THE SEXIEST® - The Judging Panel & Process

I have been asked to organise the judging of this year’s THE SEXIEST^® adult machinima competition and am very happy to do so.

Needless to say, none of my own films will be entered into the competition.

This blog-post describes the judging process itself and gives a little information about the Judging Panel.

The Judging Panel

The judging panel comprises thirteen experienced SL residents – myself and twelve others.

There are five females and eight males on the panel. Invites were sent to four other females - two who politely declined and two who did not respond.

The Panel is made up of an array of digital artists, web designers, film makers, content creators, club owners, photographers and fans/users of adult content.

Each judge is experienced within their own field as well as being experienced and knowledgeable about Second Life in general.

I have personally picked and invited each of the other twelve judges. At no time has anyone “suggested” the names of potential judges to me, nor would I have taken any notice if anyone had. The choice of judges has been mine and mine alone.

As Chair of the Judging Panel, under the normal course of events I do not vote.

Having formed the judging panel, my role now is simply to correlate the other judges’ votes and determine the eventual winners. The only circumstances where I might be required to cast a vote are described below.

Furthermore, only I know who has is on the Judging Panel – no one else. Even the judges themselves do not know who else is on the Panel!

The judges’ names will be publically announced the day before the Award Ceremony.

The judges & I are committed to providing a fair contest where each film has an equal hearing and chance of winning.

The Judging Process

The judging process is divided into two rounds.

·                    In Round 1, we determine the five “nominees” from all entrants in each film category. These nominees go forward to Round 2.

·                    In Round 2, we determine which of the five nominated films wins the category.

-         Round 1

THE SEXIEST^® contest is divided into twelve categories: “Best Film”, “Best Director”, “Best Oral” and so on.

In Round 1, each of the judges assesses the “Best Film” plus four other categories.

Each category has *at least* four (but usually more) judges assigned to it and “Best Film” obviously has twelve.

Each judge watches all the films that have been entered into the categories they have been assigned and reports the five that they wish to go through to Round 2, in order #1 to #5.

I will then determine the five nominees per category as follows:

A 1^st placed film is awarded 6 points, a 2^nd placed 4 points, a 3^rd 3 points, 4^th 2 and 5^th placed 1 point.

All the marks from all the judges assessing that particular category are added up and the highest scoring five films go through to Round 2. These five films become the categories’  “nominees”.

If there is a tie for the 5^th placed film in any given category then I have a casting vote to decide which of the drawn films goes through to Round 2.

-         Round 2

In Round 2, we introduce a marking/scorecard system.

Each judge is assigned the “Best Film” category plus four other. The four categories they are given will be different to the four they were assigned in Round 1.

Again, each category has *at least* four (but usually more) judges assigned to it. “Best Film” has all twelve judges scoring it.

The judges watch the five nominated films in the categories they have been assigned and score each film in the following areas:

·                    Technique – scores the films on factors which include camera control, lag control, pose ball editing, hair and clothes clipping etc.

·                    Composition – scores the films on factors which include how the film looks overall, how the shot is framed, colour management, Windlight, set and scenery design etc.

·                    Post-Production – scores the films on factors which include editing, transitions, titles and introductions, sound management and synchronisation etc.

·                    Category – scores the film based on the appropriateness of the category under which it is entered. For example, “My Lesbian Gangbang” is unlikely to score well here if you entered it into the “Best Male” category!

·                    THE SEXIEST^® - simply scores the film on its overall sexiness.

The judges report back the order in which they rank each film #1 to #5 in these areas for each category.

I will then calculate the results as follows:

6 points will be awarded to a judges’ top ranked film in a specific area, 4 points for the 2^nd ranked, 3 for the 3^rd ranked and 1 point for the 4^th ranked. No consideration is given for their last placed film in a given area.

As such, each judge awards a total of 14 points per area (6 + 4 + 3 + 1), a total of 70 points per category (14 x 5). A judge can award a maximum of 30 points to a single film per category (Five 1^st place rankings, 6 x 5).

The total number of points each of the nominated films has been awarded by all the judges assigned to that category is converted into a percentage score.

The film with the highest percentage is pronounced the winner of the category.In the unlikely event that there is a tie for 1^st place, I will cast a deciding vote.

In actuality, the process is not as complex as it sounds when put into written words. A handy spreadsheet does all the hard work!

This is a “winner takes all” contest. There is no runner up places, nor will the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th placed nominees be announced or made public.

The judges are putting a lot of their own time in to this without any personal reward. Their integrity is unquestioned. I wish to thank them all sincerely.

It remains only to say, good luck to all and may the Best Pornstar win!

Pixie Rain xx