RULES & REGULATIONS

The Short Film Contest is open to all aspiring filmmakers residing in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties. Categories include: grades 6-8, grades 9-12 and ages 18 and over.

• The contest is open to the entire community - filmmakers do not have to be Jewish to submit an entry.
• There is no entry fee.
• All applications and short films must be received by Thursday, December 31, 2009.
• One entry will be accepted per filmmaker or collaborative group on only one of the two themes. The themes are Judaism, the Jewish people or being Jewish, or Interfaith issues and opportunities.
• Collaborative work is encouraged.
• Entrants may participate in both the Short Film Contest and the 30-second cell phone contest.
• Films in any genre will be accepted – fictional (drama, comedy, sitcom, science fiction, etc.), documentaries, news story formats, etc.
• All films must be written, produced, directed, and crewed by the age categories listed above. Actors can be any age.
• Films can be up to 5 minutes in length. Run time includes the credits at the beginning and end of the film. Films may be shorter than 5 minutes; however, films that are longer than 5 minutes will be disqualified.
• A completed registration form, including a short written synopsis of your film, must be submitted online.
• The films must abide by PG-13 guidelines. (go to www.filmratings.com/questions.htm for detailed specifications of this rating guideline)
• All finished films can be uploaded to YouTube or submitted by DVD by U.S. Mail or by delivery in an envelope to the Tampa JCC. For complete instructions, please review information on pages 4-6.
• Once the short film has been submitted, we will not accept substitutions or new versions.
• The TBJFF exclusively holds the rights to broadcast all entries at the Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival, on television or over the Internet until April 1, 2010.
• The entry must be the original work of the entrant(s).
• The entrant(s) must ensure that he or she is the sole creator(s) of the work and that it does not infringe on any existing copyright (including music, photos, archival footage, web images or other materials used in your film).
• All entrants shall retain the rights to their submitted film.
• Entering the competition constitutes permission to use the entrant’s names and likenesses for publicity and promotions with no compensation by the Film Festival, the Tampa Jewish Community Center and Federation, the Pinellas Jewish Community Center and the Golda Meir/Kent Jewish Center. The TBJFF reserves the right to publicize and promote any and all progress, development and success of the entered short films.
• Employees of the TBJFF producing organizations (Tampa Jewish Community Center, Pinellas Jewish Community Center, and the Golda Meir Kent Jewish Center) and their immediate families are not eligible to participate, nor are judges and their immediate families.

JUDGING & NOTIFICATION

• The winning films will be chosen by a panel of judges. Winners will be announced and their films screened at the 14th Annual Jewish Film Festival in Tampa in March 2010.
• Winners will be contacted in writing in advance of the Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival and announced at the 2010 TBJFF opening night. Winners will be asked to provide a DVD version of their film. The first, second and third place winners’ films in each category will be shown as part of 2010 TBJFF program. Some or all of the honorable mentions may also be shown during the Film Festival. Please note that DVDs will not be returned.
• The schools of the 1st place middle school and high school winners will each receive a $250 cash prize. The school must be indicated on the entrant’s registration form. If members of a collaborative group attend different schools, the members must agree on only one school to receive the prize. The winning schools will also be contacted in writing in advance of the Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival.
• Judging is based on context and execution.
• Judges' decisions are final.
• Every entrant will receive an email confirmation upon receipt of his/her short film.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR VIDEO

Please note: YouTube frequently updates its website with new information. Our instructions below may slightly differ from the information on YouTube’s current website. If you need assistance on using the YouTube website, please feel free to contact us.

Option 1: Submitting your film through YouTube

About a week before you intend to submit your video to the Short Film Contest via youtube.com, please make sure to complete the following steps.

• Create an account and username with YouTube.com. Once your account has been created successfully, login and click on the "Account" link at the upper right hand corner of the screen, in the pull-down menu under your username.
• In the column "My Network," click on "Address Book".
• Click on the blue "New" box in the upper left side of the screen; select "Contact."
• In the "Username" field, enter "TBJFF" and click the "Save" button.
• Select TBJFF and click "Add to Friends."
  We will accept your friend request within 24 hours. Please check your YouTube account to verify. At that point, you'll be ready to upload your entry at any time.
• Click on "Upload" in the right corner of the YouTube homepage. Click "Upload Video" and select the video you would like to upload from your computer. Upload video to YouTube.
• On the Video File Upload page, under the Privacy tab, select your video to be "Private"
• When the video has fully uploaded to YouTube.com, press “Save Changes.”
• Once the video has uploaded, scroll over your username at the top right of the page. A pulldown menu will appear. Click on "My Videos."
• When you see the video you intend to share with us, click "Edit."
• On the left side of the page, you will see "Video Information." Please fill in the title and a short description of your film.
• Next, under “Broadcasting and Sharing Options,” please confirm your privacy settings are set to "Private."
• Next, in the box titled "Friends," check the box next to "TBJFF" as the friend you’d like to share your video with.
• Finally, press the "Save Changes" button at the bottom of the page.
• A message will be sent to us from YouTube.com with a link to your film.
• We will confirm that we received your film within 24 hours.

After you have successfully completed the video upload, please complete the online registration form for the short film contest at www.tbjff.org

Option 2: Mail/Deliver a DVD

• Burn your film on a DVD
• Label your disc with your name, email and phone number.
• Mail or deliver to:
  Tampa JCC
  Attn: Short Film Contest
  13009 Community Campus Drive
  Tampa, FL 33625
• DVDs will not be returned.
• Complete the online registration form at www.tbjff.org

Option 3: Uploading from your cellphone to YouTube

If you are entering the 30-second cell phone video contest, you can upload your video from your cell phone to YouTube directly. Your phone needs to have video and multimedia messaging (MMS) capabilities in order to upload videos from your cell phone or other mobile device. Here's how to set it up:

1. Set up a YouTube account and add “TBJFF” as a friend as described in Option 1.
2. Go to the “Account" page (listed in the pull-down menu under your username).
3. On the left-hand of the page, click on "Mobile Set-up."
4. You will automatically be given an email address similar to this:
   1111111111@m.youtube.com. When you want to upload a video taken with your phone, email it to that address.
5. Go to YouTube.com once the video has uploaded. Once the video has uploaded, scroll over your username at the top right of the page. A pull-down menu will appear. Click on "My Videos." When you see the video you intend to share with us, click "Edit."
6. On the left side of the page, you will see "Video Information." Please fill the title and a short description of your film.
7. Next, under "Broadcasting and Sharing Options," please select "Private." Then click the checkbox "Private Share with YouTube friends."
8. Next, in the box titled "Friends," check the box next to "TBJFF" as the friend you’d like to share your video with.
9. Finally, press the "Save Changes" button at the bottom of the page.
10. A message will be sent to us from YouTube.com with a link to your film.
11. We will confirm that we received your film within 24 hours.

After you have successfully completed the video upload, please register online for the short film contest at www.tbjff.org.