Basic Rules and Guidelines

  1. Each entry must be submitted and delivered by Friday, April 17, 2009 deadline. Each entry must have a completed Entry Form Coming Soon and Copyright Notice as well. Send entries to: Roxanne Kaylor, 3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax, VA  22030 or drop it off in person at FHS Room H-147.

  2. Each school should send all submissions for each category (animation, documentary, etc.) on a DVD. Clearly label tapes or disks as to School and Titles. NOTE: All DVD's must be in DVD/-R variable rate 1x-8x (please make sure it will play in a DVD player!)
  3. All individual films and animations are limited to six minutes for  presentation.
  4. This year there is no entry fee to enter the “Free 4 All Film and Animation Fest”
  5. Each entry must be accompanied by a filled out entry form.
  1. It is the preference of the festival that copyright infringement be avoided if at all possible. It is also understood that certain projects may lend themselves to the use of copyrighted materials (music, sequences, or other media sources as an example). The festival wishes to highlight the originality of the student’s work and protect professional artist from infringement of their copyrighted materials. Thus, preference to all original work may be given over work that includes copyrighted material. Furthermore, the festival requires that all work submitted include a signed statement by the maker as to the copyright status of their work. For more information about Copyright and Fair Use, see Copyright info below.
     
  2. All submissions must be appropriate for viewing by a high school audience. Anything that would earn above a PG-13 rating will not be exhibited. Inappropriate language and activity includes use of profanity, vulgar or offensive language and gestures, and abusive language. The judges reserve the right to disqualify entries for inappropriateness.
     
  3. The work submitted must have been created during the last 2 years, in conjunction with a high school video/filmmaking or animation classes.
     
  4. Festival screening night is May 16, 2008, 4:30pm – 6:30pm at Fairfax High School.

  5. 10.There will be prizes for Best in Show Film/Video and Animation. Also, there will be a People’s Choice award for Film/Video and Animation.  

Judging Format

Judges for the festival review the entries using four major criteria:

  • Production Quality
  • Post Production Elements
  • Content
  • Sound

Each category is then rated with a score between 1 and 5 from a rubric table.
Here are some specific elements that may be considered while judging the work:

  • Production Quality – camera work, shot composition, shot variety, color balance, focus, stability, shot to shot consistency/continuity
  • Post Production Elements – editing, pacing, transitions, compositing, timing, titles, special effects, continuity
  • Content – storyline, talent/acting, subject interest, originality, character development
  • Sound – clarity, consistent levels, mixing, use of sound effects or Foley work, use of musical accompaniment

Further judges may not award a category if the judges feel that the entry does not meet the standards of The “Free 4 All Film and Animation Fest”

Scored sheets with comments from the judges will be returned to the entering schools for the instructors and students to review.

Scores are tallied and the five highest scoring entries are then presented for screening at the festival event.

 

Copyright, Fair Use and Student Films and Animations

While students are protected by certain aspects in the U.S. Copyright and Fair Use laws for classroom projects, as soon as a project is presented beyond the classroom walls, especially to a more general audience, the protection of copyrighted material must be observed. Thus, the “Free 4 All Film and Animation Festival” requires that all submitted entries must include a notification of copyright, to protect the intellectual and real property rights of copyright holders. If copyright protected sources are used, obtain the necessary permissions and include them with this application.

We highly encourage all student filmmakers and animators to make use of non-copyrighted or original material for their projects. In the real world of filmmaking, any use of copyrighted materials requires negotiation for use and payment to the copyright holder. Here are some sites where you can learn more about the use of copyrighted materials.
NOTE: “Free 4 All Film and Animation Fest” is not responsible for the accuracy of information on these sites. Copyright rules change regularly. Please do your research.

DV Magazine and DV.com

This monthly magazine offers both new and professional video makers many insights to methods and equipment used in video production. They have also printed a variety of articles on copyright for video makers. To enter the site you will be required to provide an email address and password.
COPY RITES by Jay Rose, C.A.S, is a Clio- and Emmy-winning sound designer who uses music from a lot of sources-legally--in his productions.

Stanford University Copyright and Fair Use Web Sitehttp://fairuse.stanford.edu/
Here is a sample of the topics and links they provide:
Copyright & Fair Use Guide
Copyright Web Sites
Fair Use & Multimedia Web Sites
US Agencies
Associations & Organizations
Journals & Collections
Copyright & Fair Use Articles

Education World, The Educator’s Best Friend
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr280.shtml