Annual Members Competition Rules & Awards
Surrey Border Movie Makers hold regular Annual Competitions:
Documentary Competition usually held 1st Friday in September.
Documentaries should be 20mins or less
6-minute Members Competition First Friday in December.
Films on any subject 6 mins or less. The 1st time trophy is only open to members who have not won a movie trophy of any sort in the club before.
Other competitions and challenges are frequently announced during the year.
1. General rules:
• The SBMM Club Members Competitions are usually held on the first Friday of the relevant month, unless delayed by circumstances beyond our control.
• Due to possible time restrictions, the organisers reserve the right to limit the showing of your entries.
• Members are encouraged to submit one or more movies for competitions or challenges.
• There is no requirement for a clock or any header on your film, though two seconds or so of black before the film starts is helpful.
• All entries automatically qualify for any or all awards excepting; The first-time winner’s award is only available in the Annual Members competition.
• Movies will be accepted from any member, including any committee member of SBMM, but they will not previously have been shown at a SBMM club night. (The competitions set out to encourage new material).
• Movies made with commercial budgets for full-fee-paying-clients are not eligible for judging.
• Movies should comply with running times stated in the respective competition. Judges may mark adversely entries that exceed this time limit. Members may make a short-but-complete version of a longer movie, and thus conform to the appropriate run time rule.
• It is one movie per online submission, so, if you intend to enter more than one movie, please make multiple submissions. There is no entry fee!
• Closing date: the entry must be submitted via the online form by the announce closing date.
2. Technical requirements for file, and useful tips
• The title on the video file should include the makers name before the title – eg ‘John Smith Travelling in Time.mp4’.
• The submitted video should be PAL (UK Standard) at a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (HD). This is sometimes referred to as 1080p or simply 16:9
• The video should be 50 frames per second, but 25 frames per second is acceptable (although not ideal).
• Other frame rates, such as 24p (cinema standard) or 30p/60p (US standard) are not recommended. These frame rates will not show your film to its best, and should be avoided.
• Note: Many smart phones and drones default to 30p or 60p frame rates. We suggest checking the settings and ensure that 50p (or 25p) are used.
BIT Rates: To avoid making video sizes too big (or small), for 25p videos use 10Mbits average and for 50p videos use 15MBits/sec average when rendering your output. See below for more detail.
Details of how to create a WeTransfer Link are HERE
3. More detailed specifications
• Our projector will accept 4k input, but since it replays in HD (1080p), HD files are preferable.
• Our presentation laptop is set to output 50 frames per second. Film frame rates of 50 or 25 frames per second progressive (or interlaced) play the best. Videos with frame rates of 25p will appear less smooth than 50i or 50p films as projectors do not have frame smoothing built in like do TV’s.
• NTSC formats such as 23.98, 24, 29.97, 30, 59.94i or 60p are not ideal and may play with motion judder, so try to stick to PAL format.
• Encoding or exporting to make a file. Choose H264 and it should have an .mp4 file extension when completed. You can use constant or variable bit rate, variable gives a smaller file. The maximum Bit Rate should always be twice the average Bit Rate. Recommended HD bit rate settings for 50p is 15MBits/sec average (or constant), and 30MBits/sec maximum. Recommended HD bit rate settings for 25p is 10Mbits average (or constant) and 20Mbits/sec maximum.
• Please play your exported file to check it before submitting it to the competition.
• Checking the film with decent closed headphones is recommended to spot any sound anomalies, such as dialogue or SFX on only one speaker.
4. The Awards
The possible Awards for the Annual Members Competitions
The Jackson Trophy for Overall Winner.
The Ron Clements Award for Creativity.
The Arthur English Memorial Trophy for Photography.
The Pat Doherty Award for the Best Use of Sound.
The David Goode Trophy for Best Holiday Film.
The Penny Johnson Trophy for the Best Editing
The Dick Hibberd Trophy for Best Camerawork
Sir Paul Holden Trophy for Best Use of Commentary
plus; Jack Striblings Trophy for Best First Time Winner.
The Moorey Award for Best Documentary is awarded to the winner of the Annual Documentary Competition, currently held in September.