RED BANK — Project FX 2016, the Count Basie Theatre’s statewide student film competition presented by Bank of America, is live at www.projectFXbasie.com.
Starting now, students enrolled at any New Jersey high school or college can visit the site to learn about entering the competition, with an internship experience with Sony Pictures Classics, a high-end Sony camera and a $1,000 cash award at stake as the contest’s grand prize.
On March 18, 2017, the Count Basie Theatre will serve as the host to the day-long Project FX Festival, which will include workshops with film industry professionals, plus a showcase of the top vote getters in both the high school and college categories.
Project FX is open to students enrolled in any New Jersey high school or college as of Sept. 1, 2016. Students have until Jan. 15, 2017 to enter their films, which will then be judged upon by a panel of regional and industry-wide experts.
Last year’s Project FX competition and festival attracted more than 80 high school and college applicants from throughout the state. Last year’s finalists are viewable at http://www.countbasietheatre.org/pfxpastfinalists.asp.
Entries into the Project FX 2017 competition are limited to 10 minutes, and must have been produced no earlier than January of 2015 by students then and presently enrolled full-time in any New Jersey high school or college institution.
Interested students will upload their films to either YouTube.com or Vimeo.com, and then fill out the official festival entry form at www.projectFXbasie.com. A $25 non-refundable fee is required to enter the competition, and films previously entered for PROJECT FX consideration are not eligible.
From there, a subcommittee and cast of master adjudicators will critique entries using a point system to rate each film’s story line, cinematography, technical aspects, sound and editing. In February, the 10 students who received the highest votes in both the high school and college categories will be posted on the Project FX Facebook page at www.facebook.com/projectFXbasie, where a separate tally of “Likes” and “Shares” will also factor into final scoring.
Full competition rules, regulations, prerequisites and scoring guidelines can be found at www.projectfxbasie.com. Details on the March 18 onsite festival and workshops/panels will be released closer to that date.
The entry and submission period runs now —Jan. 15, 2017. Enter and submit at PROJECTFXBASIE.COM. The top 10 high school and college finalists will be announced and posted on the official Project FX Facebook page in February of 2017. The Project FX Festival will be held at the Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, on March 18, 2017 as well as screening of the top 10 high school and college submissions, onsite vote, workshops/Q&A panels with industry executives and awards ceremony.
For more information, contact Jonathan Vena at [email protected].