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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board  /  Things you are looking for  /  Independent TV Station Seeks Completed Short Films
Posted by: Breanne Mattson, November 8th, 2005, 12:06am
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.


Thank you,

Breanne Holifield
Northwest Television, LLC
Dallas, Oregon

Posted by: Old Time Wesley, November 8th, 2005, 8:46am; Reply: 1
Doesn't this belong in script contests?
Posted by: Breanne Mattson, November 8th, 2005, 9:06am; Reply: 2

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.
Posted by: bert, November 8th, 2005, 9:24am; Reply: 3
I don't have any, but it's cool you put this up.  This board is as good as any, I think.

I suspect those who do have something to offer will appreciate the opportunity.
Posted by: Breanne Mattson, November 8th, 2005, 8:27pm; Reply: 4
Hey Chris,

Good. I can’t wait to see it.

Well, I guess I’ll have to wait but I’ll look forward to it. :)

Posted by: Old Time Wesley, November 8th, 2005, 9:20pm; Reply: 5
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?
Posted by: Breanne Mattson, November 9th, 2005, 12:38am; Reply: 6

Quoted Text
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:

1. Sh*t
2. F**k
3. P*ss
4. Motherf**ker
5. C*nt
6. C**ksucker
7. T*ts

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.


Posted by: Balt (Guest), November 9th, 2005, 12:42am; Reply: 7
Does anyone else feel violated now... or is that just me?  :'(

I kidd... I do... I kidd...

Posted by: Breanne Mattson, November 9th, 2005, 12:48am; Reply: 8

Quoted Text
Does anyone else feel violated now... or is that just me?


I have a good comeback for that but I have to refrain and set a good example.
Posted by: Balt (Guest), November 9th, 2005, 1:32am; Reply: 9
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?  
Posted by: Old Time Wesley, November 9th, 2005, 9:14am; Reply: 10
Don't you guys get a night slot which the FCC is more leniant? They put Mallrats on IFC uncut.
Posted by: Pete B. Lane, November 9th, 2005, 10:23am; Reply: 11
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.
Posted by: Old Time Wesley, November 9th, 2005, 4:30pm; Reply: 12
They get away with a lot in the 9 pm time slot so I'm confused as to how you can't.
Posted by: greg, November 9th, 2005, 10:38pm; Reply: 13
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.
Posted by: Breanne Mattson, November 9th, 2005, 10:40pm; Reply: 14
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.
Posted by: Old Time Wesley, November 11th, 2005, 9:27am; Reply: 15
What if it's beeped out? The cursing or replaced as they do in some tv movies? You can always film the scene twice once clean and once normal... You know?
Posted by: Breanne Mattson, November 12th, 2005, 2:02am; Reply: 16
Wesley, before I go any further; are you serious about sending in any material? Are you a serious filmmaker? I don’t mean to be rude but if you just want to nickel and dime me about the rules, I don’t have time for it.

If you’re serious, I don’t mind taking the time or even doing research. I like to help out as much as I can. That said, my entertainment background is originally in music. I’ve organized or co-organized musical entertainment for everything from clubs to charity events to special events to political campaigns. I’ve dealt with a lot of artists. There are always those who want to break the rules; those who think that anything must be allowed in order to be art.

Wesley, there are so many envelopes that need to be pushed, so many boundaries that need to be stretched other than obscenity. I hope you don’t think that profanity in any way equates to artistry. Art is about truth. Yes, people use profanity in real life, but people do a lot of things other than curse as well.

With that said, to answer your question, submissions cannot have bleeps. You can cut the audio on profanity or dub it over with a word acceptable for broadcast. Whichever way you choose but it must be edited by you. As stated in the original post, we will not edit your work. We only want to air the artist’s version of their work. However, it must fall within our guidelines. That much is non negotiable.
Posted by: Old Time Wesley, November 12th, 2005, 6:16am; Reply: 17
Art is in the work itself, I am not just asking questions for the hell of it.

How long will this station be open? Like long term goals and aspirations for it.
Posted by: Breanne Mattson, November 12th, 2005, 12:46pm; Reply: 18
I’m not sure what you mean by the word “open.” The station will be on air as long as it’s licensed or until the company goes broke.

We have licenses, permits, or applications in several other areas and we are always looking for other stations that may become available elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. There will eventually be other stations with KWVT being the company’s flagship station.

We also plan to transition to digital as well as our current Analog broadcast since Analog will eventually be replaced by digital. I’m not too into the technical stuff so I hope I said that right.

As a local station serving a local area, of course, our first commitment is to our viewers here. Our station regularly broadcasts local events and is involved in the local community. Much of this is covered at the website.

As far as long term goals, we have many. Perhaps too many to say and some I’m not allowed to say. I can tell you this. We’re very interested in producing original programming. We’re working on a deal with a news group to provide a news program and we’re looking at attaining a studio that can be used to produce original programming. At this stage, plans are often introduced, changed, shot down by budget constraints, new ones introduced, old ones reintroduced, etc.

I’m personally very committed to art and have presented a lot (and I mean a LOT) of ideas. I’ve pushed very hard to lay the groundwork for producing our own programming. We hope to produce original series’ and original movies one day.

We do aspire to make it onto satellite one day and gain a much larger viewership. That will be a LONG way into the future. Years. We are by no means a big time station. Submitting work to us will, at this stage, get you nothing but a bunch of people in the northwest of America looking at your work.

Posted by: Old Time Wesley, November 12th, 2005, 2:01pm; Reply: 19
Thanks for answering my questions, I got no more until next year for now anyway.
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