HEY! AT LONG LAST!!

First off, we again want to express our deep, deep gratitude for all the time, effort, thought and passion that went into all of the contest entries. The diverse range of approaches, depth of creativity, and sheer quality of the submissions left us truly humbled.

Because we were so blown away and because it was so painful having to narrow it all down to only 3 finalists, we have decided to throw ANOTHER $1800.00 into the kitty and hand out an ADDITIONAL 15 AWARDS and CASH PRIZES.

Just our small way of sincerely saying thanks.

There are AT LEAST A DOZEN that we would be honored to use as the open for our actual show. If we were already off the ground and established we would simply choose them all and air a different one for each episode. To make our ultimate decisions, this week we assembled our dream-team Video Vinyl Jury of Musicians, Filmmakers, Graphic Designers, TV Producers, Music Journalists, and Film Critics. To the person, every member of the jury said it was EXTREMELY difficult to make their choices.

We went into the contest with absolutely no pre-conceived notions or expectations. We wanted everyone to feel free to stretch their wings and go with their guts. In judging them all, however, a few elements came up that the jury repeatedly gravitated towards. Those were: (1) Displaying the show name early and often, (2) Letting viewers know the program is related to music, and (3) Demonstrating an appreciation of the world of music & videos.


To that end, our GRAND PRIZE WINNER is “The Video Vinyl Factory” by PATRICK LONGSTRETH!!

http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/UNC_VPns/the_video_vinyl_factory/

Every single object in his entry relates to music or music videos in some manner: from the subtle guitars and drum hardware in the background, to the giant headphone press, to the amazing conveyor belt references. For those who are wondering what those items on the assembly line are, here are just a few of the ones we were able to recognize:

• The Rorschach inkblots from Gnarls Barkley “Crazy”
• The kick drums from Gondry's White Stripes “Hardest Button to Button”
• The yellow tube from Red Hot Chili Peppers' “Can't Stop”
• A perfect replica of the Robot from the Beastie Boys “Intergalactic,” and their police car from “Sabotage”
• The treadmills from OKGO's “Here It Goes Again”
• The two early CGI-style appliance delivery guys from Dire Straits' “Money For Nothing”:
• The skinless angel from Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box,” and the dog from “Come As You Are.”

The level of detail on the graphics work is absolutely top-notch as well, from the fluidity of the motion, to the great 3-Dimensional design, to the extra touches like the reflections both on and of the TV screen.

Simply Great.


NEXT our FIRST RUNNER-UP AWARD goes to “Shiny Object Intro Submission” by SHINY OBJECT!
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/jPhoP-_k/shiny_object_intro_submission/

This was obviously a ton of work and made nearly every judge’s top 3 or top 5 picks. It moves extremely well and fluidly, has a great energetic pace to it, and is jam packed with references to music. We really liked the concept behind the ending sequence with all of the cultural images being broadcast through the air and stimulating activity in the viewer’s mind. That is exactly what we strive for the show to do. Extra points for tracking down all the indie label logos.


Our SECOND RUNNER-UP AWARD goes to PHILIPP BELOV’s “Video Vinyl Opener!”
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/krsYU46s/video_vinyl_opener/

All the way from Moscow, this one was probably the most professional and slick of the bunch. Lots to chew on for the true Motion Graphics aficionados. The opening DVD player screen and other music imagery set a great tone and really take the viewer on a 3-dimensional journey. It also found a creative way of injecting the catch-phrase into the intro without making it seem overbearing or hokey.

Congratulations One And All!!


NOW we have several additional awards and prizes to give out!!

(Please note that we will post our detailed comments and feedback on these and every single other submission on Sunday. We just didn’t want to hold the announcements any longer.)


First we have two “Producer’s Choice Awards” of $250.00 each:


Those go to:
Brian Kinkley’s “Video Vinyl Submission”
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/skMCsI3U/video_vinyl_submission/


Darren Rawlings’ “VIDEO VINYL_intro www.rawls.ca”
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/n8FJ2wRw/video_vinyl_intro_wwwrawlsca/


Next we have 13 “Honorable Mentions” in various categories, which will each receive a crisp $100.00.

