Scenic Cycle 4 Grand Finale

As soon as the news came out that 7.0 was going to have a graphics update, I knew that Scenic Cycle was going to be the first cycle I wanted to run, and the excitement and enthusiasm from our photographers this cycle shows it was the right decision.

First, I want to thank our new judges Rosemary, Juzelle, and guest judge Chaton for their hard work this cycle. I hope you had fun and learned a lot. I will definitely be inviting you all back to judge again! I started out ENTM as a guest judge and look where I am now (not that I plan on going anywhere.) Also thank you to our most senior and veteran judge Ona, and our rotating judges and previous S rank winners Malkovich and Rymm for stepping in to help out when I was going to be short a judge this cycle. I may continue trying to have a stable of available emergency judges available, although I am not sure I’ll do a permanent rotating judge again….. and I’ll need to remember to ask ahead of time when a regular judge tells me they are on vacation. (My bad.)

And I want to thank all the photographers for participating, especially our two newbies to ENTM, Oudine Aubemarle and Oaken Bookshelf. It’s always a risk to try a new type of contest, and you have been wonderful additions to our ENTM crew. As I mentioned before, since Scenic Cycle is non-character based, you’re both welcome to join us for a Fresh Faces cycle, which we plan to run sometime in early 2025.

One more round of appreciation for the entire photographer cast of Scenic Cycle 4:

  • Alastor Izunia
  • Netizen James
  • Oaken Bookshelf
  • Zukira Phaera
  • Damien Montclair
  • Oudine Aubemarle
  • Escher Strange
  • Hilda Garde
  • Schan Starfall

And now, the winners of Scenic Cycle 4! Scoring is based exclusively on judges scores for this cycle; community votes are not considered (they were just for fun during the weekly rounds.)

Third Place: Hilda Garde

Hilda Garde

With a score of 99! Hilda’s shots didn’t take home a weekly win, but she consistently scored high in the background from the judges, often coming in a close second or tied for third. Her best scoring shot was Bed of Roses with a score of 10. Congratulations!

An FFXIV screenshot of an ARR dungeon. The image is a bedchamber, with a four poster bed that has been tattered with time, dust covered wooden walls, and a visible spider web.
Bed of Roses

Second Place: Oaken Bookshelf

Oaken Bookshelf

A new participant to ENTM, Oaken Bookshelf understood the assignments immediately and started off strong with a tied win in the first week! He also won week five, with his best scoring shot of 11, Peace. His total score for the entire contest is just one point shy of the win, with a 93. Congratulations!

FFXIV Screenshot
Peace

ENTM Scenic Cycle Four Grand Prize Winner

With a score of 92, our final photographer edged ahead by a single point to take home the grand prize. She has been a participant in ENTM contests many times over the years – and actually won the last Scenic Cycle as well.

She came in strong every week, never having a bad shot. Her best score was in Week 2, where she took home the weekly win with her shot Light in the Dark with a nice low score of 9 total.

An FFXIV screenshot of an ARR dungeon. A beam of sunlight filters down through a whole in the wall showing off tree roots.
Light in the Dark

Congratulations to Schan Starfall, ENTM’s newest repeat S-Rank Winner!

Schan Starfall
Schan Starfall

Scenic Cycle 4 Galleries

One of the coolest things about Scenic Cycle 4 is that because we don’t include characters, it allows for completely anonymous judging. This eliminates any potential complains about bias from the judges, reduces drama, and generally makes the contest more fun.

But now that all the rounds are over, it’s time for a big reveal of who submitted what shots each week!

This page will become the archive for the cycle as well. In the future, each round will be linked and I’ll include the critiques for posterity. For now, please enjoy!

