About the Judges
Amber
Vidding Experience: Since June 3, 2006 (I remember because it was Purple Ribbon Day aka Luke and Lorelai's orginal wedding date [Gilmore Girls])
Vidded Fandoms: Gilmore Girls, Doctor Who, Torchwood, real life (that's a fandom right? ;) ), Mansfield Park (2007), and Pushing Daises
Other Fandoms I Enjoy: Heroes (though I completely missed season 2), Sarah Jane Adventures, House, Coupling, Farscape, Randall & Hopkirk: Deceased (2001), Pushing Daisies, Enchanted, The Office, My Boys, Grounded for Life, 8 Simple Rules, M*A*S*H, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Blackpool, North and South, The Big Bang Theory, I really need to stop watching TV. ;)
I enjoy videos that are original in either story or format. I really want the clips and story to match the song/music. My biggest love is seeing a really clever and original clip combination. My biggest pet peeve is overly long or slown down clips, and videos that do not follow the song at all. Respect the music!
April
Vidding Experience: A little over two years, producing 8 videos so far (I'm super-meticulous, aight?)
Vidded Fandoms: Doctor Who, House M.D., and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are my favorites. But I dream up vid ideas for just about everything. I've done a vid for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and am working on an X-Men (live-action movies) vid at the moment.
Other Fandoms I Enjoy: Farscape, Harry Potter, Kill Bill, Lord of the Rings, Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, Boston Legal, X-Files, CSI, and I've just recently discovered Life on Mars and Blackpool.
I love to see videos that stir up genuine emotion. On the technical side, the clips have to match the music. Slow songs, for example, lend well to long clips, while songs with an obvious percussive element or a quicker tempo might do better with shorter clips timed more closely to the music. I can't stand large amounts of strobing-- really, it's visually quite cruel-- or overdone effects that have no purpose to the story.
Emily
Vidding Experience: I've been vidding myself for approximately 2 1/2 years, but have been watching and deconstructing vids for about 4. I provide tutorials and reviews for a number of youtube vidders.
Vidded Fandoms: Torchwood and Doctor Who. There are a number of others I'd love to do, but mine is sadly a shared computer and I'd get slaughtered if I took up any more of the hard-drive!
Other Fandoms I Enjoy: Blackpool, Life on Mars, Charmed, Enchanted, Heroes. That said, I'll enjoy any well-made vid, no matter the fandom!
I'm a huge stickler for technical things. Timing, disjointed clips, differing clip sizes - its all been a part of my own learning journey, and I don't like to see things which disrupt attention from the content of the vid. That said, a blindingly original or inventive approach to storytelling or structure wins big points over technicalities. I view a good vid experience as one where the viewer becomes caught up in the emotion the maker is trying to express, whether that is sorrow, joy or just plain silliness!