Another important point: do not count on your cassette always remaining in its box and/or being accompanied by its entry form. We occasionally had little or no idea what we were watching because a video (particularly a late entry) was not clearly marked. Each entry should be labeled with the title, filmmaker's name, country of origin, category and running time. Also, be sure that you have entered the proper category. I can't tell you how many productions in the "children's" category were clearly inappropriate for young viewers (e.g., they depicted children being boiled or stuck on hooks), how many long films were entered in the short film category, and so forth. In some instances, films well over 30 minutes were submitted, despite the fact that half an hour was the maximum running time allowed.

The Sandman.

Making a Good Impression
You may wonder what harm is done by some of these tactics. Although there may or may not be any immediate repercussions, the possible long-range effects of your decision are worth considering. Keep in mind that members of the selection committee someday may be in a position to hire you, show your films elsewhere, write about you, or deal with you in other ways on a professional level. In any case, please remember that it is poor form to call, write or e-mail the festival director and committee members to complain if your film was not selected. The person you contact in fact may have really liked you and your work, and is likely to be offended by the suggestion that he or she exercised poor judgment.

Part of making a good impression on the selection committee comes with taking care to create a strong soundtrack. A large number of films submitted were their incomplete, particularly in regard to audio. With 80 slots to fill, there was little chance we would consider any production lacking a soundtrack, no matter who made it or how much "promise" it seemed to hold. Pay attention to sound design early in the production process, to assure that visual and aural elements are fully intertwined and of equally high value. Poorly-recorded sound and unprofessional voice-overs were recurring problems.

The selection committee agreed that certain signs could be considered "warnings" of poor quality. First off, there were the long expository notes or apologies written on a cassette or accompanying materials. It is not a good idea to apologize for your workif you are worried about its presentation, you should consider entering it at a later date. Pointing out the flaws in a written note just made the selection committee all the more aware of them.

Another relates to running time. Although I do not want to give away too many "professional secrets," I can say that more than one groan was emitted after hearing that we were about to view a "first film" that ran for more than 8 minutes. Fifteen minute or longer first works were highly suspect. In fact, we found that the majority of films running more than 10 minutesfirst films or otherwisewould have benefited greatly from editing. Some films were reluctantly taken out of competition after an idea that would have been great for 3 minutes was extended to 5 minutes or more and just lost momentum.

Although less of an issue, running time also was a consideration in terms of programming. Though we never rejected something merely because it ran close to 30 minutes, we agreed that a film had to be absolutely first rate to merit that amount of screen time. Our rational was that six five-minute works could be screened in the same time period as a half-hour film. With so many high-quality productions submitted, longer films were given particularly close scrutiny when it came time to narrow the field.