Jason Ramsey
03-30-2010, 04:12 PM
PLEASE READ THE RULES CAREFULLY AND NOTE THE CHANGES
DVXuser Announces ...
WESTFest coming March 16th, 2010
What is WESTFest?
Western. Does it have to be traditional Old West only? Well, not literally. But here are a couple of key things you need to know in order to ensure your film complies with the requirements of this fest:
The Western depicts a society organized around codes of honor and personal, direct, or private justice; a society with no social order larger than one's immediate peers, family, or one's self, as opposed to any rationalistic, shared law either written or implied.
the setting should act as a *character* in the film, not just a backdrop. It should play a crucial role in the story, not just be pretty scenery.
The setting should evoke a rustic, "frontier"-like feel -- your film should stress the harshness of the characters' surroundings. Living conditions are not posh. Either the environment is tough, or the way of life is rugged/lawless, etc. Maybe the particular situation a character is in is a departure from what might be their typical "cozier" lifestyle. Acceptable sub-genres for this fest include: action (young guns), drama (mccabe and mrs miller), comedy (blazing saddles), sci-fi/post-apocalyptic (firefly), horror/thriller/suspense, romance (brokeback mountain), contemporary (extreme prejudice/city slickers) and musical (paint your wagon). You should seek approval for anything else that is clearly outside of this scope.
For further reading, please see the following wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_(genre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_%28genre))
SHOOTING DATES
DVXuser has set March 24th, 2010 - July 19th, 2010 as the designated shooting dates for all WESTFest films.
Films MUST be made between this time. Deadline for entries is July 19th, 2010 at 4pm Pacific Daylight Time (GMT - 7)
ADD'L GUIDELINES, LIMITATIONS, & REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMITTED FILMS
Required Element:
At least one of your principle characters must wear a cowboy hat.
Must submit a one-sheet with your entry. A full one-sheet is 27"x40", but you may submit a smaller version as long as it adheres to the equivalent dimensions (e.g. 486px X 720px would be a smaller, but equivalent, version of the one sheet).
Can be in portrait (27"x40") or landscape (40"x27")
Must not exceed 5MB
Each Filmmaker may submit a maximum of TWO (2) films. However, there is no limit to the number of films you may collaborate on, and you are encouraged to do so. Films MUST be separate, and not two halves of a whole film.
Your total film, including all opening titles and credits, may not exceed six minutes. PERIOD. Note: This does not include the length of the leader (see below for more information on leader).
Film Title - you must include the title of your film in your film. This may be in any format and may appear anywhere within the 6 minutes of the film.
Credits - There is NO credit requirement. Use them if you want to. Don't if you don't. No minimum. No maximum. All you must do is have the title of your film, somewhere in your film, as per the rule above. If you wish to include credits, you may (but they do count against your 6-minute runtime.) If you don't want to include credits, you don't have to.
You will also be required to attach a DVXuser sanctioned leader to the beginning of your film. The running time of the leader does NOT count against your six minutes. (Note: If the length of the entry exceeds 6 Minutes PLUS the length of your chosen leader, it will be disqualified. NO EXCEPTIONS.) Example: Leader is :09 seconds. Film is 6:00. Total runtime would not exceed 6:09
Must be one of the leaders provided here: http://www.dvxfest.com/leaders/
No visual modifications to the leader without the express written permission of the DVXFest Staff/Forum Moderators.
You are free to alter the leader's audio in any way. If audio is provided with the leader you may use it, omit it, or replace it as you see fit (examples include, but are not limited to: overdubbed narration, V.O., music, etc)
NOTE: We would love to continue to add leaders to our pool, so that submitting filmmakers have the most variety to choose from as possible. If you are interested in creating additional leaders for DVXFest Short Film Festivals, please go to this thread for information on how to enter the minifest: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=174550
Films may be shot with any camera and may be delivered in any aspect ratio. Depending on the viewing process this time around, if you have an unorthodox aspect ratio (such as "Again to Return" from LossFest), you may be required to submit a letter/pillarboxed version. Please just keep this in the back of your head as we move forward.
Films must be Rated "R" or lower... This is a hard R. If you are unsure, please ask first. Do NOT assume.
Absolutely NO Copyright Violations. Your material must be original, licensed, Public Domain, or royalty free. This includes (but is not limited to) Your script, music, sound effects, etc. DVXuser assumes ZERO liability for copyright violations in your submitted entry. We will however, screen all films to ensure as best we can that they adhere to the rules of the festival and all applicable Copyright Laws. Any film known to have a copyright violation will be removed from the festival entirely. i.e. Will NOT be eligible as an exhibition entry either.
