FOR THE LOVE OF FILM
INTRODUCTION
So you’re interested in participating in our upcoming competition? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Read more about the competition and the rules below.
As filmmakers, ourselves, we understand how finances can impact - or can, truly, make or break - your project. We made our first film, Reasons, with just $1,500, give or take a few bucks. Was it difficult? Yes. Could we have done more with a higher budget? Of course. But did we manage to create an incredibly heartfelt and relatable, award-winning film? You bet your sweet patootie, we did.
Yes, the Coronavirus pandemic slowed our entire industry down, but we artists are resilient. For us, it was never a matter of if our art would get made, but when and how. Well, we’re hoping to give you answers to both of those questions.
This first round of the Fund My Film! contest will feature original music by the incredible Ben J. Lee and will determine the course of the whole competition! What do we mean? We’re so glad you asked.
HOW IT WORKS
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Ben will compose one track to use in every competitor's film.
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Registration for the first round of the competition will be open from 12am EST April 1 to 11:59pm EST April 14, 2022.
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All registered competitors will have access to Ben’s track at 12am EST on April 15, 2022, at which point they have one (1) month to write and produce an original, 10-minute short film.
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All productions must have a budget of $1,500 CAD (or less), and submit their receipts along with their film and all other deliverables by 11:59pm EST on May 14, 2022.
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All submitted films will be scored by Caprius Films Co-Founders, Cesar and Laura, during a two-week deliberation period, with the winners being announced on May 29, 2022.
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The winners will be featured and celebrated the following week on our website.
Sounds easy enough, right?
WHY YOU SHOULD PARTICIPATE?
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Three (3) chances to win!
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The grand prize winner receives a $1,500 prize (wait, isn’t that how much you spent? Weird.) PLUS an extra $500 (but more on that, later).
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The second-place winner receives $1000 prize, plus an additional $250.
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The third-place winner receives a $750 prize, plus an additional $100.
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Even if your film isn't a finalist, you will have a finished short film under your belt!
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Flex your creative muscles.
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Get back on set.
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Bring a story to life.
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Try something new.
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We've told you everything we're looking for in a winning film (WE WANT IT TO BE YOU)
DO'S AND DON'T'S
DO
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Review the assessment and deliberation criteria thoroughly.
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Keep your receipts, contracts/deal memos, and invoices organized.
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Strive for the most professional-looking film possible.
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Try to give as many people opportunities to work in their field as possible.
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Be 100% transparent with your costs.
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Create a live-action film.
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Stay away from avant-garde style film.
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Stay safe (Covid-19).
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Treat your cast, crew, and production team well.
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Start gathering and organizing your team as soon as possible.
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Have fun!
DON'T
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Be afraid to take risks with your project.
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Post or share any official or professional stills/videos until after the competition is over.
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Stress about the budget limit - that's part of the fun!
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Wait until the last minute to submit.
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Write or cast diversely just to tokenize them.
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Use zoom.
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Produce a film less than 5 minutes.
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Share your project publicly until after the competition is over.
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Settle for less than your best!
RULES AND REGS
1. Submissions for this competition will be accepted only through www.capriusfilms.com.
2. All submissions are final. Caprius Films will not refund registration costs for non-winning projects.
3. All registered participants must be the legal age of majority in the city they are applying from.
4. The decision of the jury is final.
5. Correspondence with the organizers shall be only through email and shall be in regards only to the winning film(s). Any correspondence regarding non-winning entries will receive no reply.
6. Contestants must submit their film and all subsequently required deliverables by 11:59pm EST on the date the contest closes in order to be considered for the contest.
7. Caprius Films reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to take necessary actions (including but not limited to disqualification of your film submission) should any person connected to the making of said film be involved in, or alleged to be involved in, any situation that violates our company Code of Conduct.
8. Harassment or abuse of any kind (including but not limited to slander, discrimination, cyberbullying, etc. toward the competition organizers, jury, or other competitors) will not be tolerated and will result in disqualification (and may result in legal action).
9. All films submitted must not infringe on any copyrights, licensing or any other rights of any third parties.
10. Only the winning films will retain the licensing for the Fund My Film!'s original track(s).
11. Contestants agree that, should their project not be selected as a winner, they must obtain different music for their film.
12. All entrants agree that Caprius Films will not be held liable for any copyright/licensing violations by the competitors or their films.
13. No film may be submitted to the competition if it has involved, in any capacity, any of the jury.
14. All non-English films must have English subtitles.
15. Caprius Films will have the right to retain a copy of the winning film and the deliverables included in the submission in order to promote and celebrate the winner (including but not limited to the film, any and all posters, cast and crew biographies, and behind-the-scenes content).
