Server & Event Culture

RICE is not for everyone, and that is okay.

It was created as a reward for BentoVid regulars and its community.

New server members are welcome to participate, but know that this event is run differently from most.

• The event is run casually.
• All updates are posted on Discord. There are no email reminders.
• The event is not promoted outside the server, and there are no plans to do so.

Additionally, the coordinator:

• Actively participates in discussions and sometimes video feedback.
• Might submit a video for feedback, but it cannot be voted on or win awards.
• Does not vote outside Omakase.

RICE tries to be accessible to people who want to participate, but the core values behind the event (geared toward server regulars, blind judging, peer review, custom categories) will not change.

RICE aims for every video to receive constructive feedback.

Please read our server guide on how to give, receive, and ask for critique, and for people have never given critique before, try our Musubi Method.

This event provides a forum for feedback from multiple editing peers.
You may hear opinions you disagree with. Assume good intent.

Feedback should reflect only personal experience, not statements about others (e.g. "I noticed..." instead of "Everyone will notice...").

Our server represents many cultures and communities; if feedback is unclear, ask for clarification.
Attacking or disrespecting others' videos or opinions is not acceptable and will have consequences- both from the event and the server as a whole.

Differences in opinions, beliefs, goals, and techniques are normal and discussion and/or debate is encouraged! But respect each other and do not ignore, debase, insult, or disrespect someone just because they are voicing an opinion you do not agree with.
Our server's #1 rule is to not be a jerk! Remember: no one's editing is "wrong."

The contest part of RICE is secondary to the feedback aspect. Categories may be silly. Videos may win because they're funny or "just because."

Watching a ton of videos, leaving a bunch of comments, and of course making cool videos takes a lot of time and effort. We want to reward it!
Even feedback for videos that editors do not plan to change after the event can be useful and applied to future works.
But giving prizes to people based on what type of feedback or how much feedback they give can be problematic for a number of reasons, so RICE has decided to stick with rewarding videos and their concepts instead.

What's problematic about awarding feedback?

Feedback should be catered to each video individually. Giving thorough and useful feedback takes time.

• The amount of words used does not dictate how useful the feedback is.
• The only one who truly knows the worth of the feedback is the person who receives it (did they find it useful?)
• Incentivizing any particular type of feedback, even accidentally, can drastically alter what people are willing to write.
  (Did the person who won "Best Reviewer" last time write mostly positive, critical, or meme-y stuff?)
• Awarding feedback would be the only thing that is not blindly judged in an otherwise completely blind contest.
  You can leave anonymous feedback in RICE, but moderating an event where everyone is anonymous by design would be a nightmare.
• There are a lot of videos. People simply don't have the time to leave feedback on most of them.
  It's easier to dedicate time to making a video over the course of several months for RICE than it is to give feedback to an unknown but usually large number of videos in ~4 weeks.
  Setting aside time to simply watch the videos for voting is difficult. Every year there are people who never finish. Awarding feedback feels like it is devaluing people who cannot commit to whatever the perceived feedback award requirements will be and incentivizing quantity over quality.

The coordinator would personally encourage everyone to give feedback to every video they are comfortably able to, without the added pressure of the comments being competitive.
RICE participants have the freedom to write whatever type of feedback they want, to however many videos they want, without any type of perceived award judgment criteria or competitive rivalry looming overhead.

---

Categories, Voting, & Awards

Once videos are submitted, RICE participants suggest which award categories (and their names) should be used during the event. These can range from common categories like "Drama" to more obscure/funny ones like "Most Dogs."

The top voted-for award names will be the ones that receive awards at the end of the event.
The amount of awards scale with the number of video entries. Each winner of these categories will receive an award certificate. Awards are 5x7" (12.7x17.78cm) cards.

Custom Award Scaling
≤ 49 videos → 7 categories
50 - 70 videos → 9 categories
71+ videos → 11 categories

Permanent Awards

In addition to the above category awards, there are some permanent awards:

• 
  Omurice (オムライス・アワード) - Top Honors
  This is the most-liked video overall, as voted on by RICE participants.
  In next year's RICE, the winner is able to give their own Okonomi award to another video.
  Receives: certificate + sticker

• 
  Omakase (お任せ・アワード) - Coordinator's Choice
  The coordinator awards this to their favorite video.
  Receives: Certificate + Sticker

