From Carey Dissmore, IMUG/Media Motion REELFEST coordinator:

REELFEST has become a time-honored tradition in this community. This year we are implementing a few 'tweeks' to make it even better!

Read the detailsWHAT REELFEST IS:
A DVD compilation of clips submitted by you and your peers in the AE and IMUG List communities, an incredible source of inspiration, and a great way to connect faces with names in our community. This year's REELFEST team is made up of Carey Dissmore, Dan Spiess and Ko Maruyama.

WHAT REELFEST IS NOT:
A contest. An in-crowd thing. A clique. Expensive. (hey it's free!) All are invited to participate for the sheer fun of it. Everyone gets an equal shot at the substantial prize. Prize details below.

This year's REELFEST will be organized into three categories: TRADITIONAL, GREETING, AND EXPERIMENTAL.

TRADITIONAL: This category describes what REELFEST has always been, where you can submit a reel, made up of a clip (or clips) of your work for inclusion in the compilation. This is a great inspirational component and a great way to see what your fellow community members have been up to.

GREETINGS: Introductory messages have been popular for many years of REELFEST. This is a community-building aspect of the collection...a chance for you to show everyone a little bit about where you work or live, and generally contribute to a sense of 'connectedness' in the List communities. We've seen some heartwarming and hilarious entries in the past. Have fun with these! The only difference this year is that we are asking for greetings as a separate clip from any other entry you may submit.

EXPERIMENTAL: This year we are introducing a new dimension to the REELFEST project. In addition to our more traditional categories, we want to enlarge our tent by offering an experimental category. "What's that?" You say? Well, it's quite simple really:

This year's experimental theme is 'Building'. Is it a noun, a verb, restricted to single, or plural? That's up to you. We're not defining it any more than that. Simply use this experimental theme as a catalyst for letting your imagination run wild. Simply create an entry, whether editorial, compositing, motion graphics, 3D, whatever...anything that includes the theme. Its total duration should not be less than 5 seconds, nor longer than two minutes in length. Remember this is an exhibition, not a competition, and everyone who enters has an equal shot at being drawn for the prize. The only restriction is that entries need to stick to the etiquette of the List communities. Contact us if you would like to include something but have a question about it.

Alan Shisko of the AE list says: "REELFEST was a great opportunity to show my stuff to my colleagues, contribute to a great inspirational resource, and let loose a little bit with some animation without having to worry about what insignificant creative choice some weaselly producer is going to scream and shout about. Great fun, and a good resource!"

Multiple entries: Yes! You can submit up to one entry PER CATEGORY. Each entry may range in length from 5 seconds to 2 minutes. That means you are welcome to submit a 'Traditional' clip, a greeting, and also an experimental entry. For purposes of the prize draw, we will be entering each entrant's name once, not once for each submission.

Oh....a prize? Yup, you bet. Simply entering REELFEST qualifies you, whether you come to the Media Motion Ball NAB event or not. The prize is drawn AT RANDOM from the folks who send in a submission. Everyone has an equal shot and the odds are much better than Vegas!

THIS YEAR'S PRIZE IS generously donated by our friends at Wiebetech. It is a Tough Tech 800 external 250GB firewire drive. Check it out at http://www.wiebetech.com. Retail value is $339.95! The ToughTech 800, aside from being beautiful, is also very rugged and has a special anti-shock enclosure design for extra protection when transporting it.

Go to http://www.imugonline.com to download the required PDF entry
form with all the details on it...but for now you need to get going on your submissions....the deadline is fast approaching! (March 30, 2005) NOTE: Site will be updated later today.

REELFEST 2005 DVDs will make their debut at the MediaMotion Ball event to be held Monday April 18th at the Stardust Hotel and Casino in Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, USA! They will, of course also be available for mail-order via the IMUG website after NAB. To attend MMB, register at http://www.imugonline.com

THIS YEAR'S ENTRIES ARE TO BE SUBMITTED AS SELF-CONTAINED QUICKTIME FILES (VIDEO AND AUDIO) IN ANY STANDARD QUICKTIME CODEC, TO BE BURNED TO CD-R OR DVD-R MEDIA, and shipped to the address on the entry form. Your submission will be skillfully encoded via ProCoder directly from your source file for inclusion in the DVD by this year's DVD author, Dan Spiess of Digital Lighthouse in Gainesville, Florida, USA.

This year's REELFEST is going to be the best ever! I'm sure you all will see to that. This group is such an unbelievably deep and wide wellspring of talent.

Check out this link http://www.imugonline.com for all the pertinent info, submission formats, PDF registration form, etc.

Of course, keep your eyes on the main home page for all the latest news, prize announcements, etc. as we approach the fantastic MediaMotion Ball event!

All the best,
Carey Dissmore
IMUG/Media Motion REELFEST coordinator