Film Submission Guidelines

Be sure to share these guidelines with your editor!

Important: These Guidelines are supplemental to any posted Challenge-specific ones. Those are normally posted on the current Challenge web page.
It is your responsibility to follow ALL posted Guidelines. Failure to do so may disqualify your entry from being screened and/or receiving awards!

By submitting a film to the Orlando Independent Filmmakers (OIF),  you agree to, and abide by all of the following:

  1. You are the authorized owner or agent for the production being submitted.
  2. You certify that the script is based on an original story where you or a member of your production team is the copyright holder.  No adaptations. No “Fan” films.
  3. You are self-rating the film, please choose the rating in line with current industry practices. 
  4. In order to help protect the time and effort invested by cast and crew, any production leads that enter the Challenge and do not complete and submit their film on time may automatically be disqualified from entering the following Challenge. Basically they “lose a turn”.
  5. You have obtained all necessary talent and location releases for the submitted production.
  6. Film project (script and production) must be submitted by, and rules must be accepted by, a real person. No pseudonyms or company names allowed for submissions.
  7. Film entries not received by the deadline will not be eligible for awards and may not be screened.
  8. The end credits must include the following clearly legible credit, without modification:  This Film was Created for an OIF Film Challenge. These words must be shown in a frame on their own, without additional words or graphics, for at least one second duration. For uniformity, we suggest you use this end card.
  9. Running length limitation of the film to be submitted varies and is posted on the submission page. 
  10. Total running time includes credits.
  11. Films should be encoded in h.264, .mov or .mp4 format, 1920p x 1080p Full HD resolution. Do not submit any other resolution for the screening.
  12. When submitting films the file names must match the film title exactly (all lowercase), using underscores to indicate spaces. Shorter names preferred.
    Example: if title is “My Dog Is Great”, film file name should be “my_dog_is_great.mp4”. DO NOT use any other file-naming sequence such as “My dog is great version 2.1” or “filmmaker-Darth-Thomas-My Dog Is Great (Final).mov”, MDIG.mp4, or “oif-film-24-mdig-series-b.mp4”.
  13. For short film submissions under 12 minutes in running time, total “stock” footage used must not exceed 15 seconds of runtime.
  14. Films must be presented in the English Language or use English Language Sub-titles.
  15. Only directors and or producers are authorized to nominate candidates for OIF Awards.
  16. OIF may show or post images, photos or trailers of your film, up to 30 seconds, via any distribution channel(s) for marketing and promotional purposes. 
  17. While filming, abide by all local filming ordinances.
  18. Film Rating: Please use good taste. Keep content to “PG-13” use swear words sparingly and where appropriate for the film’s content. No nudity.  No more than 3 “F* bombs”! We normally have a general audience in the theater, keep it so the whole family can enjoy the screening.

Additional Important Notes

  • The submitter of the film is responsible for following the above rules. Please communicate with your crew and talent to avoid jeopardizing your submission.
  • If your script was selected and your film qualifies by the aforementioned rules, you have a secured screening spot at the event. Your cast and crew are eligible for awards as long as the final film qualifies and is submitted by the deadline.
  • Do not wait until the last minute to submit your film project. In the past several films were not screened nor qualified for awards because of unforeseen events occurring near submission deadlines. Work with your editor to get the film in on time.
  • For any Challenges or related events where submissions over 20 minutes in length are allowed, it is strongly recommended that a trailer be submitted.
  • You now have the option of having your film shown on Flixet.com, currently uploading a large library of short films, an initiative to distribute films mostly from within the huge OIF library and increase exposure to the world.  The site will be launched when its library has reached size.

Please visit the submission page at https://oifstudio.com/submissions/ to send us a copy of any of the following:

Your Film for Challenge entry, the Film Poster, Film Trailer, Filmmaker Bio.
Additional resources may be available to you on this page as well.

Please Review Required Film Specs: 

Final:  H.264 .mp4 format, 16:9 aspect ratio (1920×1080).
* Other aspect ratios will likely be letterboxed into 1080p frame size. 
* Any other frame size will be either sized up or down to 1080p for screening purposes. 
Frame Rates: 23.98, 24, 29.97, 30 fps

Suggested Audio Settings:
Audio format: AAC 48Khz stereo at 320kbps 
Normalize overall Audio levels to a MAX -3db.  NO PEAKING to zero db or above  (In general, keep your audio output to -24 LUFS)
Normalize dialogue levels set -12 to -6 Bit rate: 15 Mbps target for a 1080HD file.

 

Some of the OIF submission guidelines on this page are modeled after general Film Festival Submission Guidelines, furthering our members’ preparedness in the film industry.  These guidelines are also established  to foster greater general participation in film-making and to provide a broader environment to recognize local filmmakers, talent and crew.
Guidelines are subject to change without notice.  Please review them carefully prior to submitting your entry.

Failure to agree to and abide by all of the above guidelines may disqualify your entry. 

These guidelines were last updated on April 15, 2023.