Competition rules
FILM COMPETITION RULES
REGISTRATION:
TEAM LEADERS MUST REGISTER THEIR TEAMS ONLINE FOR THE FILM COMPETITION VIA THE “REGISTER YOUR TEAM” PAGE ON THE MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION WEBSITE. SPONSORS ARE WELCOME TO REGISTER A TEAM IN THE RACE, BUT CAN NOT WIN A PRIZE THEY HAVE SPONSORED.
THERE ARE NO LIMITS ON TEAM SIZE. REGISTRATION FORMS AND PAYMENT SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE VIA TEXAS HORROR CULT'S WEBSITE. TEAM LEADERS MUST GIVE THEIR TEAM A NAME (I.E., A PRODUCTION COMPANY NAME). A $75 REGULAR ENTRY FEE IS REQUIRED WITH TEAM REGISTRATION.
ALL FEES ARE PUT TOWARDS COMPETITION COSTS AS WELL AS THE FILM AWARDS AND PRIZES.
ALL TEAMS MUST BE REGISTERED AND ALL REQUIRED ENTRY FEES MUST BE COLLECTED PRIOR TO
ATTENDING THE MAIN KICK-OFF EVENT.
****NO REFUNDS****
KICK-OFF EVENT:
TEAM LEADERS MUST SUBMIT A SIGNED TEAM LEADERS AGREEMENT FORM TO MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM
COMPETITION EVENT ORGANIZERS AT THE KICK-OFF EVENT.
NOTE: FAILURE TO DO SO WILL DISQUALIFY TEAMS FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION. PRIOR TO GENRE SELECTION AND ELEMENTS DISCLOSURE, MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION ORGANIZERS WILL CLARIFY COMPETITION RULES AND ANSWER ANY TEAM LEADER QUESTIONS.
TEAM LEADERS WILL RANDOMLY SELECT A GENRE BY DRAWING FROM A HAT. GENRE SELECTION PROCESS T.B.D. REGARDLESS OF THE GENRE, ALL COMPLETED FILM SUBMISSIONS ARE REQUIRED TO INCLUDE PHYSICAL & VERBAL CHRISTMAS HORROR MOVIE RELATED REFERENCES TO QUALIFY FOR THE MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION.
NO CHRISTMAS/ HORROR MOVIE REFERENCES WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION!
THESE SHORTS ARE NARRATIVE FICTION AND THE FILMMAKERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS. TEAMS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO TRADE THEIR GENRES WITH OTHER TEAMS. TEAMS MAY BE GIVEN ONE DISTINCT ELEMENT THAT THEY MUST INCORPORATE SOMEWHERE IN THEIR FILMS. ALL TEAMS ARE GIVEN THE SAME ELEMENT. THIS ELEMENT WILL VERIFY THAT EACH FILM WAS PRODUCED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION.
THE ONE ELEMENT WILL NOT BE DISCLOSED UNTIL THE KICK-OFF EVENT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING GENRE SELECTION AND DISCLOSURE OF THE ONE ELEMENT, TEAMS.
An exception to this rule will be made for filmmakers who live too far out of town to make the pick up or drop off such as, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, etc. The out of town filmmakers will receive their own personal
Genre and the shared Element by email.
This must be discussed in email with Texas Horror Cult event organizers beforehand
to properly prepare for it.
FILM REQUIREMENTS:
EACH TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING THEIR OWN PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT, RELEASE FORMS, PRODUCTION INSURANCE, TALENT, AND POST-PRODUCTION NEEDS. COMPLETED FILMS MUST BE A MINIMUM OF 5 MINUTES AND A MAXIMUM OF 8 MINUTES IN RUNNING TIME – INCLUDING CREDITS.
OPENING CREDITS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE PART OF THE FILM, AND THEREFORE COUNT AGAINST THE 8 MINUTE MAXIMUM.
CREDITS AT THE END OF EACH FILM ARE LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF 30 SECONDS AND ALSO
COUNT AGAINST THE 8 MINUTE MAXIMUM.
THE END CREDITS MUST INCLUDE THE TEXT: THIS FILM WAS MADE FOR "MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION ".
TEAMS MUST INCLUDE "A TITLE CARD" BEFORE EACH FILM THAT CONTAINS THEIR TEAM NAME AND GENRE. (10 SECONDS). THIS DOES NOT COUNT AGAINST THE RUNNING TIME MIN/MAX. TEAMS MUST PRINT THEIR TEAM NAME,
GENRE, AND FILM TITLE ON ALL MEDIA, MATERIALS AND CONTAINERS.
