Admit it. Who wouldn’t want Danny Elfman to score their next film? Outside of John Williams or Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead), I know he’s on my personal short list. But who could afford him? Well, now you can, thanks to the Danny Elfman Project, and you can win a world premiere screening at the LA Film Festival to boot.
“Grammy Winning, multi Oscar nominated composer Danny Elfman has composed the soundtrack to YOUR short film. Your film can join the ranks of movies containing scores by Elfman - including Batman, Good Will Hunting, Edward Scissorhands, Milk, Spider-man, Silver lining Playbook, and Nightmare Before Christmas! NOW GO MAKE IT!!” - The Danny Elfman Project
The award winning composer of The Simpsons and Nightmare Before Christmas, has crafted a series of scores dubbed “RABBIT and ROGUE,” for filmmakers to choose from to create short films for a unique competition.
Within this series are six different collections, and the titles include Intro, Frolic, Gamelon, Rag, Lyric, and Finale. The idea is for you to pick the soundtrack that inspires you the most, and go out and make a short film with it. You will be granted a non-commercial sync and master use license for no cost.
“The primary objective of this project is to inspire filmmakers to create original shorts based on their impressions of Danny Elfman’s music. Think of FANTASIA and how filmmakers took pre-existing compositions and made films based on and scored by that music … in animation, live action or other narrative forms.” - FAQ
You will have nine months to write, shoot and edit your film and submit it to The Danny Elfman Project site at Indi.com. Film genres include live action, animation, narrative, documentary, music video, abstract and experimental. “Just let your creative conscience guide you,” the website encourages.
Films should be no longer than 20 minutes, and they will be judged on quality, artistic merit, originality and use of the music provided, entertainment value, pacing, structure, directing and characters. Contestants can also enter more than one film during the nine month competition window.
And while the rules allow for editing of Eflman’s original score for time, it’s important to remember that the integrity of the piece to tell your narrative is a judging criteria, and any project that uses any other music tracks outside of those provided will be disqualified. A song by credit must also be included in the end credits as per the competition rules.
“I have composed the soundtrack to your short film. Now go make it! I can’t wait to see what the filmmakers come up with.” - Elfman
Finalists will be chosen from a group of judges, consisting of a list of producers, directors, composers, music supervisors, and executives. The most popular recipient of “INDI BUZZ,” by an online vote, will also be included and moving into the final round. Then the judging panel will chose winning selections, with one representing each of Elfman’s six musical compositions. Prizes will include a World Premiere special screening at the 2017 Film Independent LA Film Festival.
But here’s the catch… By submitting your films, you are agreeing to transfer all rights to Morte Surgical Instruments and Universal Music, should you be a winner, while those who don’t make the cut will have their film rights reverted back to them by August 31, 2017. Should the company sell your project or market it, you will be entitled to 25% of the net profits from any such exploitation of the completed work. Check out the Rules, Terms and Conditions here.
Submissions will begin to go live starting January 1st, 2017, with the Final Submission Deadline March 21, 2017. Winners films will be screened during the LA Film Festival next year. For more information and to submit, visit Indi.com
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