the better part of me

I've actually never really liked the contest format myself. Which coming from an AMV contest coordinator is ironic, I know. But it caters to the flashy, comedic, high tech special effects videos. Character studies, highly contextual stories, and all that don't ever do well in convention contests, but they are valuable all the same. For what it's worth, I always try to judge on the story the vid is telling and less on the technical expertise.

I don't think you should quit at all, just stop entering your videos into that kind of contest. Instead maybe start putting them out in comms like vidding or put some up for review at the_reel, which are frequented largely by vidders who know how to give qualitative feedback and are looking for things besides quick cuts, flash, and sparkle. They're mostly live action fandom in those circles, but they're good people for the most part. And a lot of them have a strong interest in helping people grow the art form.

If you're interested, prod me sometime to start talking about the difference in aesthetics between AMV creators and live action vidders and how the fan communities are the same but SOOOOO different. But I don't want to get on my soapbox in your LJ. :)