All Filmmakers agree to grant DVXuser a NON-exclusive license to freely use your film for promotional purposes, for it to appear on a future DVXFest DVD (should there be one) or at a DVXuser Sanctioned Public Screening. We will make every attempt to contact you first if any of the above situations should apply to your film to allow you to OPT OUT of this agreement for any reason you may feel necessary. You may also contact at us at any time and request removal of your film from the DVXFest.com website for any reason. It is important that you provide accurate and reliable contact information when submitting your film.
You may NOT publicly exhibit any MOVING IMAGES from your film entry, or footage shot for your film entry (this includes outtakes, alternate takes, etc) in part, or in whole prior to the conclusion of the festival, or your participation in the competition portion of the festival. At such time you publicly exhibit any footage from your film, this will be seen as a forfeiture of any rights to prizes, awards, or acknowledgments. You will cease to be in competition at this point, and will be deemed "exhibition only," at a minimum, or may be removed from the festival entirely at our discretion.
EXCEPTION: If you have submitted your film to a LIVE Film Festival and been accepted (Slamdance, for example) and your film will air before the conclusion of our festival, this is an acceptable exception. HOWEVER, you MUST notify us in advance of taking advantage of this exemption. This exemption applies ONLY to LIVE festivals. Screening in any other online festival prior to the conclusion of WESTFest, will render your film invalid for competition in WESTFest. However, NO films may be publicly exhibited in any form prior to July 19th, 2010.
EXCEPTION: You MAY post screen grabs from your footage. You MAY also post stills or video of BEHIND THE SCENES b-roll and interviews of your cast and crew in the form of a documentary, podcast, etc. However, NO fictional elements that encompass or extend the narrative of your film are permitted – this includes a restriction on behind the scenes footage of actual takes.
The Festival is open to every country and every language. However, if your film's dialogue is in a language other than English, you must include English subtitles in your submitted entry.
There is NO Entry Fee. As always, our festivals are free and open to the public.
Anonymous entries are permitted ONLY with pre-approval from the DVXFest staff so that we may provide you with general guidelines to follow.
DVXuser Moderators, and DVXFest staff, are free to enter films, and have them rated and discussed by the viewers. However, they will NOT be eligible for for physical prizes. However, the administrator of dvxuser may not compete in any way and will be exhibition only should he choose to participate as an entrant in the fest. Other Festival and DVXFest staff, may compete for fun, but not for prizes beyond recognition of audience favorite awards or the like.
OUTSIDE PROMOTION
You may promote your individual entry outside of DVXuser for the purposes of drawing attention to the festival, your entry, and to let people know the work you are involved in.
This is NOT to include any kind of vote begging whatsoever. The purpose is to draw attention to the festival and to your individual entry, not to garner votes.
You must also include a direct link to the WESTFest forum, not just your own thread.
DVXuser will not tolerate any kind of "spamish" behavior.
Any outside activities deemed by the festival staff to be considered "spammy" or "vote beggy" may lead to your immediate disqualification from the festival.
Marketing is part of the filmmaking process, so we encourage you to take full advantage of it and enjoy spreading the word about your film. Be creative and have fun with it :)
UPLOAD INFORMATION
Upload information will be made available by July 1st, 2010 and will remain open until the upload deadline passes. Upload as early as possible in order to have time to adjust if you have a rule compliance violation.
CONCERNING TRAILERS/TEASERS
If you wish to make a teaser/trailer for your film, you may BUT... It may NOT contain any live action footage of any kind WHATSOEVER. Whether from your film or not. Absolutely NO live action footage. So, think of it more as a teaser than a trailer.
You MAY make teasers/promotionals promoting DVXFest on the whole, and these may be displayed at anytime. The NO Footage rule, still applies to anything entered in the current festival. You MAY use footage from previous festivals, but please obtain the filmmaker's permission for any clips you would like to use in this manner. DVXuser reserves the right to allow for promotional videos that include current festival entries at our discretion and only with our approval.
IF you are not absolutely sure that your teaser would be legal, then you need to ASK FIRST.
VIEWING AND VOTING PERIOD
The films will go live on July 20th, 2010. There will be two rounds of rating, and the rating system will be much the same as it has been for the past several fests... a 10 star rating system. We will have an additional sticky thread that will post as a FAQ/Q&A for the rating period.
