Thank you for your interest in submitting your animated film to Skeleton Keyframe for award consideration. Before you submit your film, please read through the following rules and guidelines to ensure it meets our standards. Films submitted to Skeleton Keyframe that do not meet our rules and guidelines, as described below, will not be considered for promotion or awards.
ALL SELECTED FILMS ARE UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE
Films selected for award consideration will be published to the Skeleton Keyframe YouTube channel in their entirety for our audience to enjoy. Winning films will also be played in their entirety during the festival premiere event both live on YouTube and in-person. Please do not submit your film if you do not want it featured and promoted as aforementioned.
ANIMATED FILMS ONLY
Submitted films that are not animated will not be considered. While some live action footage is perfectly acceptable, animation must be the focal point of the film in order to be considered. Animation styles that are currently accepted include stop motion, claymation, traditional 2D animation, and computer animation (2D or 3D).
ABSOLUTELY NO AI USE
Submitted films must not contain any AI generated content. Any film found to contain AI generated content, of any kind and in any capacity, will be disqualified. This includes but is not limited to AI generated images, scenes, voiceovers, and/or music.
ORIGINAL FILMS ONLY
The submitter must have 100% of the rights to the film being submitted. This means you can not submit someone else’s work for consideration, nor can your film include any copyrighted footage or content without explicit, undisputable permission from the rightsholder in the form of writing. This includes but is not limited to copyrighted music or graphics.
NO DUPLICATE SUBMISSIONS
Regardless of a film’s acceptance status or award status during a past Skeleton Keyframe season, the same film will not be considered for future seasons. If a film is resubmitted to Skeleton Keyframe after already being submitted during a previous season, it will automatically be disqualified.
NO COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
Once again stressing the importance of this rule. Please do not submit anything with copyrighted content that you do not have 100% permission to use. If copyrighted content is used, be prepared to provide explicit, undisputable proof of permission from the rightsholder in writing. Being perhaps the most important rule on this list, there will be absolutely zero tolerance for copyrighted content being submitted. There will be no exceptions to this rule and those found to have submitted copyrighted material will be disqualified immediately and may be permanently banned from making future submissions to Skeleton Keyframe.
SUBMISSION FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE
Please note that submission fees, where applicable, are 100% non-refundable regardless of whether or not your film is selected for award consideration and/or promotion by Skeleton Keyframe. Submission fees help to cover operating expenses and the cost of the awards for the end of the season. If your film is rejected or disqualified for any reason, your submission fee will NOT be refunded. Please keep this in mind and ensure that you are following all of our rules and guidelines listed on this page in order to avoid disqualification.
ALL FILMS MUST BE IN ENGLISH
If you are submitting a film with voice acting or narration, your film must be either entirely spoken in English, dubbed in English, or include properly translated English subtitles. Poorly translated subtitles aren’t inherently a means for disqualification, but if they hinder the understanding of the overall story, they may result in a lower score and/or rejection.
NO ILLEGAL CONTENT
We are happy to accept animated films of all varieties. This includes content with varying target audiences (please be sure to select the appropriate age group(s) for your film when submitting it). With that said, please DO NOT submit any animated content that depicts anything illegal.
