Beyond Rules, IMAC#3 MAD Contest

Date: 2025-06-30 Categories: Contest

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INFO CHANGED

1. Due to the small number of submissions and scheduling conflicts with other contests, the contest has been postponed. The original dates of 2025.7.1–2025.10.1 have been changed to 2025.7.1–2025.10.10 at 23:59. This extension includes the National Day and Mid-Autumn golden holidays, so please feel at ease to participate and keep writing! For contestants who have already submitted, you may freely modify and resubmit your entry before the contest deadline. We will collect the latest submission from the same participant. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.

 

2. The contest currently allows multiple submissions of the same work. If you are participating in another contest and also wish to join IMAC, you may submit your work to IMAC as long as it does not violate the rules of the other contest (but you must include the IMAC contest logo).

 

3. The contest has also opened a single-submission channel, meaning you can post your work directly to your personal page. If a contestant makes an individual submission, they may choose to include the tag “IMAC3 MAD大赛.” Currently, both Douyin and Bilibili platforms support individual submissions to compete for the Best View Count Award. (If a contestant achieves the highest view count on both Douyin and Bilibili, they will receive 100 RMB x 2, totaling 200 RMB; if only one platform reaches the highest view count, the prize is 100 RMB.) To be eligible for this award, contestants must include the above tag; otherwise, the work’s traffic will not be counted!! (Note: traffic for individually submitted works is calculated from the moment of individual submission until one week after the contest deadline on October 1, that is, until October 7. This means the minimum traffic tracking period for contestants is one week!) The tag for Douyin is: #IMAC3MAD比赛, and for Bilibili is: IMAC3 MAD大赛.

 

3. After discussion, the contest now allows the following: if you created a work before the contest start date (7.1) and finished it before the contest began, or if you completed it after the contest started, then for the former you may make slight adjustments and upload it to participate, and for the latter you may submit it directly to the contest. (Reason for this change: as a new contest, IMAC did not initially consider such detailed situations. Since this contest is not a strongly themed IC in the traditional sense, we believe this submission method is acceptable. We sincerely regret any inconvenience caused.)

 

4. The number of shortlisted works for the contest has been adjusted as follows: 30 shortlisted entries for short edits and 20 shortlisted entries for pure edits.

Afterword

For more details not covered in this document, as well as other questions or full contest rules, please check the contest group. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, feel free to contact the contest organizer: 1mahara. Wishing everyone great results. Keep writing, Beyond The Rules!

Preface

Please read this article carefully!!! Please read this article carefully!!! Please read this article carefully!!!
Do not ask the officials questions before finishing reading (if you do, I’ll be angry and exercise my "right to scold"). This contest is sponsored by Douyin: FUNAI and 心系小雨, and organized by Imahara Club. Please be mindful of your language from the start of the contest until the results are announced. Any extreme remarks (including but not limited to personal attacks on judges, inappropriate comments during the judging period, disrespect toward other participants, etc.) will result in disqualification and a permanent ban from all future IMAC-related contests. Please show your friendly side. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the event organizers. Thank you all for your cooperation!

Official Contest Group

(Please make sure to join first~)

Contest Theme

After combining our related questionnaire results and conducting an in-depth exploration, we found that participants seem to have strong opinions about this contest. Therefore, we have decided not to restrict the overall style direction of the contest. On this basis, please create your work with “creativity” as the main theme. There are no strict limits on what creativity means here — it could be a fusion of multiple styles, a blend of various anime, or even an innovation in technique. In short, unleash your wild imagination: creativity comes first, skill second. Please feel free to take bold steps and let your pen lead the way!

Contest Schedule

The contest start time is: 00:00, July 1, 2025
The contest submission deadline is: 00:00, October 1, 2025
The contest judging period is: October 3, 2025 to October 8, 2025
The results and compilation release time are tentative...
We do not intend to make the scoring and review process public. Judges may choose freely whether to conduct public reviews individually or as a panel. However, Imahara will hold a live review session at 7 PM on October 4, 2025 (Imahara will not participate in scoring as a judge, but only as the event organizer together with the sponsor FUNAI to select the best xx award submissions and carry out the sponsor's scoring process). Therefore, judges do not participate in the selection of the best awards. Details on sponsor scoring and other contest score planning and specific rules are explained below.
The contest lasts for three months, including the prime summer period. Please create to your heart’s content!

