ConnectiCon’s Fanmade Music Video Contest (FMV Contest) is an exhibition and competition of fan-created music videos using any kind of media - anime, cartoons, live action, video games, movies and more! Videos that are chosen as finalists will be screened before an audience during the Friday session of ConnectiCon XXIII. The audience will vote for their favorite videos and the winners will be featured during the Death Match pre-show on Saturday night. Please note changes to this year's guidelines as outlined below.

RULES

Submission Rules

• Any entries that violate the contest rules will be disqualified. You will be entitled to an email stating why your entry was disqualified and you will be given one chance to edit and resubmit your creation. If your resubmitted work still violates the contest rules, you will be notified and you will not be permitted to submit again.
• Your entry must be your own work and no one else's. Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted. If you are caught fraudulently submitting videos, you will be barred from participating in all future ConnectiCon FMV Contests and your information will be shared with the coordinators of other contests, who may take further action at their discretion.
• All entries must be less than one year old as of the date of the 2026 convention.
• Ineligible videos include:
  • Anything first publicly exhibited (uploaded to an online video service) prior to July 17th, 2025.
  • A remastered version of anything previously submitted to ConnectiCon.
• Contestants are limited to a maximum of two videos total and to one video per category, either as a sole creator or part of a collaboration. This DOES NOT include the Fun-Sized category for which we will accept up to 2 additional videos, making for a maximum of 4 entries per contestant. The FMV Contest Coordinator reserves the right to change a video’s category assignment if it more properly fits a different category than the one chosen by the creator.
• All entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on May 15th, 2026.
• By submitting an entry, each contestant agrees:
  • They have read, understand, and will comply with these official rules, and to the extent permitted by law, consent to the use of the entrant's name and/or studio name for purposes of advertising and promotion by ConnectiCon, without further consent, compensation, or approval.
  • By submitting a video to ConnectiCon FMV Contest, the video creator grants ConnectiCon irrevocable permission to exhibit that video. The video creator otherwise retains all rights and responsibilities relating to its creation. Many submissions that are not selected as finalists will likely be featured during the Sunday session in the FMV room.
• We reserve the right to modify these rules at any time without notice.

Use of AI

• This competition is intended to be between human editors using human-created source material, and we at ConnectiCon LLC want to ensure that the FMVs shown meet that criteria. Please use your best judgment in selecting editing techniques and sources for your videos to make certain that this is the case.
• Examples of AI usage that are NOT ALLOWED:
  • Songs or video sources created entirely or mostly by AI
  • AI scene selection, transition creation and auto titling
  • AI for new scene / background creation
• Examples of AI usage that are ALLOWED:
  • AI upscaling, interpolation, or clip detection
  • AI text deletion, scene extension, or rotoscoping
  • Other AI functions that are used to reduce the time taken to perform tedious tasks or enhance the quality of the source material, not creating entirely new material
• If you have any questions regarding AI usage, you may contact the FMV Contest Coordinator.

Editor Rules

• Due to COPPA regulations, applicants must be of age 13 or over to enter. A parent or guardian may enter the contest on behalf of a minor.
• Contestants do not need a ConnectiCon membership to enter the contest.
• ConnectiCon staff members — except those directly involved in planning and running the contest — may enter the FMV Contest.
• United States contestants must have a valid mailing address.
• Contestants who live outside the United States must choose one of the following options on their submission form (in case of winning any awards):
  • You agree to forgo any physical prizes and opt for a printable certificate OR
  • Understanding that we have a limited budget to work with, you agree to pay any outstanding shipping costs for us to ship physical prizes to you.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Entries may not be shorter than 30 seconds, nor longer than five minutes.
• Your initial submission must be linked via Google Drive (make sure Link Sharing stays enabled until July 17th, 2025 (!)), Dropbox or SendSpace. The following file extensions are preferred: AVI, MP4, and MOV
• For best results, we recommend a resolution setting of 1280x720 or 1920x1080 for widescreen [16:9], and 960x720 or 1440x1080 for fullscreen [4:3]. Please ensure your videos have appropriate frame rate settings and high quality audio.