16. Films submitted to the contest must be uploaded to Vimeo and made unlisted in (minimum) HD format, and made available for the organizers to download.
17. The jury will be granted a two-week assessment and deliberation period with the winner being announced on the Caprius Films website the next day.
18. Caprius Films reserves the right to change, cancel or re-schedule the contest dates at their discretion.
19. Films, once submitted for assessment and deliberation, will not be permitted for withdrawal except on mutually agreed terms. Should mutual agreement be reached, no refund will be provided.
20. All registered participants of the Fund My Film! competition hereby acknowledges and accepts that Caprius Films must be credited as the Executive Producers of the winning films (both in credits of the film, as well as on IMDb).
21. Caprius Films Inc. will award the prize money to the producer(s) of all winning films no later than 90 days from the date their win was announced.
22. While rare, it is possible that one of the film projects submitted doesn't place, but Caprius Films still wishes to reimburse the costs. In such a case, all aforementioned rules and regulations apply, and the producer will be notified via email.
ASSESSMENT
CRITERIA
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DIRECTORThe Director of a film wields a large amount of power when it comes to the final product of a film. The Director makes choices based on their vision, which directly affects each subsequent department. As such, the scoring for Direction will be a direct average of all other department scores. Keep In Mind: Is your shot list coming to life? Are the performances on key? Does the Art Direction make sense? Is your vision coming to life on a creative/visual scale? Keep In Mind: CHOOSE, don't settle. Make sure that what you include in your film was a creative choice, and not something you settled for because that's "what you got."
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CINEMATOGRAPHYIs your shot list coming to life? Is your shot properly lit (style/genre)? Is it sufficiently lit? Did the Director and DOP collaborate effectively? Do they make sense for the story? Did they capture the scene authentically?
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EDITINGHow is the pacing of the story? Does the pacing fit the genre? What scenes did the editor choose? Are the cuts smooth? Did you consider continuity?
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STORYDo you employ high-quality dialogue? Did you consider your character development? How is your story structure? Is your story original and creative? Does it have a clear beginning/middle/end? Does it have a resolution? If not, is that by design?
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PERFORMANCESDid the performers understand their character? Do they commit to their character, and fully embody them? Did they do the work to create a threedimensional character? Are the performances believable? Do they play the stakes of the story? Do they employ a specific acting technique? Are the performances subtle and nuanced? Did they take risks with their character? Keep In Mind: Risks are great and encouraged (if they work, they work - but honour the character above any risk-taking)!
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HAIR / MAKE UPDoes the hair and make up design fit your genre? Does it fit your era? What is the quality of the hair and make up design? Is it believable? Is it creative, or do all characters look the same? If so, is that by design? Is there any continuity differentiation throughout the film? Keep In Mind: A no-make up look does /not/ mean there isn't make up.
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WARDROBE / COSTUMEDoes the wardrobe design fit the genre of the film? Does it fit the era? Are there any visible logos? Was the wardrobe design creative, or do all characters look the same? Was the costume design executed well? Were styles and colours considered for specific characters/themes of the film? Do the wardrobe choices make sense for each character? For the story?
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SOUND DESIGNDid you use location sound (LAV, boom, etc)? Did you grab room tone? Did you use a sound mixer? What is the quality of the sound design? Is it a fit for the film? Is it creative? Is the sound design believable and authentic? Did you incorporate added sounds to enhance your production? If so, where they of high-quality? Keep In Mind: How did you incorporate the required score? Was it used well?
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PRODUCTION DESIGNDoes the production design fit the genre of the film? Does it fit the era? Is the production design creative? Was it executed well? Does it fit the story? Have you considered continuity? Have you considered the finer details? Keep In Mind: Does your production design enhance or distract from the story and performances?
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SPECIAL / VISUAL EFFECTSThe use of special or visual effects is not required to participate in the Fund My Film! contest, but if you choose to incorporate them in your film, they will be judged based on: creativity quality design and compositing technique whether or not it makes sense for the story
ALL DEPARTMENT RATINGS ARE OUT OF 10, WITH A TOTAL POSSIBLE SCORE OUT OF 100.
PASS / FAIL
(If either of these requirements is missing, your film will be disqualified)
Did the film include the required track?
Was the film no longer than 10 min?
(Before Credits)
YES NO
BONUS POINTS
(Diversity including, but not limited to, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, disabled, body-positive)
Was the story diverse?
Were the characters diverse?
Was the cast diverse?
Was the crew diverse?
Was any of the diversity tokenized / stereotyping?
YES NO
+1 0
+1 0
+1 0
+1 0
0 +1