The first round of Rating will take place from July 20th, 2010 (at the time the viewing officially opens) until 1 PM Pacific Daylight Time (GMT - 7), July 30th, 2010.
Once the first round of rating closes, we will review and verify the results and in the same day announce a to be determined number of films that will be designated "Finalists". The 2nd round of rating will run from July 20th, 2010 until August 7th, 2010.
ANYONE will be eligible to rate the films. HOWEVER, only those persons ratings who are registered DVXuser Members, with 50 posts or more, (or if you are a submitting filmmaker) will determine the Finalists and the Winners of the festival acknowledgments and prizes (if any). Please note, if you are a submitting filmmaker, there is no post requirement. If you wish to have your rating counted for the competition phase, you must be logged in to the viewing page and have 50 posts or more (or be a submitting filmmaker). We will post two sets of results. ALL of the ratings, and those that will decide the competition winners.
All other ratings will be for the benefit of the filmmakers to receive data on the how good the audience thought their film was, and we MAY also announce an "Audience Favorite" that will reflect the highest overall rated film, including ALL ratings.
-----
DVXuser reserves the right to make alterations, clarifications, and/or modifications to the rules until April 30th, 2010. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates.
-----
If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask away here in the rules thread, or, if you prefer, PM a moderator. But, let's all try to remain calm and civil as it will help the flow of information and ensure that as many people as possible have the most enjoyable festival experience possible. Please do not assume anything. If you are not absolutely certain, ask us first so we can clarify, and also make any changes necessary to the rules in the event that any confusion is caused by a lack of clarity within them.
Good Luck, and Enjoy WestFest!
DISCLAIMER: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THESE FILMS ARE THOSE OF THE FILMMAKER(S), AND DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF DVXUSER.COM, LANDMINE MEDIA, INC, OR ITS MANAGEMENT. DVXFest is an Open Festival with an emphasis on publicly screening any entry that meets the above guidelines. We do not typically screen for content or quality beyond verifying that films do/do not adhere to the festival guidelines. To date, greater than 99% of all films entered have screened publicly as either competition or exhibition. However, we do reserve the right to refuse screening of any film for ANY reason. Please ensure that you include reliable contact information and make yourself available during the upload process so that we may contact you if necessary.
DVXuser Announces ...
WESTFest coming March 16th, 2010
What is WESTFest?
Western. Does it have to be traditional Old West only? Well, not literally. But here are a couple of key things you need to know in order to ensure your film complies with the requirements of this fest:
The Western depicts a society organized around codes of honor and personal, direct, or private justice; a society with no social order larger than one's immediate peers, family, or one's self, as opposed to any rationalistic, shared law either written or implied.
the setting should act as a *character* in the film, not just a backdrop. It should play a crucial role in the story, not just be pretty scenery.
The setting should evoke a rustic, "frontier"-like feel -- your film should stress the harshness of the characters' surroundings. Living conditions are not posh. Either the environment is tough, or the way of life is rugged/lawless, etc. Maybe the particular situation a character is in is a departure from what might be their typical "cozier" lifestyle. Acceptable sub-genres for this fest include: action (young guns), drama (mccabe and mrs miller), comedy (blazing saddles), sci-fi/post-apocalyptic (firefly), horror/thriller/suspense, romance (brokeback mountain), contemporary (extreme prejudice/city slickers) and musical (paint your wagon). You should seek approval for anything else that is clearly outside of this scope.
For further reading, please see the following wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_(genre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_%28genre))
SHOOTING DATES
DVXuser has set March 24th, 2010 - July 19th, 2010 as the designated shooting dates for all WESTFest films.
Films MUST be made between this time. Deadline for entries is July 19th, 2010 at 4pm Pacific Daylight Time (GMT - 7)
ADD'L GUIDELINES, LIMITATIONS, & REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMITTED FILMS
Required Element:
At least one of your principle characters must wear a cowboy hat.
Must submit a one-sheet with your entry. A full one-sheet is 27"x40", but you may submit a smaller version as long as it adheres to the equivalent dimensions (e.g. 486px X 720px would be a smaller, but equivalent, version of the one sheet).
Can be in portrait (27"x40") or landscape (40"x27")
Must not exceed 5MB
Each Filmmaker may submit a maximum of TWO (2) films. However, there is no limit to the number of films you may collaborate on, and you are encouraged to do so. Films MUST be separate, and not two halves of a whole film.
