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DEAD NORTH 2019 BECKONS YOUR FROZEN SOUL!
Year 7 is lurking just around the corner, haunting us all. Can you feel it in the air? The excitement, the
fear, the delightful terror of it all. What will you make this year that will make audiences squirm and
scream with delight? You made it this far, so let’s hold hands and venture down into this great frozen
abyss together.
This year’s festival will be held in Yellowknife at the Capitol Theatre from February 27-March 3, 2019
and will showcase the North’s most amazing film and photography this side of the grave. You read that
right, we said photography! This year we are adding a Dead North Photo Competition to the mix as it’s
own stream complete with a Zombear trophy for best photo. So if you’re more inclined to shoot 1 frame of
terror as opposed to 24 frames per second, we’ve made a place for you this year (page 8) . We’ve also
added a Zombear for best use of Indigenous language in a film, so let’s get our minds blown while
learning some new words.
Dead North has truly become a circumpolar community event. For some, it has become an annual family
affair, and that couldn’t make us happier. Our youngest filmmaker was 8 years old last year! This festival
was created to inspire a sense of togetherness in the isolated regions of the Arctic, to give Northerners a
platform to tell their own stories and as a way to combat these dark months by filling our schedules with
the important work of learning how to terrorize and melt faces with stories that only Northerners could
dream up. This festival is made by Northerners, for Northerners, and we can’t wait to see what you make!
We are one big twisted family, connected by our Northernness and a love for all things that go bump in
that cold, brutal night. If you’ve got something to say, something to get off your chest, and if it's weird and
strange and a bit out there, then welcome home! You’ll fit right in. We celebrate all beings, weird,
wonderful and twisted with frostbite here at Dead North.
Jay Bulckaert
Dead Prez, Dead North Film Festival.
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 12019 DEAD NORTH GUIDELINES
**VERY IMPORTANT** Please carefully read everything below.
It is only 15 minutes of your time to read this entire document which gives you a
complete understanding of how Dead North works. It is your responsibility to read this
and learn all of the guidelines outlined here. Failure to comply might disqualify your
film/photo from the competition.
DEAD NORTH: FILM STREAM
ELIGIBILITY:
● Films must be AT LEAST 75% made-in-the-Circumpolar-North region of the world. This means
specifically 75% of the members of your production (writers, producers, directors, cast, crew,
editors, etc) must be people who reside full-time in the Circumpolar North (check the map at the
link below if you’re not sure, and contact organizers to be extra sure).
● The film itself must be 100% shot on-location in the Circumpolar North, (above the 60th Parallel)
ie. the area traditionally covered by the terms “Arctic” and “Subarctic,” in the northern lands of the
world’s eight northernmost countries (the Arctic Eight): Canada, Finland, Denmark (including
Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States
(Alaska). Dead North reserves the right to refuse or disqualify any film that does not follow, or that
tries to circumvent, this rule in any way.
Circumpolar Map -
www.canada.ca/content/dam/polar-polaire/documents/pdf/arctic_map.pdf
● Films must be originally written and produced for the 2019 Dead North Film Festival. Previously
made films might be allowed to screen, at the discretion of Dead North, but will not be entered
into the Zombear Competition.
● You do not have to be a professional filmmaker by any means. Believe us, first-time filmmakers
win a ton of awards and have made some of the best Dead North films!
● Films that promote a business/product in any way may not be eligible. No sponsored content!
● There is no age limit for Dead North. However, this is traditionally a horror-based festival that
often screens films with Rated-R content. There is a youth category but this is not a youth-based
festival. Entrants under 18 must provide written consent signed by their legal guardian to
participate.
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 2REGISTRATION PROCESS:
● Registration opens November 19, 2018. Closing date is December 19, 2018. The sooner you
register, the more time you have to make your film! Everyone gets the same amount of time, so if
you drag your heels and wait until December 19 to register, you will still have to deliver your script
by January 1, 2019, and your film on February 11, 2019, just like everybody else!
● Entry Fee:
- $100 per film (Adults: 18 or over)
- $25 per film (Youth: 17 or under)
- This Entry Fee is non-refundable. The fee goes to the screening and promotion of your
film and includes a 1-year membership to the Dead North Film Festival society.
● How to Pay? Follow the instructions at the end of this document.
MAIN DEADLINES*
November 19, 2018: Registration opens
December 19, 2018: Registration closes
January 1, 2019: Scripts are due
February 11, 2019: Final Films Due
February 27-March 3, 2018: Dead North Film Festival
*Pro-Tip: Put these dates in your calendar right now and work backwards from the February 11th delivery
date to figure out how much time you will need to complete your film before the deadline.
