ThereFilmFestival

And the winners are ...

We've tallied the votes and we're excited to announce that the winners of the 2008 There Film Festival contest are: 1st Place - Flame Warrior: Enter the Forum by Francis_7 2nd Place - A is for There by Elaur 3rd Place - The Ghost of Hula Gulch by Aluria Congratulations to the winners! We would also like to give a big thanks to everyone who submitted a film, helped with a production, and/or voted in the contest. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce a film (even a short one), and we enjoyed all the entries.

Contest Entries

The 3rd Annual There Film Festival has arrived, and we're really excited to bring you these great new films. We've received some fun new machinima pieces for you to enjoy, and after you've seen them all you can vote for your favorite! To vote, watch the contest videos below or go to one of our in-world screenings at Dorsett Theater, Skippy's Playhouse, or Koeppel Cinema. Then you can visit our voting page to select your favorite. The winners will be determined by a panel of three (3) judges together with the vote of the There community. The judges will assess each entry upon the following criteria: originality (33%), creativity (33%), and popular appeal (34%) as evidenced by the community vote. Those having the highest total scores will be the winners. The winners will be announced on the official contest site no later than Wednesday, November 21, 2008. Voting will be open until Noon Pacific on November 10th. Best of luck to the directors!

A is for There by Elaur 

DohFlex by Ceashure 

Flame Warrior: Enter the Forum by Francis_7 

The Ghost of Hula Gulch by Aluria 

Grandpa by mrF1xIT 

I am Thereian by Antaios 

The PowderFluff Gurlz by SeaBerryPie

There Film Festival Starts Monday, November 3rd

The 3rd Annual There Film Festival will be here on Monday, November 3rd! Films that were submitted for this year's contest will be available for viewing here at this web site, as well as at some of our in-world theaters. Once you've watched the contest films, you will also be able to vote for your favorite.

In addition to the current contest films, we will also be playing selections from previous years. Be sure to check back on Monday for details about the in-world viewing schedule and locations. In the meantime, here are some technical tips for video viewing:

Announcing the 2008 There Film Festival Contest

It’s that time again… We are very excited to announce the 3rd Annual There Film Festival Contest!  Last year you impressed us once again with short films that showcased your ingenuity, ability to entertain, and your love for There.  This year’s contest promises to be the best yet.  How does the There Film Festival contest work?  We challenge you to demonstrate your cinematic skills by creating a short film in There.  Using in-world footage, show us There through your eyes.  You can create your own exciting story, show off your editing skills, and add captions, music, special effects and voiceovers.  The sky’s the limit, so be creative.  (Just make sure your film adheres to our community standards and does not include any content that infringes on someone else’s copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights.)  Your film must be: -Between 1 minute and 8 minutes long (including credits) -Filmed in There -Submitted in .wmv format -Submitted in 320x240 resolution (for in-world viewing) Codec suggestions are mpeg 4 or soreson 3.  Please see Section 1 of the Official Rules for instructions about how to submit your film. All entries must be received by no later than Wednesday, October 29, 2008. Need some inspiration? Check out the films from 2006 and 2007.    So what kind of cool prizes can your short film earn you? The prize stash is fantastic! Check out the following breakdown: One 1st Place winner will receive: One (1) XBox 360 Console w/ 60 GB Hard Drive (Retail Value: $300.00) One (1) Rock Band 2 Special Edition game bundle for XBox 360 (Retail value: $190.00) One (1) six-month gift subscription to GameFly (Retail value: $96.00) 72,000 Therebucks (Retail value: $40.00) One (1) There t-shirt (Retail value: $15.00) Total prize value: $641.00 One 2nd Place winner will receive: One (1) Apple iPod Touch 16 GB (Retail Value: $300.00) One (1) Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder (Retail Value: $150.00) 54,000 Therebucks (Retail value: $30.00) One (1) There t-shirt (Retail value: $15.00) Total prize value: $495.00 One 3rd Place winner will receive: One (1) Apple iPod Nano 8 GB (Retail Value: $150.00) One (1) Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder (Retail Value: $150.00) 45,000 Therebucks (Retail value: $25.00) One (1) There t-shirt (Retail value: $15.00) Total Prize value : $340.00 There.com staff will review each entry for eligibility.  All eligible entries will be available for viewing and community voting on the official contest site (www.therefilmfestival.com) during the There Film Festival, November 3rd – 10th. The winners will be determined by a panel of judges together with the vote of the There community. The judges will assess each entry upon the following criteria: originality (33%), creativity (33%), and popular appeal (34%) as evidenced by the community vote. Those having the highest total scores will be the winners. The winners will be announced on the official contest site no later than Friday, November 21, 2008. You must be at least 13 years of age to participate and a legal resident of the United States (excluding the State of Rhode Island, and excluding Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, military installations and commonwealths) or Canada (excluding Quebec) (Canadian residents will be required to answer an additional mathematical question in order to claim their prizes) as of Wednesday, September 10, 2008 to participate in this contest. Only ONE short film entry per household and email address will be accepted. Films that have been shown publicly before September 10, 2008 are not eligible for this contest. An important word about copyright:  By entering this contest, you warrant that all content used in the film has been originally created by you, is used by permission or under license from the owner of the content and/or is in the public domain (for example, any music used in your film). Also, you may record your own voiceover but copyrighted sound bytes from television programs, movies, etc. are strictly prohibited. Film entries that violate intellectual property laws will be automatically disqualified from the contest!    By entering this contest, you agree to all of the terms and conditions of the There Film Festival, so please make sure you read them carefully. Best of luck to you, Directors!  We can’t wait to see your cinematic creations.