Your total film, including all opening titles and credits, may not exceed six minutes. PERIOD. Note: This does not include the length of the leader (see below for more information on leader).
Film Title - you must include the title of your film in your film. This may be in any format and may appear anywhere within the 6 minutes of the film.
Credits - There is NO credit requirement. Use them if you want to. Don't if you don't. No minimum. No maximum. All you must do is have the title of your film, somewhere in your film, as per the rule above. If you wish to include credits, you may (but they do count against your 6-minute runtime.) If you don't want to include credits, you don't have to.
You will also be required to attach a DVXuser sanctioned leader to the beginning of your film. The running time of the leader does NOT count against your six minutes. (Note: If the length of the entry exceeds 6 Minutes PLUS the length of your chosen leader, it will be disqualified. NO EXCEPTIONS.) Example: Leader is :09 seconds. Film is 6:00. Total runtime would not exceed 6:09
Must be one of the leaders provided here: http://www.dvxfest.com/leaders/
No visual modifications to the leader without the express written permission of the DVXFest Staff/Forum Moderators.
You are free to alter the leader's audio in any way. If audio is provided with the leader you may use it, omit it, or replace it as you see fit (examples include, but are not limited to: overdubbed narration, V.O., music, etc)
NOTE: We would love to continue to add leaders to our pool, so that submitting filmmakers have the most variety to choose from as possible. If you are interested in creating additional leaders for DVXFest Short Film Festivals, please go to this thread for information on how to enter the minifest: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=174550
Films may be shot with any camera and may be delivered in any aspect ratio. Depending on the viewing process this time around, if you have an unorthodox aspect ratio (such as "Again to Return" from LossFest), you may be required to submit a letter/pillarboxed version. Please just keep this in the back of your head as we move forward.
Films must be Rated "R" or lower... This is a hard R. If you are unsure, please ask first. Do NOT assume.
Absolutely NO Copyright Violations. Your material must be original, licensed, Public Domain, or royalty free. This includes (but is not limited to) Your script, music, sound effects, etc. DVXuser assumes ZERO liability for copyright violations in your submitted entry. We will however, screen all films to ensure as best we can that they adhere to the rules of the festival and all applicable Copyright Laws. Any film known to have a copyright violation will be removed from the festival entirely. i.e. Will NOT be eligible as an exhibition entry either.
All Filmmakers agree to grant DVXuser a NON-exclusive license to freely use your film for promotional purposes, for it to appear on a future DVXFest DVD (should there be one) or at a DVXuser Sanctioned Public Screening. We will make every attempt to contact you first if any of the above situations should apply to your film to allow you to OPT OUT of this agreement for any reason you may feel necessary. You may also contact at us at any time and request removal of your film from the DVXFest.com website for any reason. It is important that you provide accurate and reliable contact information when submitting your film.
You may NOT publicly exhibit any MOVING IMAGES from your film entry, or footage shot for your film entry (this includes outtakes, alternate takes, etc) in part, or in whole prior to the conclusion of the festival, or your participation in the competition portion of the festival. At such time you publicly exhibit any footage from your film, this will be seen as a forfeiture of any rights to prizes, awards, or acknowledgments. You will cease to be in competition at this point, and will be deemed "exhibition only," at a minimum, or may be removed from the festival entirely at our discretion.
EXCEPTION: If you have submitted your film to a LIVE Film Festival and been accepted (Slamdance, for example) and your film will air before the conclusion of our festival, this is an acceptable exception. HOWEVER, you MUST notify us in advance of taking advantage of this exemption. This exemption applies ONLY to LIVE festivals. Screening in any other online festival prior to the conclusion of WESTFest, will render your film invalid for competition in WESTFest. However, NO films may be publicly exhibited in any form prior to July 19th, 2010.
EXCEPTION: You MAY post screen grabs from your footage. You MAY also post stills or video of BEHIND THE SCENES b-roll and interviews of your cast and crew in the form of a documentary, podcast, etc. However, NO fictional elements that encompass or extend the narrative of your film are permitted – this includes a restriction on behind the scenes footage of actual takes.
The Festival is open to every country and every language. However, if your film's dialogue is in a language other than English, you must include English subtitles in your submitted entry.
There is NO Entry Fee. As always, our festivals are free and open to the public.
Anonymous entries are permitted ONLY with pre-approval from the DVXFest staff so that we may provide you with general guidelines to follow.
