DVXFest - Scare FEST - OFFICIAL RULES

Glad so many are jumping in! We are working hard to keep these festivals simple, free, and relevant to our community!
 
"The Landmine Film Festival presents Scarefest" - That has a nice ring to it and there is less to explain. Cross-promotion factor is stellar as well, IMO. I can see it on T-shirts & marquees. Boss idea Shawn.
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
On a specific question on the 'rules'... the 15 seconds of footage rule, can that be combined into a 'trailer' or are trailers not allowed?
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If I'm understanding what you are asking, yes... The intention is that you can put together a 15 second teaser/trailer for your film to use for promotional purposes for the fest in general and for your film.

Later,
Jason
 
Yeah, it's not like we don't want BTS. We are just simplifying the rules and the requirements. Hopefully this will inspire more filmmakers to enter.
 
I want to take a moment to look at something.

Make a scary movie that is 6 minutes (or less)

Now I dont want to sway anyone, but Im saying upfront make sure you make a scary movie. Scary is what it says ... scary.

Now IMO a scary movie is not a movie with one scary scene. Its a whole movie thats designed to scare. The end.
 
It is the Scare fest not the Scary fest. If it is a normal movie for 5:59 and the last second you get the crap scared out of you then that would work.

Noel Evans said:
I want to take a moment to look at something.

Make a scary movie that is 6 minutes (or less)

Now I dont want to sway anyone, but Im saying upfront make sure you make a scary movie. Scary is what it says ... scary.

Now IMO a scary movie is not a movie with one scary scene. Its a whole movie thats designed to scare. The end.
Click to expand...
 
Noel Evans said:
Now IMO a scary movie is not a movie with one scary scene. Its a whole movie thats designed to scare. The end.
Click to expand...

Interesting topic. I think a real scary movie is often one where it earns the scare through character development. Often showing the mundane, or setting up normal life for the protagonist can have a more profound effect on the viewer when the scare comes. Especially in a short where there's more pressure to get into the scares quickly.

I recently watched a short online where it had scares constantly, it was well made, but by the end I was completely desensitized. I think I was guilty of that in my last short, too many popcorn jumps in the latter half when I should have been developing empathy for the character.

On the other extreme a film like '29 palms' was almost tedious to get though but the ending was so intense and unexpected that it stayed with me long after the film finished.

There's a balance for sure, but scares for me are best when they seem out of the ordinary, not when they are part of the ordinary. But we may be saying the same thing as a movie thats 'designed to scare' will for sure have the brooding atmosphere slowly ramped up, even if it isn't delivering a scare all the way through. At least, if I enter this time I'll be aiming for that approach rather than trying to fit 5 set pieces into 6 minutes. I'm totally guilty of that....
 
Noel Evans said:
Now I dont want to sway anyone, but Im saying upfront make sure you make a scary movie. Scary is what it says ... scary.

Now IMO a scary movie is not a movie with one scary scene. Its a whole movie thats designed to scare. The end.
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on this? Drag Me To Hell is full of jump out scares. Like cats, loud noises, and all kinds of BS. Not my cup of tea.

As long as we get creepy throughout and then a good scare.... that's cool, right?
 
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