Submission Guidelines

International Machinima Expo
2008 MachinExpo Submission Guidelines

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1) The International Machinima Expo welcomes machinima films of any style and has no category / genre restrictions. Each work will be juried solely on its own merits, at the sole discretion of the expo organizers. The Expo seeks films which are bold, creative, and vital, films which represent the very best of what machinima has to offer.

2) The ideal entry will be under 30 minutes in length. Films longer than 30 minutes are not out of the question. Contact exposubmit [at] machiniplex [dot] net if you have a film longer than 30 minutes that you would like to submit to the expo.

3) Submitted works do not need to be pure (100%) machinima. Films incorporating machinima in combination with other media are both welcome and encouraged. As a general rule, approximately 25% of the film should consist of machinima footage (real-time 3d animation).

4) Non-English language films may be submitted with or without English or Quebec French subtitles, at the filmmaker’s discretion. (Quebec French subtitles encouraged but not required). The audience at the expo is expected to be largely English and/or French speaking attendees.

5) Submission to the expo is open to filmmakers of all ages, from any country in the world. Filmmakers from Canada are eligible for a Special Jury Prize for Canadian filmmakers. See #10 below for more information. Filmmakers subject to all laws in the jurisdiction of the province of Quebec, Canada, including applicable taxes for prize monies and laws restricting the entries or awarding of monetary prizes for minors.

6) Year of production of the machinima film does not matter.

7) A “2008 MachinExpo Film Submission Form” must be completed for each film being submitted to the expo. A filmmaker may submit as many of his/her own films as they wish.

Films should be submitted in the highest resolution available. 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios are welcome in either NTSC or PAL format. While not required, a minimum of 640×480 (for 4:3) or 800×450 (for 16:9) is highly recommended for optimum viewing results on the expo’s large screen viewing environment. File types accepted for submission are: DivX or Xvid AVI, QuickTime MOV, or Windows Media WMV. Ideally, submitted files will be under 500 MB in size.

9) The filmmaker is expected to provide a working download link for their submitted film at the time of submission. Other methods of submission are available upon special arrangement, please contact exposubmit [at] machiniplex [dot] net for more information.

10) All submitted films will be reviewed by the expo organizers, and the best submitted works will be put before a jury consisting of professionals from the film and video game industries. Five (5) of these films will be selected for a Jury Prize, and one (1) additional film will be awarded a Special Jury Prize for Best Canadian Film. The Special Jury Prize is open to machinima filmmakers from Canada only.

11) In addition to films which are deemed eligible for either of the Jury Prizes, as many as several hours of additional machinima films will be made Screening Selections, all of which will be shown to the Expo audience. Selected films for screening or for jury prize eligibility will be notified on or close to October 20, 2008.

12) All submissions for the expo must be received by October 6, 2008.

See also: 2008 MachinExpo Film Submission Form