OVERALL TIME COMMITMENT*
● From the date of registration on November 19, 2018 to the date of delivering your film at 11:59pm
Mountain Standard Time on February 11, 2019, you technically have 2.5 months total to write,
shoot and edit a 5-minute film. Depending entirely on how you organize yourselves, this could be
a few hours over the course of a few weekends between now and then, or a crazy-stressful
full-time week of work right before the deadline if you leave it all to the last minute. In other words,
there is a huge amount of time in which to make a 5-minute film, but how it is organized is entirely
your choice. There will be NO EXTENSIONS given, NO EXEMPTIONS made, to give one team
more time than any others. Zero. NONE. Don't even ask. 1 Minute Late = Disqualification.
*Pro-Tip: To restate the obvious, be organized and prepare ahead with lots of time to submit early!
Plan to complete your edit at least a full week before the deadline and work backwards from that.
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 3BUT I NEED CAST/CREW/GEAR/IDEAS… HELP!
● Don’t fret, most people who make a Dead North film need all these things too. We have created
an awesome Facebook page for all things Dead North related. Over 1,300 people belong to the
page, the vast majority are folks who live in the North, so join the group and post away to find
creative collaborators to help you with all of your cast/crew/gear/advice needs!
https://www.facebook.com/deadnorthfilmfestival/
LENGTH OF FILM:
● 5 minutes MAX. Edit your final films to be tight, and make sure they come in at the 5-minute
mark or under, credits included. No exceptions.
ACCEPTABLE GENRES: HORROR / FANTASY / SCI-FI / THRILLER (or a combination of those)
● The Circumpolar North is a strange, mysterious and mystical place full of legends and strange
tales, so use all of that to your advantage. Films without these genres as their overriding narrative
may not be accepted.
WRITING:
● Teams will be given the writing guidelines (and mandatory Northern Elements) within 1-2 days of
registering and paying their Registration Fee.
● We suggest you take no more than two weeks to write a script. Once your script is written, you
are required to send it to Dead North to be “approved”. These approvals are not about censorship
or creative control. Rather, it encourages teams to respect the writing process and also allows
judges to vote on the best screenplay and ensure the two mandatory Northern elements have
been included.
● Dead North will take 2-3 days after a script is submitted to respond and “green-light” your film into
production.
● Approval of scripts by Dead North is required in order to move forward with your production and
to submit a film to the competition. Your script must include the 2 mandatory Northern Elements.
Any script missing the Northern Elements is ineligible for competition and will be marked as
incomplete until resubmitted with the Northern Elements included. Any film produced without
including the 2 mandatory Northern Elements will be disqualified.
PRODUCTION*:
● As soon as teams have the green-light on their scripts, they can move into production. The
sooner you get us your scripts, the more time you have to shoot and edit. It is up to you how you
spend that time. Again, the overall goal here is to create original, well written and well-produced
content more than it is about competing under crazy, reduced timelines. That said, be efficient,
organized and do good work.
*Pro-Tip: Pre-Production is the key to success! Think about everything upfront, plan for everything in
advance. Expect harsh weather, anticipate gear not working in the winter weather, create contingencies
for cast and crew getting cold. Be over-prepared and you’ll thank yourself.
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 4POST-PRODUCTION
● Don’t just plan for enough time to slap it together on a timeline. Think about sound design, foley,
colouring, music scoring, effects and build the time needed in your production schedule to allow
for good work to be done in all areas. Adobe Premiere Pro CC is a great editing system and a
subscription only cost $25/month (you could just buy it for just one month if you wanted to):
https://www.adobe.com/ca/products/premiere.html
AUDIO*
● On-Set Audio: Get close to your actors if you are using an on-camera microphone. Double check
all your takes with headphones no matter what type of audio recording device you are using and
ensure you capture clear audio.
● Post-Production Audio: Make sure that all audio can be properly heard without headphones on.
Take your headphones off, stand back from your computer and listen to the volume at ¾ full
volume... can you clearly hear every piece of dialogue? Is the music too loud? Is a sound effect
overpowering a line of dialogue?
*Pro-Tip: Your overall volume when you export your film should be set to -6db and delivered in stereo...
remember, this is going to screen at a movie theatre, so sound really matters!
MUSIC/SCORE
● www.artlist.io www.freesound.org are both great places to get cheap music and free sound
effects. There are others that license stock music like www.marmosetmusic.com. Best option:
collaborate with a Northern musician to help score an original soundtrack!
