Today we will discuss some common mistakes made by some of our participants. The rules are all stated in the official contest details, but we decided it would be better to tackle these mistakes here one by one to help all of our participants out.

1. “Memorable and eventful life moments”

Many of our participants seem to have missed the theme of our contest. The videos must be about your own memories, events from your life. They cannot be about random or general topics. We are looking for your dazzling moments such as birthdays, weddings, parties and so on. In line with this is our next point…

2. Original pictures and videos
As stated in our terms and conditions, videos and images used in the entry should be original, meaning they should be pictures and videos taken from the events themselves. Again, artworks by participants or by others (such as anime or cartoon images) do not count.

3. Video length

Most of our participants’ entries do not make the minimum 3-minute duration. Even if your videos have 10 or more slides (the minimum number), if the video is less than 3 mins, it is not a valid entry. Here is how to make your videos longer even without increasing the number of slides:

This is a capture of the “Create video” screen. Click the image to see it full-size. At the top left area, you will notice a red circle. This is the area that shows your slides, including the duration of each slide. By default, slides are 5 seconds in length, except when they are videos, in which case the slide will take the length of the video uploaded. To adjust the duration of a slide, type the number of seconds you want the slide to stay on screen. You may add decimals, for instance: 5.3 sec means the slide will stay on screeen for 5 seconds and 3/10 of a second. You may also use the arrows up and down to increase and decrease the duration.

When you adjust the duration of each slide, make sure that the total length of the video adds up to at least 180 seconds.

4. The “dazzling moment” tag

Another mistake that is commonly made is that the tag is not placed properly in the video. Below is a screen capture of the area where the tag is placed:

Click the image to see it full-size. The first red circle shows the space where participants should put the tag. Notice that “dazzling moment” is typed with the ” ” (quotation marks ). Often, users type the tags separately and without the quotation marks, which we cannot allow. Also, remember that only Public videos may join the contest, since we are also judging entries by how popular they are in terms of ratings and comments.

If you have any questions regarding these common mistakes, please email us at dazzling_moment[at]hellokitty.com.

Hello everyone, today we will be discussing our contest’s Judging Criteria. These are the things you need to consider when making your video, so you know just where we will be basing our decision on our winners.

Creativity — Dream Studio features were maximized: use of video, photos, effects and background music can be found in the finished product.

If you spend some time studying Dream Studio, you will learn that there’s a lot more to it than just putting pictures and text. You can use any combination of videos and pictures in your slides, and you can use several effects at the same time. The more you experiment with the effects and functions in Dream Studio, the more unique your video is going to be. Also, you can upload your own MP3s or use the provided music for your videos, but it would be a good idea to choose music that fits the mood of your video!

Mileage — Comment activity and users’ ratings generated during the competition period.

For those who have asked, only public videos may be counted as entries, because we will also be considering the video’s popularity. We will be taking into account the average rating that the video generates and the number of comments it gets. As stated in the contest’s Terms and Conditions, multiple comments by a single user (including those of the participant) will only be counted once, so spamming will not make a difference.

Overall Appeal — The effectiveness of the delivery of the message and the impact of the video to the viewers.

Since out theme is “Memorable and eventful life moments”, we will also take into consideration how clearly participants delivered their dazzling moments. For instance, if the moment was a sad event, then if the participant managed to make the video moving enough to really convey how sad he or she was, then that’s definitely a plus. We will also be considering viewers’ reactions. In this regard, you need to put your artistic and directing skills to work!

This is a rare opportunity for you to share your life memories, show off your creativity, and possibly win one of our great prizes! You don’t get a chance like this so often, so be sure to make the most out of Dream Studio’s features.

We’ve asked a user to submit a video for us to show you as a sample of what we are looking for in this contest. Here is icyrascal’s “A Dazzling Moment”

If you’ll notice, the video is about good memories between a married couple, including the day they met and when they got married. The video has 14 slides, and is 3 mins long, complying with our contests minimum of 10 slides and 3 minutes. Also, you will notice that the Twinkle effect was used a lot in the video.

Remember, your slides do not have to be made purely of videos like this one. You may use any combination of photos and videos, as long as everything adds up to at least 3 minutes, with at least 10 slides. Artworks made by participants or by other people, such as anime and cartoon images, do not count.

In addition to what’s shown in this video, try to use as many effects and text animations as possible, because videos will also be judged by how many of Dream Studio’s features were used in the entry.

This video is just a sample and does not count as an entry for our contest. You can view the video’s page here. Next time, we will discuss the Judging Criteria in detail, so you will know just what to do to get to the top and win any one of our great prizes!

If you have any questions about this video, feel free to email us at dazzling_moment[at]hellokitty.com, or post a question at the Sanriotown forums.

