Theme
The Theme of this contest is "Inventions, Discoveries, Extraordinary Achievements." What do these words mean? Whilst there are several meanings defined for these words, the ones intended for this contest are as below...
To be clear, your film can be about one or many inventions, discoveries, OR extraordinary achievements. Or it could be about all three -- all genres are permissible, as long as you keep to the theme.
The films will be compiled onto an official Brickfilms DVD which will be sold from the Brickfilms website. It is very important that all entries contain only music, sound, story, dialogue, and footage which is legal for distribution by Brickfilms. Absolutely no copyrighted material is to be included in your film, unless you hold the copyright or you have specific permission from the copyright holder.
Format
At least one version of your entry must conform to this standard:
Because the entries will be going onto a DVD, entrants will be encouraged to submit, in one way or another, a high-quality version of their films. Ideally, an MPEG-2 format version on CD would be submitted by mail, but of course geographic distance and technical issues will make this impossible for some people. Ultimately we'll do the best we can with what we have.
Inclusion on the DVD is not in any way compulsory. If you are unhappy with the site selling your work without any compensation, it's perfectly acceptable to submit an entry and specify that you'd like your film left off the DVD.
For a detailed discussion of this contest and its rules, visit the forums.
The first, second, and third place winners will be allowed to choose from the following prizes. First place will have first choice, and so on.
The Theme of this contest is "Inventions, Discoveries, Extraordinary Achievements." What do these words mean? Whilst there are several meanings defined for these words, the ones intended for this contest are as below...
Inventions - a) The act or process of inventing. b) A new device, method, or process developed from study and experimentation.
Discoveries - To see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown).
Extraordinary - a) Beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular, or established. b) Exceptional in character, amount, extent, degree, etc.; noteworthy; remarkable.
Achievements - Something accomplished successfully, especially by means of exertion, skill, practice, or perseverance.
Discoveries - To see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown).
Extraordinary - a) Beyond what is usual, ordinary, regular, or established. b) Exceptional in character, amount, extent, degree, etc.; noteworthy; remarkable.
Achievements - Something accomplished successfully, especially by means of exertion, skill, practice, or perseverance.
To be clear, your film can be about one or many inventions, discoveries, OR extraordinary achievements. Or it could be about all three -- all genres are permissible, as long as you keep to the theme.
The films will be compiled onto an official Brickfilms DVD which will be sold from the Brickfilms website. It is very important that all entries contain only music, sound, story, dialogue, and footage which is legal for distribution by Brickfilms. Absolutely no copyrighted material is to be included in your film, unless you hold the copyright or you have specific permission from the copyright holder.
Format
At least one version of your entry must conform to this standard:
- RealMedia (Helix) compression using RealProducer or RealAnime OR a Quicktime compatible (H.264 included)
- No more than 50MB in file size
Because the entries will be going onto a DVD, entrants will be encouraged to submit, in one way or another, a high-quality version of their films. Ideally, an MPEG-2 format version on CD would be submitted by mail, but of course geographic distance and technical issues will make this impossible for some people. Ultimately we'll do the best we can with what we have.
Inclusion on the DVD is not in any way compulsory. If you are unhappy with the site selling your work without any compensation, it's perfectly acceptable to submit an entry and specify that you'd like your film left off the DVD.
For a detailed discussion of this contest and its rules, visit the forums.
The first, second, and third place winners will be allowed to choose from the following prizes. First place will have first choice, and so on.
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A steadfast supporter of brickfilming and brickfilms.com, Stop Motion Pro makes one of the best animation software applications available. It's one of the first animation programs to have frame averaging built in, which we've shown really improves image quality. The newest version, SMP 5.0, has the capability to control and use a Canon Powershot digital camera directly, which is huge for amateur animators as it provides a fairly inexpensive way of getting fantastic image quality. One winner will have a copy of this software shipped directly to them from Stop Motion Pro. |
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Winners can also choose a Samson C01U USB enabled large diaphram condensor mic. The audio quality afforded by a microphone by this is far greater than any webcam mic or other "computer microphones," and would no doubt be an asset to anyone wanting to improve the audio of their films. |
| Other prizes to be announced in the future. | |
| Film Requirements |
All films must: 1) Be animated and primarily composed of stop-motion animation (less than 50% live-action). 3D, Flash, or other animation techniques may be used to supplement the stop-motion. 2) Use LEGO or similar building toys as primary elements. 3) Have at least one verrsion submitted in Real or Quicktime format. This file can be no larger than 50MB (You may release secondary versions which are above this limit). 4) Not contain adult language, excessive violence or sexual themes. 5) Contain only images, sounds, music, and stories which you have the rights to distribute. Absolutely no copyrighted music or material can be used in your entry. |
| Submittal | All films must be uploaded to a location that has been prepared for this event. For details on how to upload to this location, please PM Richard Frost, rstudios, or Watson. Once entries have been uploaded, you must send a pm to Richard Frost containing: 1) a working link to your film 2) the names of all directors 3) the usernames in the forums of the directors if they have them. |
| Deadline | Entries must be received by midnight on Wednesday, July 18, 2007. Entries cannot be made publicly available prior to the submission deadline. |
| Time Limit | There is no minimum time limit. The maximum time limit is 6 minutes. This will be rigorously enforced. |
| Multiple Entries | Multiple entries are permitted, as well as cooperative entries from multiple directors. In the case of a cooperative entry, the directors must decide before the submission deadline who will receive any prizes won by the entry. |
The film's will be judged based on the following criteria and weights:
| Story - 35% Weighting - Thirty five percent of your film's score will be based on the story you tell. Originality, dialogue, and your ability to captivate an audience will be the factors affecting this category. |
| Theme - 20% Weighting - Nearly a quarter of your score will depend on how well your film represents the IDEA theme. Making sure you stick closely to one of the concepts of inventions, discoveries, and/or extraordinary achievements is crucial to having a highly scoring film. |
General Presentation - 45% Weighting - Forty five percent of your score will be based on the technical aspects of your film. Image quality, animation, sound quality, set design and cinematography are among the items that will help you score well here. |