• 
  Okonomi (お好み・アワード) - Previous Omurice Winner's Choice
  The previous year's winner of Omurice gives this to their favorite video. It is similar to an honorable mention, and may have a different name when awarded.
  Receives: special double-sided certificate + regular award certificate

• 
  Umami (旨味) - Theme
  The Umami is the most-liked themed video. The theme is changed every year and is announced at the end of the previous year's RICE Awards video.
  The coordinator chooses the theme, but the entrants ultimately decide what videos qualify and win Umami.
  Participation in the theme is optional and has no bearing on the other awards.
  Receives: certificate + sticker

• 
  Okazu (おかず・アワード) - Spectators' Choice
  If there are spectators participating, they vote to award the video they liked the most.
  Receives: certificate

• 
  Wandering Samurice (ライス・ア・ロニン) - Wildcard Award
  Entrants nominate videos to this category like any other. However, videos that become finalists in other categories are excluded from Wandering Samurice.
  This award highlights exemplary videos that don't fit elsewhere, giving recognition to quality work that is harder to categorize.
  Receives: certificate + sticker

• 
  Tamago Don (玉子丼) - Top Non-finalist
  Voted on by all RICE entrants, this is awarded to the most-liked video that did not make finals.
  Receives: certificate

Physical Awards

The award certificates are 5x7" (12.7x17.78cm) cards. Every award receives a certificate.
Some permanent awards receive a sticker in addition to the certificate. Those stickers are 4" (10.16cm) on their longest side, except for Omurice, which is 6.5" (16.51cm).

Awards are mailed globally from the USA in an A9-sized envelope. They are considered letter mail and should not be stopped by customs.

Voting Phases

---

Accessibility

Content Warnings (CWs)

CWs, short for "content warnings," are accessibility notices for members sensitive to certain topics.
CWs do not place a judgement on your content or video and they have no effect on awards.

When Hosting RICE Events

RICE takes place in a few dedicated Discord channels visible only to the participants.
During the event, members are encouraged to create their own voice chats, streams, discussions, mini-events, etc.
You may run any type of event you like during RICE - as long as it has something to do with the videos submitted, follows server rules, RICE Discussion rules, and has a description.

Everyone has the ability to create threads and /create events using the Sesh bot. This gives others the opportunity to receive private reminders before the event occurs through RSVPs.

We require a description about the type of event you are running for accessibility.
Some participants want to join but may prefer to avoid certain types of feedback.
Constructive criticism is welcome in RICE, but it can be jarring to join a chat for fun and find your or a friend's videos being harshly critiqued without warning.
The goal is simply to let people know what to expect before they join. 🤗

Some example statements are:

• Positive comments only
• Light critique
• No commentary at all
• More or less a panel where you're simply giving reviews of videos while people listen

Your event description must contain:

• A brief description of what your event is about (examples provided above).
• What channel the VC will be in.
• How you will handle CWs.
  Acceptable options:
  • No CWs provided.
  • CWs provided in voice and/or text with video title.
  • # second pause before video plays (at least 30 seconds is recommended - so participants have time to look up the CWs themselves).

It's recommended (though not required) to state whether captions will be on or off.

Additionally, we have two voice channels during RICE - one with enforced "push to talk" and another which uses the standard "voice activity." This allows you to run your event in the channel with your preferred setup.

What is push to talk?

Push to talk is one of two voice input modes in Discord. The Push to talk (PTT) setting will automatically mute your microphone unless you are actively pushing a button known as a PTT key. You set what the PTT key is.
This prevents background noise and ensures nothing can be heard unless a user is purposefully speaking.
PTT can be enabled at any time for your personal use across Discord if you prefer this method.

Some voice channels require the use of PTT by all participants. This is the case for the RICE "Push to Talk" channel.
Users who have not set a PTT key in their settings will be muted and unable to speak in the channel until they update their settings.

On desktop, you do not have to change your voice input settings when in a PTT-required voice channel. You only need to have a PTT button set.
On mobile, you may have to change your voice input settings and rejoin the channel in order for the PTT button to appear.

To set a PTT key without changing your voice settings, go into Discord settings and select "Keybinds."
You would also use this page if you want to set more than one PTT key, a PTT (priority) key (if you're a moderator), or if you want more control over your voice input options.

Select the "add a keybind" button.
Under "action" select one of the PTT options.
Select the "record keybind" button and press any key on your keyboard that you want to use as your PTT key.
Select "stop recording" when you're done.
The toggle to the right of the row is green for enabled and grey for disabled, if you wish to temporarily disable a certain keybind.

