FOCAL

FOCAL International Awards 2010

RULES of ENTRY

NB. Footage is considered to consist of moving images and so productions consisting predominantly of stills will not be considered in the same way by the Jury.

		General Rules
	1	To qualify, a work must have been broadcast, screened or published, for the first time, between 1st January 2009– 31st December 2009 (the qualifying period).
	2	To be considered, all Submission Forms and supporting visual material must be received at the FOCAL office no later than 1st December 2009 (late delivery of visual material will only be allowed for those programmes which are due for transmission during December 2009).
	3	All initial Submissions to Award categories 1-14 will be charged a handling fee of £50 (+ VAT). Any further Submissions to Award categories 1-14 will be charged at £300 + VAT per award category. Invoices will be raised once the submission has been received and processed. NB. in submitting a programme it is expected that you have the resources to send a representative to the Awards ceremony 27th April 2010, if the submission is shortlisted, and at your own expense. FOCAL International is a not for profit trade association and is not able to offer free tickets to the ceremony or to subsidise any travel or accommodation.
	4	Submissions to Award categories 1-13 are open to all production companies, broadcasters, advertisers, footage archives, facility houses, individuals etc. worldwide. Anyone can nominate an employer, colleague, supplier or client. You do not need to be a FOCAL Member to participate in this section of the competition.
	5	Submissions are only valid using the online FOCAL International Awards Submissions Entry Form accessed via http://www.focalint.org/focalawards.htm.
	6	All Award Submissions must be supported by THREE clean identical copies of the production or episode cited on DVD / PAL All Zones. Viewing material should be in English, dubbed or subtitled. If this is not possible, then the submitter should accept that, since the common language of the international jury is English, the submission is unlikely to receive due consideration.
	7	In entering the competition, the submitter of the Entry accepts all responsibility for: A) gaining the consent of the Producer of the work cited B) ensuring that any further clearances are gained where deemed necessary to comply with the Rules of Entry C) can provide written proof of the above, upon request.
	8	The submitter of the Entry indemnifies FOCAL International against any claims that might arise out of its use of any visual materials supplied to support a Submission in the various ways stated above.
	9	Submission of a work does not guarantee nomination.
	10	From the initial Submissions, a Jury will shortlist the top 3 per Award category. Nominations will be announced in March 2010.
	11	The international Jury will comprise a minimum of 3 Jurors per Award category. Members of the Jury will be respected professionals drawn from the footage community within the UK and other countries. The Jury names will be listed in the Awards ceremony brochure. No Juror with a vested interest in a particular submission will be allowed to serve on the relevant Award category.
	12	From the shortlisted nominations, voting for the Winner in each Award category will be by the respective panels of jurors, and in some instances, FOCAL Members will also be able to add their votes. (NB. Wording made loose here to allow for online voting or open viewings).
	13	Shortlisted nominees will be notified in February/March 2010, whereupon they agree to provide a Digi Beta, Beta SP or DVD, of the complete cited work or a suitable clip from it so that a 25 second clip can be edited into the clip compilation to be shown on the night of the Awards Ceremony. They will further agree to provide a minimum 2 promotional stills of the work for inclusion in the Awards Brochure and Archive Zones magazine.
	14	Winners will be announced at the Awards presentation 27th April, 2010 and those collecting Awards accept that their photographic image will be replicated in Archive Zones magazine, on the FOCAL website and in promotional advertisements and posters.
	15	The decisions of the international Jury and those FOCAL International Members eligible to vote are final.
	16	FOCAL International reserves the right to reject any submission or nomination at any time without prior consultation with the submitter.
	17	The Jury reserves the right to change the category to which a Submission is made if they feel another category to be more appropriate; however this will be done in consultation with the submitter.
	18	In the event of multiple entries of the same name or title from different people, the Jury will confer with the submitters in deciding which single entry is accepted.
	19	Sponsors are NOT allowed to enter a submission to the category they are sponsoring.
	20	FOCAL International accepts no responsibility for non-receipt of any electronic submission or supporting visual material.
	21	FOCAL International will endeavour to protect any supporting visual material once in its possession, but it accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage, and it will NOT return any such material to the sender except under exceptional circumstances, or where the submitter is willing to pay for delivery. Full master copies of the Nominations received on Beta SP or Digi Beta will be returned upon request.
	22	Shortlisted nominees may be asked for permission to show the programmes shortlisted non-theatrically following the Awards presentation.
	23	The submitter accepts that their contact details will be stored on a database for use by FOCAL International only.
	24	Participation in the FOCAL International Awards implies full acceptance of the Rules of Entry to the competition.
		Additional Rules
	1	The Jane Mercer Footage Researcher of the Year Award. The recipient(s) must be member(s) of FOCAL International. The recipient must have carried out the footage research for the production(s) premiered during the qualifying year 1st Jan -31 Dec 2009. Nominations can be made using the online Submissions Entry Form accessed via http://www.focalint.org/focalawards.htm (there is no charge for this) or the Jury may nominate any number of named individuals during the course of the Jury process. NB. All Nominees will be asked to email a statement from their Producer / Director in support of the nomination. The recipient will be chosen by a special committee, whose decision will be final.
	2	The Award for Library of the Year. The recipient must be a company member of FOCAL International. Only FOCAL International Researcher members will be allowed to vote (one vote per membership). This popular vote will be conducted electronically. There will be no nominations put forward for this award, but all FOCAL International Library members qualify.
	3	The Award for Library Person of the Year. The recipient must work for a company member of FOCAL International. Only FOCAL International Researcher members will be allowed to vote (one vote per membership). This popular vote will be conducted electronically. Nominations will be called for by email to FOCAL International Researcher members, from the list of names received, they will then be asked to vote for the winner.
	4	Submissions to the Award for Lifetime Achievement can be made by anyone, except the person themselves. Anyone can be nominated providing they can demonstrate the nominee having worked within the industry for a minimum of 25 years. Submissions are only valid using the online FOCAL International Awards Submissions Entry Form accessed via http://www.focalint.org/focalawards.htm (there is no charge for this). NB. All Nominees will be asked to email a personal CV in support of the nomination. The recipient will be chosen by the FOCAL International Executive, whose decision will be final.
	5	It is within the power of the Jury to grant a further award under the title *The* FOCAL International Special Award. The criteria used to make such an award will be at the discretion of the Jury whose decision is final.