48HFP Official Competition Rules
for the International Shootout 2009
1. ELIGIBILITY: The International Shootout is open by invitation only. Teams to be invited include all 2009 48 Hour Film Project City Winners and teams identified by the 48 Hour Film Project, Inc., at its sole discretion, as superior filmmakers. The following are not eligible: employees, contractors, directors and officers of 48 Hour Film Project, Inc. ("48HFP"), its parent, subsidiaries and affiliated companies, distributors, web design, advertising, fulfillment, judging and Project agencies involved in the administration, development, fulfillment and execution of this Project (collectively, "Project Parties"), and the immediate family members of each (spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, and spouse or "step" of each) and those living in their same households (those persons whether related or not who live in the same residence for at least three months during the twelve-month period preceding the start date of the Project). Void where prohibited.
2. TO ENTER: To register for the Project, invited teams must complete a special online registration found on www.48hourfilm.com. Registration is based on a first-come first-served basis and space is limited. The $100 fee is waived for all city winning teams.
3. Entrants will be required to sign the 48 Hour Film Project International Shootout Team Leader's Agreement. If under the legal age of majority in your state of residence, your parent or legal guardian must sign it on your behalf. A copy of this agreement is available at www.48hourfilm.com.
4. All costs associated with the production of the Entry are solely the responsibility of the Entrant.
5. Eligible Entries will be judged based on the judging criteria stated below.
6. Entrants must provide a valid email address and must meet shipping deadlines to participate.
7. Basic Requirement of the Project: Via an email on December 4, 2009, Entrants will receive an assignment and be given until December 7, 2009, to make a video (an "Entry"). See www.48hourfilm.com for details.
8. PROJECT TERMS OF SUBMISSION: By submitting an Entry into this Project, each Entrant warrants and represents that the Entrant owns all rights to the Entry he/she is entering in this Project, including, without limitation, the video or digital recording, and the performance contained in each Entry, with the exception of any assets provided by the 48HFP for use by Entrants in connection with this Project. Each Entrant further warrants and represents that the Entrant has obtained permission from each person who appears in the Entry to grant the rights to the Project Parties described in these Official Rules, and will submit copies of such permissions to the Project Parties. By submitting an Entry, Entrant agrees to the Official Rules, and further agrees to indemnify and hold the 48HFP, Project Parties and their respective affiliates, officers, directors, agents, co-branders or other partners, and any of their employees (collectively, the "Project Indemnitees"), harmless from any and all claims, damages, expenses, costs (including reasonable attorneys' fees) and liabilities (including settlements), brought or asserted by any third party against any of the Project Indemnitees due to or arising out of the Entrant's Entry materials in this Project, or the Entrant's conduct during and in connection with this Project, including but not limited to trademark, copyright, or other intellectual property rights, right of publicity, right of privacy or defamation. Entrant agrees to release, indemnify and hold harmless 48HFP and the Project Parties from any and all claims that any advertising, presentation, web content or any other material subsequently produced, presented, and/or prepared by or on behalf of 48HFP or the Project Parties infringes on the rights of Entrant's work as contained in any Entry.
9. As a condition of entry, participants must agree to the Team Leader's Agreement, which sets forth the rights of Entrant and 48HFP with respect to the use of Entries by 48HFP. Entries that do not include all required information and adhere to the foregoing and following requirements will be considered void and will not be considered in this Project.
10. If any group of individuals elects to collaborate on an Entry, they are required to designate one (1) person as the agent of the group to enter the Project, agree to these Official Rules, sign the Team Leader's Agreement and accept the prize on behalf of the group. Neither 48HFP nor any of the Project Parties are liable for any disputes between collaborators arising out of or related to the Project.
11. SELECTION OF WINNER: Entries will be judged by a process in which a qualified panel of judges ("Judges") will evaluate each eligible Entry based on the following judging criteria:
- Creativity (40%)
- Technical Merit (30%)
- Adherence to the Assignment (30%)
The Entry with the highest score will be declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken based on the highest score in the first Judging Criteria, continuing thereafter to each Judging Criteria in order, as needed to break the tie. Entrants agree that the 48HFP has the sole right to decide all matters and disputes arising from this Project and that all decisions of 48HFP are final and binding.
12. ONE (1) GRAND PRIZE: The top Entry will receive a screening at the Annual 48 Hour Film Project Awards Weekend in April 2010 at NAB Las Vegas and shall receive a screening at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner, May 2010.
13. GENERAL CONDITIONS: By participating, Entrants agree to these Official Rules which are final and binding in all respects. The Project is governed by the laws of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, USA, and all claims must be resolved in the District of Columbia courts or the Federal courts located in the District of Columbia.
14. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY AND RELEASE: No liability or responsibility is assumed by 48HFP or Project Parties resulting from any user's participation in or attempt to participate in the Project or ability or inability to upload or download any information in connection with participating in the Project. No responsibility or liability is assumed by the 48HFP or Project Parties for technical problems or technical malfunction arising in connection with any of the following occurrences which may affect the operation of the Project: hardware or software errors; faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any e-mail transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted e-mail transmissions; inaccessibility of the Web Site in whole or in part for any reason; traffic congestion on the Internet or the Web Site; unauthorized human or non-human intervention of the operation of the Project, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms; or destruction of any aspect of the Project, or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the Project. 48HFP and Project Parties are not responsible for any typographical errors in the announcement of prizes or these Official Rules, or any inaccurate or incorrect data contained on the Web Site. Use of Web Site is at user's own risk. 48HFP and the Project Parties are not responsible for any personal injury or property damage or losses of any kind which may be sustained to user's or any other person's computer equipment resulting from participation in the Project, use of the Web Site or the download of any information from the Web Site. By participating in the Project, Entrant agrees to release, indemnify and hold 48HFP and Project Parties harmless from any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or relating to such Entrant's participation in the Project.