Alastor Izunia

A screenshot from FFXIV. The image shows a statue of Nald, acting as the back entrance to Forgotten Springs.
Untitled

Netizen James

FFXIV Screenshot. A classic impressionistic style image of purple water lilies floating above the ruins of an old bridge.
Bridge Under Peaceful Waters

Oaken Bookshelf

A screenshot from the video game FFXIV. This image depicts a fairy tale castle in a lightning storm, with purple clouds and mountains in the distance.
Unseelie Storm

Zukira Phaera

A screenshot from FFXIV.
Dawnsinger

Damien Montclair

A screenshot from FFXIV. A dragon's skeleton teeters on the ledge in front of the mountains of Coerthas Western Highlands.
Dragonsong

Oudine Aubemarle

An FFXIV screenshot of an ARR dungeon. A large hole in the ceiling allows a shaft of sunlight to filter through.
Wanderer’s Oculus

Escher Strange

A screenshot from FFXIV. The image is top down, looking over the Sharlayan Hamlet.
Seconds Before Flying Into a Waterwheel

Hilda Garde

An FFXIV screenshot of an ARR dungeon. The image is a bedchamber, with a four poster bed that has been tattered with time, dust covered wooden walls, and a visible spider web.
Bed of Roses

Schan Starfall

An FFXIV screenshot of an ARR dungeon. A beam of sunlight filters down through a whole in the wall showing off tree roots.
Light in the Dark

Meet the Photographers of Scenic Cycle 4!

We have nine photographers competing in Scenic Cycle 4. Our Scenic cycles are unique in that they are anonymously judges – only Katarh Mest knows which photographer submits each shot each week, and the judges will be judging and ranking each screenshot solely on what is presented.

Community judging will be scored completely separately and will be just for fun.

But we still want to know who decided to throw themselves into the chaotic fire of an ENTM cycle, so here they are!

PhotographerServer
Alastor IzuniaMateus
Netizen JamesBalmung
Oaken BookshelfMateus
Zukira PhaeraOdin
Damien MontclairOdin
Oudine AubemarleMarilith
Escher StrangeZodiark
Hilda GardeOdin
Schan StarfallMoogle
The photography team for Scenic Cycle 4

Meet the judges of Scenic Cycle 4!

We have three permanent judges and three rotating judges this cycle, with a mix of new faces and ENTM veterans! The permanent judges will be judging and scoring each week, while the rotating judges will be popping in and out, for a maximum of two weeks during each of the six week cycle.

Your Three Permanent Judges

Resident Judge Odharnait “Ona” Greene: “Ever walked down a street and had the sun sparkle through the trees. Dappling on your face with twinkles of warmth and hope? Yeah, that’s not Ona. Ona is a hyperactive, chaotic goblin bard who eats too many cheese sticks and drinks Monster like it’s her job.

Hailing from Goblin, Ona is a regular on the ENTM scene. She has never won a cycle, but just like a celebrity was given this honorary title of S-Rank.

She enjoys teaching others how to Gpose and will judge you (obviously referencing cookies while she does it). A song or a poem is Ona’s usual critique style, but occasionally she drinks too much or smokes too much and you get the most unhinged critique.

Irl Ona is a Regional Manager for disability services, a soccer coach, a mom, and exhausted. She is taking her motorcycle test in September and enjoys taking photos for friends and family in her spare time. Ona loves you all!”

(Katarh’s note: Ona forgets she was crowned Monthly Challenge Winner one year, which netted her an S-Rank title.)

Judge Ona

Judge Penny Snowflake: Penny is new to judging, but not new to ENTM. She agreed to help out with judging so some of our other veteran judges can hang back as participants for this cycle. She most recently participated in Classic Cycle 13 and she is from Light server.

“Hey Penny, long-time player of FF14! Play time just passed 10,107 hours. I mostly do Gposes for the last 3 years. My last big achievement was getting both Beata and Saint of the Firmament. I look forward to seeing how everyone does in this competition and seeing different skills, ideas, and hearts in the photo.”

Judge Penny

Judge Juzelle Apohrae: Juzelle is new to ENTM entirely and will give us a fresh perspective (because we do tend to be very naval-gazey here in ENTM.) She attended art school for industrial design and has a keen eye for both fashion and decoration. Juzelle is from Lamia server.

