SMSFF: Rules & Regulations

Rules & Regulations

Films must be under 6.5 min (0:06:30) in length, including any credits.
Must be Student or Amateur work
Entrant must currently be a legal resident of San Diego County to enter, however the school they attended at the time of content creation does not need to be within SD county.
Each individual entrant may submit up to (2) films in the competition.

Content:

Content must be "PG" or "G" rated. No excessive violence/profanity & no nudity, racist/intolerant content. Event is intended for all ages and work must be appropriate for this audience.

We reserve the right to deny any submission based on content concerns, runtime or unpaid submission fee.

Submission Fee: $5 per video

This entrance fee must be paid prior to the event deadline, otherwise submission will not be viewed, judged, or included in event.
In place of the $5 submission fee, you may purchase $5 or more in products from any vendor in the "San Marcos Civic Center Plaza" and submit your receipt to us

Submission Process & Format:

You may link to your film hosted online. However we must be able to download a full-resolution version.

You may drop off a CD or DVD to Old California Coffee House. Please label clearly with your name and film title

Don't forget to fill out the online submission form and pay the submission fee prior to dropping off your disc.

We accept the following digital formats: MOV, MP4, WMV, AVI.

If we cannot work with your film due to technical issues, the owner will be asked to resubmit their film based on our guidelines.

Due to time constraints, only the top 15-25 films will be shown in the actual festival.

Other films that meet our guidlines but must be cut for time will receive a certificate and be given the opportunity to show your work on our website or an alternate evening on the "Civic Center Plaza" screen.

Prizes:

Up to date prize information can be found on the Prizes page.
Prizes are awarded at the festival or mailed to those unable to attend

Frequently Asked Questions:

» When is the festival? Saturday June 23rd, 2012.

We are still determining the start time

» Where is the festival? We are still determining a location for this yaers festival.

This is an outdoor venue and provided seating will be limited. You may bring a folding chair as space permits.There will be many shops open to get a bite to eat or a warm beverage to drink. More can be found on the Event Details page.

» Who is behind the festival? The film Festival is being co-sponsored by the "San Marcos Arts Council" and organized by local filmmakers.

» Is it free to enter/ attend the festival? The festival is free to attend and open to anyone. If you are submitting a film, there is a $5 fee. Alternatively you may purchase $5 or more in products from a vendor in the "San Marcos Civic Center Plaza" and submit your receipt to us.

If this is a financial hardship, or if you would like to sponsor student submission(s), please contact us.

» When is my film due by? The submission deadline is June 15th, 2012. This is the absolutely last day to submit, so take the time to register now!

» How do I submit my film? Please use the online submission form by clicking the "Submit" button on the top right, fill in your contact and film information, and pay the submission fee.

You will need to either link us to a high quality online version of your video (YouTube, Vimeo, your own server, etc.) when you fill out the submission form, or drop off a CD or DVD to Oasis Frozen Yogurt. Remember! We can't review your film until you've entered the submission form on this site and paid the small submission fee.

» How many films can I submit? Each individual entrant may submit up to (2) films to be judged in the competition. Each film must be submitted seperately and the $5 fee must be paid for each. Each entrant may only win (1) award. In order to allow as many entrants as possible to have their work seen, we will only show (1) film per contestant.

If you submitted multiple films , the judges will determine which one of them will be shown. Entrants with multiple submissions may only receive (1) coupon in their packet, depending on how many are donated. If you have more than (2) films you think will blow us away, submit them next year!

» Will my film be shown? We try to keep the show to about 90 minutes, so not all submitted films will be shown on the night of the festival. A second extended showing of the festival will be scheduled and will include all films submitted. Entrants whose film is not shown during the festival will still recieve an "official entrant" certificate as well as a packet with coupons and goodies which can be picked up at the event.

» Who is judging the submissions? The Festival will be judged by a cross section of North County's artistan and academic community. See the Judges section for the up-to-date list.

» Who can enter? The festival is accepting entries from any student or amateur in San Diego county.