SOCIAL MEDIA/MARKETING COMPONENTS
We are not trying to add work to your plate with these next components. We are trying to set you up to
succeed and be able to submit your film to any film festival in the world as soon as Dead North 2019 is
over. Every festival of note will ask you for a trailer and a poster (at the very least) along with your film.
Once the insanity of Dead North 2019 is over, you’ll wake up on March 4 and realize you suddenly have
everything you need to submit your film to festivals all around the world! There is a Zombear trophy for
this overall component this year... so it’s very worth your time!
TRAILERS
● We want to build buzz for your films and also, it doesn’t hurt to have a trailer cut for other festival
submissions after Dead North, so you’ll thank us for making this a requirement. Trailers must be
30 seconds or less. Shorter is better! Don’t just pluck a short scene from your film and call that a
trailer, Look at other trailers on youtube, and try to emulate the style of your favourites
POSTERS
● They are the thing that people see first and will attract people to come watch your film. Posters
are just as important as trailers. Be creative, be bold. It’s your job to get butts in the seats to see
YOUR film!
SOCIAL MEDIA
● A huge part of getting your film seen at festivals, sold to broadcasters or distributors, and
ultimately how you can make some money on them, is all in how you market your film. You’ll
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 5already have a poster and a trailer already, so create a Facebook page, a website, an Instagram
account (or some new thing we haven’t even thought of) in order to market your film. Maybe you
don’t plan on trying to get it out there to the world, but what about in your hometown? You should
promote it so all your friends and family are pumped to come out to Dead North to support you
and see the amazing work you’ve done.
FINAL SUBMISSION*:
● All final film and marketing components submissions are due:
11:59pm Mountain Time. MONDAY February 11, 2019.
● All submissions must be uploaded online. The file exporting formats and precise uploading details
will be provided to you during the first week of production.
● Internet is slow in the North (we all know that, and we all face the same challenges) so you are
highly encouraged to start uploading a day or two (or even a week) before the deadline..
● Late submissions and uploads may still screen as "notable submissions", but will not be eligible
for Best Film and possibly other Zombear awards.
*Pro-Tip: Every year people miss this deadline and blame it on the internet. Seven years ago, that was a
"fair enough" excuse. We didn't warn people back then and connection speeds really were quite terrible.
Well, not anymore. You've now been warned 3.5 months in advance. Generally speaking, it's not that bad
to upload what should be about a 200MB file, even from the most remote communities. If you live in a
place where internet is wicked slow, plan to start uploading a week early and at least two days before the
deadline. No excuses.
JUDGING:
● All films will be judged based on the exact same criteria by a selection of industry professionals
and Northern filmmakers.
● Films are being judged in all categories for bold, original and visionary filmmaking that showcases
the Northern experience in a unique way.
SCREENING and EVENTS:
Dead North will be a full five-day festival, at the Yellowknife Capitol Theatre. Get there!
Screening location: Yellowknife Capitol Theatre
Screening Dates: February 27-March 4, 2019
FILM CONTENT and RELEASES
● Censorship: It’s not our thing at all, but some things get the boot for obvious legal reasons. No
pornography, libel, copyright infringement, or hate speech. There are lots of great ways to
terrorize, wow and challenge an audience’s sensibilities while remaining a decent human being.
● Community Responsibility: The North is small and Dead North’s mandate is to build our Northern
media community through positive, communal creativity, and so in a spirit of respectful
collaboration with our fellow Northerners, any film that causes social intimidation of any kind,
intended harm or cause personal disrespect to a Northern community member may be
disqualified, at the discretion of Dead North.
● Actors: All actors in your films must give written legal consent to appear on camera. If minors are
appearing, they must have the written consent of a legal guardian and your production must
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 6strictly follow industry safety standards and practises for child actors.
● Permits: All location, actor, property, and copyrighted-content releases are the full responsibility
of the filmmaker/production team. Dead North, its organizers, board members, sponsors and
affiliates are not responsible in any way for any issues that arise from a director/crew’s failure to
get legal releases of any kind.
STOCK FOOTAGE:
● Generally, this is frowned upon unless deemed absolutely necessary for the story. The judges will
be looking for creativity and originality above all, so the use of stock footage has serious potential
to hurt your chances of winning awards. It is not forbidden, but it is not really encouraged either,
and all stock footage/copyright releases are the full responsibility of the filmmaker/crew.