Note:
If you select "Toggle VAD" in the action menu, this allows you to set a keyboard shortcut for switching between Voice Activity and PTT voice input modes.

To change your voice settings, go into Discord settings and select "Voice & Video."
Change your input mode to "Push-to-talk."
To set your PTT key, select the keyboard icon ("Edit Keybind") under "shortcut."
Press the key on your keyboard that you want to be the PTT key (right ctrl or left alt are some suggestions).
Click the red "stop recording" button when you're done.

In the future, if you want to speak, you must hold down this key while talking to broadcast your voice in a voice channel. The "push-to-talk release delay" setting allows your voice to be broadcast for a slightly longer period of time after you release the PTT key.

If you still want to use Voice Activity by default, change your input mode back to "Voice Activity" when you're done. Otherwise, simply exit the page or hit esc and your settings will be saved.

Warnings Attached to Videos

You do not need to label your videos - the coordinator applies them after video submission.
RICE video submissions can be about anything as long as they follow the video submission requirements and content restrictions.
CWs are applied to videos as a courtesy to others. They do judge your video or affect awards.

RICE participants are encouraged to fill out an optional and anonymous "CW Request" form before video submissions open. Users are asked what content in other videos they would like to be notified about.
These are listed in the CW (content warning) section of the vid infosheet, sometimes with expansion in an Extended VPR & CW document, an example of which you can view here.

Vidding Photosensitivity Relay (VPR)

VPR is similar to a CW, but it is specific to content they may cause physical harm to photosensitive individuals.
BentoVid, and by extension, RICE, specifically accommodates our members with these conditions.
The VPR is a tool that allows them to make better informed decisions about which videos they can watch and in what conditions they can watch them in.

Your video does not need to be safe for photosensitive people to watch.
You do not need to make a VPR for your video, but know that your submitted video can receive them.
The content of the VPR is not a judgement on your editing.

RICE uses a modified version of the VPR system. Any physical triggers mentioned in the CW Request form are separated into a VPR-specific list and tagged with the CWs in a slightly different format. They are included in an extended CW & VPR document, an example of which you can view here.

Why doesn't RICE use actual VPR?

To guarantee uniformity across all relays, the coordinator watches every video and applies the VPR themself.
The coordinator gave full VPR for every single video in RICE from 2021 to 2023.

In 2024, it was decided a more reasonable approach would be to ask participants to reveal their triggers in an anonymous form called "Intent to Participate & CW Request."
Here, users can request any CWs and VPR they would like.
RICE now only warn for triggers mentioned in this form, although full VPR is still possible if someone requests it.

Critique/Feedback

RICE also functions as a workshop to improve our videos and our feedback. All videos will likely get detailed feedback, many down to specific timestamps. All members are encouraged to participate in doing this, including spectators.

The feedback given does not preclude any video from winning. Critique that is not constructive is removed and users warned or disqualified based on the content. Look to #vid-critique for examples of how this feedback may look.
You may also view comments left on the 2025 RICE videos here.

RICE uses a [c] ("critique tag") to inform participants which videos would like special attention and an even more critical eye.
This tag is most useful for editors who plan on changing their video based on the feedback given during RICE or for those who want their videos to be "torn apart."

The lack of a [c] tag does not shield a video from extensive critique. The tag is a time management tool for reviewers. Every video is expected to receive feedback.

Stress & Managing Expectations

RICE is a stressful event.
RICE typically gets 50+ videos.
Viewing them all and voting within the timeframe by itself is already stressful.
Trying to give good feedback to one video can be difficult enough, but during RICE we want you to give it to as many videos as possible. Assessing, critiquing, and wording useful comments takes time and dedication.
And that's only half of RICE.

The other half of RICE is receiving the feedback. You may not like what you see, and things which may not have upset you in another environment may hurt you more in this one.

We understand RICE is stressful, and we try to make the contest part of it as laid back as possible. But that, too, may upset people as it may not be run how you expected. Please see the Server & Event Culture page for more insight on what to expect.

Please understand that if you have not participated in an event like this before, you may respond in a way you did not expect.
Check in with yourself; protect your mental health.

It is okay to step away if you have to.
Please read our server guide on how to give, receive, and ask for critique, and for people have never given critique before, try our Musubi Method.

Despite this, BentoVid does NOT condone harassment. Please #contact-staff if you see this (Ping @Staff, DM Vars (@standardquip), create a ticket, or use the /report command).

---