• The maximum file size of each entry is 1 GB. There are online tools available to compress the file size of videos that are too large (an example would be Flixier).
• Videos that have significant video or audio quality issues may be disqualified depending on the severity. Examples of issues that qualify include interlacing, squashed/stretched aspect ratios, chunky/blocky video, jagged lines, and audio distortion.

CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

• Video footage can be motion-capture from any source - cartoons, anime, video games, or a live-action drama/movie/series. Cosplay skits, as well as motions and animations to comic/manga/manhwa panels are also acceptable.
• Footage of active game play from a video game where the game interface is visible is not acceptable.
• Footage recorded from live TV broadcasts is eligible, but not encouraged, as it frequently contains watermarks and is often of lower quality.
• Footage may not contain ANY watermarks, commercial subtitles, title screens, logos, credits or introductions.
• Editors may add their own subtitles where appropriate, but many find these distracting and thus they may reduce the chances of an entry being a finalist.
• At least 75% of the entry must be set to music. Spoken language, including English dub audio, is permissible as long as it (1) constitutes 25% or less of the total audio run time OR (2) is edited over background music in a transformative way. This rule does not apply to parodies or videos that qualify for the “Fun-Sized” (short-form) category. The FMV Contest Coordinator reserves the right to determine if a video containing spoken audio adheres to the spirit of transformative content.
• Videos may not be collections of shorts. "AMV Hell"–style videos are not eligible for entry to the contest.
• Entries must conform to CARA PG-13 rating standards as defined in the official ratings guidelines. If you are unsure if your video is compliant, please contact the FMV Contest Coordinator. In particular, there should be no sexually oriented nudity and violence should not be excessive, gratuitous, or constant.

CATEGORIES

Action — Videos that feature adrenaline. Whether through combat, competition, or just plain speed, these are the videos that get the heart pumping faster

Drama/Sentiments — Videos that tell a story, tug at the heartstrings, or feature an emotion such as sadness, nostalgia, or anger

Comedy/Parody — Videos that make you happy and laugh out loud; original and/or parody movie trailers, commercials, or opening credit sequences

Romance — Videos about romantic relationships and/or the love that a person feels for someone or something else

Upbeat/Dance — Videos that make you want to get up and dance; featuring fast-paced, catchy music

Fun-Sized — Any and all short-form content under 90 seconds in length

• Please note that Tik-Tok formatted [vertical] videos will not be accepted - your entry must still meet the basic technical guidelines as outlined above.

AWARDS

Audience Voted

Best Action

Best Drama/Sentiments

Best Comedy/Parody

Best Fun-Sized

Best Romance

Best Upbeat/Dance

Judges Awards

Best Concept — The best-executed idea behind a video

Best Editing — The best technical accomplishment in editing

Judges Choice — The favorite video of the panel of judges

SilkAMV’s Choice — All videos that qualify for the contest are eligible to win this award; it is not restricted to only the finalists

Coordinator's Choice — All videos that qualify for the contest are eligible to win this award; it is not restricted to only the finalists

Connecticut’s Choice — All videos that qualify for the contest and are made by a creator who is a Connecticut resident are eligible to win this award

Best Of Show — Will be determined by a combination of judges and audience votes

PRIZES

• All prizes for awards will be mailed out after the convention by November 1st, 2026. Prizes are subject to yearly availability as well as the ranking of awards, but all will include:
  • Various ConnectiCon merchandise
  • Award plaque

The winner of Best Of Show will receive a complementary 2027 ConnectiCon membership voucher.

FINAL GUIDELINES

• If you do not receive a confirmation email or other communication from us by May 31st, 2026, we may have incorrect contact information. Please reach out to the FMV Contest Coordinator.
• All entries are prescreened by ConnectiCon staff and then judged by a panel of both FMV editors and non-editors to determine five finalist videos per category to be shown at the convention. The finalists will be announced in a ConnectiCon XXIII newsletter email, social media, and AnimeMusicVideos.Org prior to the convention. Finalists themselves will also get a separate email announcing their selection.
• ConnectiCon schedules overflow screenings on Sunday for entries not selected as finalists. We will show as many videos as time allows, but cannot guarantee that all videos will be shown.

HOW TO APPLY

Entries may be submitted by filling out the electronic form below beginning February 15th, 2026.