To be eligible to participate in the 48-Hour Film Contest and to have a film be considered part of the Contest, the filmmaker or team must adhere to the following guidelines:
- Each group will be assigned required elements that must appear in the film, such as a specific character, prop or line of dialog. The required character and prop must be seen on-screen. The required line of dialog may be spoken, sung and/or written word-for-word. If the dialog is not English, be sure that there are English subtitles.
- The Film submitted to the Contest shall be created in whole within the 48-hour time slot alloted. Works that are submitted after the deadline shall not be considered in the judging or audience voting. All creative processes must be done within this time period, including scripting, shooting, costume design, set design, sound design, editing, rehearsing, etc. Before 8:00pm (EST), Friday November the 16th, 2007, the only work that is allowed to have taken place is organization of cast/crew, and securing equipment/shooting locations.
- All footage used in the film must be created within the 48-hour time slot. No stock footage or previously shot footage allowed. Animation and special effects are allowed, as long as they were created within the 48-hour time slot. Still photographs taken before the Contest shall be permitted, provided that the team owns the rights to them.
- All music and sound effects used in the soundtrack of the film must be original and created and recorded within the 48-hour time slot. Pre-recorded music and sound effects are only allowed if you own the rights to these sounds.
- The film must be under 2 minutes in duration, excluding the credits, which may be an additional 30 seconds, rendering a total run-time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds maximum.
- At least one member of the team must be enrolled at an institution of higher education.
- All films must be uploaded onto YouTube, (instructions below) and the URL of the video must be emailed to 48@ivyfilmfestival.com by 8:00pm (EST) Sunday, November 18, 2007. Each YouTube video must have public access; they will be embedded in the ivyfilmfestival.com website. Please verify that your YouTube video streams properly off their website; we will not troubleshoot broken links!
- All cast and crew must be volunteers.
- Before the finished film begins, there should be:
- Title card with: team name, date, city, title, and genre
- Title card with: "This film was made for the Ivy Film Festival 48 Hour Film Contest. ivyfilmfestival.com"
- 2 seconds of black
These title cards and black leader are NOT included in the total running time of 2:30; your film officially starts AFTER the 2 seconds of black.
- Content of your work is up to you, but remember we always have the right to deny submission and/or screening of something we deem unfit.
The following guidelines were given to filmmakers...
Guideline #1:
Your film must be in the style of one of the following genres:
• Drama
• Romance
• Comedy
• Reality Show
• Documentary
• Film Noir
• High School Sports Drama
• Cop Buddy Film
• Horror or Zombie
• Medical Drama TV Show
• Musical
• Martians!!!
• Silent Film
• Animal Film
• Super Hero or Comic Book-Adaptation
• Western
• Epic Fantasy
• Paris, 1798
**These genres are listed roughly in order from easiest to hardest (according to us). Those who attempt—and SUCCEED in pulling off—harder genres may or may not receive greater consideration. HOWEVER, an excellent film will always beat out a lame one, REGARDLESS of genre, so choose wisely.
**Films may be live action, animation, or whatever you'd like.
Guideline #2:
Your film must contain one of the following character/trait combinations:
• Riley Bouffant/Child prodigy
• Sydney Glasnost/Collector of [obscure item]
• Taylor Karaganda/Kleptomaniac
Guideline #3:
Your film must include one of the following lines of dialog, word for word (spoken, written or sung):
• "Come on man, it's just me."
• "Don't stand near the window."
• "I got two words for you:"
Awards and Judging:
Entries will be evaluated on creativity, writing, use of elements, and style. Staff judges from the Ivy Film Festival will select a best overall entry to receive the $300 First Place prize. An audience choice award of $150 will be determined by popular vote on the site. Other films may be recognized for in other categories defined at a later date. Be safe and have fun!