Bitfilm Festival: Competition Guidelines

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General Rules

Every filmmaker or animator, whether professional, student or amateur, can submit as many works as he or she likes. There is no submission fee. Deadline for submissions is July 1, 2009. By submitting a film to the Bitfilm Festival the filmmaker automatically gets a free Bitfilm Network membership.

Accepted Formats

We only accept uploaded digital videofiles. Accepted formats are Quicktime, MPEG and Windows Media. We do not accept any submissions by conventional mail.

The Five Competition Categories

For the 3D SPACE AWARD we accept entirely computer generated 3D animations, produced 2008 or later. We accept all genres, whether artistic or commercial productions. There is no time limit.

For the FX MIX AWARD we accept digitally composed hybrids which mix different techniques, e.g. live action, 2D animation and 3D animation, produced 2008 or later. We accept all genres, whether artistic or commercial productions. There is no time limit.

For the MACHINIMA AWARD we accept films that were shot in real time in a game engine, 2008 or later. We accept all genres, whether artistic or commercial productions. There is no time limit.

For the REALTIME AWARD we accept animations generated in real time through an EXE file (so called Demos), 2008 or later. We accept all genres, whether artistic or commercial productions. There is no time limit.

For the POLITICOOL AWARD we accept digital animations or mash-up videos with a political message, produced 2008 or later. There is no time limit.

Pre-selection

The Bitfilm Team pre-selects the films which may take part in the voting process. Films will not be selected in any of the following cases:

the digital videofile does not work technically or is too big
the film does not fit into any of the Bitfilm categories (the Bitfilm team may put the film into another, more suitable category than the one chosen by the submitting person)
the film violates any laws of the European Union or the Federal Republic of Germany
the film does not match the artistic standards of the Bitfilm Festival which are subjectively defined by the Bitfilm team

All selected films will be published on a free DVD on the cover of 3D World Magazine in September 2009. Each selected filmmaker will receive a free copy.

The Voting Process

As soon as the pre-selected films are presented on the website by August 13, 2009, the audience may vote by giving 0 to 5 stars to a film, 5 stars being the best rating. Voters may actively promote films by recommending them to their friends using the "Recommend" function.

Filmmakers' Awards

The film with the most voting points in each category by September 24, 2009, 12 AM CEST wins. The prize money for the first place in each category is 2000 Euros.

Audience Prizes

Bitfilm Club members who have voted take part in a tombola where they can win valuable prizes. The most active third of the voters (by number of votes and number of recommendations) have a chance ten times higher than the two less active thirds of voters.

Rights

By submitting a film you declare that you own all the rights in the submitted works and the use of the works by Bitfilm and its partners will not infringe the intellectual property or proprietary rights of any other person. In addition, you accept full liability if any third party's rights are violated. You also agree to give us the following rights by submitting your works to the Bitfilm Festival:

we are allowed to show your works on the Bitfilm Festival site, on partner websites, at the Bitfilm live events in Hamburg and Tel Aviv and at guest events in other cities.
we are allowed to copy and archive the submitted works.
we are allowed to reproduce and publish your works for advertising and public relations reasons for the Bitfilm Festival (if necessary just in an abridged version).
we are allowed to grant Future Publishing Limited a licence to: (i) include your works on any DVDs that they produce and distribute with their magazine known as 3D World; and (ii) distribute those DVDs with 3D World and any licensed editions of it worldwide.

In relation to the above uses of your works, you hereby waive the benefit of any moral rights (or analogous rights) to which you are or may be entitled pursuant to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or any equivalent legislation anywhere in the world and you agree not to assert any such claim against Bitfilm or Future Publishing Limited. Any other copyrights and rights of utilization remain untouched. Every other arrangement has to be fixed separately between the rights owner and Bitfilm.

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