Hello filmmakers:
Submissions are now being accepted at www.ThirdScreenFilmFestival.com for original short films in the global search to discover and reward the best and most creative content in wireless entertainment.
The festival bridges leading-edge technology, creativity and education, showcasing films for the ?third screen,? including mobile phones and WiFi and broadband-enabled, hand-held devices. It is open to student filmmakers as well as amateurs and professionals; voting categories will offer separate tracks for non-student and student filmmakers. Animation and live action films will also be voted on separately. Additionally, the student winner?s work will air on mtvU -- MTV?s 24-hour college network, broadcast to more than 730 campuses and 6.8 million students nationwide ? as well as the network?s all access broadband channel, mtvU Über at mtvU.com, as well as mtvU Wireless.
The entries will be vetted for quality and commercial licensing by Semester in L.A. students as well as professionals in short film distribution. Submissions that pass the vetting process will be shown on Nano's MobiTV channel and online at www.ThirdScreenFilmFestival.com in three semi-final rounds beginning July 19.
On the festival website, each film will be displayed with a line of code that will viewers can copy and paste into emails or blogs to share the films virally with their friends.
Viewers can vote for their favorite films two ways: by texting in their votes on wireless devices, or by clicking a button on the film's website.
In each of the three semi-final rounds top vote-getters in the animation and live action categories are promoted and held back for exhibition in the final phase, Round 4. In this final phase, which begins October 1, not only will voters choose their favorites but a stellar panel of Hollywood industry experts will also select the film that will be awarded the Third Screen Film Festival Jury Prize.
The top filmmakers will receive filmmaker grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Awards will be announced at a live event in Hollywood on October 2006.
TSFF Judges
Following is part of a growing panel of prominent industry players that will review semifinalist entries as voted by the public:
? Chris Gore, Founder, FilmThreat.com
? David Gale, Executive Vice President, MTV Films
? Ron Taylor, Vice President of Fox Diversity Development
? Skylar Stone, Actor (Accepted, For Your Consideration)
? Suzann Ellis, Executive Vice President, Beacon Pictures
? Amanda Marks, Executive Vice President, eLAB, Universal Music Group
? Navid Mcilhargey, Vice President, Silver Pictures, Columbia College Chicago alumnus
? Daniel Tibbets, Go Networks
? Suzanne Zizzi, Senior Vice President, Lion Rock Productions (A John Woo Company)
? Andy Horne, President of Development, Real-Time Productions (TV series ?24? production company)
TSFF Eligibility and Submissions Requirements
The competition is open to all filmmakers. Entrants under 18 years old must include written parental consent. Other requirements for films submitted include:
? Runtime under eight minutes
? Content is suitable for general audiences
? Films must be free of unlicensed content and vetted for commercial exhibition
? Films in a foreign language must have English subtitles or be dubbed in English
? Entrants must own rights to all content in the films they submit
? Copyrighted music will be accepted only with proper broadcast clearance
? Acceptable formats include Windows Media and QuickTime (however uncompressed video will not be accepted)
The closing date for film submissions is August 31. Finalists and the overall winner will be announced in the end of October. Look to www.ThirdScreenFilmFestival.com for more information on TSFF.
