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Independent Television Station Seeks Completed Short Films
Northwest Television KWVT Salem, Oregon (www.nwtv.us) is currently seeking independently produced short films to air as part of a new program or as fill-in between programs.
The program will be structured similar to P.B.S.’s “The Short List.” The current working title is “Short Wave.” It will be a half hour program featuring various short films made by independent filmmakers. Artists will not receive any compensation other than having their work and some biographical information broadcast.
It is possible that in the future, as sponsors are gained, artists may be compensated either by the station or by the sponsor(s). However, the station is currently not able to do so and sponsors have not been secured.
KWVT is the only local television station serving Oregon’s capitol. The broadcast signal covers approximately 250,000 households. Station owners are seeking to provide some original programming.
Technical Requirements for Submissions
1. Submissions must be in DVD or mini-DV format.
2. Submissions cannot exceed twenty two (22) minutes in length.
3. Filmmakers must sign a release (soon to be available through the website) granting limited broadcast rights prior to broadcast.
4. Material must be the property of submitting filmmaker(s)/producer(s).
5. All submissions must already be edited to meet requirements. Absolutely no submissions will be edited by KWVT. Submissions that do not meet requirements will not be broadcast.
6. Do NOT send Original Master tapes.
7. Biographical material must be included with all submissions. This information will be used for voice-over introductions, etc.
Content Requirements
1. Material must be FCC friendly and meet FCC requirements for programming suitable for broadcast television. This means no nudity, no illegal profanity, and no overly graphic violence. I realize this severely limits the artistic license of filmmakers but it is limited because we are licensed by the FCC. Northwest Television reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason and all decisions are final.
2. Material cannot contain within it other copyrighted material such as music, television programs, or any other material that is not the property of the submission’s filmmaker(s)/producer(s) unless filmmaker(s)/producer(s) submit with entry the expressed written permission of the owners of other copyrighted material or material falls under Fair Use protection.
3. Material must not advocate a position in favor of or in opposition to a registered political candidate.
Material will not be returned.
All submissions must be mailed to:
Breanne Holifield [EDIT -- address removed.]
If there are any questions, please contact Breanne Holifield at: breanne@nwtv.us
Responses will be used to establish to station owners that material is available.
To be honest, I’m not certain it belongs at this site at all. I just assumed that where there were writers, there would likely be some filmmakers as well.
I don’t expect a large response from this particular site. I just thought I would see if there were any filmmakers here who would like their work televised.
If there’s a very lukewarm response, I’ll probably pull this post altogether and concentrate solely on other mediums.
1. Material must be FCC friendly and meet FCC requirements for programming suitable for broadcast television. This means no nudity, no illegal profanity, and no overly graphic violence. I realize this severely limits the artistic license of filmmakers but it is limited because we are licensed by the FCC. Northwest Television reserves the right to reject any submission for any reason and all decisions are final.
Small question about the profanity thing... When you say illegal I don't think profanity is illegal anywhere within the USA and Canadian regions. Do you mean offensive or vulgar language?
When is the deadline unless I missed it or when does the station start up?
Small question about the profanity thing... When you say illegal I don't think profanity is illegal anywhere within the USA and Canadian regions. Do you mean offensive or vulgar language?
Wesley, in fact, there is such a thing as illegal profanity in broadcast television. Broadcasting airwaves are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States. In Canada, the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) regulates broadcasting though I’m not familiar with their regulations.
Following is an FCC statement:
It is a violation of federal law to air obscene programming at any time. It is also a violation of federal law to air indecent programming or profane language during certain hours. Congress has given the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the responsibility for administratively enforcing these laws. The FCC may revoke a station license, impose a monetary forfeiture, or issue a warning, if a station airs obscene, indecent, or profane material.
The FCC has defined profanity as “including language so grossly offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to amount to a nuisance.”
As you can see Wesley, the FCC is very vague in their definitions of profane language and their leeway in penalizing offenders is quite expansive. However, I can assure you, there most certainly is such a thing as illegal profanity.
In the industry, producers regularly jokingly refer to the “seven words you can never say on television,” which were derived from a court case in the seventies involving comedian George Carlin (FCC v. Pacifica). They are as follows:
I can tell you right now that if there is any question whatsoever regarding this issue in any material forwarded to me, I will seek the approval of my boss before okaying it to be aired. These things can be very costly for a station, even debilitating, and we won’t risk it. Also, we won’t risk offending viewers.
Quoted Text
When is the deadline unless I missed it…?
There is no deadline. Once the program is in a regular time slot, it will continue until it is cancelled.
The project is in its infant stages. I’m gathering information on available material. It takes a little time to go from this stage to actually on air.
The program may run for a time without sponsors to see how it goes. Also, some of the shorter films may be used as fill-in between programs.
Quoted Text
…when does the station start up?
The station is already on air. The start date for the program has not been determined.
I always wondered what came 1st... The good example or the bad example? I mean, did someone create the "GOOD" example because someone mad a "BAD" example? Or was there always a "GOOD" example and a "BAD" example just waiting to ruin things?
Anyways, lude cussing always makes me feel better. Not really cussing, myself, but if I hear other people cussing... I always feel like everything's gonna be alright. Ya know?
About the profanity on broadcast TV, or least basic cable: After midnight on Comedy Central they often air uncut movies, leaving in all the "dirty" words. And of course, the multiple "shit" episode of South Park. I've always wondered how they get away with doing that.
It's cable TV, they can do what they wish. A couple years ago they showed an uncut Saving Private Ryan. FX now proudly features nudity. Cable might as well lift the censors now, I mean what's the point of showing Final Destination 2 if they cut the gore? FD2 without blood is just a bunch of crapass actors running around like idiots.
Wesley, IFC is on cable, not broadcast television. We are on some cable stations but we are primarily a broadcast station. There is a tremendous difference.
Yes, the FCC is more lenient with certain time slots. We, however, are seeking programming that can be placed in any slot.