SMPTE, the organization whose standards work has supported a century of technological advances in entertainment technology, is accepting submissions for the 2017 SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival. Hosted by SMPTE and the Hollywood Professional Alliance (HPA), the film festival is an international competition open to full-time students from around the globe.
“We’ve expanded the festival’s categories this year to accommodate the ongoing evolution of media technology, storytelling tools, and modes of media consumption,” said SMPTE education vice president Richard Welsh. “Last year’s event drew a variety of interesting entries, and we’re really looking forward to seeing how this year’s submissions tackle our festival categories.”
The film festival focuses on technology, and students should ideally major in an area that emphasizes engineering, science, advanced technologies, or fundamental theories associated with motion-imaging, sound, metadata, and workflows. Film festival judges are a diverse group of accomplished motion-imaging professionals from around the world.
This year’s event features an extended array of categories:
- Creative Use of Technology in a Live-Action Narrative Short (five minutes or less)
- Creative Use of Technology in an Animated Narrative Short (five minutes or less)
- Creative Use of Technology in an Experimental Short (three minutes or less)
- Creative Use of a Mobile Device or Tablet in Production of a Short, Narrative, or Documentary (five minutes or less)
- Creative Use of Analog Technologies in a Live-Action Narrative Short (three minutes or less)
- Creative Use of Virtual Reality to Produce Interactive Content (three minutes or less)
- Documentary Short With Technology as the Subject Matter (five minutes or less)
The Audience Choice Award will be selected on-site by attendees and presented at the conclusion of the festival.
Entries from all parts of the world are encouraged. Submissions for the 2017 SMPTE-HPA Film Festival are due no later than June 30. Official selections will be presented — and award winners announced — on Monday, Oct. 23, in conjunction with the SMPTE 2017 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (SMPTE 2017) in Hollywood, California.
To be eligible, students must have completed four courses toward their major course of study and be in good academic standing. There is no fee to enter, and SMPTE or HPA membership is not a prerequisite for submission of a film. However, students may join as student members of SMPTE for just $10 or for free if this is their first year of membership when they apply via the Student Membership Challenge Fund.
Official selections from previous years and further information about the 2017 SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival is available at www.smpte.org/filmfestival.
