FYI - Film Your Issue 2007 Submission Microsite

Official Rules and Timeline

Be sure to read the complete Terms of Service.

Length
Issue films should be no less than 30 seconds and no more than 60 seconds in length. We will accept a brief credit roll beyond the 60 seconds.

Format
Live-action or animated.

Deadline
April 15, 2007

Who Can Participate
Anyone age 16 to 25 at the time of film submission, subject to local rules, laws and regulations pertaining to the specific country of the entrant.

Filmmakers living in the U.S. (i.e., filmmakers who are citizens or legal residents of the United States) are eligible for The Universal Pictures Grand Prize, The FYI - Yahoo! Audience Award for American Film, The FYI 2007 VIP Jury Awards, The FYI - Humane Society Award, The FYI - NRDC Healthy Planet Award, and The FYI - U.N. Global Award. (The Universal Pictures Grand Prize -- a Summer 2007 internship at Universal Pictures - will require confirmed enrollment in an institution of higher education for the fall 2007 term, as additional eligibility).

Filmmakers not living in the U.S. are eligible for The FYI - Yahoo! Audience Award for Foreign Film and The FYI - U.N. Global Award. Submitting an entry from outside the United States must comply not only with rules and regulations of FYI - FILM YOUR ISSUE but with applicables laws, rules and regulations of the country of the submitting party.

Visit the Awards & Prizes page for more information.

Style and Content
Any social issue that elicits passion for you, from AIDS to homelessness to pollution to sexism. You can be serious, humorous, quiet, loud, polite or rude. We encourage personal, first-person perspective: what matters to YOU... WHY it matters to you... how YOU feel about it. The more it's YOUR story, the better the chance of winning. We want originality. Slick public service announcements, with talking heads, statistics and impersonal presentations of an issue are NOT what we are looking for. We want to hear your voice, feel your passion and power, indignation or concern. Show us your power as an ARTIST using your talent channeled into presenting the issue.

Look at last year's winners to see personal examples. You can use bold or rude comedy or searing harsh truth. You can be flashy or minimalist. Inventive cinematic and creative approaches are awesome, but unslick originality that makes us go WOW counts just as much. So don't worry if it doesn't look like prime-time.

No pornography, and keep nudity and swearing within limits... IF you want your winning entry broadcast on STARZ, STARZ Edge and STARZ Cinema, as well as other venues.

The objective is to craft a 30-to-60 second mini-film that illuminates an issue in your life, in your neighborhood, in America or on the other side of the globe, one that will open hearts or minds. It can be a call to action.

Copyright
You cannot use copyrighted music or material, unless you have received written permission from the copyright holder to use such music or material. Otherwise, you can only use music originally composed for your submission, original music that has not been used with an audiovisual work before, music in the public domain or music not protected by copyright.

Refer to our section on Making Your Film for further instructions regarding music rights and clearance, and film rights.

Submission Format
All major media formats including
Video: .mpg, .mp4, .mov, .flv, .avi, .wmv
Audio: .mp3, .wav
Bitrate should be 400Kbs minimum
Resolution: 320 by 240 minimum
Maximum upload size is 100MB

Viewing and voting
We will accept and begin to post entries beginning February 1, 2007. All entries will be vetted for copyright, and legitimate presentation of an issue (as opposed to pre-existing footage of a dancing baby or non-issue comedy riff dusted off your shelf), and posted within 48 hours on Jumpcut.

YAHOO! visitors will be able to view, show love, and post comments to films immediately after February 1, and through the submission deadline of April 15, 2007.

From all entries received by April 15, the FYI team will select approximately three dozen U.S.-originated films, and approximately one dozen non-U.S. originated films, to move to Round 2. While we will pay attention to films that the public is responding to, and which are attracting attention and votes, the final decision is independent of the popularity of the films online, and will also include and consider entries that are received up to 11:59:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on April 15, 2007.

Beginning on or about April 25, the approximately three-dozen semi-finalists will be submitted to the VIP Judges and FYI ThinkTank, who will choose three winners for Jury Prizes.

Beginning on or about April 25, the approximately four-dozen semi-finalists will be re-mounted on the top of the FYI - YAHOO! voting page. During this period, we will not accept comments, but the public can choose their three favorites. In conjunction with YAHOO! and JUMPCUT, we will build safeguards to ensure that voting cannot be manipulated. The top-voted U.S. and non-U.S. entries will each receive an Audience Award.

The public and Jury voting period ends at Midnight, May 16, 2007.

Additionally, the United Nations Department of Public Information will pick one film from among ALL U.S. and non-U.S. submissions to receive an FYI - U.N. Award, based on U.N. themes as outlined on the FYI website. The United Nations reserves the right to decline to award a film if it does not find a suitable candidate from among the entries.

The Humane Society of the United States will pick one film from among all U.S. submissions to receive an FYI - Humane Society of the U.S. Award, based on HSUS themes as outlined on the FYI website. The HSUS reserves the right to decline to award a film if it does not find a suitable candidate from among the entries.

The Natural Resources Defense Council will pick one film from among all U.S. submissions to receive an FYI - Natural Resources Defense Council Award, based on NRDC themes as outlined on the FYI website. The NRDC reserves the right to decline to award a film if it does not find a suitable candidate from among the entries.

Legalities:
All submissions to the 2007 FYI Film Your Issue competition will automatically confer upon FYI Film Your Issue all rights without fee or penalty, to present and license the entry on any and all platforms (including without limitation internet, broadcast, cable, satellite, podcast, cellphone, etc.).

Official Sponsor:
FYI – FILM YOUR ISSUE
1920 N. Alexandria Avenue, #3
Los Angeles, CA 90027