The Envelope, Please...

The votes are in and we are excited to announce the winners of the 2007 There Film Festival contest: 1st Place - Cowboy Adventure, by Meret 2nd Place - TMPTAFEWLOAACAW, by Francis_7 3rd Place - The Assassinator, by mrF1xIT Congratulations to the winners! We'd also like to give a big thanks to everyone who submitted a film, helped with a production, and/or voted in the contest. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce a film (even a short one), and we enjoyed all the entries. We appreciate your participation and look forward to seeing what you come up with next year. In the meantime, you can see all of this year's entries here:

Welcome to the 2nd Annual There Film Festival

The 2nd Annual There Film Festival kicks off today, and we're really excited to bring you these great new films. We've received some fun new machinima pieces for you to enjoy, and after you've seen them all you can vote for your favorite!

In addition to watching the contest entries on this site, you can also grab some friends and head over to Dorsett Theater, Skippy's Playhouse, or Koeppel Cinema for a unique shared viewing experience in There. Don't miss it!

All three theaters will be playing the movies on a loop continuously all week long with a 1 minute intermission between each film. Be sure to have your video settings to DX8 and if you're on Windows Vista, Koeppel Cinema is set up especially for you.

Here are the entries for the 2nd Annual There Film Festival!

Chagall's Guide to Creating Machinima in There

Have you ever wondered how to make your very own movie in There?  If so, look no further than Chagall's handy new guide, Creating Machinima in There.  Just in time for the 2007 There Film Festival, this document will teach you how to get started with creating quality videos.  It's really not as difficult (or as expensive) as you might imagine.  Have fun!

Announcing the 2007 There Film Festival Contest

It’s baaaaack…

We are very excited to announce the 2^nd Annual There Film Festival!  Last year you dazzled us with short films that showcased your ingenuity, ability to entertain, and most of all, your love for There.  This year’s contest promises to be even better. 

How will the There Film Festival contest work?  We challenge you to demonstrate your cinematic skills by creating a short film in There.  Using in-world footage, show us There through your eyes.  You can create your own exciting story, show off your editing skills, and add captions, music, special effects and voiceovers.  The sky’s the limit, so be creative.  (Just make sure nothing in your film infringes any patent, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right, or any privacy, publicity or publishing rights of any third party, or is libelous, obscene or otherwise contrary to law.) 

Your film must be:

-Between 1 minute and 8 minutes long (including credits)
-Filmed in There
-Submitted in .wmv format
-Submitted in 320x240 resolution

Codec suggestions are mpeg 4 or soreson 3.  Please see Section 1 of the Official Rules for instructions about how to submit your film.

You have approximately 2 months to plan and complete your film, so get to work! The contest begins on August 31, 2007 and all entries must be received by no later than Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at Noon Pacific Time. 

Makena/There staff will review each entry for eligibility.  All eligible entries will be available for viewing and community voting on the official contest site (www.therefilmfestival.com) during the There Film Festival, November 5^th-12^th.

The winners will be determined by a panel of three (3) judges together with the vote of the There community.  The judges will assess each entry upon the following criteria: originality (33%), creativity (33%), and popular appeal (34%) as evidenced by the community vote.  Those having the highest total scores will be the winners.  The winners will be announced on the official contest site no later than Wednesday, November 21, 2007.

Only ONE short film entry per household and email address will be accepted. Films that have been shown publicly before August 31st, 2007 are not eligible for this contest.

An important word about copyright:  By entering this contest, you warrant that all content used in the film has been originally created by you, is used by permission or under license from the owner of the content and/or is in the public domain (for example, any music used in your film). Also, you may record your own voiceover but copyrighted sound bytes from television programs, movies, etc. are strictly prohibited. Film entries that violate intellectual property laws will be automatically disqualified from the contest!
   
