Judging - DVC 16
 

For those of you who don't know the drill about judging here it is:

Just pick your top three films, and email your #1 #2 and #3 choices to thedvchallenge@gmail.com

Please include both the filmmakers name and the film title.

Have your vote e-mailed by Sunday night, May 10. The winner will be announced on Monday.

So how do you pick your top three films? Voting should be weighted 50% for production quality, and 50% for use of theme/story. If you need help, here is a system Dylan has used almost since the start. In his words:

Each time I watch a film I give it two ratings out of 10. One for how well it uses the theme, one for overall production value. I write them down in order as I go, and if I find that they stack up better or worse to other films, I move their points up and down a little bit.

For example:
________Theme/Story ______ Production
Film A________9_____________ 9.5
Film B________8______________9
Film C________7______________7
Film D________5______________7
Film E________8______________3


By the end I find I have a list that represents fairly accurately what I would have chosen anyway, and no films get forgotten. I will go back and rewatch my top 5 just to make sure they are as I remember them.

If you didn't enter a film for DVC16, you do not get to vote. And as usual, no voting for your own film!

Okay, in this competition we have to ask the question so we can determine if our vote will be wasted.

1. Are we to assume that because the film has been listed, that the film has been deemed meeting the rules.

2. If not, are we as judges supposed to make our own determination, and vote accordingly,

3. Or will a vote be wasted when someone subsequently makes a determination.

Good questions, Chris. Dylan and I decided to let the judges determine whether the rules were broken or not. Therefore, the only films not eligible for judging are Dylan's, mine and Chris Swanberg's.

Fair enough. Judges shall determine.

The DVC has at least two websites with all the guidelines. Which one should we follow?

Dylan gave link to applicable rules here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/dv-challe...-go-goooo.html

Yes, the link to the blogspot site is the one to use. But if you don't want to navigate to it, here's the official rules page:

The DV Challenge Official Rules
Here are the official rules of The DV Challenge.

These apply to all contests, unless specified otherwise by individual contest rules (ie. extended time limit, music, so on...)

GUIDELINES
The maximum duration of your film is three minutes, plus an additional 20 seconds for credits. You ARE allowed to use part of the additional 20 seconds for your film if you need it. There is no penalty for films shorter than 3 minutes, so you can enter with a 40 second film if you like.

Your film must open with a title reading "thedvchallenge.com presents" Please note the URL is "thedvchallenge.com" and not "dvchallenge.com" You may use any font, in order to make it congruent with the look and feel of your film.

All good stories need a good title! Your film must have a title which must show at the beginning of your film following "thedvchallenge.com presents"! Whenever you email us, please include the title. It makes life so much easier.
Please, do not make the title the same or similar to the theme. If the theme is “cats”, don’t call your movie “Cats”, “The Cats”, or “A Cat”.
Very descriptive titles are good as it helps your film stick out in the judges minds when trying to remember which film is which. Films titled “untitled” will be frowned upon.


WEB VERSIONS
You are entirely responsible for putting your film up on the web. If your film is not available for all to see at the scheduled time, it is not our responsibility and you are out of judging.

We strongly request that one version of the film you submit be on Youtube, for quick and repeated viewing, as well as long term archiving so that people will be able to watch it for a long time after the challenge is over.

You are welcome to host your own high resolution version of your film for people who prefer to watch a higher quality version.

We will post up to a total of three versions so the audience has several viewing options.

Please do not post links to your film publicly before we officially release it in the week following the deadline. After the deadline, we encourage you to promote it as much as you can.


DEADLINE
When the theme is announced on a Thursday, the deadline is 11:59:59 PM Pacific Time the following Sunday night (10 days later). We often grant a few extra hours of leeway to those who submit it late into Sunday night, as long as the link is in our inbox by Monday morning.


CONTENT
YOUR FILM MUST BE ALL YOUR OWN MATERIAL, or you must have legal right to use it, such as copyright free music or properly licensed music. You must credit any other artists in your credit roll.

YOUR FILM MUST BE NEW AS OF THE START DATE. You cannot use video shot before the start date of the challenge. You may not submit a film that you shot previously. Some exceptions may be made for royalty free stock footage on a case by case basis. Royalty free music is excluded from this rule.

Photo montages and animation (including stop-motion) are not acceptable as submissions. Films may include photo montages and animation in limited quantity if it is critical to the story.

Visual effects of all types are allowed.

You retain 100% ownership of your film, and are 100% responsible for its content.

Can I judge in place of Keith?
 

Hey guys! I know I didn't officially enter the contest and the Dessert Island is under Keith's name...but he's in Costa Rica right now w/ very limited internet access. Is it ok if I just send in my picks in place of Keith? (Or I can be sneaky about it and sign in as him...?)
Lemme know, thanks!
julia

Technically, the vote goes to the film, so any member of the production team of the film can make the decision who they vote for.

And the votes are being tallied... the winner should be announced later today!

OK, I'm getting antsy...