Times

• The Project-4 Film Challenge will take place August 9-13
• Please note that the Maumee Summer Fair takes place August 11 & 12, so there will be a lot of activity in uptown Maumee during that time. Detailed information about street closures and events related to the summer fair will be made available to you so you can plan accordingly.
• Filming window for the Project-4 Film Challenge is: Wednesday, August 9 after the kick-off event through Sunday, August 13 at 8:00 p.m.
• The participating group/team must complete its film/video work in time to upload it by Sunday, August 13 at 8:00 p.m.
• Only films that meet the deadline will be officially part of the competition.
• Films will be screened at the Film Festival on Saturday, September 23, 2017.

Creative Process

• All creative work for the film must take place during the official 4-day time period. Any creative work in advance of the competition weekend is prohibited. Creative work includes, but is not limited to:
  • Writing the script
  • Rehearsing
  • Costume/Set Design
  • Shooting
  • Editing
  • Sound Design
  • Rendering
  • Outputting to tape or other media

Preparation

• The only work to begin prior to the 4-day filming window is:
  • Organizing Crew
  • Organizing Cast
  • Securing Equipment
  • Scouting/Securing Locations

Footage

• All footage must be shot within the 4-day time period of the film challenge.
• Animation and special effects are permitted, but must be created during the 4-day time period.
• Stock footage is permissible as part of a post-production edit as long as the team has rights to the stock footage
• Still photographs are permitted, provided that the team has the rights to them. The photos do not need to be created during the film challenge time period.

Kickoff Event

• Each participating group must have at least one representative at the official Project-4 Film Challenge kick off event on Wednesday, August 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the Maumee Indoor Theater located at 601 Conant Street.

Required Elements

• Each participating group will be assigned required elements that must appear in the film, including a genre, a prop, a line of dialogue and one scene filmed at a location within the Maumee city limits.
• The required prop and Maumee location must be seen on-screen.
• The required line of dialogue must be used verbatim. It may be spoken, sung and/or written.
• To qualify as an entry, each group’s film must be in the genre it selects and must contain all of the required elements within the official time limit and prior to the credits.

Music Rights

• Participating groups may work with a composer and/or musicians to write and record music for the films.
• Free music sites such as Mobygratis, Vimeo Music Store, Free Music Archive and others are permissible.
• It is permissible for a participating group to use pre-recorded music; however the participating group must have the rights to any music used in its film and must provide releases for all music used. As with music, pre-recorded sound effects are allowed, but you must have rights to use them.
• Note: Song parodies (i.e., use of identifiable pre-existing compositions with new or altered lyrics or music) may not be included in the film without a signed release from the composition’s rights holder. This rule applies without regard to whether the song parody arguably constitutes fair use under U.S. or international copyright law.

Total Running Time

• The finished film must be a maximum of 5 minutes in duration, including opening and closing credits.

Credits

• Opening Slate should contain the following elements:
  • Team Name
  • Title
  • Genre
  • Length

• Closing credits should include:
  • Participants
  • Credits for music
  • Special Appreciation to our Maumee Location: INSERT LOCATION/BUSINESS
  • Created for Maumee Film Festival 2017

Submitting Film

To submit your film, you will receive a link during the kick-off event. Using this link, you will upload your film to the festival’s Dropbox account.

· The film should be a high-resolution h.264 QuickTime movie file.
· The file name should include the team name and the film title
· The deadline to upload your film is Sunday, August 13 at 8:00 p.m.

For questions on submitting a film please contact Mike Brice:  e-mail: Mike@mikebrice.com or cell: 419-206-5365

Eligibility

• To be eligible for the project, entries must be the original work of the entrant; must not infringe third-party’s rights; must be suitable for publication (i.e., may not be obscene or indecent); must not contain pornographic material; may not contain defamatory statements about any person, company, organization or entity; may not invade privacy or other rights of any person, company or entity; may not in any other way violate applicable laws and regulations.
• It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to clear all content from any and all actual or potential legal claims including but not limited to claims based on libel, defamation, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and theft of trade secrets.
• The Maumee Film Festival expressly disavows any responsibility for and will not be held responsible for the inclusion of any content that becomes the subject of a third party claim.
• The Maumee Film Festival expressly disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for any unauthorized inclusion of any copyrighted/trademarked content or materials including content that may become the basis for third party claims for copyright/trademark infringement.
• Real firearms cannot be used in the creation of a film for the Maumee Film Festival.
• Filming at dangerous sites such as train tracks, highways, bridges or other potentially hazardous locations is prohibited.
• Films must not harm or exploit children or animals.
• Films must not contain material that the Maumee Film Festival, in its sole discretion, deems offensive, including but not limited to explicit and gratuitous violence, nudity, language or sexual content.
• Entries containing prohibited or inappropriate content as determined by the Maumee Film Festival, in its sole discretion, to be inappropriate will be disqualified.
• Registration fees will not be refunded if a film is disqualified.
• Maumee Film Festival reserves the right to make the final determination as to which Entries are eligible. Maumee Film Festival also reserves the right to refuse to screen a film or to make an announcement at the screening regarding the content of the film.

No Pre-Screening Distribution

• The Entrant should not distribute their film in any way before the premiere screening on September 23, 2017.
• This includes uploading the film to any publicly viewable website.

Judging

• The films will be judged by a panel according to the following criteria.
  • Overall creativity and originality of the film
  • Use of special items
  • Use of traditional film elements – cinematography, editing, sound, writing and acting.

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