Ultimate Fan Contest Tips

I thought I would break down some of the legalese and the jillion rules of the Ultimate Fan Contest. I mean sure the rules and all are necessary, but let’s hit the highlights in a user friendly fashion shall we:

Length:     No minimum time, but max three minutes.

Submission:    Video uploaded to YouTube, Photobucket, MSN video, or DVD mailed in.

Style:         It can be live action or a series of photos and captions strung together using Movie Maker or similar program.

Important Fine Print:

1. One video per person/email address.  So if your family has one email address and more than one person in your house wants to enter, now would be a good time to open a new email account.
2. You have to be 13 or older.  Yes, we know it sucks, but US contest law as it applies in this type of contest is something we have no control over.
3. Only one person can appear in the video. So even if your baby cousin Samantha is adorable, if she’s sitting on your lap during the video, she is in fact another person. This would disqualify your video. So make sure you are in it solo, or if you desperately need moral support, grab fluffy the cat and not another human.
4. Do not incorporate "…ANY MATERIAL OR ELEMENTS THAT ARE NOT OWNED BY THE CONTESTANT AND/OR WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO THE RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES, THE ENTRANT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OBTAINING, PRIOR TO SUBMISSION OF THE ENTRY…" in other words, even if you are sure to wow Simon, Paula, and Randy on the next AI, unless you have an up close and personal relationship with Paramore where the band grants you the rights to perform your own version of Decode, you can’t include stuff that is copyrighted by someone else. You can sing original stuff, not someone elses!
5. Do not incorporate anything illegal, political, hateful, isights violence, or anything that promotes bigotry, or discrimination…in other words…don’t be a jerk, this isn’t a platform for you rally the troops to tout your pet cause. (Although why in the world anyone would do that in an Ultimate Twilight Fan video is beyond us, but I suppose stranger things have happened.)
6. Send your contact information in with the entry. Your complete contact information is as follows: your name, address, city, state, zip code, daytime telephone number, e-mail address and age to: [email protected] (if you are submitting via email) or The Twilight Lexicon, Box 396, 759 Bloomfield Ave., West Caldwell, NJ 07006(If you are submitting a DVD by mail.)
   

So What Should I focus on?

Be your enthusiatic self. The entries are judged on:

40% Creativity/Originality displayed

30% Display of entrant’s knowledge of the motion picture and book “Twilight”

30% Devotion to the motion picture and book “Twilight” demonstrated