I will be speaking with the Festival Director, Selina Branstetter, on Wednesday, September 30 at 11 am.
2. Who started it and who runs it?
**The website does not say. I will make sure to ask.
3. What is the mission of the festival/conference? (copy and paste the first paragraph)
GCI Film Festival celebrates the efforts and accomplishments of produced and funded independent films while also expanding the knowledge and awareness of films nationally and internationally. The festival showcases a unique blend of local, national and international films including shorts and feature films of all genres and styles.
The GCI Film Festival is located in Duluth, Georgia at the luxurious Gwinnett Center & Performing Arts Center where our main theater (of four), which seats over 700, will provide audiences with an authentic theatre experience. Our two seminar rooms will provide workshops, panel discussions, and Q&A sessions, so film makers and audience members will be able to converse with other film makers through a variety of related topics. We are excited to be awarding some of the most innovative and artistic film makers in a variety of categories of competition to demonstrate our appreciation of such creative works. Film makers and audience members will also have a variety of vendors at the event that will provide a plethora of goods and services. Our venue is easily accessible from the highway and for our out of state film makers there are multiple hotels within walking distance
and all parking is free.
4. How does this compare with their actual programming choices from the past two years? Be specific in describing what they program (mode, categories within mode, niche, Political? Global? Local? Gender? Sexuality? Race? Any themes that you see? etc...)
They program many films from all genres. There is some sci-fi, some southern-rooted films, docs. They show features, shorts, music videos, student films, and have panels, workshops, and retrospectives.
5. Where is the event?
It is in Duluth, GA at the Gwinnett Center
6. When is the event? (Give dates from last year if not current)
July 31 to August 2, 2015
7. How do you submit? Snail mail, online, withoutabox, through their site, etc...
Through withoutabox and filmfreeway
8. When are the deadlines to enter? Early? Reg? Late?
Early Bird: May 15, 2015
Regular: June 5, 2015
Late: June 26, 2015
WAB Extended: July 4, 2015
9. How much does it cost to enter?
Early Bird
Feature - $40.00
Short - $30.00
Student - $25.00
Music Video - $25.00
Regular Deadline
Feature - $55.00
Short - $45.00
Student - $30.00
Music Video - $35.00
Late Deadline
Feature - $70.00
Short - $60.00
Student - $40.00
Music Video - $45.00
WAB Extended Deadline
Feature - $85.00
Short - $70.00
Student - $50.00
Music Video - $55.00
10. Who’s eligible, what are the guidelines to enter?
Short Films
- Short films are 44 minutes or less. Any and all genres are accepted including animation and
- experimental.
- Feature Films
- Feature Films are between 45 minutes and 150 minutes. Any and all genres are accepted including
- animation and experimental.
- Short Documentary
- Short documentary films are 45 minutes or less. Any and all topics are accepted.
- Feature Documentary
- Feature documentary films are between 45 minutes and 150 minutes. Any and all topics are
- accepted.
- Student Films
- Student produced or directed films that are 45 minutes or less. Any and all genres are accepted.
- Note: There is no Feature Student Film category as these films if accepted will be included in the
- featurecategory automatically.
- Foreign Films
- Films that have been produced outside of the US. Any length and all genres are accepted.
- Family & Children's Films
- Films displaying family values that both children and adults can enjoy. Shorts & Features will be
- accepted.
- Music Videos
- Preferred length 1-10 minutes with a maximum of 15 minutes. Any entry over 15 minutes will be
- considered a shortfilm. Any and all genres accepted including animation and experimental.
- Animation Short Film
- Animation short films should be 46minutes or less. Any and all genres are accepted
Yes
12. What formats do they except for jurying? DVD, Vimeo, Flash drives?
DVDs are the only form listed
13. What formats do they except for exhibition/screening?
DVD
14. How many films screened at the festival last year?
121 screenings
15. How long is a typical shorts block or paper presentation block at their event?
About two hours
16. How many films or papers do they program per block?
Shorts: 4
Feature: 1
17. How do people register to attend? Is there a cost to attend as a guest?
**There isn't any current ticketing information due to the festival ending recently.
18. Look at sponsorship page and see what businesses. Grants and private entities give money to the event. Figure out how many of each kind and note any leads that might be useful to us.
The Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment is a sponsor, Avid, Comprehensive Technical Group, MBS Equipment Co., Barbizon Lighting Company.
19. What are their sponsorship levels and incentives for each level?
Showcase - $3,000
•Listed as an Showcase GCI Film Festival Sponsor
Support - $1,500
•Listed as a Support GCI Film Festival Sponsor
•Listed as a Support GCI Film Festival Sponsor
Program - $100
•Ad in Program
20. Did they have a kickstarter or indiegogo? What incentives did they have for each level of donor?
I couldn't find a link.
21. What kind of nontraditional film/video events have they had before? Things like Installations, 'Visual Soundwalls,' VJing etc.
They have retrospectives, but nothing really "nontraditional"
22. Are there ways in which they have expanded the typical film screening event? How have they branched out from sitting in a dark room in front of a screen?
No
Answer the following questions about your experience with your assigned festival’s/conference’s website:
23. Is the layout easy to navigate? What makes it easy?
It's fairly simple of a layout to navigate. There isn't too much information presented.
24. Is the layout difficult to navigate? What makes it difficult?
Not all of the information is listed. The tabs at the top also have sub-tabs that lead to too many different pages. You can also scroll over the sub-tabs and there are sub-sub-tabs on some of them. It's a little much.
25. Can you find the information you are looking for on the homepage or via a link on the homepage?
Yes, but some key information was within a picture slideshow, which I don't think was the most efficient method of providing info, like the 'about us' page.
26. Aesthetically, what catches your eye? What's cool about it?
I like the broken glass header image. It makes it look as cutting edge as it can with the rest of the page.
27. Aesthetically, what doesn't fit in? What makes it look bad?
I think that the font is really outdated and plain. There are too many shades of purple and grey. The logo looks like the mix of a cheap film festival design and an auto shop. Their 2015 festival schedule page is literally screenshot photos of the schedule that are pasted on to the page. It doesn't look professional.
28. Should there be more information? Is the page too bare?
The page is full of text and pictures. The amount is fine, I just think that they should be more useful photos, descriptions, and links.
29. Should there be less information? Is the page too busy?
Only in the sense that the pictures should be more professional.
30. What would you do differently if you were to redesign this website?
I would come up with a cleaner color design that didn't look so young. I would update the logo to fit solely a film festival, take out any unoriginal photos, and place useful info on the home page, including a dominant link to the 'about us' page.
31. What would you keep the same if you were to redesign this website?
I would keep the gradient black-to-grey background and the original photos of the event.
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