DVXuser Moderators, and DVXFest staff, are free to enter films, and have them rated and discussed by the viewers. However, they will NOT be eligible for for physical prizes. However, the administrator of dvxuser may not compete in any way and will be exhibition only should he choose to participate as an entrant in the fest. Other Festival and DVXFest staff, may compete for fun, but not for prizes beyond recognition of audience favorite awards or the like.
OUTSIDE PROMOTION
You may promote your individual entry outside of DVXuser for the purposes of drawing attention to the festival, your entry, and to let people know the work you are involved in.
This is NOT to include any kind of vote begging whatsoever. The purpose is to draw attention to the festival and to your individual entry, not to garner votes.
You must also include a direct link to the WESTFest forum, not just your own thread.
DVXuser will not tolerate any kind of "spamish" behavior.
Any outside activities deemed by the festival staff to be considered "spammy" or "vote beggy" may lead to your immediate disqualification from the festival.
Marketing is part of the filmmaking process, so we encourage you to take full advantage of it and enjoy spreading the word about your film. Be creative and have fun with it :)
UPLOAD INFORMATION
Upload information will be made available by July 1st, 2010 and will remain open until the upload deadline passes. Upload as early as possible in order to have time to adjust if you have a rule compliance violation.
CONCERNING TRAILERS/TEASERS
If you wish to make a teaser/trailer for your film, you may BUT... It may NOT contain any live action footage of any kind WHATSOEVER. Whether from your film or not. Absolutely NO live action footage. So, think of it more as a teaser than a trailer.
You MAY make teasers/promotionals promoting DVXFest on the whole, and these may be displayed at anytime. The NO Footage rule, still applies to anything entered in the current festival. You MAY use footage from previous festivals, but please obtain the filmmaker's permission for any clips you would like to use in this manner. DVXuser reserves the right to allow for promotional videos that include current festival entries at our discretion and only with our approval.
IF you are not absolutely sure that your teaser would be legal, then you need to ASK FIRST.
VIEWING AND VOTING PERIOD
The films will go live on July 20th, 2010. There will be two rounds of rating, and the rating system will be much the same as it has been for the past several fests... a 10 star rating system. We will have an additional sticky thread that will post as a FAQ/Q&A for the rating period.
The first round of Rating will take place from July 20th, 2010 (at the time the viewing officially opens) until 1 PM Pacific Daylight Time (GMT - 7), July 30th, 2010.
Once the first round of rating closes, we will review and verify the results and in the same day announce a to be determined number of films that will be designated "Finalists". The 2nd round of rating will run from July 20th, 2010 until August 7th, 2010.
ANYONE will be eligible to rate the films. HOWEVER, only those persons ratings who are registered DVXuser Members, with 50 posts or more, (or if you are a submitting filmmaker) will determine the Finalists and the Winners of the festival acknowledgments and prizes (if any). Please note, if you are a submitting filmmaker, there is no post requirement. If you wish to have your rating counted for the competition phase, you must be logged in to the viewing page and have 50 posts or more (or be a submitting filmmaker). We will post two sets of results. ALL of the ratings, and those that will decide the competition winners.
All other ratings will be for the benefit of the filmmakers to receive data on the how good the audience thought their film was, and we MAY also announce an "Audience Favorite" that will reflect the highest overall rated film, including ALL ratings.
-----
DVXuser reserves the right to make alterations, clarifications, and/or modifications to the rules until April 30th, 2010. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates.
-----
If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask away here in the rules thread, or, if you prefer, PM a moderator. But, let's all try to remain calm and civil as it will help the flow of information and ensure that as many people as possible have the most enjoyable festival experience possible. Please do not assume anything. If you are not absolutely certain, ask us first so we can clarify, and also make any changes necessary to the rules in the event that any confusion is caused by a lack of clarity within them.
Good Luck, and Enjoy WestFest!
DISCLAIMER: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THESE FILMS ARE THOSE OF THE FILMMAKER(S), AND DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF DVXUSER.COM, LANDMINE MEDIA, INC, OR ITS MANAGEMENT. DVXFest is an Open Festival with an emphasis on publicly screening any entry that meets the above guidelines. We do not typically screen for content or quality beyond verifying that films do/do not adhere to the festival guidelines. To date, greater than 99% of all films entered have screened publicly as either competition or exhibition. However, we do reserve the right to refuse screening of any film for ANY reason. Please ensure that you include reliable contact information and make yourself available during the upload process so that we may contact you if necessary.