Corpus Christi Film Society

Updated 7/6/12

These are all of the questions amassed over the last six years. If you don’t find the answers you need, email your questions.

What is the Corpus Christi 7 Day Film Project? (CC7D)
CC7D is an annual filmmaking competition hosted by the Corpus Christi Film Society (CCFS) designed to encourage and facilitate more filmmaking in our area, boost filmmakers’ skills, create resume experience for local casts and crew, and celebrate area filmmakers–both veterans and amateurs. Filmmaking teams have one week to make a short film from start to finish. The entire process must occur in seven days.

In 2012, that time period will begin on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, at 6:30 PM and end the following Wednesday, July 18, 2012, at a time to be determined at the Kickoff Event. The completed films will be screened at Harbor Playhouse on Saturday, August 25, 2012, followed by an awards presentation and after party at House of Rock.

When and where is it?
There are five CC7D events. Go to the Events Page to see a list of them.

Who may participate?
CC7D is open to anyone. Participants under 18 years of age need to have a parent sign a release. Find that release here.

How do I participate?
There are three ways to participate in CC7D: Lead your own team, be on someone else’s team (as an actor, crew member or musician), or volunteer to work the event(s).
The easiest way to participate is to create your own team. If you do not create your own team, you can try to get on someone else’s team. This is true for actors, musicians and potential crew members.

How do I create a team?
Get some friends together who you can rely on and call yourselves a team. Come to the Kickoff Event, pay the entry fee and you are officially a team.

How do I get onto an existing team?
You need to get in front of and meet existing team leaders. The easiest way to do that is to attend the 2012 CC7D Cast and Crew Call. Attending the Cast and Crew Call does not insure that you will be placed on a team. It will ultimately be up to you to get onto a team. Visit the 2012 Teams Page prior to Kickoff to peruse and find contact information about existing teams.

I’ve never made a film before and I’m scared to death that people will think that anything I make will suck and laugh at me and throw rotten fruit at me. Should I enter anyway?
Yes. A large percentage of CC7D teams every year are frst time participants. Use CC7D to MAKE YOUR SHORT FILM. Use whatever camera you have, whatever editing software you have, whatever friends you have, whatever sound equipment you have…and SIMPLY DO IT! Use any time between now and the Kickoff Event to practice. Borrow or beg some kind of sound equipment and practice using it. Practice loading your sound and video into a computer. Practice editing. THEN MAKE YOUR MOVIE!!! Then NEXT YEAR your 2nd entry will be better…then year three…then year four……

What are the films about?
That is completely up to the filmmaker. The filmmaking team picks the genre and writes the script. The scriptwriting process can not occur prior to the Kickoff Event.

What keeps people from cheating and starting their films prior to the official 7 day time period?
To prevent work from being done before the official 7 day time period, teams are given a character, a prop and a line of dialogue and a secret fourth element at the Kickoff Event that must appear in their film. At the end of the day, the main thing that keeps people from cheating is honor.

Teams should not begin doing ANYTHING creative prior to the 7-day filming period.

How long are the films?
They must be a minimum of 4 minutes and a maximum of 8 minutes long. Short films force emerging filmmakers to consider editing choices they might not otherwise and are designed, also, to keep your shooting time down.

How much does it cost to enter?
The entry fee for is $40.

What are the Awards?
Here are the categories where a team can potentially receive an award:

Grand Jury Award (1st Place Film)
Jury Honorable Mention (2nd Place Film)
Jury Third Place
Filmmakers’ Award – Determined by Team Leaders present at public screening via ballot
Technical Achievement Award
Best Screenplay
Best Original Music
Audience Award – Determined by public screening audience via ballot

All of the above will receive cash and a CC7D Plaque to display and use forever as bragging rights.

In addition to the above are:
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Ensemble – discretionary award
Young Filmmaker Award – Team Leaders who are 18 years of age or younger as of July 11, 2012 are eligible for The Young Filmmaker Award. This Award will go to the eligible Team Leader whose film is chosen best by the Jury.
Best First Time Team Leader – Team Leaders who are entering CC7D for the first time are eligible for this award.

