Rules and Procedures

[Shade]

The 2004 LARPList.com Photo Awards will showcase the best that various LARP groups around the world have worked on during the past year(s). The best LARP Photo Categories are the following:
- Costume/Make-up
- Creature or Monster
- Prop
- Scene/Set
- Action Sequence
- LARP Dude/LARP Babe

Please submit your photos via e-mail to photos@larplist.com. In the e-mail, please enter the following information:
* Your name (and your larplist.com user names if you have one)
* Contact information such as e-mail, instant messenger, etc.
* Photo, either attach in the e-mail or reference a URL. (JPEG format preferred)
* Category for submission (could be in more than one category)
* Captions or comments

Depending on the participation levels of the 2004 Awards, Additional categories may be formed for 2005 and the future awards.
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Voting procedures

A committee made up of members of the larplist.com’s community will select the best 5 entries. Depending on the number of submissions and participants, the Committee may be split up into sub-committees for each of the different categories.

Once the best 5 entries have been selected, public voting will take place to select the best in each category.

If you would like to join a committee, please sign up in the larplist.com forums.
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Submission Due Date: February 29. 2004
Committee Review Due Date: March 15, 2004
Last Day of Voting Date: May 15, 2004 (UPDATED)
LARPer's Choice Voting Deadline: Postponed (UPDATED)
Announcement Date: June 2004 (UPDATED)

[skulik]

Are people on the selection commitee allowed to submit entries?

[Shade]

I'm trying to address that issue. I'll say yes, they can be on the committee and submit an entry. I'll probably limit those people to serve on voting in categories they do not have an entry. Not too sure what I'll do if they have an entry in all the categories.

[Jupe]

Is any kind of editing (adjusting colors, cutting the image) allowed? This was a question of finnish larpers.

I myself think that small things could be allowed if they don't change the general impression of the image. Of course, best scene/set and action sequence should be unmodified pic's.
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Very few rules, very good games and ... Awesome food.

[Shade]

Jupe.

Adjusting color and size is ok. I think we can also allow a bit of artistic "modifications" (special affects) like motion blurs or, in the case of a Star Wars LARP, have the lightsaber "glow".

It should be noted that special affects should not be considered as "value added" when the Selection Committee makes their evaluation.

The key thing is that the photos should be close to the original as possible. Adding additional object or people into the background is not acceptable (i.e. putting a castle in the background when there is not one or adding digital people to make a group look bigger).

[Jupe]

Shade, that was just the thing I was aiming at.
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Very few rules, very good games and ... Awesome food.

[StarMan]

I see a lot of hassle and grief in the allowance of editing. How do you set the limit and more to the point, how can you tell the difference when the picture is editeted a lot or only slightly? Resizing, softening/sharpening/masking, histogram, brightness, gamma and contrast are "normal" editing tools and even used with filmprosessing. Using effects and such is more difficult to draw the line.

It would be better to have a category of its own for (cleary)edited photos. Besides, this might get some very interesting participations.

t:*

[Jupe]

StarMan my fellow finn, remember that this is not dead serious and the commitee can have their own discussions about "what is and what isn't too much editing".
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Very few rules, very good games and ... Awesome food.

[StarMan]

Jupe. True and I'm not saying it should be. Clear and simple rules just do minimize anguish - from committee and partisipants alike (and in games also).

*

[RyanPaddy]

I'm also not keen on adding special effects, but for a different reason.

Let's say I've gone to a great deal of trouble to wire up LED eyes or a glowing UV ghost for a game. Shouldn't those sort of real LARP effects be rewarded over PhotoShop effects that players at the game never saw? How will the judges know the difference, except to ask the submitter which effects are real and which are introduced? I'd prefer to encourage real effects by not allowing fake ones, but of course it's Shade's show.

Righto,

Ryan

[Shade]

So what's the general consensus on having effects? Should we have another category or sub category for pictures with/ without effects? Should we say pictures cannot be modified? How will we know? Even some real in-game effects are not captured properly with photo.

I prefer unaltered photos to show LARP in the "real light". To me, the following categories should be unaltered (without effects):
- Costume/Make-up
- Creature or Monster
- Prop or Weapon
- Scene/Set
- LARP Guy or Gal

In the other hand, I think action scenes can allow some "photoshop effects", though it's not required or preferred.

In the case of editing, brightening, resizing, etc where the photo quality in improved, I think that should be allowed.

[Jupe]

It's called Shade's Larplist, so Shade does the rules... We obey...
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Very few rules, very good games and ... Awesome food.

[angry_bill]

I think we should leave out any kind of editing.

The most interesting LARP moments I've had have been the ones where the visuals of a situation have floored me.

Whether its the death knight in the great helm with glowsticks inside the eyesockets or I swear that I would have been crying like a school girl if I saw Ryans golem walking towards me.

Remember in the LARP on TV thread the downside was things were kinda of "cheesey" and everyone thought that the folks promoting the event should have put more thought into it.

Isn't that the purpose of the Shadies?

To promote this hobby?

And to raise the level of LARPing in general?

Bill
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"Friends are people who know the words to the song in your heart, and sing them back to you when you have forgotten them." -Anonymous

[Jupe]

Fine point, Bill... I don't know if I agree with everything you said about editing, I think it's almost as big part of the current photography than the actual taking of pictures, but we can always rule that we won't allow it here. As I said, Shade is the ultimate judge of this...
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Very few rules, very good games and ... Awesome food.

[Shade]

I agree with you Bill, Ryan's picture of the Golem (which would be in the category of Creature or Monster) would be better shown in it's true light. However, It would suck if the picture was taken, and it turned out too dark. It's nice that we have technology to brighten the picture up so we can see the image better. But putting cheesy effects like glow or motion blur would detract from the photo. That's why those categories I listed below will not allow "special affects" since we DO want to show what we actually see in-game.

As for action sequence, I'll leave it up to the people serving the committee and the voters to decide. As I said before, personally, I do would not prefer any affects. But, I won't discourage it either.