Guidelines
Assessment Criteria
Judging Panel The judging panel for the FTA FILM COMPETITION will include film-makers and/or French language specialists. The decision of the judges is final.
Criteria The theme of the 2019-2020 film competition is: ‘Voyage’.
Dialogue in the film must be in French. When reviewing films submitted for the competition, judges will consider the following:
- Imagination and creativity
- Originality of the story
- Quality of the French, pronunciation and French language, according to the level of the year involved in the production of the film.
The quality of recording will not be a major consideration for assessment but we encourage you to ensure that the audio is of the highest quality possible.
Eligibility
The FTA FILM COMPETITION is open to all secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland whose contact teacher is currently a member of the FTA. Only films created and produced by secondary school pupils under the supervision of their teacher(s) will be eligible, that is, the film must be the students’ own original work. Entries can come from individual pupils, groups, classes or a whole school. Submitted material cannot have been entered in any other competition. The entire film production, including technical work such as editing, sound production, etc, must be carried out by the students.
Film Time Limit
Films submitted for the competition must be no longer than 5 minutes in length (excluding credits). Films that exceed this time limit will not be considered for the competition.
Submission Form
Film submissions must be made online via the teacher’s FTA account.
- To submit a film you will need to:
- Log in to your FTA account. Be sure your school details are correct (you can update them when you are logged in)
- Check your membership is up-to-date. Only current FTA members can submit films. You can check your membership status and purchase membership if necessary when you are logged into your FTA account.
- Once you are logged in, choose to Submit your Film from the Menu to proceed.
Production ‘out-takes’
The requirement to submit film storyboards has been discontinued in favour of production ‘out-takes’ of between 30′ to 1 min. These ‘out-takes’ are to be appended to each film submitted. The start time of the ‘out-takes’ section of your YouTube upload is to be specified when making your submission. For example, if your completed film is 4 minutes and 35 seconds long, the out-takes must be appended thereafter and ‘out-takes start time: 4’35”’ to be specfied when submitting your film details.
Film Format
Films to be uploaded to YouTube and the YouTube share link to be specified as part of your online submission. (You may wish to upload your films as ‘unlisted’ so that they will not be included in YT searches.) Films may be made with cameras, phones, tablets or any recording devices. They can be regular films or stop-motion films.
Content
No bad language, no sexual references, no violence and no copyrighted material can be present in the film. Film dialogue to be in French.
Multiple Submissions
Schools may submit more than one film. Please submit 2nd and subsequent films also via the ‘Submit Film’ menu item in your FTA account. The maximum number of films per school is 5.
Deadline
Monday February 24th 2020 at 17.00.
Films submitted after this time/date will not be taken into consideration
Consent
Parental Consent Forms for all children participating in the film must be signed by parents/guardians. These forms are to be retained by your school. Corresponding checkboxes to be ticked when making your film submission(s) as per the ‘Submission Form’ instructions above.
THIS FORM to be completed and retained by your school principal. Corresponding checkbox to be ticked when making your film submission(s) as per the ‘Submission Form’ instructions above.
Release Forms
Where films are shot on a location outside the school, a release form for that property/location must be completed by the proprietor(s) and retained by your school principal. No company logo, brand names or company names can appear in the final film. Corresponding checkbox to be ticked when making your film submission(s) as per the ‘Submission Form’ instructions above.
Music
Any music in your film(s) must be original and/or copyright free. If copyrighted music is used, full written permission must have been granted to use the excerpts in question in your film/video. Written permission to be retained by your school principal. Corresponding checkbox to be ticked when making your film submission(s) as per the ‘Submission Form’ instructions above.
Awards
- Best overall film for Junior years (1st to 3rd years) — winners’ prize and school plaque
- Best overall film for Senior years (TY to 6th years) — winners’ prize and school plaque
- Most imaginative film — winners’ prize and school plaque
- Most creative winners with language — winners’ prize and school plaque
Prizes
Schools will be notified as soon as judging is complete. Winning entries will receive their plaque and prizes before the end of April 2020. All participating schools will receive a certificate of participation which students may include in their French portfolio.