OUR QUEST: FIND THE TALENT
We are searching for the greatest 15-30 second movie ever made... Seriously.
But more to the point, we are searching for the thousands of unnoticed video talents out there who, for lack of connections, money, access to technology or proximity to Holly/York, may never find their audience without some help.
Anyone with a cameraphone and an idea can capture a moment of genius. We want to amplify that moment to as large an audience as possible.
OUR DIFFERENCE: LAUNCH A THOUSAND CAREERS,
NOT A DOZEN MOVIES
We don’t want to select one talent from the sea of silent genius and let that person make a low budget, never to be seen movie under the tutelage of “experts” or win a solitary award at a prestigious Hollywood event.
Every Finalist wins a paid assignment from a company or individual who will put the resulting video project to practical use. So in place of a trophy on the mantle, our winners gain exposure, practical experience, a paid gig and an hellacious resume entry.
The world can always use a few more solitary movie geniuses but we feel it also needs many thousands of competent video professionals from every imaginable background and point of view.
The FF[sec]FF is a start down that path.
1] Your Entry
Films must be 15-30 seconds. If an entry runs longer than 30 seconds due to credits or an intro, it will still be allowed BUT, if the entry is in the Finals, it may be cut off at 30 seconds, possibly harming the movie's impact. Therefore, please don't have anything past 30 seconds that you can't afford to have eliminated.
You may enter as often as you like, but can only win once in each category.
Some entries that began the contest with some views already in place will be judged from the time they entered, so the historical views will be subtracted.
2] Making It To The Finals
Contestants can make it to the Final by finding the audience. We mean that literally. The Finalists will be chosen by how many times his or her movie is viewed on YouTube, before the cut-off date of October 10th. We don't count views from the period before the contest started. Also 5 Finalist will be chosen in special Talenthouse contest.
On the basis of the most You Tube views, 25 Finalists is be selected (5 in each of these categories: Music, Sport, Comedy, Romance and Action) + 5 Finalists who are the winners of the Talenthouse contest. Therefore there will be 30 Finalists. As a footnote, many report that YouTube reporting can lag behind viewing behavior, due largely to the extra scrutiny the numbers are being given. Also, it is commonly reported that there is an especially long lad about the time a video hits 300 views. But don't be discouraged, legitimate views will get counted and reported. So if you are a film maker, enter your movie as early as possible and try to get it in front of as many viewers as you can.
More Categories may be added if we receive enough work in an unrepresented area. If a new Category is added, existing entries may be moved to these Categories by their creator. In no case will the amount of prizes ever be reduced. Each contestant can win ONCE in each category. If a contestant has two or more works in the final five of a single category, only the one with the highest number of views will be selected. Up until October 10th, an entrant can choose to change the category in which a movie competes. However, an entrant may not have the same or substantial the same movie competing in more than one category. One contestant can be the winner of more than one category.
3] The Finals
On October 30th, all Finalist entries will be screened in a webcast to an audience who have purchased tickets to the Finals. Voting will take place live and will be displayed on the screen as it takes place. One Winner will be selected from each Category. Then the audience will vote among these 5 Finalists for the Grand Prize Winner. All Finalists will receive a a paid assignment. All Prizes will be arranged by December 31st, 2012.
4] General Content Guidelines
We use standard You Tube guidelines as to copyright, logos etc. Additionally, the contest organizers have sole discretion to eliminate any entry judged by them to be pornographic or extremely offensive to a reasonable audience.
REMEMBER, VIEWERS ARE YOUR JUDGES. TRY TO ATTRACT THEM IN A WAY THAT THEY WILL REFER YOUR WORK TO OTHERS.