Contest, what contest?

[mrtristan]

Is there some kind of information page about the formal rules of the contest? It's probably in plain view on one of these pages, but I haven't been able to find anything.

[g_shocker182]

Terms and conditions of DVDRHelp.com Short Film Competition
9 July, 2003
(c) vitualis Productions, Michael Tam

These are the terms and conditions of entering the DVDRHelp.com Short Film Competition ("the competition").

Summary:
1 - the film must be submitted and arrive BEFORE or ON
the due date with a completed application form
2 - for the film to be accepted, it must comply with the
allowable video format specifications
3 - the film must comply with the content restrictions
(specifically, no pornography)
4 - the film must be original material and must not have been
submitted in a previous competition
5 - the decisions of the judges in this competition are final
and are not subject to further deliberation
6 - DVDRHelp.com and its moderators ("we") have the right to
re-encode and distribute the film
7 - we reserve the right to change the terms and
conditions at any time - including the cancellation of
the competition

1. Submission and application
1.1
- The film and application form may be submitted in one
of two ways:
(a) By post (preferred)
- please record the film and completed application
form onto a standard 12 cm CD-R disc as a CD-ROM
- then post it to the following address:

DVDRHelp.com Short Film Competition
c/o Dr Michael Tam
PO Box 456
Corrimal, NSW 2518
Australia

- the package must be post marked on or before the due
date
- in addition, only packages that arrive within 10 days
will be accepted
- we take no responsibility for lost or late or damaged
applications due to the postal service

(b) Electronically via the world wide web
- please compress the film and completed application
form into a single ZIP archive file (e.g., using
"Winzip" http://www.winzip.com)
- upload this file into a publically accessible
webserver (must be provide/organised by the entrant)
- then send an e-mail with the title "DVDRHelp.com
Short Film Competition" with the relevant URL in the
message body to the following address:

vitualis@michaeltam.com

- the e-mail must be sent on or before the due date
- only ZIP archives with the film and application that
can be successfully downloaded within 10 days will be
accepted
- we take no responsibility for lost or late
applications due to the quality of the webhost or the
world wide web in general

1.2
- the application form must be completed satisfactorily and
must include the following:
(a) acceptance of the terms and condition of the
DVDRHelp.com Short Film Competition
(b) the name of the entrant (a pseudonym is acceptable)
(c) a valid contact e-mail address
(d) the name of the video clip
(e) a description of the video clip
(f) declaration of any sponsors

- optional fields in the application form include:
(a) mailing address (required if the entrant wishes to
receive any material prize that may be won)
(b) an article on the inspiration for the film and what
the entrant was trying to achieve
(c) an article on how the short film was produced including
hardware, software and any special techniques
(d) a URL to a website or to the short film if public
appraisal is desired

1.3
- there may only be one short film application per entrant

1.4
- any persons involved with the sponsoring or judging of the
competition are forbidden from entering this competition

1.5
- the entrant may quit the competition at any time by writing
an e-mail to:

vitualis@michaeltam.com


2. Film format specifications
2.1
- the film must adhere to the specifications as stated in
2.2, 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5 or risk disqualification from the
competition

2.2
- overall specifications include:
(a) the film should be in the AVI format only (note: 2.5)
(b) the film must be of no longer than 5 minutes (300
seconds) in length
(c) the total file size of the flm must be no larger than
40 megabytes (41943040 bytes)
(d) the film must be playable on a standard PC running
Windows 98/ME/2K/XP after only the installation of the
standard DivX 5 codec

2.3
- the video specifications include:
(a) the framerate must either be 29.97 Hz or 25 Hz
(b) the framesize must be 640 (height) x 480 (width) unless
2.3(f) applies
(c) the pixel aspect ratio must be 1:1
(d) it is recommended that the video codec used is DivX 5
(e) other video codecs that can be decoded by the DivX 5
codec can be used but we take no responsibility if
there are playback or compatibility problems
(f) "widescreen" style films are acceptable and should be
made as either 640x480 with letterboxing, or with a
width of exactly 640 pixels and a diminished height
(e.g., 640x360)

2.4
- the audio specifications include:
(a) the audio must either be in mono or stereo only
(b) the audio must be sampled at 8-bit or 16-bit resolution
(c) the audio must be sampled at 22.05 kHz or 44.1 kHz
(d) the audio codec must either be MP2, MP3
(e) variable bitrate encoding is not permitted for audio
(f) the preferred audio specification is MP3 at 128 kbit/s
for 16-bit stereo sampled at 44.1 kHz.

2.5
- other video formats:
(a) MPEG-1 will be accepted but not
recommended
(b) the framesize, framerate, aspect ratio, film length and
total filesize limits from 2.2 still apply
(c) we take no responsibility for the compatibility or
playability of such a film

2.6
- it is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that
the film can be played back at expected on a standard
Windows PC with no additional programs or codecs installed
other than DivX 5


3. Content restrictions
3.1
- films depicting pornography will be disqualified
- films depicting a real criminal offense perpetrated (or
suspected of being perpetrated) by the entrant will be
disqualified

3.2
- any films that contain the following: grossly offensive
material, inflammatory material, depiction of extreme
violence or sexual violence (even if simulated), cruelty
against animals (even if simulated), etc. (the list is
not exhaustive) may be disqualified after deliberation by
the judges
- the decision by the judges to disqualify a film from the
competition is final and not subject to further discussion

3.3
- films should be relevant to the theme or topic of the
competition


4. Original material
4.1
- the film must be original material -- the entrant must be
the author/producer of the clip
- the film must not have been entered into any previous
competitions
- the film must not breach any copyright or intellectual
property laws


5. Judging and prizes
5.1
- the decision of the judges is final
- the judging criteria and process are described at
http://www.dvdrhelp.com or is linked to from that site
- we have no obligation to explain judging decisions
- if an entrant is discovered to have breached the terms and
conditions after judging and the allocation of prizes,
they will be formally stripped of that award

5.2
- prizes are allocated according to the published judging
criteria at http://www.dvdrhelp.com or is linked to from
that site
- any material/physical prizes can only be delivered if a
valid postal address was submitted on the application form
- prizes will not be given if the competition is terminated
- we take no responsibility in lost or late prizes due to
the postal service


6. Copyright
6.1
- the author/producer of the clip maintains and owns the
copyright of the film
- entrants of the competition are encouraged to release
their work under the "copyleft" concept or in the public
domain but this is not a requirement

6.2
- DVDRHelp.com and its moderators have the right to copy
the film, re-encode the film and to distribute the film
for the purposes of the competition (including and not
limited to judging, public appraisal, creation of public
world-wide web content and the generation of revenue)

6.3
- the entrant can revoke this right by formally quitting the
competition by sending an e-mail to:

vitualis@michaeltam.com

- the entrant can only revoke this right before the
annoucement of winners in the competition


7. Changes to the terms and conditions
7.1
- we reserve the right to change or amend the terms and
conditions of the competition at any time and without
notice
- the most recent version of the terms and conditions are
available at http://www.dvdrhelp.com or linked from that
website

7.2
- entrants who disagree with changes to the terms and
conditions can quit from the competition at any stage as
per 1.5
- in this circumstance, 6.2 and 6.3 still apply

9, July 2003

[vitualis]

More info and guides here: http://users.tpg.com.au/mtam

The official DVDRHelp.com site (that has that info in a much swankier design by pacmania) should hopefully launch soon.

Regards.