LA Film Festival and INDI have just announced the Danny Elfman Project: Rabbit and Rogue. Filmmakers can use songs from Elfman's Rabbit and Rogue LP both as inspiration and as the score of their short films—for free.

Short films can be live action, animated, narrative, documentary, music video, or experimental. (Just make it creative; Elfman does not want to crimp your style.)

Submit your film by March 1, 2017. The top six short films will premiere at the LA Film Festival 2017.

Here is Elfman himself introducing the short film challenge:

Guidelines

  • Submission deadline: March 1, 2017
  • Film length: 20 minutes maximum
  • One song only: Entrants need to choose one composition from Rabbit and Rogue for their film. Mixing and matching compositions from Rabbit and Rogue is not allowed. Other music is not allowed. The film should be inspired by one particular Rabbit and Rogue composition. You can download MP3 files of each Rabbit and Rogue track from the INDI LA Film Festival Danny Elfman Project challenge page. You can listen to the entire album on Spotify, too.
  • Judging criteria: "Artistic quality, originality, inspired use of music, maintaining musical integrity, entertainment value, creativity, plot, pacing, structure, characters, cinematography, direction, and overall quality of production."
  • Gratis music license for Rabbit and Rogue songs: Includes a free sync and master use license for the non-commercial uses of the music contained in the short film that must be submitted by the March 1, 2017 deadline. Films that do not submit by the deadline are not eligible for the gratis music license.
  • Additional film festival submissions: You can screen your film at other film festivals after August 31, 2017.
  • Important fine print: "By submitting to the contest, the rights to the Work are granted to Morte Surgical Instruments. However, submissions that are not picked up as winners will have the ownership and rights of those short films revert to the person who submitted them on August 31, 2017. No rights to the music is granted for commercial use without additional written permission from Morte Surgical Instruments, and it's [sic] Publishing Administrated [sic] Universal Music."
  • More important fine print: "In the event Company commercially exploits the Work or authorizes a third party to exploit the Work, Company shall pay you an amount equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of Company's Net Receipts actually received by Company in connection with the exploitation of the Work. Please see the Challenge 'Terms and Conditions' for more information."

You have nine months to make and submit your film. Elfman is waiting. Tick-tock!

Source: Film Independent

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