FILMS MUST ADHERE TO THE TEAM’S DRAWN GENRE AND INCLUDE ALL THREE SPECIFIED ELEMENTS FOR THE COMPETITION.
COMPLETED FILMS MUST NOT CONTAIN COPYRIGHTED IMAGES, CHARACTER, LOGOS, OR OTHER MATERIALS. IF COMPLETED FILM SUBMISSIONS CONTAIN QUESTIONABLE CONTENT (I.E., PORNOGRAPHY, RECORDINGS OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, ETC.),
EVENT ORGANIZERS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY THE SUBMISSION.
NO REFUNDS WILL BE GRANTED.
MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION EVENT ORGANIZERS RESERVE THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO MAKE THE FINAL DETERMINATION AS TO WHICH FILM SUBMISSIONS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR ENTRY, SCREENING, AND/OR COMPETITION. MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION EVENT ORGANIZERS ALSO RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE TO SCREEN A FILM OR TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE SCREENING REGARDING THE CONTENT OF THE FILM.
COMPLETED FILM SUBMISSION:
ALL COMPLETED FILMS MUST BE SUBMITTED AS A QUICK TIME FILE COMPRESSED
WITH H.264 AT 1080P 23.97.
MP4 IS ALSO WELCOMED AND PREFERRED.
ANY OTHER FORMAT WILL BE REJECTED. YOU MUST SUMBIT YOUR FILM THROUGH DROP BOX / DOWNLOAD
BEFORE OR THE DAY OF NOVEMBER 29TH 2020.
*COMPLETED FILM SUBMISSIONS (MEDIA OR DOCUMENTS/THUMBDRIVES) WILL NOT BE RETURNED.
NOTE: IF COMPLETED FILM SUBMISSION FILES ARE NOT ABLE TO BE OPENED BY MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION EVENT ORGANIZERS, THEY WILL NOT BE SCREENED AND, THEREFORE WILL BE INELIGIBLE FOR AWARDS AND PRIZES.
COMPLETED FILMS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION ORGANIZERS NO LATER THEN SPECIFIED DEADLINE. ANY FILM SUBMITTED AFTER THE DEADLINE MAY POSSIBLY STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE SCREENED, BUT WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THE COMPETITION'S AWARDS AND PRIZES.
NOTE: DURING THE KICK-OFF EVENT, MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION EVENT ORGANIZERS WILL DEFINE A LIMITED POST-DEADLINE “GRACE PERIOD” DURING THEY WILL ACCEPT COMPLETED FILM SUBMISSIONS
IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE SCREENING.
TEAM LEADERS MUST SUBMIT ALL REQUIRED PAPERWORK AND RELEASE FORMS FOR THEIR SUBMISSIONS. RELEASE FORMS WILL BE PROVIDED AT THE DAY OF KICK OFF.
CERTAIN RELEASE FORMS WILL REQUIRE A TEAM MEMBER TO SIGN THEM BEFORE THEY START THE FILM COMPETITION.
· MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
· TALENT OR CREW WAIVER AND RELEASE FORMS
· LOCATION AGREEMENT FORMS
· MUSIC RELEASE FORMS
· MATERIALS RELEASE FORMS
MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION EVENT ORGANIZERS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ANY COMPLETED FILM SUBMISSION THAT HAS FAR EXCEEDED THE LIMITED POST-DEADLINE “GRACE PERIOD,” IS MISSING ANY REQUIRED PAPERWORK AND RELEASE FORMS, AND/OR OTHERWISE FAILS TO COMPLY WITH COMPETITION RULES AND REQUIREMENTS.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION EVENT ORGANIZERS MAY ADD TO OR AMEND THESE RULES AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE MERRY SCARY CHRISTMAS FILM COMPETITION.
DATES:
KICK OFF
Sun, 11/01/2020 - 7PM - 9PM (8PM Announcements Begin)
LOCATION: TBD
DROP OFF
-TBD BY DROP BOX DOWNLOAD-
(Announcements will be made before or by the Kick Off day.)
Sun, 11/29/2020 BEFORE MIDNIGHT OF 11/30/2020
PREMIERE SCREENING / AWARDS
Sun, 12/13/2020
7PM - 10pm Alamo Draft House
Richardson, TX