AbridgedForums Challenge #2 Summer 2012 - Ezekieru [CLOSED]

[Ezekieru]

Alright guys, you've waited an entire month and a Live! event for this moment, and here it is! The second tri-monthly AbridgedForums Challenge, host by moi:

The next one up for this contest is, of course, myself. And I decided on this challenge to push the writing capabilities of all of the abridgers out there, given that everything is so focused on visual gags or the like as the focus of the humor. So this should get a lot of you out of your comfort zone, and hopefully change your writing style for the better.

Everyone who has a membership to the AbridgedForums is elegible to enter. If you don't have one, please make one, and you can enter. All entries must be videos made between today (August 4th) and one month from today (September 4th) September 12th. All contest entries must include the appearing disclaimer in the video description: "Video by _____ for AbridgedForums Spring 2012 Challenge," and must be posted in this thread right here.

And here are the rules for this current challenge, for Dialogue Based Comedy:

1) You may only use one scene. It can be any scene that follows the other rules, but it must not change location throughout the duration of the video. The video must not change in time either; there should be no flashbacks or forwards in time. Just one location, one time.

2) Your scene must have at least two people in the scene, and they must be talking with one another. The point of the challenge is to test your writing abilities, especially on dialogue, the back-and-forth between character. No monologues, please.

3) Absolutely no visual gags. Anything outside of the native footage is not allowed. No masking in additional characters, no still images plastered on as a joke, and no mini-AMVs. Also, I am banning on-screen text to prevent any jokes that might derive from that. The humor must come from the dialogue, and nothing else.

4) Your video must be between 2-6 minutes long. Anything below 2 minutes would not have enough dialogue to suffice as an independent video, while the pacing past 6 minutes will be terribly slow and poorly executed. Therefore, your time limit is this.

5) You may use any 2-D animated show. It can be anime, or it can be Western (Young Justice, Avatar, Avengers, etc.) However, I'm banning live-action or CG-based shows for their difficulty in preserving presentation. I expect some decently edited videos as well as well-written ones, of course.

6) You may work with as many people as possible, but only one person will get the prize. So in that case, I will award bonus points to whoever takes this on as a solo challenge. Meaning you must have written, edited, and voiced it all on your own. Again, it's for bonus points, but is not a requirement.

7) All entries are due one month from today, on September 4th. The winner will be announced on the next month's Live! event, and the next challenge will be announced in November, during the contest winner's appearance.

For examples of what to go for, check out these videos (excluding the visual gags they used):

Now, again, the emphasis of this challenge is how you will establish characters, and how these different characters interact with one another through conversations. I expect this to be your number one priority. As well, given this is my challenge and I am the one judging this, I don't want to see any disastrous editing like there was in the last challenge. Please try to make your videos nice and clean, and make the presentation of it the best you can at this time. I want to see well-edited videos. Of course, this aspect comes second to the writing portion, as I said before.

Prizes for the contest are the same as before: You will receive bragging rights, a special usergroup on the forums (similar to the Donators, with flashiness all around), and an automatic spot on the next AbridgedForums Live! event. It's something to look forward to, if you are a fan of the shows.

Now, if you have any questions on the entries or requirements, please post in this thread and I will answer them accordingly. I'll also build up a FAQ list in order to prevent repeated questions. Again, all entries must be posted in this thread, and you have until Sept. 4th to enter.

Good luck everyone, and have fun!

____________________________________________

FAQs:

Are Sound Effects and Background Music Allowed?
Yes, but remember that the meat of the video should be the dialogue. The joke should not derive from them.

Are Multiple Shots Allowed?
Of course, so long as it doesn't violate any of the established rules.

Can We Submit an Entry and Voice in Other Ones?
I'll allow participants to voice in each other's entries. However, only one person will get the credit per video, so be careful.

Can We Add Additional Characters to the Scene by Masking Them Out and Adding Them In?
No. You must only use the native footage, and only the footage of the scene itself. No outside source may get involved visually.

Can We Include a Musical Number in our Episode?
I'm going to say no on this, as there are many ways for it to go around the concept of the challenge, and I would not want this to be a case-by-case check.