Judge Juzelle

Your Three Rotating Judges

Two more veteran S-rank participants joined us, and one new face for the judging staff!

Judge Malkovich Malkovich: Malkovichis a previous S-rank winner of our Doubles Cycle along with Neisha Rayne, and 1st runner up of our All Stars Cycle a few years ago. He has been a judge for us many times before, and has graciously agreed to be a rotating judge for Scenic Cycle 4. Malkovich is from Faerie server.

Judge Malkovich

Judge Rymmrael Bhaldraelwyn: In her own words: “1st Runner Up Classic Cycle 10, 1st Runner Up Classic Cycle 12, Winner Runway Cycle 2, The Ghost That Haunts ENTM Discord.” Rymm has been with ENTM for many years, and has also agreed to step in as a rotating judge during this cycle. Rymm is from Lamia server.

Judge Rymm

Judge Chaton Grincheux: Chat is joining us for the first time as a rotating judge! She’s an avid Gposer and loves photography. (She is also the nicest scholar any warrior could ever want in their raid static.) Chaton is from Lamia server, where she co-leads the Silk free company.

Judge Chaton

Your Hostess

Webmaster Katarh Mest: Katarh returns for another fun cycle of serious photography using a video game engine! Competing since Forum (Classic) Cycle 5, Winner of Runway Cycle 1, and either judging or hosting for nearly every cycle in between, Katarh took over ENTM along with Kai Ulric in 2018 after our beloved founder Rongi Pongi had to step aside to focus on his real life fashion career. (We totally understand and we still miss you Rongi!) Katarh is from Lamia server and is the FC leader of Spin the Ascian.

Katarh Mest

…..it’s actually Scenic Cycle 4! And I need judges!

Thanks to Kai Ulric for catching my oopsie

Hello again everyone! It never fails that as soon as I think I’ve got the capacity to run a cycle, all hell breaks loose and I’m working until 7PM at night. Now that it’s Friday and I’ve got a chance to catch my breath, here’s some updates!

  • I have dyscalculia and somehow completely forgot that we were on Scenic Cycle 4 already. WHOOPS! Kai fixed it.
  • We have enough competitors to launch the cycle! YAY!
  • I’ll be contacting those who have submitted applications shortly and getting you snug and cozy in the Photographer’s green room.
  • I do still have just a couple more slots open, so get those applications in fast! APPLICATIONS WILL CLOSE BY SUNDAY AUGUST 25th or when we reach capacity, whichever comes first.
  • I have ZERO applications to be a judge…

Why you should be a judge for ENTM Scenic Cycle

You get to share your opinions with the world!

Since it’s an anonymous cycle, nobody can accuse you of being biased!

It’s a good way to learn how to describe what you like and don’t like in any given piece of art!

There is no wrong way to provide critiques! (Just ask Ona.) You get to wax poetic about screenshots however you want.

You can learn a lot of neat techniques from the contestants for your own shots in the future! I’ve learned SO MUCH just watching what other people do.

If you are passionate about photography, you can help coach up a new generation of younger photographers who could use mentoring to make their shots even more outstanding than they already are.

All volunteer judges who make it through a full cycle also come with personal reference from Katarh IRL if you need one. (Hey, if I get to leverage my efforts on ENTM for career related purposes, then everyone else who volunteers for me ought to be able to as well!)

Pretty please?

ENTM Scenic Cycle 3 4 Judges Application

Announcing ENTM Scenic Cycle III

Hello everyone! Katarh Mest here. It’s been a hot minute since we ran a cycle in ENTM, thanks to life eating our host’s faces and us waiting with bated breath for our long promised graphics update.

Well, now we can exhale and start taking screenshots like crazy again. I tried to give everyone a good solid six weeks to work through Dawntrail MSQ but I understand that everyone plays at a different pace, and with different priorities, so after some consideration I’ve opted to not make Dawntrail zones required for this cycle.