So what kind of excellent prizes can your short film earn you? The prize stash is fantastic! Check out the following breakdown:

One 1^st Place winner will receive:

• One (1) Insignia 26” Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD HDTV (Retail value: $550.00)
• One (1) six-month gift subscription to Netflix (Retail value: $108.00)
• 90,000 Therebucks (Retail value: $50.00)
• One (1) There sweatshirt (Retail value: $30.00)

Total Prize value : $738.00

One 2^nd Place winner will receive: 

• One (1) 80GB Video iPod (Retail value: $350.00)
• One (1) six-month gift subscription to Netflix (Retail value: $108.00)
• 72,000 Therebucks (Retail value: $40.00)
• One (1) There sweatshirt (Retail value: $30.00)

Total Prize value : $528.00

One 3^rd Place winner will receive: 

• One (1) Nintendo Wii (Retail value: $250.00)
• One (1) six-month gift subscription to Netflix (Retail value: $108.00)
• 45,000 Therebucks (Retail value: $25.00)
• One (1) There sweatshirt (Retail value: $30.00)

Total Prize value : $413.00

You must be at least 13 years of age to participate and a legal resident of the United States (excluding the State of Rhode Island, and excluding Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, military installations and commonwealths) or Canada (excluding Quebec) (Canadian residents will be required to answer an additional mathematical question in order to claim their prizes) as of Friday, August 31st, 2007 to participate in this contest.

By entering this contest, you agree to all of the terms and conditions of the There Film Festival (below), so please make sure you read them carefully.

Best of luck to you, Directors!  We can’t wait to see your cinematic creations.

An Interview with 2006 Film Festival Winner Francis_7

There.com is pleased to present this interview with Film Festival winner Francis_7, who shares his thoughts about making of Wild Griefer, and the history and tradition of machinima in There.
 
How many There films have you made?

I have been making machinima films in There.com since 2003.  To date I have directed well over twenty films.  Some of them have been short music videos, like the one that was my entry in this year's Film Festival contest, while others have been full feature-length films.  Each one has been a completely different experience to make as There continues to evolve as a virtual world.

Can you give some background on your filmmaking group, Miracle Pictures?

There.com has this wonderful social tool called 'groups' which are social clubs that allow people to send newsletters to club members as well as inviting them to special events. Many of our films have needed extremely large casts, so we invite all cast members to join our group. 
 
When we hold open casting calls club members are invited down to read for various parts.  On other occasions we need a lot of extras, sometimes on very short notice, so inviting the Miracle Pictures group can bring a whole bunch of extras to your location with only a few minutes notice!  Very handy indeed when you need a horde of extras to run down a hillside away from a possessed hoverboat bent or world domination or some such nonsense!  We also have a small movie theater set up in there with round the clock screenings of our productions.  Then, of course, when a movie premiere is scheduled, members of the group get invited to the premiere screenings.

How did you get the idea to do a music video for the film festival?

Banshee_Kate and Stungthumbz had written this song, which Kate sang at the There Real Life Gathering (a real-world convention of sorts for fans of There.com) back in the fall of 2005.  I was impressed by the cleverness of the lyrics and by Kate's charming voice.  Later she decided to record it, and I was able to help in a small way by helping to create some sound effects for the song.   
 
Kate had mentioned she wanted to make a music video out of the song and it seemed the perfect opportunity to shoot a music video for this year’s Film Festival.  Although there was no official category for music videos, this song was packed with opportunities to shoot a lot of great action sequences.  We actually shot quite a few more action sequences than we ended up using in the final video.

In what ways do you think There is an ideal environment for "machinima" filmmaking?

After the arrival of real time voice chat in There.com back in the spring of 2003, There became the perfect environment for making machinima films.   The combination or real time in sync mouth animations teamed with the way the body stands and gesticulates to emphasize certain words makes it an ideal production environment for movies.
 
My wife also plays in There.  She designs most of the costumes seen in Miracle Pictures productions.  As I have learned more about There.com I have gone from using objects that other members created to build my sets, to designing my own objects, to creating my own soundstages! If you can imagine it you can probably build it in There.  This element of user created content is another feature of There that makes it ideal for machinima.
 
What was your first thought when you heard that “Wild Griefer” had won Best Overall film in the Film Festival?
 
I was extremely excited that the membership had selected my film for this honor. I was visiting with my relatives over the Turkey Day holiday, and strangely enough we had just watched the video on the big screen about an hour before. It was a very exciting moment! I am so happy that I will be using a new video camera to record future movies. The one I had been using since making my first There movie back 2003 is a bit more than worn out, so it is the perfect prize and I will put it to good use. I am happy that the membership liked my entry into the festival and I hope this contest inspires more people to make more movies in There.  I can't wait to see what people come up with for next year's film festival.

Film Festival Celebration

All filmmakers, viewers and fans are invited to a special in-world celebration to honor There's Film Festival participants this Wednesday, November 29 at 6:00pm Pacific Time. Come meet our filmmakers in person and congratulate them on a job well done.

Sign up for the party here!

We'll see you in There!