Prize and Rewards Information

The total prize pool for this contest is over 7,500 yuan, including 7 Best Awards and numerous participation prizes. As long as you participate, you will basically receive a participation reward~ (The specific distribution of participation rewards depends on the final number of participants and submissions) The 7 Best Awards can be combined with the prize money for ranking participants (we believe that those with strength deserve recognition — if you’re going to play, play big!). Below is the detailed prize distribution.
Short-Clip Category (For IMAC#3’s definition of short-clip, please see below)
First Prize: 1800 yuan plus an IMAC-chan figure and a set of peripherals
Second Prize: 1000 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Third Prize: 700 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Pure Editing Category (For IMAC#3’s definition of pure editing, please see below)
First Prize: 1200 yuan plus an IMAC-chan figure and a set of peripherals
Second Prize: 800 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Third Prize: 500 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Best Awards
Best Still Image Award: 200 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Best Emotional Expression Award: 200 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Best Special Effects and Compositing Award: 200 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Best Newcomer Award: 200 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Best Creativity Award: 300 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Best Storytelling Award: 200 yuan plus a set of peripherals
Best Action Award: 200 yuan plus a set of peripherals

Participation Awards

We offer peripheral rewards to the top 50 finalists. Except for those who have won the above awards, all other finalists will receive a set of peripherals (including a standee and a badge). Although it is just a souvenir, we still hope everyone has fun~

A Little Perk

During the live review day, we will randomly roll out a set of commemorative peripherals (badge and standee) identical to those received by the finalists.

We hope everyone will support and have fun—maybe you’ll be the lucky one!

Detailed Contest Scoring Plan

This contest uses an open selection system and features two categories: Short-Clip Category and Pure Editing Category. In IMAC, all AMV, AMSV, style-based works (including but not limited to INS style, Candy, Fx, Vfx, Flow, etc.), PV, still image style, etc. are defined as Short-Clip. All other styles outside of these are defined as Pure Editing (long-form anime edits with some compositing and special effects, commonly found on Bilibili). If after all this you still don't understand, feel free to come and argue (consult) with Imahara.
Short-Clip Scoring Criteria:
Special Effects and Compositing — 10 points
Assessment Focus: Evaluate the special effects and compositing of the work, rated from 0 to 10 points. This aims to assess the participant's aesthetic sense and effective use of these elements. In this scoring category, compositing refers to most types of compositing, including overall color grading or atmosphere.
In this IMAC, “special effects” refer to the creation and application of most effects or graphics, assessing the contestant’s overall aesthetic sense.
Shot Transition Smoothness — 10 points (For still image works, this category is replaced by "Emotional and Storytelling Expression")
Assessment Focus: Score the overall appropriateness of shot selection or production in the work, aiming to evaluate the participant’s control over smooth shot transitions. (For still image works, this assesses how well the participant conveys emotions and expresses the storyline.)
Work Completion — 10 points
Assessment Focus: This item requires no further explanation.
Do You Really Have Creativity? — 10 points
Assessment Focus: This scoring item is one of the unique features of this IMAC, aligned with the contest’s theme and original intent. It aims to evaluate whether the participant has applied the corresponding expressive language in their work. Both effects and other aspects can be considered for scoring.
I’m giving you a Green Light! — 10 points
Explanation: This is one of the unique scoring items of IMAC#3, highlighting the greatness of the sponsor! This scoring right belongs exclusively to the major sponsor FUNAI, who can award these 10 points to any participant. The level of favor for each work is rated from 0 to 10 points. What we guarantee is that IMAC has always rejected unfair practices such as bribery or favoritism from friends and family, so please rest assured!
Pure Editing Scoring Criteria:
Emotional and Storytelling Expression — 10 points
Assessment Focus: This scoring category is a fundamental criterion for the pure editing style, aimed at evaluating how well the participant’s work conveys emotions and expresses the storyline. We believe that an excellent pure editing work allows audiences unfamiliar with the referenced anime to still understand its content and emotions.
Shot Transition Smoothness — 10 points
Assessment Focus: For pure editing, smooth transitions are a crucial aspect. We hope to see seamless transitions, whether through effects or hard cuts, with no sense of dissonance. The logical coherence between consecutive shots is also a key factor in assessing smoothness. Even without heavy use of transition effects, logical flow should be well executed.
Work Completion — 10 points
Assessment Focus: This item requires no further explanation.
Do You Really Have Creativity? — 10 points
Assessment Focus: This scoring item is one of the unique features of this IMAC, aligned with the contest’s theme and original intent. It aims to evaluate whether the participant has applied the corresponding expressive language in their work. Both effects and other aspects can be considered for scoring.
I’m giving you a Green Light! — 10 points
Explanation: This is one of the unique scoring items of IMAC#3, highlighting the greatness of the sponsor! This scoring right belongs exclusively to the sponsor FUNAI, who can award these 10 points to any participant. The level of favor for each work is rated from 0 to 10 points. IMAC guarantees a strict rejection of unfair practices such as bribery or favoritism from friends and family, so please rest assured!
This contest adopts an open selection system. The Short-Clip category will select 35 submissions, and the Pure Editing category will select 15 submissions. Each category will have four judges and the major sponsor FUNAI for scoring. Each judge’s scores for every criterion will be averaged, and then the averages of all criteria will be summed to get the judge’s total score. Finally, the sponsor FUNAI’s score will be added to obtain the work’s total score.

