MAF FAQs (Media Arts Festival Frequently Asked Questions)
(Please click the question you'd like the answer to)
Who is eligible to enter the Media Arts Festival competition?
What are the submission categories?
What are the submission requirements?
What media formats do you accept for submissions?
Is there a fee to submit a project?
I worked on the project as an Editor (or other position); can I submit the project to the MAF?
Can a CSU faculty or staff member submit a project on behalf of a student?
I'm a recent graduate of the CSU. Can I still submit my entry?
I worked on this project with many other people, including people who were not CSU students. Is my project eligible for submission?
Is there a limit to the number of entries I can submit?
What is the finalist selection process? Who chooses the winners?
What is the prize for winning?
If I have submitted my film to another competition, can I submit it to the Media Arts Festival?
Can I resubmit a film to the Media Arts Festival if my film did not get chosen in a previous year?
I don't have fancy equipment or a large production budget. Will my film still be considered if it is not as highly produced as others?
I'm still working on my project. Can I submit the unfinished version and then if I am chosen as a finalist, can I submit the finished version for the screening?
After the Festival, will I get my submission back?
If I am chosen as a finalist, who will see my project?
Does anyone see my project if I am not chosen as a finalist?
Can I invite my family to the screening and awards ceremony?
If my project wins at the Festival, how will I find out that I won if I am unable to attend the awards ceremony?
If I am not a finalist, can I still attend the screening and awards ceremony?
What happens to the projects after the Festival?
Are there any suggestions for entrants? What kind of feedback have you gotten from judges about entries?
How do I get a transcript for the Summer Arts course(s) I took? Will the transcript be sent to me or to my university?
Course numbers are the same from year to year. Can I take Music 420, for example, more than once? Will this mess up my transcript?
I have questions that have not been answered by this list. Is there a real person I can contact?


Who is eligible to enter the Media Arts Festival competition?

Only CSU students who are the director and/or producer on the project are eligible to enter the Media Arts Festival. In the case of screenplay entries, student screenwriters are eligible to submit their scripts.

Students can be currently enrolled students or recent graduates as long as they and their entries meet the following criteria:

• The student director, producer, or writer must have been enrolled at a CSU campus for at least once semester or quarter during the twelve months prior to the entry deadline (usually September of one year to October of the next year).
• The work being entered must have been produced while the entrant was enrolled at a CSU campus in conjunction with a film, communications, electronic media, or other program.

What are the submission categories?

• Animation - either traditional or digital
• Documentary - a presentation of factual, political, social, or historical events
• Experimental - film, video, or computer-generated, does not tell a linear story
• Interactive Media - must have a "moving image" component, and require user input to be effective
• Music Video - to original or existing music
• Narrative - comedy or tragedy, tells a linear story
• Television - public affairs, arts and culture, new programs, community-related programs, commercials, or special projects
• Feature Screenplay - may be up to 120 pages (submit two copies of the screenplay. Submit only the written screenplay, not the filmed version of the screenplay)
• Short Screenplay - must be 15 pages or less (submit two copies of the screenplay. Submit only the written screenplay, not the filmed version of the screenplay)

What are the submission requirements?

• Each project must be submitted with separate entry forms, entry fees, and on different DVDs or other media.
• Projects must indicate a submission category.
• Submissions must have a moving image component. The submission must have more movement than a slide show with a soundtrack, for example.

What media formats do you accept for submissions?

Entries may be submitted on DVD, MiniDV, Video CD, and VHS tape. Submissions should be of screening quality. Please indicate if the entry is in QuickTime format. The only electronic entries accepted are websites. We do not accept entries posted on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, or other electronic source.

Students submitting scripts must submit two copies of the screenplay.

Is there a fee to submit a project?

Yes. The fee is $15.00 per entry, payable by check only (check made out to CSU Media Arts Festival).

I worked on the project as an Editor (or other position); can I submit the project to the MAF?

No. Only the student director and/or producer can submit the project to the MAF.

Can a CSU faculty or staff member submit a project on behalf of a student?

A CSU faculty or staff member may submit a project on behalf of a student director or producer, however the student's name must be listed on the entry form. A CSU faculty or staff member may not be listed as the director or producer of the work, but may be executive producer or advisor.

I'm a recent graduate of the CSU. Can I still submit my entry?

If the project was completed while you were enrolled as a CSU student and within the designated time frame for submission, you may submit your entry.

