The Shifting Baselines Flix Contest is a forum for amateur and up-and-coming filmmakers to have their voices heard... and win big prizes. The SB FLIX CONTEST is an open call now through March 1st for creative, funny, and otherwise crazy cool videos about the ocean or the environment/Shifting Baselines. Submit surf videos, reality videos, or stupid and silly videos that you and your friends filmed in your backyard. If you like it, we'll take it. All videos must be one minute or shorter. Please read our rules and regulations for a full list of legal requirements, and email us at info@shiftingbaselines.org to talk to a human.
1. ELIGIBILITY:
This contest is open to all living, breathing, thinking, U.S. or non-US (that includes you Canada) humans, be it enrolled as full-time students, working 9 to 5, or unemployed parent mooching X-Box fanatics. We're allowing all ages 13 to 130 to participate, but if you are under 18 you must be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times. Sorry teeners, we trust you, but it's just better for everyone this way. This Contest is conducted solely in the United States and is governed by applicable U.S. federal and state laws. (We're not exactly sure what this last sentence means but it sounds important.)
2. CONDITIONS OF ENTRY:
Flix submitted must be the original creation of the entrant, so you can't be all "Hey Lenny, can I borrow that video you shot for Spanish class", and then turn in Lenny's work as your own, cause that's not cool. Also, when you submit a flick, you're agreeing that it doesn't infringe on the copyright, trademark or other rights of any individual or organization; that the flick is your sole and exclusive property; and that you had the best of intentions for the ocean and this contest when you shot it. Basically that means if your flick rolls in and its samplin' "Big Poppa" and shows you hatin' on dolphins, or even being a jerk to your neighbors during filming, it won't be accepted. Cool? Cool. Don't break any laws, and don't endanger anyone or anything during filming.
You the entrant will retain all proprietary rights to your work, but in submitting it to the Shifting Baselines Flix Contest, you are sayin' "hey, you can post it on the Shifting Baselines Contest site, or do whatever else you can to get it seen round the world", cause hey, that's the whole point of this thing- to raise awareness about the Ocean's shifting baseline in a positive and creative way. In general the Flix will be seen on our website, our partnering websites, and if you are selected as one of the winners, we may include your Flick on an educational/promotional DVD that will be sent to schools, aquariums, museums, and other educational and promotional institutions around the world. In other words, "You gonna be famous!"
3. SELECTION OF WINNERS:
Look, the bottom line is when you submit a flick to this contest, you're already a winner. We want you to know that when you go sleep at night. At the end of the day, however, only a few select entrants will receive a gift prize demonstrating the popularity of their particular flick. Those "prize-receivers" will be selected by a panel of judges including marine biologists, comedians, professional filmmakers, and potentially one capucin monkey, who will select his choice from names dropped into a fishbowl. The "prize-receivers" will be highlighted on the Shifting Baselines website, beginning shortly after March 1st, 2007. All decisions are final and solely based on the decision of our judges and/or the Shifting Baselines Directors. So if you're gonna cry, cry to your momma, cuz cryin' to us ain't gonna help.
4. HOW TO ENTER:
The contest kicks off at 8 a.m. ET on August 1st, 2006 and ends at midnight PST on March 1, 2007. To enter, use your brain, creative sense, good will, and a motion picture camera to film a flick that can be edited on any chosen software. The flick you create MUST have something to do with the ocean or about Shifting Baselines and the idea of lowered standards. Also your flick most be under 60 seconds in length.
Step One: Log on and create your own username or password. You will have to read the rules and conditions of entry, and click "I Agree to the rules and conditions of entry" in order to be eligible.
Step Two: Follow the upload process, or use one of the other recommended means of submission (You can either send your submissions on a CD or DVD [postmarked by March 1st, 2007 to Shifting Baselines Flix Contest, 5254 Melrose Ave., Ste. D-113, Hollywood, CA 90038], you can also upload to another site and email us the link [to shiftb@usc.edu], or email the video directly to us [at shiftb@usc.edu]).
Step Three: If your video fits the above requirements then you will receive a confirmation email letting you know that our Website Administrators have approved your video.
5. GENERAL CONDITIONS:
(THIS LAST ONE WE DIDN'T WRITE UP, BUT WE'VE BEEN TOLD IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO INCLUDE. THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING) The winner will be notified by telephone, mail or e-mail (at Sponsor's discretion). The winner will be asked to return an Affidavit of Eligibility, confirming that s/he has met all conditions of entry. If winner cannot be reached, or notification of the winning entry is returned, unclaimed or undeliverable, the winner may be disqualified and an alternate winner selected. No prize transfer is permitted. All taxes, fees, and surcharges on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. If winner is considered a minor by state law, prize will be awarded to parent or legal guardian, who shall also be bound by these rules. By participating and accepting the prize, the winner grants to Sponsor and those acting pursuant to the authority of Sponsor, the right to print, publish, broadcast and use, worldwide in any media now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to the World Wide Web, at any time(s), the winner's name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness, photograph submitted and biographical information as news or information and for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation or review, except where prohibited by law. All entrants release Sponsor, and their respective officers, directors, agents, employees, and all others associated with the development and execution of this Contest from any and all liability with respect to or in any way arising from this Contest and/or acceptance or use/misuse of the prizes, including but not limited to liability for personal injury, bodily injury including wrongful death or disability, damage to property, and damage or loss of any other kind.
Sponsor is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by web site users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or used in the Contest or by any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of submission in the Contest. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error; omission; interruption; deletion; defect; delay in operation or transmission; communications-line failure, theft, or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. Sponsor is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines; computer on-line systems, servers, or providers; computer equipment; software; or failure of e-mail or entry on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site or combination thereof, including injury or damage to participants or to any person's computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in this web site or Contest. Sponsor (see below) is not responsible for user cheating or fraud by any entrants. Any activities intended to disrupt or interfere with the proper play of the Contest, or defraud Sponsor in any way will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