Key Dates: ENTM Scenic Cycle III

  • August 18th: Cycle Auditions open and call for judges open
  • September 1st: Cycle Contestants Announced
  • September 5th: First Scenic Cycle III entry due
  • Weekly due dates after that
  • October 11th Final entries posted

Wait, who are you guys again?

ENTM, Eorzea’s Neo Talent Management, aka the screenshot contest formerly known as Eorzea’s Next Top Model, is FFXIV’s longest running screenshot contest! We’ve been running multi-week contests since 2013 on the official forums, Tumblr, and now on our permanent website. There are other, bigger, and of course more officialler screenshot contests (including those run by Square Enix themselves, but also our good friends at Gposers and Eorzea Photography and everywhere else) but our particular niche is long form contests with judges providing critiques and feedback for each submitted shot.

(Feel free to go check out our archives! Admin Katarh is in the process of uploading some of the newer contests from the last few years since they’re in the blogs but not organized into archives.)

How do ENTM contests work?

Each week, our contestants provide us a shot on the theme, and the shot is displayed on this website and on our Discord channel for public viewing, commentary, and community voting. For our Classic Cycle, Fresh Faces Cycle, Copycat Cycle, and Fashion Cycle, a single named character is the main focus on the shot. (We’ve also done some crazy Renovation Cycles, YouTube Cycles, and Instagram Cycles in the past as experiments!)

Judges rank each shot, and provide critiques back to the contestants. Shots are ranked based on theme, composition, and manipulation of the in-game engine.

So what is Scenic Cycle?

Scenic Cycle is our still life, landscape, and non-fashion photography challenge. Unlike other cycles, where a contestant is named and voted on by that name every week, the photos submitted for Scenic Cycle are anonymous and don’t contain any characters. Scenic Cycle is all about the environments of Etherys. You know, the scenery. Judges will provide votes and critiques based on the name of the shot.

Who can enter Scenic Cycle III?

Anyone can enter! ENTM contest are open to anyone that plays FFXIV and loves taking screenshots! You can play on PS4, PS5, PC, Mac, or even XBox now, as long as you can scrape a high quality screenshot and send it to us weekly.

ENTM is a “vanilla” contest – no mods or Reshade are allowed. This puts everyone on an even playing field. (With the graphics update, it’s not even really necessary any more.) Internal Gpose filters and your own photographic skill are plenty enough to capture the world of FFXIV at its most beautiful.

To apply to be a contestant please fill out this Google Form: Applications for Scenic Cycle III Contestants Katarh Mest will be in touch via Discord to verify your entry and to request a single vanilla scenic screenshot as proof that your system is capable of handling unaltered images.

Warning: There are limited slots! ENTM Scenic Cycles are limited to a maximum of 12 contestants. Only the first 12 confirmed contestants will be accepted! We also must have a minimum of six contestants for the contest to launch, so don’t be shy about entering! I will make a separate announcement if we hit the cap before entries are closed.

Who are the judges?

Judges will be chosen from previous ENTM winners and community volunteers. Anyone with some basic knowledge of art or photography who is willing to provide honest but kind feedback to our photographers (whether that’s in the form of walls o’text, drunken poetry, or bullet points) is welcome to apply to be a judge.

Judges are tasked with ranking each shot from strongest to weakest every week and then giving each shot some appropriate feedback about what was done well, and what might have made the shot stand out a little bit more.

To apply to be a judge please fill out this different Google form here: Applications for Scenic Cycle Judges

Please >>>click right here<<<< to join the ENTM Discord community if you have not done so already!

CopyCat Cycle 2 – Winner

Well the cycle has come to a close! We saw some amazing screenies again this cycle and I love how the models rose to meet each challenge. Some were super hard, some absolutely hilarious.

