International Student film festivals

Berlin (March): Delphic Art Movie Award 2011 - DAMA 2011

Deadline: January
Categories: Shorts; documentaries
Requirements: Admitted to the contest are professionally made digital films (maximum duration: 10 minutes including credits), which were ideally made in cooperation between film-makers and artists or art historians. This includes also students of the respective fields. Answers to these questions are expected: What do national identity and tradition mean to contemporary art? What makes art fascinating? Which artistic achievements have coined the culture of a country the most in the last years? How can enthusiasm for art be conveyed to an uninvolved audience? No entry fee The period for submitting the DVDs and registration is from December 1st, 2010 to January 31st, 2011. Contest: March 9th – March 13th at the ITB Berlin 2011
Awards: International Jury Prize
Fees: None
Administrative address: International Delphic Council, Head Office, Stiftsweg 1, D-13187 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49 (0)30 47 300171
Email address: tyllack@delphic.org
Website: http://www.delphic-games.com

Bradford (November): Bradford Animation Festival (BAF)

Deadline: July
Categories: Student, professional, independent, promotional, TV series, films for children, web animation, machinima
Requirements: 35mm, Beta SP (PAL), DVD, DV-Cam, DigiBeta, MiniDV. Completed within one year to be eligible for the competition
Awards: Best Student, professional, independent, promotional, TV series, films for children, web animation, machinima, audience award, special Jury Prize, Grand Prix
Fees: None
Administrative address: Bradford Animation Festival, National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford, BD1 1NQ, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1274 203364
Fax: +44 (0)1274 203 387
Email address: deb.singleton@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk
Director: Deb Singleton
Website: http://www.baf.org.uk

London (November): FilmLab Festival

Deadline: Contact festival for details
Categories: Shorts; student films; independent films; animation
Requirements: Films must be made by students or recent graduates; they must be submitted on DVD in a 16:9 format.
Awards:
Fees: None
Administrative address: 35a Miranda Road, London, N19 3RA, England
Email address: info@filmlabfestival.co.uk
Director: Grace Barrett
Director: Lucy Rogers
Submissions address: 35a Miranda Road, London, N19 3RA, England
Website: http://www.filmlabfestival.co.uk

 

Student Film Festivals USA

Philadelphia (July): Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

Deadline: April
Categories: World and US premieres, features, animation, documentary, shorts, student films, centerpiece screenings, international cinema
Requirements: 35mm, 16mm, Beta SP, video. Films must have been produced no more than two years prior to the festival
Awards: Jury and audience awards, festival awards in several categories, including artistic achievement to directors and actors
Fees: Contact festival for details
Festival address: Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, c/o Philadelphia Film Society, 234 Market St, Fourth Floor, Philadelphia PA 19106, USA
Tel: +1 267 765 9700 x260
Fax: +1 215 733 0668
Email address: info@phillyfests.com
Artistic Director: Raymond Murray
Managing Director: Ed Urban
Website: http://www.phillyfests.com


Philadelphia (October): Philadelphia Film Festival

Deadline: January
Categories: World and US premieres, features, animation, documentary, shorts, student films, international cinema, centerpiece screenings, Festival of Independence and Set in Philadelphia
Requirements: 35mm, 16mm, Beta SP, video. Films must have been produced no more than two years prior to the festival
Awards: Jury and audience awards, festival awards in several categories, including artistic achievement to directors and actors
Fees: Contact festival for details
Festival address: Philadelphia Film Festival , c/o Philadelphia Film Society, 600 Chestnut St - Suite 705, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Tel: +1 215 253 3599
Email address: info@phillyfests.com
Director: J. Andrew Greenblatt
Artistic Director: Harlan Jacobson 

Philadelphia (Ongoing): NextFrame: UFVA's Touring Festival of International Student Film + Video

Deadline: May
Categories: Narrative, Documentary, Animation/Experimental
Requirements: All films must be created by student filmmakers. Preview: DVD, VHS, DVCam (NTSC, PAL)
Awards: Prizes from Kodak, Avid, Final Draft, Focal Press, Michael Wiese Productions, Mole-Richardson, and Lowel
Fees: US$15-25 but free for International Students
Administrative address: NextFrame, Dept. of Film and Media Arts, Room 130 Annenberg Hall, 2020 N. 13th St., Temple University 011-00, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Tel: +1 215 204 6740
Fax: +1 215 204 6740
Email address: nextfest@temple.edu
NextFrame Student Film Festival Website: http://nextframe.org/
Annual Traveling Festival
Email: nextfest@temple.edu
NextFrame: UFVA's Touring Festival of International Student Film & Video was founded with the intention to provide a first-class festival and much-needed exposure for cutting–edge student work.
NextFrame is the official film festival for the University Film and Video Association (UFVA), one of the largest organizations of academic and industry professionals within the United States. NextFrame finalists are chosen in July and then screened at the annual UFVA conference, where a jury of filmmakers, scholars, film/video academics, and industry professionals selects NextFrame's Award Winners, who receive product grants and cash prizes from sponsors. Its sponsor partners, who graciously provide our winning makers with top notch products and prizes, constitute many of the blue chips of the film industry, including Kodak, Avid, Focal Press, Final Draft, American Cinematographer, and many others.


