As always, the following are not neccessarily hard and fast rules. They're just recommendations for maximizing your chances at this particular award site.
Realize fast-paced cutting =/= action
Not all action videos have to include lighting-fast edits. In fact, many excellent ones don't. While quick cuts can help to enhance the feeling of excitement and help the visuals of a video keep up with a fast-paced song, they are not always the best choice. Sometimes it's better to just let the action flow naturally, as it did in the source material. Please also note that fast-paced cuts alone do not place a video in the "action" category.
Don't ignore the lyrics
I see this happen a lot with otherwise excellent action videos. Now, I understand that the lyrics don't have to drive every aspect of your scene selection. And you can, to a certain extent, get away with somewhat ignoring them during a chorus. The verses of a song, however, tend to be less repetitive and oftentimes have a lighter beat that lend them to less action-filled shots. At that point you really should be able to think of something to fit the lyrics and completely random scene selection should be kept to an absolute minimum.
Watch the flow of action
Be careful about how you cut up action sequences, paying especially close attention to internal motion. Watch what's going on in each shot very closely and try not to cut until after some range of movement has been completed. For example, if someone throws a punch, at least wait until contact with the victim has been made before cutting. Falls tend to be trickier, as there is often a change of camera angle before the person or object hits the ground. Cutting right as the object leaves the shot tends to look the most natural. I'd also recommend avoiding "anticlimactic" cuts as I call them, in which an editor cuts away just as someone draws their fist back for a punch or gears up for a kick.
Those are my main concerns when it comes to action. I know it's much less than what I had for drama, but trust me, all three are extremely important. Action editing is my personal speciality and I'm looking forward to seeing some entries in this category.
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