Those of you who have been playing GTA Online for a while and who also keep an eye on the Rockstar Newswire, will know that it has become something of a tradition to host snapmatic competitions whenever a new DLC is released.
Snapmatic is an app found on the in-game smartphone allowing players to create screenshots or even "selfies" of their characters while playing. Like the real-life counterpart on which the fantasy app is based on, Snapmatic allows players to apply various filters to their photos in order to achieve different visual effects.
"But wait" I hear you say. "Why are we talking about Snapmatic when even the winners of the Cunning Stunts Snapmatic competition have already been announced?". Well, you're absolutely right. What we are here to show you are the winning entries of the GTA Online #CEO Rockstar Editor video contest.
Ever since the Rockstar Editor, GTA 5's in-built gameplay recording and editing suite, was launched on current-gen consoles, making it a PC exclusive no longer, both we and players have been suggesting that the devs adopt the tradition of hosting Editor contests alongside Snapmatic contests whenever a new DLC was released.
Well, it seems our pleas did not fall on deaf ears. Soon after the release of the massive Further Adventures in Finance and Felony DLC, which added the warehouse and crate system to GTA Online, Rockstar announced the #CEO video contest, which had entrants create videos — strictly without the use of mods — that best conveyed what that update was all about.
Much time has passed since, but finally the winners have been announced. We're sure you too will be impressed with the videos selected by Rockstar. We've often featured well-made fan videos on this site, so it should come as no surprise that there are several talented budding film-makers in the community.
First up we have the winner of the grand prize itself. Titled "Sellin' Dope" (because obviously), the video shows both the luxurious side of being a crooked CEO" title="">, as well as those times where you need to work hard and take a few bullets in order to fill your office with stacks of bills. Created by Bill Benedict, this video is pretty much all you can expect from the brief: it shows off the wealth of a CEO with many of the new vehicles seen in Finance and Felony, as well as some action sequences taken from a Buy mission.
Shots cut between an empty warehouse, and the same warehouse being stocked full. The player's office in their corporate HQ is shown at different stages of being filled with decorative piles of money. The official post itself says that this video won for its art direction, expert use of camera angles and lighting, as well as sound editing instead of content.
For winning first place, Bill Benedict will receive a unique GTA 5 themed director's chair, an extremely rare varsity jacket and a trophy, all three of which are emblazoned with his Social Club ID so he can flaunt his successes as a fan film creator wherever he goes.
Two runners up will also get some recognition for their efforts, in the shape of a $100 Rockstar Warehouse gift card each, as well as a loot crate with some awesome GTA 5 themed merchandise. These creators also put together amazing fan videos worthy of a prize, but contests are so that only one may be the winner.
"What goes around comes around" by ChronicBuzz187 is a much darker take on the life of a criminal CEO. Depicting the tale of a simple burglar and gun-for-hire rising through the ranks as he becomes the leader of his own outfit, the video also shows off a daring mission where a Brickade is stolen with a cargobob.
However the entry has a pretty dark ending, showing that you can't rise to the top of a criminal empire without making a few enemies. No matter how good you are, everyone grows old, and eventually, those enemies will get to you. All things considered, "What goes around comes around" captures the shark-eat-shark world of GTA Online as well as the content of the Finance and Felony DLC.
Last but most definitely not least comes "Hy Life" from -tdr81. If you ask us, this is actually the best video from all three winners, and quite a few members of the community seem to agree. This video subscribes to the age of saying of "if you want something done right, do it yourself".
The video incorporates two of the most annoying things in GTA Online a CEO may suffer: incompetent associates and a Hydra griefer. Both are woven into the video in a non-jarring way though, and the creator sets up a perfect intro-payoff relation with the beginning and end of the video. All in all, that is one hell of a way to take revenge.
Rockstar has also included a number of honorable mentions in the Newswire post, though these players didn't get any kind of reward beyond the publicity of being featured in an official article. While with these added, the number of entries that made it into the post is 6, but you can bet that there were thousands more in total. Some fans are pretty vocal about their disagreement with Rockstar on who deserved the grand prize, but you must understand that these things are wholly subjective, and it is tough to judge that many videos and cut things down to so few winners when there undoubtedly were countless entries worth recognition.
With Cunning Stunts, Rockstar is adding yet another kind of contest to the typical lineup. Since the Stunt Race Creator was added to GTA Online, the developers have been constantly teasing (but never revealing) a contest that will have players build the best stunt race course they can in order to take home the winning prize.
Did you enter this GTA Online video contest? Do we have any of the winners among our readers?