15. WINNERS: Winners will be posted online at www.48hourfilm.com.
16. PROJECT ORGANIZER: The 48 Hour Film Project, Inc., P.O. Box 40008, Washington, DC 20016.
17. FILMMAKING RULES: The following rules apply to each participating group/production team:
- Times: The official time period for the 48HFP International Shootout will occur between Friday, December 4, 2009, at 7pm (local time) and Monday, December 7, 2009.
- Each participating group must complete its film/video work in time to mail or ship the film and paperwork with a December 7, 2009, postmark or shipping date on the envelope. The film must be in the possession of the shipping service (e.g., US Postal Service or FedEx) by Monday, December 7, 2009.
- Only works that meet the deadline will be officially part of the competition and eligible for awards.
-
Film and Paperwork must be shipped to:
48 Hour Film Project, Inc.
Attn: Christina Ruppert
5800 Sherier Place, NW
Washington, DC 20016
B. During the official 48 hour period, all creativity will take place, including but not limited to:
- Writing the script
- Rehearsing
- Costume/Set Design
- Shooting
- Editing
- Sound Design
- Rendering
- Outputting to tape or other media
C. The only work to begin prior to the "Official 48 Hour Time Period" is:
- Organizing Crew
- Organizing Cast
- Securing Equipment
- Scouting/Securing Locations
D. All footage must be shot within the 48 hour time period of the project.
- No stock footage or footage shot or created at another time may be used.
- Animation and special effects are permitted, but must be created during the 48 hour time period.
- Still photographs are permitted, provided that the team has the rights to them. The photos do not need to be created during the 48 hour time period.
E. On Friday, December 4, 2009, at 7pm local time, each participating group will receive an email from 48HFP HQ announcing the genre for the team's film. In addition, the email will include the list of required elements that must appear in the team's film. These may include a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue and/or a theme.
To qualify as an "Official 48 Hour Film," each group's film must be in the genre and/or theme it is assigned and must contain all required elements within the official time limit and prior to the credits. The required character and prop must be seen, the required line must be heard or seen. The required line may be in any language, though if it is unclear that it is the required line, it must be subtitled.
F. All cast and crew must be volunteers.
G. The finished film must be a minimum of 3 minutes in duration, and a maximum of 8 minutes in duration—not including credits. See Rule H.
H. Credits at the end of each film are limited to a maximum of 60 seconds. The 60 seconds is considered additional to the length of the film, as stated in Rule G. (That is, an Entry may be 8 minutes long, with an additional 60 seconds of credits, for a total running time of 9 minutes.)
I. Sound recorders are allowed. Pre-recorded sound effects are allowed, but Entrant must have rights of use.
J. Any type of video or film camera may be used for the Entry. However, a maximum of only two cameras may be used for the Entry.
L. The finished film/video must be Standard Definition (NTSC in the US; PAL or NTSC outside the US) and submitted on one of the following acceptable formats:
-
a data DVD with a self-contained, SD, Quicktime file with no proprietary codecs
(You must read this page before giving us a Quicktime file!) -
a USB flash drive with a self-contained, SD, Quicktime file with no proprietary codecs
(You must read this page before giving us a Quicktime file!) - miniDV
- DVD
We recommend that each team submit two copies of the final film. If we cannot view your film on our equipment, it will be disqualified.
M. Before the finished film begins, the media should have:
-
5 seconds of bars and tone
(you may use your own bars and tone or download bars and tone here)
- 5 seconds of black
-
A title card with:
team name, date, city, title, and genre -
This segment of animation (preferred)
(other formats available here)
or
A title card with:
"This film made for the 48 Hour Film Project International Shootout December 2009. www.48.tv" - 2 seconds of black
- Your film
N. The producer/team leader for each group must submit a complete and signed paper copy of the 48HFP International Shootout Team Leader's Agreement by email or fax prior to his/her team receiving a genre for their team's film. (This form can be found on the 48 Hour Film Project website.)
O. Each team must secure releases for talent and crew (i.e., the Waiver and Release Form), music, materials and locations, which must be turned in to the project organizers with the finished film/video.
P. The producer/team leader must submit a Certification Statement with his/her completed film, certifying adherence to all rules.
Q. Each team must secure and submit the following paperwork:
1. Waiver and Release Form for each person appearing in the film
2. Music and Material Releases for any music and special material in the film
3. Location Releases for each location appearing in the film
4. Team Roster
5. Wrap Up Form
The film/video will not be eligible for any awards until the 48 Hour Film Project organizers receive the signed releases.
R. Content of the movie/film/video is at the discretion of the participating groups but must meet the requirements of a Motion Picture Association of America rating of PG-13 or lower. Our experience is that films with a mature rating for violence, sex and/or language, are not as marketable.
S. Music: Participating groups are encouraged to work with local composers and/or musicians to write and record music for the films. We realize that this may be difficult to achieve. Therefore, 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 submit a signed release.
T. The film may be in any language. If the film is in a language other than English, the Team Leader must: 1) submit an on-time film in any language; and 2) provide a version with English subtitles by January 11, 2010.
U. Films must include the following credits: "This film made for the 48 Hour Film Project International Shootout December 2009."
V. To be certified as an "Official 48 Hour Film,” each participating group's film/video production must follow all rules herein.
W. All certified "Official 48 Hour Films” created for the Shootout are eligible to win the grand prize—a screening at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner. A panel of independent judges will determine the winner.
X. All films received will be assessed for potential distribution; therefore, it is imperative that all rights and all paperwork are secured and complete.
Y. The 48 Hour Film Project Organizers may add to or amend these rules at any time prior to the beginning of the 48 Hour time period.