I worked on this project with many other people, including people who were not CSU students. Is my project eligible for submission?

As long as the director and/or producer is a CSU student and meets all other submission criteria, the project is eligible for submission.

Is there a limit to the number of entries I can submit?

No. There is not a limit to the number of entries one person or team can submit. Each entry must have a separate entry form and entry fee, and be submitted on separate DVDs or other media.

What is the finalist selection process? Who chooses the winners?

All entries are judged by CSU Faculty who select the finalists in each category. The entries are then judged by Hollywood industry professionals who select the winners in each category and the Best in Show winner. The Best in Show winner is chosen from among the category winners. Winners are announced at the awards ceremony.

What is the prize for winning?

Category winners receive a Rosebud award and $500. The Best in Show winner receives an additional Rosebud Award and an additional $500. Finalists receive place certificates.

The media departments of the winning entries will receive $250 for each winning entry.

If I have submitted my film to another competition, can I submit it to the Media Arts Festival?

Yes. The Media Arts Festival accepts projects submitted to other festivals as long as other submission requirements are met.

Can I resubmit a film to the Media Arts Festival if my film did not get chosen in a previous year?

No. Projects previously submitted to the Media Arts Festival are not eligible for resubmission unless there has been a significant change in the project and all other submission requirements are met.

I don't have fancy equipment or a large production budget. Will my film still be considered if it is not as highly produced as others?

Yes, of course. Judges tell us that what is most important is the quality of the story, the delivery, and creativity and imagination.

I'm still working on my project. Can I submit the unfinished version and then if I am chosen as a finalist, can I submit the finished version for the screening?

Whatever version you submit for judging will be the version that will be screened if chosen as a finalist.

After the Festival, will I get my submission back?

No. We are not able to return submissions. Please do not send your only or master copy.

If I am chosen as a finalist, who will see my project?

Your project will be screened at the Media Arts Festival. Students, faculty, and staff from throughout the CSU system are invited to attend the screening and awards ceremony. The public is also invited to attend the screening. Winning works will also be posted on the Media Arts Festival website after the award presentation.

Does anyone see my project if I am not chosen as a finalist?

Yes. The first round of judges will have seen your project. Projects not chosen to be finalists are not screened at the festival.

Can I invite my family to the screening and awards ceremony?

Yes. The more the merrier.

If my project wins at the Festival, how will I find out that I won if I am unable to attend the awards ceremony?

Winners not in attendance will be notified by phone or email following the Festival.

If I am not a finalist, can I still attend the screening and awards ceremony?

Yes, absolutely. Come to the Festival to support your fellow students, network with other students and industry professionals, and see the awesome work being produced by the students of the CSU.

What happens to the projects after the Festival?

The finalist projects and the winners are compiled into a DVD collection and sent to CSU Media departments and Hollywood professionals. The winning projects are also posted on the MAF website and are downloadable for viewing.

Are there any suggestions for entrants? What kind of feedback have you gotten from judges about entries?

• Make sure that your submission works and has all of the elements that it is supposed to have. We have received entries that don't play on a standard DVD player or are missing audio, etc.
• Submit a clean and scratch-free project.
• Make sure that your lens is clean and that your audio is clear.
• Capture your audience early in the piece. Don't make people wait for the good part that is buried in the middle of the project.
• Keep the project moving along. Pacing is a big issue.
• Make sure that the audio and the video are in sync.

How do I get a transcript for the Summer Arts course(s) I took? Will the transcript be sent to me or to my university?

You can order a transcript by calling the Fresno State transcript hotline at 559-278-4743 and following the instructions on the recording. There is a $4 fee for transcripts, and every Summer Arts course you have ever taken at Fresno State will appear on the same transcript, so even if you have attended in multiple years, you need only order one transcript.

We strongly suggest that you have a sealed, official transcript sent to you at home, and that you then take it to your home campus Registrar’s Office. This gives you assurance that your transcript was indeed received by your home university.

Course numbers are the same from year to year. Can I take Music 420, for example, more than once? Will this mess up my transcript?

Summer Arts has a set number of course numbers that we rotate through. Yes, you can take a particular course number more than once. The credit will go back to your university as General Education credit.

I have questions that have not been answered by this list. Is there a real person I can contact?

Absolutely. Call the Media Arts Festival office at 562-951-4060 or email Joanne Sharp, the Director of the Media Arts Festival at jsharp@calstate.edu