GEAR/EQUIPMENT:
● Gear is the responsibility of each crew to obtain. Organizations like Western Arctic Moving
Pictures in Yellowknife (wamp.ca), the NFVIA in the Yukon (nfvia.com) and Ajjiit in Nunavut
(http://www.ajjiit.ca/i18n/english/contact.html) are excellent resources for everything you might
need. Also, keep in mind that most smartphones will shoot HD video now (some even shoot 4K)
and the free iMovie (mac) and Movie Maker (pc) apps come standard on most computers and are
capable little editing programs. Expensive gear or the latest gear doesn’t make a good film. A
good idea, hard work and perseverance do.
FILM OWNERSHIP:
● All films are recognized by Dead North/Artless Collective as fully owned by those creators
submitting them.
● While Dead North/Artless Collective does not own any of the content, we reserve the right to use
clips/trailers/photos/posters/portions of each film to generally promote the festival and Dead North
in general.
● All submitted films will be enabled to be screened during Dead North Roadshows and other film
festivals after the festival in February 2019. Dead North does not make money off of these events
(community screenings are free and cost us a lot to organize). These events only help to promote
you and your films and will not hurt your chances at other festivals.
● Your film will be viewable on the Dead North Vimeo site after the 2019 festival and all Dead North
films that are over a year old now in 2019, will be made live to view. If you have concerns about
this, please contact us and we can explain why this benefits you more as a filmmaker than
keeping it locked away.
● IMPORTANT: Over the years we have heard from a lot of people who helped out on a person’s
film and yet they’ve never seen or received a copy of the final film. This is very bad form on a
director’s part. If you get people to donate their time/resources/skills/props/locations to your film
production, they are at least owed a proper viewing of the final product, and we would even argue
that the film does not actually belong to the director/producer alone, but to the entire team who
made it together. Please be respectful of everyone who helped you create your vision. It wouldn’t
exist without them, they deserve full credit and props just as much as you do as a
director/producer.
MAKE A FILM FESTIVAL SUBMISSION PLAN FOR 2019!
● We want to really encourage EVERYONE to have a plan to submit their films to festivals around
the world as soon as Dead North is over. There are tons of free festivals to submit to and many
more that only cost $10-$20 each. Dead North/Artless Collective are happy to give you advice on
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 7how to go about this, but in the meantime, sign up to one or all of these festival access portals:
Film-Freeway (https://filmfreeway.com), Withoutabox (https://www.withoutabox.com),
ShortFilmDepot (https://www.shortfilmdepot.com/), look for festivals that start after February 2019
and make a list of 20 favourites. You literally could be walking the red carpet in France or Tokyo
or London six months from now...it has literally happened to many Dead North filmmakers over
the past 7 years...many of them first-time filmmakers!
DEAD NORTH: PHOTOGRAPHY STREAM
This year, Dead North is proud to announce that we are including a photography stream to the festival!
This Dead North Photography “Face Off”, organized by our board member Pat Kane, invites folks who
would rather focus on photography than video to team up with make-up artists and a model (or models) to
create a horrific, fantastical or out of this world portrait that will be anonymously displayed at a gallery
space the week of the 2019 Dead North Film Festival. Like previously held Face Off competitions, the
general public will be invited to attend the exhibit and act as judges to help determine our winner. Here's
how the Dead North Photography “Face Off” is going to go down...
● This is an official Dead North category so the winner will get a coveted Zombear!
● This is a stand-alone category from the Film Festival’s Best Poster category - in other words,
film posters will not be part of the Face Off competition, nor can Face Off photos be used as film
posters.
● The contest is open to anyone living North of the 60th Parallel in the Circumpolar World who is
interested in genre photography, makeup artistry, the Dead North Film Festival and having a ton
of fun. Same rules as the film stream and check map link on page 2 if in doubt.
● Registration is open from November 19, 2018 until December 19, 2018.
● Photographers must create a portrait (or a scene using a person or people) that captures the
spirit of Dead North - more specifically, it must fit one of the following genres: horror, fantasy,
science fiction or thriller.
● Every year, Dead North has a visual element that filmmakers must include in their films, and we
are going to do that here too. Each entrant must include that somewhere in the photo, we will let
you know what it is when you register. Be creative!
● Photographers may team up with a makeup artist or they may do makeup themselves.
● Photographers may use the same makeup artist as another photographer but must work out
shooting schedules among yourselves.
● Photographers can choose any model and location, but they must be photographed North of
the 60th Parallel in the Circumpolar World.
