Image Capture
Your production may use any method to capture or create moving images except the employment of film. Cameras can include traditional camcorders, mini-DV format, professional and/or industrial formats up to and including the latest HDTV such as the Sony 24p.

Editing
You may use any method you wish from in-camera editing to high-end digital video workstations.

Total Running Time (TRT)
Your production may not run longer than 5:59 (five minutes and fifty-nine seconds) including opening and closing credits and/or fades.

General Sensibility
Use a movie rating of PG-13 as your guideline when considering elements of humor, violence, dialog, references to sexual activity, etc. You can get as racy as you want but your chances of winning may suffer if the judges feel your submission is inappropriate or unsuitable for broadcast as part of the Best of Six Minute Cinema DVD.

Clearances
We want to include as many of the top three winners in each category in the Best of Six Minute Cinema DVD which will be offered for sale and distributed to creative agencies and producers looking for new talent and material.

In order for your winning production to qualify for compilation into the DVD you must have written clearances and/or releases for all images of actors, extras, passersby, etc.

If you choose to use music you must certify that it is cleared for broadcast. This could be accomplished through the use of royalty-free packages or by having a member of your team provide some original music. In either case you will be asked to certify in writing that you have permission to use this music.

This also applies to footage of locations, storefronts, extras, people walking by – you name it. Any person or place for which you do not have a signed release will have to be "pixeled" out of the final production.

Amateur producers may feel that these regulations are unnecessarily restrictive but, if you want your production to be seen by the widest possible audience, you need to do what professional producers are forced to do with all of their shows. You are free to submit your entries without proof of clearance but understand that, if you win, you may be disqualified from inclusion in the DVD unless you can go back and gather those clearances.

General Judging Criteria
Within the context of the Division and Category each production has been entered under, every entry will be judged upon:

Originality
The writing, acting, directing and editing will be judged on the originality and creativity they demonstrate.

Storytelling
Entries will be judged on their use of structure to communicate the story to an uninitiated audience, including character development, plot, establishing shot(s), pacing, etc.

Use of the Medium
Digital video, particularly in the short-subject form, offers the producer/director the opportunity to economically shoot individual scenes from multiple angles and choose the best parts of those to edit together. While these programs will be short, the most successful will be those that use the economy of the format to create the best movie.

Production Values
While the proper use of lighting, sound, music, visual and sound effects can always enhance an audience’s viewing experience, greater weight will be given to creativity, originality and storytelling. Lots of eye candy will not save a poorly-told story.