ANIMCHALLENGE OFFICIAL RULES AND REGULATIONS

Eligibility: Participants must be of legal age at the time of entry. Employees, officers, and directors of the Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and immediate family members (spouse, parent, sibling, child, and spouse of any of the foregoing) or household members of such individuals are not eligible to participate. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.

Contest Period: The contest begins at the time of public (posted on Contest social media accounts) publication of the theme announcement video and ends on the date and time listed on the Contest webpage (“Contest Period”). Entries submitted before or after the Contest Period will not be eligible for consideration.

How to Enter: To enter the contest you must register yourself/team before the end of the registration period as allocated on the 24 Hour Ultimate AnimChallenge Website.

Entries must be submitted before the timer on the 24 Hour Ultimate AnimChallenge Website ends. Entries must be in .mp4 format with .h264 codec.

Entries must be submitted by the individual or designated team captain.. Any character rigs, any medium, and no plagiarism.

If an entry is deemed unsuitable by any means of suggestive, disrespectful, or harmful content, it will be immediately disqualified from the animation challenge. We are committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all participants and viewers.

The following guidelines must be followed:

1. Appropriate Content: Submissions must not contain any explicit or suggestive material, offensive language, nudity, or sexually explicit imagery.
2. Respectful Depictions: Entries should not depict any individual or group in a demeaning or harmful manner. This includes avoiding stereotypes, discrimination, or offensive portrayals based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, or any other characteristic.
3. Avoiding Violence: Animations deemed to feature excessive and/or inappropriate violence, gore, or any form of graphic content will not be accepted.
4. No Hate Speech: Content promoting hate speech, harassment, or any form of harmful behavior towards others is strictly prohibited.
5. Protecting Minors: Submissions must be appropriate for all ages, ensuring that children and young audiences are not exposed to harmful or unsuitable content.
6. Fair use of Copyrightand Intellectual Property: Participants may use copyrighted characters for animation within the AnimChallenge, as this falls under fair use for educational and non-commercial purposes. Entries must be original animations created solely for the challenge, without intent for monetization or commercial distribution. By submitting an entry, participants acknowledge their responsibility to comply with fair use principles, including transformative use and non-commercial intent. Agora Community does not claim any rights over copyrighted characters and encourages respectful use of intellectual property.
7. Review and Disqualification: The company reserves the right to review all submissions and disqualify any entry that violates these guidelines.
8. Maintaining Discretion: The evaluation of the appropriateness of an animation is at the discretion of the company and its appointed judges. Their decision will be final.
9. The use of AI created assets such as voice, music, and sound effects may be accepted, but we highly discourage the use of AI generated video. Voting happens by a team of professional artists and it is at their discretion if AI content is considered in their decision.

By adhering to these updated rules and guidelines, we aim to foster creativity while ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all participants and viewers. Let's work together to make our animation challenge an enjoyable and positive experience for everyone involved.

Selection of Winners: Winners of each main category and the subsidiary category of ‘Most Original’ will be chosen by the internal team of Agora.studio. There will be one winning team per category from all eligible entries received during the Contest Period (see the Prizes section). Winners will be selected based on how well their submission addresses the challenge's three keywords, overall quality of execution, and originality.

A winner from the three main categories (Solo, Duo, and Trio) are also eligible to win the subsidiary categories of Best 2D Animation, Community Favourite and Most Original.

Each of the subsidiary categories will be decided by the following:

Community Favourite will be determined by votes from our community members on the Agora.community website. A playlist of all entries will be posted and the video that has the highest number of “like” (thumbs up) once voting ends will be determined as the winner.

Best 2D Animation will be determined by our special guest judge, Aaron Blaise. This will include any 2D entries submitted in each category.

Participants are allowed to share their entries with their community publicly. The entry selected by the Host will be declared the potential winner.

The odds of being selected depend on the number of eligible entries received. The winners will be notified by email within 31 days following the selection. In the event that a potential winner cannot be contacted, fails to respond within the required time period (if applicable), fails to comply with any other requirement specified in the Official Rules and Regulations document, or if the prize cannot be awarded to the winner for reasons outside of the contest organizer's control, the contest organizer reserves the right to award the prize to the next eligible winner, as determined by the judging criteria.

Prizes: The winner will receive a live, 1-hour long mentorship session with the Host of the Contest. The mentorship session may be used for the winner to ask for feedback on their Contest submission, feedback on other work, or to discuss topics pertaining to professional career development. If the Host is unavailable due to unforeseeable circumstances, the Sponsor will provide a mentoring session of the same length and setting with another host from Agora Community's line up.

Prizes are non-transferable, non-refundable, and no substitutions will be made, except by Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute a prize (or component thereof) with one of comparable or greater value. Any physical prizes (if offered) will be shipped directly by the supplier, and any loss or damage will not be the responsibility of AnimChallenge or Agora.studio.

If a selected winner resides in an area where postage is unavailable, a suitable replacement will be offered by the Sponsor. Due to Quebec law, monetary prizes will not be considered.

General Conditions: By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding in all matters relating to the Contest. Entrants also agree to release, indemnify, and hold harmless Sponsor and its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, or liabilities arising out of or relating to participation in the Contest or the use or misuse of any prize.

By participating in this challenge, entrants also agree to the use of their submission for marketing and/or promotional material for Agora.studio and its initiatives as well as Sponsors of the event.

Health: The 24 Hour Ultimate AnimChallenge is an event for entertainment purposes only. We advise participants to take into consideration their health, both mentally and physically before registering for the challenge.

We in no way imply that you must be awake and present for the duration of the entire 24 hours and urge taking regular breaks and sufficient rest/self-regulation to ensure your health is not compromised. Agora.studio will not be held liable for any injuries incurred as a result of fatigue whilst participating in the challenge. If you do suffer from any pre-disposed medical conditions, consult a professional before undertaking the challenge.

Privacy: Any personal information collected in connection with the Contest will be used by Sponsor in accordance with its privacy policy, which can be found at https://agora.community/privacypolicy. By entering the Contest, entrants agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information as described in the privacy policy.

Disputes: Except where prohibited, entrants agree that any disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Canada Montreal.

Contact Information: If you have any questions about the contest, please contact: info@agora.community