Can Characters Leave or Enter the Scene?
Yes, so long as there are at least two characters in the scene for the vast majority of the video's time. There should be exchanges of dialogue, and no instances of long monologues.

Can the Conversation be Over a Phone or Intercom?
No, both characters must be in the same location.

Can You Use Multiple Episodes, So Long as it's the Same Scene?
Sure, so long as it is the same location and time period.

Can the Source be a Movie/OVA?
Of course, so long as it is animated and following the rest of the rules.

[SkullKidAu]

I'M IN!

[jpace92]

Definitely taking part in this!

[mattroks101]

Yay! Something I'm good at!

[Truthordeal]

I said in the stream that I'm entering. I'm a mod so I can't win, but I really don't care. If half of you people enter it's gonna be an extremely interesting and fun competition. It'll be great practice to attack your weaknesses and step out of your boxes.

But more importantly, I wanna fight. And I wanna fight you guys. So come on and fight me, nerds.

[Christhenerd]

I shall also enter

[Toshikinightfox]

sure ill try

[TheHawk]

I definitely want to enter this. I may have to get a voice actress for what I want though, because my own voice cannot do a falsetto well enough to convey what I want effectively. If my prospective voice actress refuses, then I will change concepts...

[EDIT]
Hey, Background music and SFX are fine, right?

Also we can edit them like the videos up there, except excluding additional visual effects? What I mean is different shots instead of one shot with multiple people talking, as long as it is all within one scene, right?

EX: Cut to Frieza's face for a line, then cut to Goku's face for a line

I know I am overly complicating it, I just want to avoid making mistakes by misinterpreting the rules

[Ezekieru]

SFX and BGM are allowed. Just remember that the meat of the video should be the dialogue. Try not to do fandubbish fight scenes.

Also, multiple shots are also allowed. So long as it is in one setting/time, it's fine.

[TheHawk]

Great!

And don't worry, I won't do any fight scenes in what I have planned. I don't think there are maybe 3 fights in the entire series...

Thanks, I figured we could use multiple shots, but I wanted to make sure.

Also, another question.

Could you have your own entry and voice in someone elses? or vice versa?

[ThroneofCipher]

Hi Salt
Hi Pepper
What do you say we shake things up a bit?
How do you find we do that?
Easy, we just need a hand.

I win. That wasn't so hard.

[Ezekieru]

I'll allow participants to voice in multiple entries, but they can only claim submission for one.

Also Nick, shut your face. =P

[concrete Building]

Alright, my question:

So I've got this idea of masking in a certain character into an electronic device. My idea is to have him as one of the characters who is talking (No, this isn't an escape from 2+ characters, just having him as an additional character).

Since A. I'm still using native footage from the show
B. everything is technically still in the same time and place..

Is this OK?

[Jetstoper]

sound like fun i will do it

[ssdrwh0]

I promised myself that I won't get into another contest after phailing so hard in truth's comp...

but I might consider... >

[LightningCrabz]

Dammit, this is just right up my alley...

If I wasn't so busy with school I'd be all over this...

[DrMircow]

I'm extremely tempted by this since it will definitely help non-English speakers like myself, but I'll be away on holiday soon, so I don't know. I might give it a go just for the experience and practice.

[Ezekieru]

(08-05-2012 02:06 AM)concrete Building Wrote:  Alright, my question:

So I've got this idea of masking in a certain character into an electronic device. My idea is to have him as one of the characters who is talking (No, this isn't an escape from 2+ characters, just having him as an additional character).

Since A. I'm still using native footage from the show
B. everything is technically still in the same time and place..

Is this OK?

No, because the masked out character is not from the native footage of the scene you are using.

So no, masking out characters, even those within the series, are not allowed.

[Airrest]

I'm glad to see so many people excited about doing this one.

I am even considering it as well, granted I have the time. Not sure what I want to do yet, but I've always wanted to do something dialogue-driven, so this'll definitely be fun. Which is what the Challenges are all about. Sure, prizes and stuff are nice, but this is more about giving you a challenge and having fun making videos, just as abridging always has been.

[maddogg91]

I shall enter