Hello everyone, today we’re gonna go over the details of the prizes at stake in detail. We’re sure many of you are excited to learn about what you could be getting if you’re one of our winners! So, here are the prizes:

For the GRAND PRIZE, we have this dazzling “Holding Heart” Precious Diamond Pendant from our sponsor MaBelleLife. Inspired by the vitality of Love, this is an 18k white gold pendant with a holding heart lock and a beautiful matching key. The pendant has 41 glittering diamonds, a perfect ornament to remind you of Love or even to give to a loved one!

In store for our Most Popular Award recepient, we have this Panasonic VDR-D220 Video Digital Recorder. It has 32x optical zoom, has VGA still picture recording, and records on any 8cm DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R or DVD-R Dual Layer. Ideal for catching more dazzling moments on camera!

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And last but not least, we have this chic pink Sony Cyber-Shot Digital Camera DSC-T10 for our Judges’ Pick. It has 7.2 Megapixels (effective), has an internal memory of 58MB, approximately 250 pictures, and its LCD is 2.5 inches. This time you can take your pictures in style.

All in all the prizes total about $ 2,000 USD (approx. $16,000 HKD). For the winners, prizes will be delivered via courier. So keep those videos coming, one of these prizes could soon be yours!

Before we post about the prizes, we will be posting answers to some questions you may have about our contest. We want to help our participants out as much as we can, so we hope you will really find this FAQ helpful.

Q: How can I join the contest?
A: You must be a registered member of sanriotown.com.

Q: Does my video need to be Hello Kitty or Sanrio-related?
A: NO. The theme is “A Dazzling Moment: It’s your time to shine!” It encourages you to share your most memorable and unforgettable moments. It does not have to be about Hello Kitty or Sanrio. It has to be about you! Your video can be about a birthday celebration, a graduation, summer camp, or any moment that is special to you.

Q: How long should my video be?
A: Your “Dazzling Moment” video must be no less than three (3) minutes long. As a general rule, please do not make a video longer than 10 minutes.

Q: How do I use the “TWINKLE” effect in my video?
A: There is a video tutorial on how to add the twinkle effect. Alternatively, you can find it in the Contest Guidelines page.

Q: How many video entries can I submit to the contest?
A: There is no limit to the number of entries you want to enter. However, it is recommended that you submit just a few entries.

Q: What will I do to make my video an official entry to the competition?
A: Once you save your video, do not forget to put “dazzling moment” (including the quotation marks) in the tags.

Q: How do I get my family and friends to rate and comment to my video entry?
A: After saving your “Dazzling Moment” video, you will be automatically be led to your video page. At the bottom part of the page, you will see this box.

Enter the e-mail addresses of your contacts and don’t forget to add a message like this: “Here’s my video contest entry at sanriotown.com. Please sign up to rate it and add a comment. Thank you.”

Q: Why do I have to sign up to join or rate or comment on a video contest entry?
A: This allows our system to identify you. We also have a general rule that repeat votes/ratings for a particular video will only be counted once.

Q: What are there specific rules on the content of the video?
A: Your should not include offensive materials, violent and explicit/sexual content in your videos. It is also required that the photos and videos you incorporate in your video entry are original.

Q: How will my video be judged?
A: The judging criteria for the Grand Prix are as follows: creativity, mileage, and overall appeal. The Most Popular Award will be based on the users’ ratings and comments, whereas the Judges’ Pick will be based on the overall appeal of the video.

Q: How will I know if I win?
A: The top entries will be posted in the website. Once a final decision has been made, the winners will be notified by e-mail following the end of the contest period.

Q: What are the prizes at stake?

Grand Prix: MabelleLife precious diamond pendant
Most Popular Award: Panasonic Video Digital Recorder (VDR-D220)
Judges’ Pick: Sony Cyber-Shot Digital Camera (DSC-T10 Pink)

Q: If I win, how will I get the prizes?
A: All prizes will be delivered via courier, to whatever part of the world.

If you have other questions, please e-mail us at dazzling_moment[at]hellokitty.com.

Welcome to the official blog for A Dazzling Moment, Dream Studio’s new contest here at Sanrio Town, where all of you have the chance to win a precious diamond pendant from MabelleLife, Hong Kong’s premier online fashion diamond jewelry store! In here we will be giving out details on the contest, so be sure to check back often. To start things out, here are the first things you need to know.

The Prizes:

Grand Prix: Mabelle precious diamond pendant
Most Popular Award: Panasonic Video Digital Recorder (VDR-D220 )
Judges’ Pick: Sony Cyber-Shot Digital Camera (DSC-T10 Pink)

Be sure to use original photos and videos about your own memorable and eventful life moments!

You can view the full contest details by clicking here or any of the images above. be sure to read the Terms and Conditions at the bottom of that page, as there are very important pointers there. We will be posting the details about the prizes in the next entry, and also answers to some questions you might have regarding them. In the meantime, feel free to link back to this blog by using the banners below:

Be sure to link to: http://blog.sanriotown.com/dazzling_moment:hellokitty.com/

That’s all for today. Remember, this contest runs from April 11 to May 31 2007 only, so keep those videos coming! You could be one of our winners!