● Photographers may use the same model as another photographer but keep in mind photos will be
judged based on originality.
● ONE photo from EACH photographer will be printed by Dead North and shown at the exhibit.
● Photos will be printed at 18x24 inches and must be cropped to fit these dimensions.
● DEADLINE for submissions of the final edited image is February 11, 2019
● Photographers are allowed to edit as they see fit using any photo editing software they choose.
● Composites and photo illustrations are allowed.
● We ask that you keep your photos anonymous until we announce the winner at Dead North
2019. Do not share your photos or ask for votes ahead of the exhibit - anyone who does will be
disqualified. This is meant to be a fun, creative and friendly competition so let's keep it that way!
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 8Registration for the Dead North Photography “FACE OFF”
Registration for the Photography stream is to be done directly with Pat Kane Photo as opposed to the film
stream. Please follow the instructions right below here to register:
● Entry fee is $40 per photographer (this money will go toward the venue rental, exhibit setup and
printing costs. Dead North does not make money from your registration fee)
● Send an email to:patkanephoto@gmail.com with the name of the photographer to confirm your
team.
● Registration Fee: Send $40 registration fee to patkanephoto@gmail.com via email transfer with
the heading: Dead North Face Off + your name and the password: deadnorth2019
Photography Judging & Prizes
● The ZOMBEAR winner will be determined by audience votes - we will have the photos printed
and exhibited in a Dead North Gallery + Pop Up Shop in downtown Yellowknife.
● In addition to audience votes, we will have a panel of 3 independent judges to determine the
winner of Dead North Face Off (sum of audience votes + judge's scores).
● Photographs will be judged based on originality, makeup/costume and technical difficulty.
The Fine Print
● Photographers own the copyright to all of their images, printed or otherwise, in any and all
instances.
● Dead North reserves the right to use the photos in future promotional materials for Dead North
events.
● The Board of Directors of Dead North are not eligible for prizes.
● If you have any other questions or comments, please contact patkanephoto@gmail.com.
*The Dead North 2019 Face Off Photography Stream is designed to showcase the incredible talent of
Northern photographers, makeup artists and models.
DEAD NORTH FESTIVAL VOTING:
Like any film festival, the prizes are the infamous Zombears and the glorious bragging rights that go with
them. This festival is a labour of love for all of us, not a money making thing. “Zombears” will be decided
by a panel of judges with our festival director stepping in should there be a tie in any area. This year
we’ve added 2 more categories! Best Photo and Best use of Indigenous Language.
VOTING CATEGORIES:
1. Best Film
2. Best Screenplay
3. Best Editing
4. Best Director
5. Best Cinematography
6. Best Actress
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 97. Best Actor
8. Best Sound
9. Best Death
10. Best Practical Effects
11. Best Original Music
12. Best Visual Effects
13. Best Marketing (Poster/Trailer/Social Media)
14. Best use of Visual Element (mandatory Northern element)
15. Best use of Audio Element (mandatory Northern element)
16. Best Villain
17. Best Youth Film
18. The Audience Award
19. Best “Face Off” Photo
20. Best use of Indigenous Language
If you are looking for inspiration or are undecided about all of this glorious madness, check out the
submissions from past years of the festival. https://vimeo.com/deadnorthfilmfestival/collections
PHEW, YOU MADE IT!
REGISTRATION
Follow these steps for quick and easy registration
● Click or copy the link below into a new browser, and it will take you directly to our registration site.
● Click “Begin a new form”
● Fill out anything you can and for all the rest just insert TBD for now
● Description: Year - 2019, Duration: Choose 00:05:00 (that’s 5 minutes!)
● Title - if you don’t have a title yet just type TBD
● Synopsis - If you don’t have one yet, just type TBD for now
FEE Payment
Once you do all of that, you then proceed to payment where there are two buttons. The first yellow button
says Pay Now (PayPal) and the second blue button says I WILL PAY BY CHEQUE (this means
e-transfer).
Paypal: If you have a Paypal account, you know what to do (VISA and DEBIT work with this option too.
Just say “Not Now” when it asks you to sign up for a PayPal account. You’ll see what we mean).
E-Transfer: If you prefer to pay via e-transfer, just click the blue “I WILL PAY BY CHEQUE” button to
complete the registration process and send an e-transfer to info@deadnorth.ca
DEAD NORTH 2019 REGISTRATION LINK
https://form.zonefestival.com/?k=dnff_f1
info@deadnorth.ca www.deadnorth.ca 10You can also read
