2009 Shorts online student film festival – Priority Schools Programs
Guidelines for schools
Overview
The 2009 Shorts online student film festival showcases the Cineliteracy achievements of students from Years K-10 in Priority Schools.
Entries will be judged by a panel of film industry experts, students, teachers and representatives from the University of Technology, Sydney and Priority Schools Programs.
Prizes will be awarded to winning entries. These prizes are made possible with the support of the University of Technology, Sydney.
Aims of the festival
Shorts online aims to showcase the best Cineliteracy projects by students from NSW Priority Schools.
Cineliteracy is a literacy program where students make connections with real world experiences through reading and writing the moving image.
The online festival provides a forum for young filmmakers and their school communities to exhibit work developed in the classroom.
Festival timeline
| 26 October 2009: | Opening date for online entries |
| 6 November 2009: | Closing date for online entries |
| 16 November 2009: | Entrants informed of acceptance of film in festival |
| Opening date for online film festival | |
| 4 December 2009: | Closing date for online film festival |
| December 2009 | Announcement of winning entries on PSP website and prizes and certificates sent to schools. |
Awards
Films will be competing for the following awards:
- Best student film 2009 Years K-2
- Best student film Years 3-6
- Best student film Years 7-10
- Best animation 2009
- Best original screenplay 2009
- Best adaptation 2009
- Highly commended 2009
Entry categories
Films can be submitted in the following categories:
- General
- Animation (including claymation)
There are three entry groups:
- Years K-2
- Years 3-6
- Years 7-10
Screen play – films can be based on screenplays:
- Created from an original idea or concept
- Adapted from another text, such as a novel, traditional story, poem or song).
Judging criteria
Films will be judged on:
- a compelling script and story that achieves its intended purpose or message
- a connection with and engagement of the audience/demographic for whom it was intended
- a range of camera techniques and shots appropriate to the style and purpose of the film
- content and language appropriate to the purpose, audience and context
- effective sound and visual effects
- use of set, props, lighting and costumes.
Terms and conditions
Films must satisfy the technical specifications, content requirements and copyright issues as outlined below.
Principals must approve each film before it is uploaded to the website, to ensure that all entry requirements have been followed.
Technical specifications – Entries must be:
- films and videos of moving images (not digital stories using still images)
- short films between two and three and a half minutes long
- submitted on line in wmv, mov or avi formats only
- a maximum file size of 25 megabytes.
Content requirements – Entries must:
- conform to a G rating as described by the Office of Film and Literature Classification. Information about classification is available at http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Classificationpolicy_Classificationcategoriesandmarkings
- respect copyright laws
- not include student last names
- not contain inappropriate language or statements that promote hatred towards an individual or community, such as sexism, racism, homophobia and other forms of prejudice.
Copyright issues
Films must be the original creation of the students. Schools have a responsibility to ensure that copyright issues are addressed prior to and throughout the film production. These issues include:
- Authority to publish
- use of images, sound and text.
Authority to publish
Schools submitting entries in the 2009 Shorts online film festival are required to obtain a completed Authority to publish form for all students, staff and parent/community members in the film.
This form releases copyright of student work, student images and films produced as part of the Shorts online film festival to the NSW Department of Education and Training.
Students who are under 18 years of age will also require a parent/guardian to sign the form.
Use of images, sound and text
Permission is to be obtained from the owner of any material included in the film e.g. images, text, data, audio and video files. An overview of copyright can be found at https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/deptresources/copyright/index.htm
Permission for use of any recorded music should be obtained from the relevant publisher or record company.
It is recommended that school communities devise original soundtracks, download royalty free music from the Internet or apply to the publisher of the original music or AMCOS for permission to use production music. Schools must indicate if copyright approval has been sought for the film on the online entry form for the 2009 Shorts online film festival.
The recording of any copyrighted music in the production of a film that will be shown off the school premises and to the general public is not covered by the schools general Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners’ Society (AMCOS) licence.
An overview of copyright and music can be found at the Australian Copyright website.
Information sheets at the Australian Copyright website:
G38. Music: use in student films and home videos (pdf - 275kb).
G48: Educational institutions: Introduction to copyright (pdf - 290kb).
Royalty free music and music samples for use in films can be found at:
www.sounddogs.com
www.royaltyfree.com.au
www.evolutionstudios.com.au
www.cssmusic.com
Entering your film
Submitting a film for consideration as part of the 2009 Shorts online student film festival is free.
Principals must approve the film before it is submitted.
A teacher will need to support the completion and submission of the online entry form and film upload process.
Instructions for uploading your film are available on the online entry form.
Confirmation of entries
An automatic confirmation of entry email will be sent to schools on completion of each entry.
Acknowledgement of films in the festival
The Priority Schools and Equity Coordination Unit will advise schools of the entry’s inclusion in the festival by email by 16 November 2009.
