BetrayalFEST - Official Rules

[Jason Ramsey]

PLEASE READ THE RULES CAREFULLY AND NOTE THE CHANGES

DVXuser Announces ...
BetrayalFest coming March 6th, 2010

What is BetrayalFest?

What is Betrayal?

This one seems pretty straight forward. For an ongoing discussion with quotes, examples, and discussion, please see this thread:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=191308


SHOOTING DATES

DVXuser has set November 21st, 2009 - March 5th, 2010 as the designated shooting dates for all BetrayalFest films.

Films MUST be made between this time. Deadline for entries is March 5th, 2010 at 4pm Pacific Standard Time (GMT - 8)

ADD'L GUIDELINES, LIMITATIONS, & REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMITTED FILMS

• Required Element - There is no required element, however you are required to create and submit a poster.

• • Poster must be equivalent dimensions to a standard one-sheet (27"x40"). A smaller, equivalent dimension would be 486px x 720px (same dimensions as a standard one-sheet, but much smaller). Can also be portrait (27"x40") or landscape (40"x27").
  • Poster 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.
• Films may be any Genre, provided they meet the required theme.

• 
  
• 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 the leader, it will be disqualified. NO EXCEPTIONS.)
  
  
  • 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 exception applies ONLY to LIVE festivals. Screening in any other online festival prior to the conclusion of BetrayalFest, will render your film invalid for competition in BetrayalFest. However, NO films may be publicly exhibited in any form prior to March 5th, 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 prizes, or competition. Should a moderator wish to be eligible for the actual competition portion of the festival, they must go on a "hiatus" prior to any discussion on the next festival's theme or rules changes. This means, they will be temporarily removed as moderator of DVXuser and will remain so until the conclusion of the festival, or until such time that their participation in the competition portion of the festival ends.

OUTSIDE PROMOTION
You may promote your individual entry outside of DVXuser for the purposes of drawing attention to the festival 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 BetrayalFest 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 Monday, February 20th, 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.

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 March 6th, 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 March 6th, 2010 (at the time the viewing officially opens) until 1 PM Pacific Daylight Time (GMT - 7), March 16th, 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 March 16th, 2010 until March 22nd, 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. 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 will also announce an "Audience Favorite" that will reflect the highest overall rated film, including ALL ratings.

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DVXuser reserves the right to make alterations, clarifications, and/or modifications to the rules until December 20th, 2010. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates.

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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 BetrayalFest!

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.

[Jason Ramsey]

Read them carefully. There are omissions. there are changes. there is new stuff.

[Tim Joy]

I guess Again to Return will be burned into the rules until someone else decides to go VERTICAL....

[ramsaur]

All reads good. Liking the new credit rule so I don't have to cut out any footage if that happens. heh. Can't wait to get started.

[Nitsuj]

The starting gun has fired and writing begins. Best of luck people.

[ZazaCast]

Interesting. I wonder which mods are going on hiatus to enter a film?
Good luck everyone!

[Jason Ramsey]

no mods. if you read the rules, you will see that they would have to have gone on hiatus before we began discussing this fest theme and the rules, which was a couple of weeks ago.

That addition to the rules was a spur of the moment thought I had yesterday. I know guys like zak and jack probably miss being in the heat of the fests from time to time, so I was thinking of them when I wrote it. If a lot of people object for any reason that I have not thought of yet though, it's certainly open for discussion, as it would be the summer fest at the soonest that anyone wishing to use that exemption would be able to do so.

Any mod that enters this fest would be exhibition only, as per the rules.

later,
jason

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

Originally Posted by Jason Ramsey

no mods. if you read the rules, you will see that they would have to have gone on hiatus before we began discussing this fest theme and the rules, which was a couple of weeks ago.

That addition to the rules was a spur of the moment thought I had yesterday. I know guys like zak and jack probably miss being in the heat of the fests from time to time, so I was thinking of them when I wrote it. If a lot of people object for any reason that I have not thought of yet though, it's certainly open for discussion, as it would be the summer fest at the soonest that anyone wishing to use that exemption would be able to do so.

Any mod that enters this fest would be exhibition only, as per the rules.

later,
jason

Unless moderators are tweaking votes in any way, I dont see why a moderator couldnt enter. If it's all clear cut then just make it transparent and anyone could join, yourself included. I really, really enjoyed your last entry and have always wanted another.

[Mark Harris]

What happened to no Australians?

[Rodney V. Smith]

Originally Posted by Mark Harris

What happened to no Australians?

We need the beer.