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OpenCut Project Rules & Guidelines

1. This is an open and collaborative project. There are NO team limitations. Teams can be made up of, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Individual participants
  • Members of a single commercial facility
  • Members of a single educational facility
  • Members of two or more commercial facilities
  • Members of two or more educational facilities
2. You have complete creative freedom. Using the guidelines of the story set forth by the director in the shooting script, you are free to edit the story according to how your vision of the story unfolds.

3. The dates are fixed. You will be expected to adhere to the timetable established by the current project:
  • You will be given ample notice that a new OpenCut is starting with plenty of time to turn in a drive (if required by the project.)
  • If required by the project, drives will be filled with R3D data and HELD until three days before the project start date. Drives will be shipped en masse to their respective owners via US Priority Mail (domestic US) and US Global Express Mail (international) so that everyone receives the data on approximately the same date.
  • If media is to be delivered via DVD or download--that data will be sent out at the appropriate time.
  • Hard drives should be delivered to us prior to the date we send R3D files back out. If you turn in a drive late, we will copy the material to your drive and send it back, however you will not receive an extension for delivering your final cut.
  • Final materials will need to be uploaded to the OpenCut channel on VUZE exactly 30 days from the beginning date of the competition.
  • Final codec and resolution to be delivered to VUZE will be h.264 720p or 1080p.
4. Inclusion of copyrighted materials:
  • We strongly recommend the use of royalty-free assets (music, imagery, etc...) to avoid rights and licensing disputes.
  • We are not restricting anyone from including copyrighted materials such as commercial music, photos, etc... However, if you deliver an item for judging that contains such material and the copyright holder requests removal, the video will be removed immediately.
  • We urge you to clear rights with your fellow artists before turning in a project that may infringe on someone else's rights.
  • Materials that are removed due to copyright holders request prior to judging cannot be judged.
5. Prizes and awards:
  • Yep! We are giving away some very cool schwag and some excellent benefits and recognition.
  • However, contest laws differ from state to state. This competition and these rules are subject to the established laws of each state.
  • In an instance where a state law conflicts with this competition, the law will prevail.
6. Judging:

Judging panel may consist of the following
  • Director
  • Producers & Executive Producers
  • Esteemed members of the film community invited to be guest judges by OpenCut
The director will have a larger say in voting because its their respective project. While everyone on the panel can vote for a particular project, the director has the sole veto in the group as well as their own vote.

The judging panel has the discretion to NOT award an overall Best award if they determine that the finished content does not meet a collective standard of excellence.

7. Commercialization:
  • You are NOT allowed to submit this project to any commercial body for sale, licensing, or other body with the intent of sole profit without regard to the director and their cast and crew.
  • You ARE allowed to submit this project to film festivals other than the festivals chosen by OpenCut and the director. You are required to submit documentation of all participants so everyone involved gets their respective credits.
  • You ARE allowed to use this material in your reel and show this work to prospective employers.
8. Disclaimer:
  • This competition, and its associated offers, is null-and-void where state law states otherwise.
  • This competition, its rules, guidelines, and operations can be changed, modified, or deleted at any time by OpenCut staff.
9. Creative Commons Licensing (Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States)

You are free:
  • to Share — to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work
  • to Remix — to make derivative works

Under the following conditions:

Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

  • For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page.
  • Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.
  • Apart from the remix rights granted under this license, nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author's moral rights.