 BLACK MARIA FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL
NJ City University
Check website for new deadlines: Early July
Website: http://www.blackmariafilmfestival.org/Background.html
The Black Maria Film + Video Festival seeks diverse, expressive, and passionate short films and videos by independent makers.  The Festival is named after Thomas Edison’s motion picture studio, and is known for its support of spirited, cutting edge, and otherwise singular film and video.  The Black Maria is committed to works that explore the potential of the medium to illuminate, provoke, enrich, and engage viewers.  Imaginative and revelatory films and videos which provide insight into the human condition and political, social, and environmental issues, as well as the lives of people with disabilities, or which investigate the aesthetic potential and eschew obvious conventions of the medium are also sought by the festival.  The Black Maria Film + Video Festival is generously supported by The Charles Edison Fund, New Jersey City University, New Jersey Network – NJN (in kind), New Jersey State Council on the Arts, NFL Films (in kind), The William H. Donner Foundation, Inc.

Providence, RI (April): Ivy Film Festival

Deadline: December
Categories: Open to all genres, short and feature length
Requirements: Films and screenplays must be student-produced. Formatting; MiniDV (Preferred); Self-contained Quicktime Movie (,mov) with no proprietary codecs printed on a Data-DVD; Region 0 or 1 DVD; VHS. All media must be formatted in NTSC.
Awards: $2,000 Grand Prize, other awards to be determined
Fees: US$20-30, see website for details. Discount for multiple submissions
Administrative address: Attn: Ivy Film Festival, Student Activities Office, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
Tel: +001 617 233 4060
Email address: programming@ivyfilmfestival.com
Programming Director: Whitaker Lader
Executive Director: Daniel Wolfberg
Website: http://www.ivyfilmfestival.com

San Diego (September): San Diego Film Festival

Deadline: June
Categories: Features; documentary; shorts; student films; music videos
Requirements: Beta, HD, 35mm
Awards: Contact festival for details
Fees: US$25-$65
Administrative address: 7974 Mission Bonita Dr, San Diego, CA 92120, USA
Tel: +1 619 582 2368
Fax: +1 619 286 8324
Email address: info@sdff.org
Director: Robin Laatz
Website: http://www.sdff.org

San Diego/La Jolla (October): La Jolla Film Festival

Deadline: please visit website for details
Categories: best picture, best of category, screenplay, direction, performances, art, photography, editing, animation, short film, feature narrative, documentary, foreign, music video, experimental, first-time director, California films, and student films.
Requirements: DVD
Awards: awards are for all categories listed above
Fees: please visit website for details
Mailing Address: 6977 Navajo Road, Suite 225, San Diego, CA 92119, USA
Email address: info@lajollafilmfestival.com
Festival Director: James Nicholas
Website: http://lajollafilmfestival.com

San Fernando Valley (March): Valley International Film Festival

Deadline: February
Categories: Features; shorts; screenplays; student films; commercials; music videos
Requirements: DigiBeta, BetaSP, 35mm
Awards: Various - see website for details
Fees: Various - see website for details
Administrative address: Valley International Film Festival, 9835 Nevada Avenue, PO Box 3609, Chatsworth, CA 91313-3609, USA
Tel: +1 818 980 9777
Fax: +1 818 709 8597
Email address: info@viffi.org
Chairman: Clancy Grass
Website: http://www.viffi.org

San Jose (March): Cinequest Film Festival

Deadline: October
Categories: Digital; student; original work
Requirements: 35mm, Beta SP, DigiBeta, HDCam, DV, MiniDV
Awards: Competitive
Fees: Contact festival for details
Administrative address: Cinequest, PO Box 720040, San Jose, CA 95172-0040, USA
Tel: +1 408 995 5033
Fax: +1 408 995 5713
Email address: info@cinequest.org
Director: Halfdan Hussey
Website: http://www.cinequest.org

 

St. Louis, Missouri (August): FilmGate International Student Film Festival

Deadline: June
Categories: Student shorts
Requirements: Must be student produced
Awards:
Fees: US$20-30
Administrative address: FilmGate Productions, C/O Webster Film Series, 470 E Lockwood Ave, St. Louis, MO 63119, USA
Email address: info@filmgateproductions.com
Director: Christopher Abreu
Website: http://www.filmgateproductions.com