» Do I qualify as a Student? "Student" entrants must be currently attending, or have created their entry while enrolled in, a K-12 or "Higher Education" institution. Entrant must be a resident of San Diego County

Film itself does not have to be associated with a school or class.
For entrants who are no longer students, we may require proof of your enrollment at the time the film was made.

If you have questions/concerns about whether or not your qualify, please contact us.

» Do I qualify as an Amateur? » Any film produced outside of an educational institution or by a non-student may qualify as an "amateur" submission assuming it meets the following criteria and adheres to all other festival guidelines:

The film was not produced with financial backing from a corporate entity.
The film was not majorly created/produced/crewed by an industry "professional".
The film was not created for commercial gain (ie: a pilot for a tv show or "screen test" for a commercial feature film).
If you have questions/concerns about whether or not you qualify, please contact us.

» Whose Name & Address do I use? » Your name will be used for the programs, the certificates and any potential trophy. Your address will be used to send you the "festival packet" and trophy in the event you cannot attend the festival. Please ensure that names are spelled correctly with correct capitalization. Also ensure that the names of everyone you want included on your prospective trophy are submitted with the film. (Alternatively you can email us this information after submitting). Please only give us (1) address to send everything to.

Each entrant listed will recieve their own certificate of participation. However any trophy won by a film will include all names submitted on the single award.

» Why are you charging 5 bucks? We must augment sponsorship with this submission fee to produce an event worthy of our local student filmmakers. Your money helps us to buy prizes, print posters, program the event, and generally pull the whole thing off. No profit will be made from this event, and the vast majority of the event funding is coming from business sponsors.

If this fee is a financial burden, we offer a fee waiver. Please contact us for details.

» What do I get for my 5 bucks/Receipt? Each entrant will recieve a "Festival Packet" with a coupon good for a free product from the "Civic Center Plaza" as well as a handsome "Official Selection" certificate. In the event we recieve other "give-aways" they will also be included in this packet.

Entrants who submit more than 1 film will still only receive (1) Festival Packet.
Submissions with multiple names listed might not receive multiple coupons. It depends on how many are donated to the festival.

» How do I submit my receipt for Fee Waiver? You can either place the receipt with your video if dropping it off to "Old California Coffee House " or take a readable picture and email it to us at "info @ smfilmfest.com"

» How large can my video file be & what formats do you accept? If we can download your film from an online hosting service, or if you can fit it on a DVD or CD, you're safe. We ask that the video be encoded in DV-avi, DV-mov, mpeg-2, mp4, H264, xVid, or DivX. We prefer MOV, AVI files. If linking to on online Video Site please only send links for HD files (720x480 minimum).

» Why can't my movie be longer than 6:30? » We strive to include as many films as possible in the festival so that everyone gets a chance to see their work on the big screen. The timelimit helps us to maintain this goal. That said, we understand that your film may be a few minutes longer than what is allowed and you don't want to edit down your masterpiece. If you would like to submit a film slightly longer than 6:30, please let us know and include a link to the video online. We will determine its eligibility before you go through the submission process.

Please note that only a few longer entrees will be considered and only if we have time for them within the program. Anything over :10 minutes in length is unlikely to be eligible, but it never hurts to ask

» What was wrong with the content? In the event that there is only a minor adjustment needed (ie: language or runtime), the owner of the content will be given an opportunity to edit their work per our requests.Should the owner choose not to amend their content, it will not be judged in the contest.

» What are the prizes? We are adding more information about the prizes everyday, please see the Prizes page for more details.

» How do I get an extra trophy? Due to budget constraints we cannot award multiple trophies to films with multiple "owners". You may purcahse an additional trophy from "Glaser & Bailey". Contact us for more information.

» How will the entries be judged? Please see our Judges page for more information on the process.

» How will the amateur entries be judged? At this time, there will not be a seperate award category specifically for amatuer entrants. Amateur entries will be judged along with student entries using the same criteria. Amateurs 0-18 years of age will be judged in the "K-12" category and 19-100 years of age will be judged in the "College" category.