About Submissions

1. Short-clip style submissions must be longer than 20 seconds and must not contain any form of loop (loop refers to any form of repetition, including copying and pasting parts of the final video to extend duration or for other purposes).

2. Pure editing style submissions must be longer than 1 minute 30 seconds and must not contain any form of loop (loop refers to any form of repetition, including copying and pasting parts of the final video to extend duration or for other purposes).

3. All submissions must include the contest logo, which can be added to the opening or ending of the video ( or can be artistically integrated into the work in an appropriate manner ).

4. All submissions must have a resolution higher than 1080p. There are no strict restrictions on aspect ratio, as long as it is reasonable. Submissions with low clarity will be returned and require revision.

5. For multi-person (MEP) submissions, the effective duration for short-clip style works must be longer than 30 seconds, and for pure editing style works, the effective duration must be longer than 2 minutes. The number of creators for multi-person submissions must be at least two and no more than six. More detailed guidelines for multi-person submissions can be found in the submission channel (questionnaire).

6. Submissions will be made via Baidu Netdisk. Please refer to the relevant announcements in the group to find the submission link. We will prepare a questionnaire that includes: work title, work Netdisk link, messages to everyone, and other options (for more details, please check the contest group or contact the organizers there).

Judging Panel

Short-Clip Judges
1.纸

2.The Moon Sets Over the City

3.Riding Breeches

4.Dark Line

Pure Editing Judges
1.Leaning Against the Window, Watching Dreams

2.Akiyoru

3.Rice Rhythm

4.Red Moon Wound

About Prizes (Peripherals)

(The above images are for reference only)

Final Remarks

For the best reading experience of this document, please refer to the Word file in the contest group files. For more details and questions not covered in this document, please join the official contest group: 1038521846 to inquire (for details not yet explained here, please join the contest group to learn more). Imahara Club and its organizing members reserve the final right of interpretation. Let us once again give a round of applause to the major sponsor of this contest: FUNAI, and the sponsor: 心系小雨. We wish everyone great results and lots of fun!

Organizer: Imahara Club
Co-Organizer: InFinite Team
Sponsor: FUNAI, 心系小雨
Special Thanks: 4TT, Willis, 纸, Imahara
Putting Pen to Paper: Beyond Rules!

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