Stockton, California (February): San Joaquin International Film Festival

Deadline: October
Categories: Features; documentaries; World Cinema; shorts; animation; experimental; student works; and local films
Requirements: Contact festival for details
Awards: Best Narrative, Best Documentary, Spirit of Humanity Award, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Animated Short, Best Experiemtal Short, Best Student Short, Best Local Short, Best New Director, Ambassador Award, Icon Award
Fees: US$15-$55
Mailing Address: San Joaquin Film Society, P.O. Box 690341, Stockton, CA 95269-0341, USA
Email address: filmsj@gmail.com
Director: Sophoan Sorn
Office Address: San Joaquin Film Society Inc., 231 Bedford Rd, Stockton, California 95204, USA
Website: http://www.sjiff.org

Washington, DC (May/June): The Shortie Awards - Student Film and News Festival

Deadline: April
Categories: Live Action/Narrative; Animation; Documentary; PSA; Daily News Program
Requirements: Films must be made by students ages 7-18 and/or their teachers - see website for more information.
Awards: There is an award for each age group (7-10; 11-14; 15-18) for each of the above categories
Fees: None
Administrative Address: The Shortie Awards, 8101A Lee Highway, Falls Church, VA 22042, USA
Tel: +001 703 770 7109
Fax: +001 703 770 7112
Email address: shortie@mhznetworks.org
Administrator: Preeti Balakrishnan
Website: http://www.shortie.org

Winston-Salem, North Carolina (April): RiverRun International Film Festival

Deadline: Contact festival for details
Categories: Animation, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Narrative Feature, Narrative Short, Student
Requirements: Films must have been completed after January year preceeding festival; Submissions must be in NTSC; see website for more information
Awards: Audience and Jury awards
Fees: US$20 - $45
Administrative address: RiverRun International Film Festival, 870 W. Fourth St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA
Tel: +1 336 724 1502
Fax: +1 336 724 1112
Email address: mary@riverrunfilm.com
Program Coordinator: Mary Dossinger
Executive Director: andrew@riverrunfilm.com
Website: http://www.riverrunfilm.com

Woodstock (September/October): Woodstock Film Festival

Deadline: June
Categories: Narratives; documentaries; shorts; animation; music videos; student films
Requirements: 35mm, HDCam. Films must have been completed in previous two years
Awards: Juried awards in most categories with cast and/or in kind prizes
Fees: US$20-$50
Administrative address: PO Box 1406, 86 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock, NY 12498, USA
Tel: +1 845 679 4265
Fax: +1 509 479 5414
Email address: info@woodstockfilmfestival.com
Festival Director: Meira Blaustein
Director of Development: Laurent Rejto
Website: http://www.woodstockfilmfestival.com


osemite, California (September): Yosemite International Film Festival

Deadline: May
Categories: Features; Shorts; Documentaries; Student Films; Action Sports Films; Foreign Films; Environmental Films; Music Videos; Screenplays; Television Pilots; and Experimental Films
Requirements: DVD
Awards: Over 20 film and screenplay awards
Fees: $25-$50
Yosemite Film Festival Submissions: 4660 Natomas Blvd, suite 120-68, Sacramento, CA 95835, USA
Tel: +1 502 719 6706
Email address: info@yosemitefilmfestival.com
Festival Director: Easton Stuart
Website: http://www.yosemitefilmfestival.com

"Ode to an Actor" self-critique

I am very proud of the result given the immense amount of technological difficulties I encountered during the process. I was greatly inspired by the rotoscoping examples on the blog for the darkened figures, which I just now realized are almost identical to iPod commercials. That's one of my self-critiques. The similarity didn't cross my mind and I hate the unoriginality, but I'm hoping that the animated feature changes the overall feel enough so that it doesn't look like I directly copied a commercial. If given more time, I would like to have included more intricate animations that are interactive with the figure. I would also like to expand the genres so that the audience receives at least eight different settings and visuals. On the whole, the masking done with the figure is quite clean and I'm happy there's no fuzz around his movements. For a small project, I'm happy with the result but would like to expand and pay more attention to detail

Pigeon footage YOUTUBE
1. Captured with Firefox's download helper (extension through firefox)
2. Using Handbrake, converted flv to .mov

Filters > Matte > Extract
Threshold=50
Tolerance=50
Soft=83

V1 = bird
v2=water flow with pond ripple effect

v1 =bird
v2=plant footage

Filters > KEY> Luma
KEY OUT BRIGHTER
MATTE: Copy to Alpha
Threshold = -87
Tolerance=100

Filters > Key >PRIMATTE RT

Noise removal=.03
Matte Density=.14
Spill Suppression =.74
Mix =68
Birds on V2, keyed out blue
Color matte on V1

Export> QT conversion >
Format > mp4