How will the winners be selected?
All films are screened to verify that they include all four elements and meet time requirements. Films that do not fulfill the CC7D requirements will be eliminated from the screening and the competition. All films entered in the Juried Competition category will be screened by a local selection committee that will select the films sent to the jury. The selection committee will screen the films with the same process and criteria given to the Jury.

Past Jurors include director Richard Linklater, employees/representatives of The Texas Film Commission, Austin Film Society, Southwest Alternate Media Project, Houston International Film Festival, The Corpus Christi Caller Times, Corpus Christi Independent School District, Corpus Christi City Council, and the Texas A&M-CC Communications Department as well as nationally successful actors and filmmakers.

There will also be an audience award given determined by audience ballot so, yes filmmakers, pack the house with your friends and family.

What is the judging criteria for the films?
The films are judged by five criteria: Delivery of Story and/or Concept, Creativity, Technical Execution, Acting, and Overall Impression.

If I signed up for CC7D in a previous year and did not complete my film, can I win the Best First Time Filmmaker Award this year?
No.

Does the maximum length of the film include credits?
No. Your film may be 8 minutes long plus 30 seconds of credits. Action can occur in the credits that does not advance the story (bloopers, etc).

Are credits in the beginning permissible and do they count against the credit time limit?
Opening credits are allowed but they DO count against the film’s time limit. Judges will be given the directive to judge films based on start to end, including opening credits. An 8 minute film with a 4 minute opening credit sequence will most likely be unfavorably judged.

We’re limited to using two cameras. Does a still camera count? And what about having a back-up camera?
The two camera rule is an equalizer between novices and pros. A still camera does not count against the two camera limit. You may have a third camera on standby in the event that one of your cameras goes down. However, you MAY NOT have more than two shooting cameras. (i.e., Two are shooting and a third is set up and ready to go awaiting word that one of the first cameras is finished—this is NOT allowed.) Many particpants barely have one camera. Don’t sweat all these details. Have fun and make a movie!

I know that stock film and video footage is not permitted. What about stock photos?
If you have the rights to the photos then use them.

Should we shoot in HD? Should we shoot in widescreen? Should we use surround sound?
Your film will be shown in Standard Definition in stereo or mono with an aspect ratio of 4:3. You may shoot in HD, in widescreen, or in surround sound, but the film will not be projected that way. We highly recommend that you submit a Standard Definition, letterboxed, stereo or mono version of your film. Anything else can lead to problems during our mastering process. New filmmakers, don’t get discouraged with all this mumbo jumbo…make your movie however you can.

If the “required character” is audible off screen—-like on the other end of a phone conversation—-does that count?
No. We must actually see the required character in some way on the screen. Remember, he/she need not be the star of the film, just make an appearance.

Does the required character have to say his name or wear a name tag?
As long as the audience can infer who the character is, he/she doesn’t need to be further identified.

Does the required character have to be human? Can the required character be an inanimate object?
If the Elements do not specify a human, the required character can be inanimate IF it is truly a character. The filmmaker must present the inanimate object in a way that elevates it to a character. This usually involves giving the inanimate object human characteristics (Wilson the Volleyball from Cast Away, for example).

Does the required prop have to be handled or can it be sitting in the background?
For the purposes of this contest, the required prop must be handled onscreen by a character. If the required prop is an umbrella, for example, the umbrella must be held in the hands of an onscreen character. If an umbrella is seen onscreen on a table, but no one touches it, that would not count. Using this example, the umbrella can be any size or color–a golf umbrella, a huge patio umbrella, an umbrella that shoots bullets, or a tiny umbrella in a cocktail–but it must be handled.

