Czech Accordion OnLine Competition 2021
The Czech Accordion OnLine Competition is an INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR ACCORDIONISTS held under the auspices of the Creative Center of Ostrava, organising the international festival Musical Present. This new competition takes place entirely on Internet.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The international competition for accordion soloists is open to accordionists of all nationalities who comply with the rules. Competition is offered for accordionists in any of these categories:
1) BABY 6-8 years
2) CHILDREN I. 9-11 years
3) CHILDREN II. 12-14 years
4) JUNIOR 15-17 years
5) SENIOR 18 years
6) Virtuoso Entertainment Music (no age limited)
The contestatnts wil be judged based solely on the submitted recordings. The same recording may not be used for other than our competition!
When registering at the event, the candidate must present to the organizers a copy of official birth certificate and valid passport or identity card (then send it in an attachment to adress: accordioncompetition@email.cz). Registration is to be done exclusively through electronic system at the website: www.hudebnisoucasnost.cz
Each candidate must provide at the competition at least 2 original PIECES written for the accordion. In some categories there are complimentary pieces. The total length of the video recording must be limited to the following duration, according to the Category:
1) BABY up to 4 minutes (at least 2 original pieces for accordion of own choice)
2) CHILDREN I. up to 6 minutes (at least 2 original pieces for accordion of own choice)
3) CHILDREN II. up to 9 minutes (at least 2 original pieces for accordion of own choice)
4) JUNIOR up to 12 minutes (1 complimentary piece Jiří Lukeš: Etuda č. 3, own choice, just original pieces written for accordion)
5) SENIOR up to 15 minutes (1 complimentary piece Jan Meisl: Capriccio č. 1, own choice, just original pieces written for accordion)
6) Virtuoso Entertainment Music up to 8 minutes (at least 2 pieces of own choice)
All groups are expected to perform compositions from memory expect the complimentary piece.
Participants must submit video recordings mp4 made exclusively for the purposes of our competition. Audio-only recordings will not be accepted. Video files must be performed by the applicants without interruption and must not be edited in any way, nor any effects should be added. Participants are responsible for ensuring that the video is recorded with good quality (image and sound). Be aware that poor recording quality may interfere with the jury’s ability to review the material. Participants will not be penalized for the quality of your video, but it is very important that the quality is good enough to see and hear the participant clearly. Videos record on your YouTube channel and then sent your link to: accordioncompetition@email.cz
The work of the jury is regulated by special rules. Jury members are selected from a pool of renowned performing artists, conductors, composers, and pedagogues. All judges’ decisions are final. Participants may receive feedback from the judges, via email, upon request.
The number of awards (prizes) is limited, but can be shared if two or more contestants reach the same mark. All contestants will be awarded with diplomas of participation.
Rules of the jury:
- The point evaluation will be in the range of 0-25 points
- The score of a given competitor may differ by a maximum of 5 points
- The judge does not evaluate his own students
- The highest and lowest marks are deleted
- Scoring will be public
Time schedule:
- till 31. 3. 2021 sending of electronic applications
- sending video recordings of all categories till 25 April 2021
- until 10.5. 2021 publication of results
Registration fee:
1st category: 12 euros (300 CZK)
2nd, 3rd, 6th category: 15euro (400 CZK)
4th, 5th category: 20 euros (500 CZK)
Make the payment to the account: Tvůrčí centrum Ostrava: 1644417359/0800, IBAN CZ11 0800 0000 0016 444 1 7359, BIC: GIBACZPX and send a confirmation of payment at the same time as the application to the adress: accordioncompetition@email.cz
Dr. Marcela Kysová-Halmová, president of the competition
more information: accordioncompetition@email.cz
RULES SHOOTING!!!
The impression of your performance will depend on the quality of the video recording!
Everything on the video must be perfect for it to be pleasant to listen and watch!
Here are some important tips that may be helpful to you:
VERTICAL RECORDING
Vertical recording is the wrong way to record video. Vertically recorded video does not look good because it does not fill the entire screen. You have more of a black screen than the video content. Our suggestion is to make sure that you place your mobile device on a tripod in a horizontal position before recording. Do not send a video that was recorded vertically!
BACKGROUND
In many competitors videos, the background is filled with a lot of unnecessary objects, excess details that are distracting. By zooming in on your computer video, you may be uncomfortably surprised by amount of the background details you may not like!
RECORDING AT HOME
If you’re shooting video at home, pay attention to the background the camera is recording. Clean, tidy, without excess unnecessary items, details etc.
PUT THE CAMERA CLOSE TO THE COMPETITOR
If the camera is too far apart, your video will be small, narrowed relative to the player. Position the camera closer to the competitor. Don’t use zooming!
SHOOT WITH LOTS OF LIGHT
Best way to record a video is to shoot in daylight! Ideal lighting is the one we have during the day. At night, the light that fits your eyes will often be too dim for the camera. The shot will not be sharp, there will be very little light.
WINDOW
Avoid shooting against the light, e.g. competitors in front of the window, let the cameraman have the window behind his back. No window or other light source should be seen in the video!
CAMERA DISTANCE FROM THE COMPETITOR
Get the camera closer to the artist and dramatically improve image quality!
SOUND
Do not forget the sound as you think about the picture. Try to avoid unnecessary sounds during recording (talk, sound of entering the room where you are recording, walking, breathing, playing from the next room, car noise…). We do not recommend recording in places with strong acoustics, such as a hall with strong resonance.
Is allowed to use an external microphone (wireless microphone, stereo microphone..)!
HEIGHT OF THE CAMERA IS THE HEIGHT OF THE PICTURE
If a competitor is sitting or standing, lower or raise the camera (tripod) to its level. This also applies to shooting more competitors, it looks better if you lower the camera to their height.
TRIPOD (STAND)
Do not hold your mobile device in your hand, use a tripod! Even if your camera has an image stabilizer, it still can’t measure the physical stability of the tripod. You will be surprised how much better the recording will make. If you don’t have a tripod, then improvise, lean your camera on something.
RECORDING IN 1080p RESOLUTION
Best resolution to us is 1080p! Do not use optical effects (sepia, fast shooting, b / w photo, etc.).
MEMORY, BATTERY AND FLIGHT MODE ON MOBILE DEVICE
Before you start recording, charge the battery and free up memory space on your mobile device. Make sure you turn on the flight mode option before recording, in which case your phone is unavailable for phone calls. Turn off all mobile devices while recording!
TRIAL VIDEO
Make some trial videos a few days or weeks before you want to shoot the final, competitive video. Watch, listen, analyze, to spot any errors.