone)
--- website graphics are changed for new awards and site is retested (no need to reinvent the wheel)
--- new trophy graphics created for this awards event

October
--- announce deadlines, rules, etc. (contests get to scanning their art)

November
--- submit artwork (days 1-7)
--- volunteers check entries for errors; owners resubmit artwork if categories get axed (days 8 + 9)
--- voting (days 10 - 16)
--- volunteers double-check tally info and check uploaded awards graphics (day 17)
--- winners announced (day 18


This schedule is an attempt to conflict with no major holidays or anime conventions.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe my brain is just wired to like scheduling for the long-term, but this seems at least reasonable to me. It allows for plenty of time on the part of the participants and the organizers. It allows for lurkers to see the contest and participate -- many people saw the cel awards too late this year.

[iceman57]

It is just not what I thought!
In my mind, if the artwork was accepted it meant it was considered a good enough fit to the category. When I voted, instead I asked myself the following question: "Which of these cels would I most like to have in my collection?". My judgment was solely based on the artwork quality and my attachment to the series the cels were coming from.
Quite frankly, if this is not an artwork contest but a "which item fits best the category name" contest, I don't see the point of it.
The awards, as we can all witness, end-up being given to items that may have no artistic value whatsoever, that may even be unidentified, only because they fit an arbitrary category name. Is this what we should value, as cel collectors? Do you buy a cel just because it represents an accessory, a child or a robot, even if it comes from a show you have never even heard of? I don't think so. You buy a cel because you think it is beautiful, comes from a show you like, and that happens to be representing an accessory, a child or a robot.
In addition, this criteria is not always sufficient to make a decision. For example, in the "cute" section, I reckon you chose the cutest cel, fine, but how did you pick a cel for the "children" section, since all submitted cels represent children? I could make the same remark for many categories, including "Background", "Fan art", "Female", "Hanken", "Harmony", "Male", and so on. All submitted cels did fit equally the category name.
This being said, I respect this choice. It is just not mine.

Private opinion, has to remain private.

This is useless to use the one liner like "it's not just mine" as if this is a strong lobby following the same buying sheme. Collector board ain't an integrist church preeching for a good and not good way to collect, you actually talk like a guru.

Every collector in every collections follows or not rules/way of collect.
Some are compulsive buyers, some are not, some are following a personnal goal, some are following a family goal, some collect just for fun...

They were 65 voters and this ain't a preech to convice voters to follow a settled doctrine. You don't accept the rules, you simply don't participate to the coming 2010 competitions.

Case closed.

[Olivier]

Giving one's opinion is the whole point of a forum. There are obviously several visions to what the Anime-Beta awards should be. I gave mine and if people disagree with me I will simply accept it. Debating is healthy.
You do not have any authority here so please avoid writing stuff like "case closed".
Iceman, it is by attacking people this way that you have been banned from ALL 3 French forums about cel-collecting in less than one year. It is obvious you are being nasty because you are still holding a grudge against me. I suggest you try and be kind for a change.

[iceman57]

it is by attacking people this way that you have been banned from ALL 3 French forums about cel-collecting in less than one year.

Ha ha, I was waiting for this one
You talk about the 40 froggy collectors ?... There are over 900 global here.

You won 2 awards and a bonus award and still gringe teeths that this was not enough because "your" cels were superiors.

Now that an admin wrote down that most of people vote for the best image fitting a word, you now consider that because people follow what you estimate to be a wrong way of selection you lost on your other "not big enough picture to see the details" ?

Damn, they were 15 people without any prize, respect them by not arguing about your missed 4th medal.

About the rest which is private, well yes I certainly had been banned from some boards simply cause dislike this way of diktat to others what is good to collect and what is not.

[sensei]

No comment on the two active issues; just hanging around waiting for the awards to be given out....

[Olivier]

I will stop here too.
Basically I just said "Hey guys, next time how about making a contest that focuses on the artistic quality of the cels, instead of checking whether the cels fit or not with the category name?". Is it bad to make such a suggestion? Why am I being accused of "lobbying", "talking like a guru", "preeching to follow a doctrine", and so on? Calm down Iceman!
I am just curious to see what people think about my idea. After 5 years or so of the same kind of contest, maybe we could change the rules a bit next time, if people feel like it of course.