Who ‘owns’ the films once they are submitted?
The filmmakers will share ownership of the film with CCFS in one respect only: the filmmaking team/team leader grants CCFS the right to use the film and still images of the film to promote CC7D in the future. CCFS may show the film in future screenings, future CC7Ds, etc. Other than that, the filmmaker/filmmaking team owns the film and can do whatever they want with it including re-editing the film without the elements, etc. In the past, filmmakers have reedited and/or added footage/lenght to their films and submitted them into other projects/festivals. They are yours to do whatever you want to with.

Do I need to know who my entire team is before the Kickoff Event, or can I assemble my team once I’m ready to shoot? Do you need a list of everyone on my team at some time?
The only information needed at the Kickoff Event is the Team’s name and the Team Leader’s name and contact information. At the Kickoff Event, you will get a packet with all necessary paperwork including a blank team list that needs to be turned in with your film at the end of the official 7-Day Time Period.

Can CC7D Jury Members or Sponsors make films for CC7D?
CC7D Steering Committee members, Jury Members, and paying Sponsors may participate on filmmaking teams, but those teams will only be eligible for the Audience and Filmmakers’ Award.

Who will know the essential elements before they are given to the filmmakers at the Kickoff Event?
The CC7D Steering Committee is responsible for creating the essential elements. They are chosen a few days before the Official 7-Day Filming Period. Once they are chosen they are a closely held secret until revealed at the Kickoff Event. No one outside of the Steering Committee will know the essential elements until they are announced at the Kickoff Event.

Can a team or person make more than one CC7D film for competition?
Yes. Teams may make and submit multiple films with the following guidelines:
1) Each film will pay a separate entry fee at Kickoff.
2) No shots may be resued between two or more films.
3) You can not reedit a film and submit it twice.
4) All films made by same leader or team must be completely original. Separate films may not have a through story or be part of an episodic larger work or theme.

Can actors be on different teams, and in multiple films?
Yes.

Can I post my CC7D film on YouTube, Vimeo, my website, etc.?
You may after the CC7D Screening. Films posted online or shown in any public broadcast prior to the CC7D Screening will be eliminated from competition and the screening.

After films are turned in at the Wrap Party, what am I allowed to post online or broadcast between the Wrap Party and the Screening?
After the Wrap Party you may post and broadcast any still photos that you care to. You may also create any posters or other print marketing that you care to.

Unlike CC7D films, which are turned in and screened at  ‘official’ CC7D events, posters are optional and not ‘official’ CC7D materials. Since we aren’t interested in being the ‘Poster Police,’ Team Leaders are solely responsible for the content on all posters, print files and graphic files. That said, we would recommend, for their own protection, that Team Leaders follow all laws and common sense standards for the materials depicted on their posters and marketing materials.

If you post physical materials (posters, flyers, etc.) you must have permission from the property owner to post or distribute.

You may also post or broadcast any behind-the-scenes video footage you care to with the following restrictions:
You may not post your film, portions of your film, cutting room floor footage shot specifically for your film, or behind the scenes footage detailing actual scenes being shot prior to the August 25, 2012 Public Screening.

At the August 25, 2012, Screening each team may bring one poster to post inside the Harbor Playhouse. Maximum dimensions for that poster to are

Can I make a trailer for my film prior to The Screening?
You may make one trailer that includes original footage from your film under the following guidelines:
–Your trailer MAY include footage from your film, cutting room floor footage shot specifically for your film, behind the scenes footage detailing actual scenes being shot.
–Each CC7D film may produce and broadcast only one trailer that includes footage from your film, cutting room floor footage shot specifically for your film, behind the scenes footage detailing actual scenes being shot.
–Trailers may not be posted prior to midnight, August 8, 2012. (meaning the moment August 7 becomes August 8, 2012).
–The trailer must be no longer than 45 seconds
–To reiterate: you may only use video footage from your film, cutting room floor footage shot specifically for your film, and/or behind the scenes footage detailing actual scenes being shot once before the Screening and that is in a trailer that follows the above guidelines.