I haven’t done this in previous cycles but really wanted to show off, one more time, each model’s images for the cycle and then announce the overall winner. I guess there is a first time for everything…

Alastor

Amalie

Damien

Hilda

Kimiko

Netizyn

These models look amazing in their screenshots! It has been an amazing cycle!

But now to announce our winners:

OVERALL COMMUNITY WINNER… Amalie!

And

Now

Without

Further

Delays

Or

Hesitations…

Your CopyCat Cycle 2 Winner:

Damien Montclair!!

Your images were top notch each week, and the win was well deserved! To all my beautiful models, I am so thankful for your patience and kindness and beauty this cycle! With so many things happening IRL and IG, it goes without saying how amazing our community is! I look forward to seeing you compete in the future!



For now, and always, Love from here…
– Ona

ODHARNAIT GREENE

This was a hilarious round for me. I asked my models to become me, and they gave me some awesome shots. I could not have asked for a better showing to be honest. They really embodied my personality and provided you with images of me being loud and crazy, but I am a little disappointed with the marked lack of whiskey…

also there wasn’t any cheese sticks or appie juice… sigh.

But only one model came out on top being the best Ona they could be! And to that model I say…

Our OnaCopyCat is

HILDA!

Congratulations to you my darling! You look marvelous! <3

Stay tuned for our final results and overall winner of CopyCat Cycle 2!

And as always, love from here
-Ona

Week 6 – The Final Week

Wow. The Cycle is over after this week??!?! I am not ok with this! I want to see the manager! There is no manager only Katarh

For real for real.

The final week. When I was planning the weeks, I said I want this to be light hearted, push some boundaries, force the models to really think about what they were copying and give me images that are fun, funny, and impressive. For the last five weeks we have seen these amazing shots and the models stepping up to themes that are a little strange…

So I figured, lets make the final week something everyone enjoys, a theme that no one can pretend isn’t amazing and awesome and probably would be drunk at 10:45 in the morning if there weren’t obligations and a mountain of clothes to fold and put away….

That’s right… this week’s theme was

ODHARNAIT “ONA” GREENE
THE BARD

I gave the models some images of myself, some commissions some IG. Provided them with things Ona likes, characteristics of her personality, and told them to become me. Some models found embodying me to be a strange situation and they laughed as they sent me their images, while others, nah they all thought it was hilarious…

First, here is a gallery of the images I provided to the models:

Now… here are the models as Ona…

Amalie Greene – Skål
Damien – Shenanigans
Hilda – Le Dancing Ona is the Dancing Queen
Kimiko – (Ona) Ceruleum Processing Plant!
Netizyn – Ona

Now comes the fun part — which model best captures Ona, in all of her Loud, Loyal, Supportive, Cheese stick-appy juice-chicky nugg loving glory? Which Bard, outbarded the Bard of all Bards?

Drop your little votey votes and we will have an answer for you next Wednesday!

https://forms.gle/5Y6cCqWpnQaXtHeQ7

And as always, love from here
– Ona

Week 5 – Zodiac – Winner!

Well here we are, sharing another winner!

I asked the models to share with me their best Zodiac image. They were given the choice of Western Zodiac or Chinese Zodiac

if they would have asked they could have done any other Zodiac there is but that’s all that was asked of me

As a Scorpio (Scorpio Sun, Taurus Moon, and Capricorn Rising) I am a cranky stubborn secretive grudge holding passionate human who will gladly take someone out for a friend (just say the word).

But I didn’t have to take a shot. My models did, however. From their amazing entries, we had an incredibly close contest this round. Places 2 and 3 tied, but there was a clear winner, and that was …

Netizyn!

Gemini Horses

The use of both the Chinese Zodiac (Horse) and the Western Zodiac (Gemini) you encorporated dualing ideas and created a beautiful image, which earned you a well deserved win!

Next week is our last week, but probably my favorite week 🙂 As Yoshi P would say…

Please look forward to it.

And as always, love from here.
-Ona