Emergency Arts Collective Presents
The 2017 Projekteers
5-MINUTE DOCUMENTARY
Film-Vid Festival


Sept 23, 2017 (more or less)
Mid-Day (more or less)
Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum (probably)

Click to return to Events page

The General Plan
(Check back for updated info!)


Hi Folks Who Know Stuff, Do Stuff, Live Near Stuff, Have Seen Stuff, or Want to Learn and Share Stuff -

Can YOU make a 5-MINUTE DOCUMENTARY?

Do you know a senior with a fascinating story?

...or an artist producing unique work?

...or an bunch of people who do something fun?

Has something become NORMAL to you that's UNTHINKABLE to most other people?

Can you teach me something complicated in 5 entertaining minutes?


On September 23, 2017 (or, you know, sometime that month) we'll screen a program of SHORT DOCUMENTARIES made by YOU and other ambitious folks with something to say!

The details are TBD, but our screening will *probably* be a presentation of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. (That would mean a big screen, a public audience, and a $5-ish admission for friends, fans, and filmmakers alike!)

Whichever screen we use, however, your documentary can bring new eyes to a part of the world that only you have seen before now!

The FINE PRINT and FESTIVAL DETAILS:

Q: How long should my 5-Minute Documentary be?
A:
Your 5-Minute Documentary should run approximately 5 minutes.
Videos < 5 minutes will receive proportionally greater adulation from the audience.
Videos > 5 minutes will be presented at proportionally higher speed to achieve a running time of 5 minutes.

Q: What kind of work will fit into the festival, and what kind won't?
A:
Adults will be our target audience, but the presentation will be family-friendly - so grown-up topics are great, but all material should be acceptable for children.
(Go ahead and make your adults-only documentary anyway, though - perhaps we'll show it next time!)

Q: Can I submit my short film that isn't a documentary?
A:
Does your film document the fact that you made a film? Does your animation demonstrate your attempt at animation? We'll make it work.
(Let's discuss what you have in mind to make sure, though.)

Q: What's the SUBMISSION DEADLINE?
A:
Please submit your videos by September 15th. We'll need that time to prepare the presentation, confirm the credits, troubleshoot, etc. (See below for submission details.)

Q: Who can participate / attend?
A: The fun part is: the festival will be a public event! The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum will put us on the schedule (between other shows!) and charge people $5 to get in.

That way a historic theater / museum / worthy cause gets some money, and we get to use the theater for the price of a cheap ticket!

Q: Will filmmakers be paid for their movies?
A:
The festival will essentially be an unpaid volunteer gig, and a fundraiser for the theater. Much of the ticket money will simply cover the cost of using the theater.
I'd love to make the videos available online, but no work will be posted without filmmakers' approval.
If the project is a success, we may repeat or expand the festival, but filmmakers maintain all rights to and control over their work.

Q: Should our documentary subjects sign a release or something?
A:
That's up to you and your subject. Our festival will screen your video only once, which may not require the same agreements as YouTube videos or commercially released videos. Check back for more info.

Q: Are copyrighted music, song parodies or 'borrowed' material appropriate?
A:
Original music and visuals are encouraged. (You can also search for "copyright-free music" to find vast libraries of recordings available for free use.)
Copyrighted music, song parodies, etc. may or may not be acceptable for the festival - let's discuss if you're interested.

Q: How should videos be submitted?
A:
Files can be sent via dropbox, FTP, or posted for download. Files can also be mailed or delivered on USB sticks, data CDs or DVDs, etc. Emailing files larger than 10mb can cause problems, so please contact Martin to discuss options if email is your most practical method.

Q: What technical specs should the videos have?
A:
As follows:

Length - 5 minutes or less. Very short is fine. Longer than 5 minutes won't work for this festival.

Aspect Ratio - Most of the work will be in 16:9, but 4:3 is also acceptable acceptable. We may run videos with the same aspect ratios together.

Video Format - Video for Windows (AVI or WMV) formats are preferred. If you can submit a few weeks early, any format could work - but as July draws near, time to negotiate different formats may be limited.


Time to dig out that video camera, line up a willing subject, and start documenting!





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All rights are reserved.