A. Times

The Long Island 72 Hour Film Festival (LI72) will occur between Friday, November 1st, 5:30pm local time and the following Monday, November 4th, 5:30pm local time. This is the Official Time Period.

The participating group/team must complete its film/video work in time to deliver it via digital download link by 5:30PM on Monday, November 4th.

Only works that meet the deadline will be officially part of the competition. All films received on Monday (on-time and late) will be screened. 

B. Creative Process

All creativity must take place during the Official Time Period. Any creative work in advance of the competition weekend is prohibited. Creative work includes, but is not limited to:

  • Writing the script
  • Rehearsing
  • Costume/Set Design
  • Shooting
  • Editing
  • Sound Design
  • Rendering
  • Outputting to tape or other media

C. Preparation

The only work to begin prior to the Official Time Period is:

  • Organizing Crew
  • Organizing Cast
  • Securing Equipment
  • Scouting/Securing Locations

D. Footage

All footage must be shot within the Official Time Period of the project.

Animation and special effects are permitted, but must be created during the Official Time Period.

No stock footage or footage shot or created at another time may be used unless the footage is part of a post-production effect or on a background monitor, i.e., a television, as long as the team has rights to the stock footage and the stock footage is placed over or under footage that is shot within the Official Time Period. Allowable stock footage includes bullets, fires, explosions, chromakeyed backgrounds, etc., but stock footage of people or other performers is not allowed.

Pre-made sequences or compositions that are available to all via purchase or download are permitted if a majority of frames contain content (e.g., text or images) created within the Official Time Period. The pre-made portion of the sequence may not include people or other performers.

Still photographs are permitted, provided that the team has the rights to them. The photos do not need to be created during the Official Time Period; however, stills created outside of the Official Time Period may not be used in sequence to create the illusion of motion.

Permissible stock footage, permissible pre-made sequences, and still photographs must all be accompanied by a Materials Release demonstrating that the team has rights to use them.

E. Kickoff Event

Each participating team must have a representative at the official Kickoff Event of the LI72

  • At the event, each group will choose the genre of its film in a random drawing.
  • Following the genre drawing, the required elements will be revealed to all groups

F. Required Elements

Each participating group will be assigned required elements that must appear in its film, such as a genre, a character, a prop and/or a line of dialogue.

  • The required Character must be seen on-screen and it must be clear–either directly shown or by context–who the required character is.  The Character name does not have to be said out loud or written on-screen.
  • The required Prop must be seen on-screen. A picture of the required prop is also allowed.
  • The required Line of Dialogue must be used verbatim. It may be spoken, sung and/or written. It may be in any language, though if it is unclear that it is the required Line, there must be a translation.
  • To qualify as an Official Entry, each group’s film must be in the genre it selects and must contain all required elements within the official time limit and prior to the credits.

H. Animal Safety

Animal safety, like cast and crew safety, is an important part of Filmmaking. Films that result in the death or mutilation of an animal will be disqualified.

​I. Cameras

Any type of video or film camera may be used. There is no limit to the number of cameras.

J. Music Rights

Participating groups are encouraged to work with a composer and/or musicians to write and record music for the films. It is permissible for a participating group to use pre-recorded music; however the participating group must have the rights to any music used in its film and must provide releases for all music used. As with music, pre-recorded sound effects are allowed, but you must have rights to use them. Note: Song parodies (i.e., use of identifiable pre-existing compositions with new or altered lyrics or music) may not be included in the film without a signed release from the composition’s rights holder. This rule applies without regard to whether the song parody arguably constitutes “fair use” under U.S. or international copyright law.

K. Total Running Time

The finished film must be a minimum of four (4) minutes in duration, and a maximum of seven (7) minutes in duration—including end credits. The required slates and the end credits count towards the minimum time of four (4) minutes. The film story may not be longer than seven (7) minutes. Anything over seven (7) minutes will be disqualified.

L. Credits

Pre-film Required Slates

Before the finished film begins, the media should have:

  • Two (2) seconds of black
  • A five (5) second title card with: team name, grade/education level (if applicable), film title, total runtime, character, character job, line, prop and genre
  • Finally, a five (5) second title card: This film was made for the Long Island 72 Hour Film Festival.

Your film follows the above requirements.

For any future screenings, online or otherwise, films should retain the pre-film title card that says: This film was made for the Long Island 72 Hour Film Festival.

M. Required Media Formats

Films will only be accepted as digital files exported in the H.264 format at 1920x1080p resolution.

If your film does not conform to the submission requirements, it may be disqualified. Also, if your film cannot be viewed on LI72 equipment, it may be disqualified.​

N. Submission Notes

  • We recommend that each team submit two copies of the final film.
  • We recommend that you make sound levels relatively even throughout your film. (If your film has uneven sound or sound that peaks, it may be modified to protect the playback equipment.)
  • Projection specs vary from theater to theater and are beyond the control of the LI72. If your film is very dark, it may be difficult to see in your theater.
  • All films received on the evening of the deadline (on-time and late) will be screened, presuming they meet the eligibility requirements.

O. Eligibility

To be eligible for the Film Festival, entries must be the original work of the entrant; must not infringe third-party’s rights; must be suitable for publication (i.e., may not be obscene or indecent); must not contain obscene or pornographic material; may not contain defamatory statements about any person, company, organization or entity; may not invade privacy or other rights of any person, company or entity; may not in any other way violate applicable laws and regulations; and may not contain any copyrighted elements (other than as owned by the entrant and/or LI72).

Entries containing prohibited or inappropriate content as determined by the LI72, in its sole discretion, to be inappropriate will be disqualified. LI72 reserves the right to make the final determination as to which Entries are eligible. LI72 reserves the right to refuse to screen a film or to make an announcement at the screening regarding the content of the film. LI72 reserves the right to alter a film in order to remove or delete offensive or defamatory content.

P. No Pre-Screening Distribution

The entrant should not distribute their entry/video in any way prior to it receiving its official LI72 premiere screening. This includes uploading the video to any website or screening the film for groups of anyone other than the team. The entrant is encouraged to make a trailer of their film and distribute that instead. This trailer should be no longer than 30 seconds.

Q. Official Film Entry

To be certified as an Official Film Entry, each participating group’s film/video production must follow all rules herein. The LI72 Film Fest organizers reserve the right to screen only certified Official Film Entries.

R. Entries Not Returned

No entries (media or documents) will be returned.

S. Disqualification

LI72 and its organizers may, in their sole discretion, disqualify entries deemed to be inappropriate or otherwise non-compliant.