With contests, everyone has differing abilities and also differing directions for their creativity.  Some like to create/modify models. This is a highly complex and demanding skill.  Other people like to create abstracts, while other Brycers like to assemble scenes using models made by others...  The skills in this latter category lie in the arrangement of elements, lighting and skies, and camera angles... 

Perhaps the contests need to focus more on specific elements of these diverse skills...  How about a fairly low file size scene being downloadable and everyone have a go at the best lighting and sky arrangement they can come up with for it whilst leaving the scene elements and models and camera angle intact (every Brycer could have a crack at this)... Or a contest focussing on creating a model (limited to those who like to do this).

As well as the broader contests such as the feast idea, which would be fun to do and very very tinkering intensive to get right :-)

Just a thought.