In no particular order they are:

• “Most Heartwarming”: CHris Princic
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/gpR5zFx9/music_reaches_everyone/

• “Most Beautiful in its Simplicity”: firegnat (Jessica Johnson)
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/c-5Is8S4/video_vinyl_intro/

• “Most Humorous”: Jon Strang
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/j9lsqBRL/video_vinyl_intro/

• “Best Old School Artistry”: Alistair Cheyne
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/aMG7VTEn/video_vinyl/

• “Best Animation”: Kevin Peleschak
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/RqPAeLAq/video_vinyl_open/

• “Best Energy”: Roberto Puig
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/-_AnNWZz/video_vinyl_open/

• “Most Creative Use of Logo”: Corey Smithson
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/zOZLpCbv/video_vinyl_intro_contest_entry/

• “Most Cutting Edge”: Francisco Estevez-Bretón
http://www.estevezbreton.com/VideoVinyl-H264.mov

• “Best Use of Color”: Marcus Mullins
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/PFnAuL0z/video_vinyl_show_intro_submission/

• “Best Ride”: Sebastian Hernandez
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/UeMX9CRV/video_vinyl_open/

• “Best Live Action/Editing”: joevideos (Joe Stauffer)
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/8gVkGBZR/video_vinyl_contest_entry/

• “Best Narrative”: justin acree
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/Ds2qp7p1/keep_on_truckin/

• “Most Unique”: jared eberhardt
http://videovinyltv.imeem.com/video/tF0xgCwg/vv_drumb_little_intro/


RIGHT ON!!

Thank you to all who submitted, thanks also to all of you new group members who posted thoughtful comments on the entries, and last but not least, a big thank you to Imeem for making this all possible.

We will be contacting finalists individually about payment stuff, and will post our comments on all the entries on Sunday. We'll keep you updated on the show's development via the Group Page so keep checking back. We may even have a different contest in the Fall.

THANKS SO MUCH!!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

Hey to all you animators, filmmakers, and motion graphics honchos out there who would like a shot at some cash prizes and the opportunity to have your work seen nationally on broadcast television!

We here at Video Vinyl are in a bind. We had been dealing with a fancy-pants motion graphics outfit in Santa Monica for 4 months when they had a shake up in the personnel. Suddenly they were too busy appeasing car companies and other corporations to honor their deal with us.

And we had a deadline looming…

After the stunning quality we encountered helping judge Domino Records’ music video contest for Junior Boys here at imeem, we thought we’d make lemonade and give all you folks a shot at the glory.

Accordingly, we are launching this contest to make a 23 second show open (intro) for our indie music video program.

The Video Vinyl jury will select THREE Finalists:

• The Grand Prize Winner will take home $3000.00 in cash AND

– The chance to have his or her Intro used for the first broadcast season of Video Vinyl!
– If entry is used for the actual series, Winner will receive Full On-Screen Credit.

• The First Runner-Up will receive $1000.00.
• The Second Runner-Up will receive $500.00.

We already have our Logo and Theme Song, the rest is totally up to you…

DOWNLOAD:
- Logo
- Theme Song

HOW TO ENTER

1. Log in to your imeem account (if you don't have one, click here to

sign up).

2. Join the Video Vinyl TV group (that's the one you're in now! Just click the link in the top right)

3. Upload your Intro Video to this page.

4. Encourage friends to check out all the entries and tag/rate/comment

on their favorites.

The DEADLINE for posting entries to the imeem site is:

• 12:00 AM MIDNIGHT, PACIFIC-TIME AT THE END OF THURSDAY MAY 31st !!!!!!!!!

(i.e. if you upload at 12:01 am Pacific on Friday, June 1st, you will be too late by one minute).

So get cracking!

Check out the complete contest guidelines here! (MAKE SURE TO READ THE COMPLETE GUIDELINES!)

ps: It didn't feel appropriate for us to comment on the quality of the individual entries while the contest is still ongoing. But rest assured we will hit you all with mucho detailed feedback once it is all said and done.

Trust us, it is VERY hard to hold our humbled tongues and not immediately rave about each of the amazing, stunning things you all have done.

CHEERS and Good Luck!!