GUIDELINES & RULES

+ ELIGIBILITY

This Competition is offered and open only to natural persons who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry. Parents and guardians of filmmakers younger than 18 can submit on their behalf.
The following persons are not eligible to win prizes: employees of NASA, Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) and their Board, employees of vendors to NASA or HCAS that have contracted to provide services to or in connection with the Competition, members of the Selection Committee, the Competition judges, and members of their households.
By entering, you agree to these Rules and warrant that you are eligible to enter the Competition.

By entering, you agree to these Rules and warrant that you are eligible to enter the Competition.

+ PRE-COMPETITION & KEY DATES

At any time the General Public may visit the NASA IMAGE ARCHIVE and download imagery for public use. There is also a full list of archival sites on this website here: NASA Archives. Access to this Archive is always available year-round, with the exception of any technical or maintenance related shutdowns. Note that the Archives are constantly updated and refreshed with new material.

The general use of these images is governed by NASA and US Federal Regulations and these regulations supersede any CineSpace Guidelines or Terms. The CineSpace Guidelines, Terms, and FAQ endeavor to indicate important NASA regulations for the use of imagery in connection with this Competition.

You must submit an audiovisual work (a “Submission”) that complies with the requirements of these Guidelines and Terms no later than September 8, 2023, using the means described below. Entries will be judged in September 2023 (the “Judging Period”). Finalists will be notified on or before October 31, 2022. Award Winners will be announced during the Houston Cinema and Arts Festival at the CineSpace premiere and award ceremony.

+ HOW TO ENTER

There is no entry fee to submit to CineSpace. You may submit more than one original work. Submissions MUST contain at least 10% (based on total running time) of NASA video imagery. More than 10% can be used and still photos can also be used in addition to the video imagery. This imagery may be obtained through the NASA IMAGE ARCHIVE or other publicly available means such as YouTube, etc. For access to NASA still images please go to the JSC Digital Image Collection or the NASA Flickr page. Please see a full list of archival sites on this website here: NASA Archives.

If your Submission is selected as a Finalist (as defined below), you must provide a high-resolution version upon CineSpace’s request. Once you have submitted a work, it will not be returned. Submissions may be disqualified at any time for non-compliance with these Official Rules. CineSpace makes the final determination as to which Submissions are eligible to take part in this Competition. NASA is the sole judge of the prizewinners. CineSpace will not notify you of any disqualification or the reasons for such disqualification.

ANY ATTEMPT TO ENTER THE COMPETITION EXCEPT AS PROVIDED ABOVE IS VOID.

+ REQUIREMENTS & JUDGING CONSIDERATIONS

Each Submission must comply with the following rules:

It must be an original work by you (apart from the NASA imagery), meaning that you (or the minor you as a parent are submitting for) were one of the work’s principal creators and have the right to submit it to the Submissions Portal and grant the licenses set forth in Terms below.
It must have been created after January 1, 2020.
It must either be in the English language or have English subtitles (to the extent it contains dialogue or text). Songs in a foreign language should also have subtitles, especially when the lyrics are germane to the plot or message.
It must be no longer than 10 minutes, including credits.
It must contain at least 10% (total runtime of actual work – not including end credits) of NASA Video Imagery, which may be found in the NASA Archives or other publicly available sources. (NASA Imagery may be altered with After Effects or other techniques).
The submitted works may be uploaded to the Tongal website in HD 720p 16×9 with acceptable file formats: .mov, .avi, .mp4, .wmv, and acceptable codecs: H.265, H.264 (MP4), MPEG-4, H.263, MPGV, WMV, DivX. Different original formats should be presented in a 720p sequence – formatted to your preference.
Cinespace screens all selections in 1080p format. Should you win, you will also be required to provide a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec. Works created in other formats will be converted to 1080p and presented either letterboxed (wider formats) or pillarboxed (old 4:3 footage and others). To retain your own quality control we advise that you submit any alternative format footage in a 1080p sequence formatted as you wish.
If your film was created using a cell phone, please be advised that portrait cell phone footage is difficult to present on screen. It is highly recommended to shoot any video using a cell phone in the landscape or horizontal orientation unless the portrait effect is desired.
It must not be an excerpt from a longer work.
It must comply with all of the content restrictions set forth in Terms. Among other things, ANY USE OF THIRD PARTY MUSIC IN THE SUBMISSION MUST BE PRE-CLEARED WITH THE APPLICABLE OWNERS/LICENSORS.
You must have the right to grant the licenses set forth in Terms.

In general we are looking for Submissions that:

Are based on innovative artistic presentation and storytelling
Provoke an emotional response
Show a mastery of filmmaking craftsmanship

CineSpace is open to all genres and styles including, but not limited to, experimental, narrative, documentary, comedy, drama, animation, ambient, music videos, re-mix, sports, horror, and underground.

IMPORTANT – Please review past Finalists and Winners – while it will not disqualify you, WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO USE NASA ARCHIVE FOOTAGE THAT HAS NOT BEEN USED IN PAST COMPETITIONS

When submitting to the Submissions Portal you must select the best-fitting genre. CineSpace reserves the right to change the genre.

+ SELECTION OF FINALISTS

A team of specialists from HCAS, including employees from NASA, will select Finalists based on considerations set forth below. All Finalists will be “CineSpace 2023 Finalists” and their works will screen at Houston Cinema Arts Festival November 2023. The Finalists’ works will also be posted on the HCAS website and various NASA websites. Subsequent screenings may take place at special events throughout the remaining year and a compilation of the finalists may be submitted for screening in its entirety to other collaborating film festivals internationally. All Finalists will be notified of website posts and all screenings.

+ CONTENT RESTRICTIONS

Your Submission must comply with the content restrictions and guidelines in the Terms and any NASA Imagery Archive restrictions. This summary of key points of Restrictions and Limitations on Use of NASA Material is provided for convenience. The full restrictions are available here:**

You shall not state or imply the endorsement by NASA or by any NASA employee of a commercial product, service, or activity, or use NASA imagery in any manner that might mislead.
You are informed that it is unlawful to falsely claim copyright or other rights in NASA material and therefore, you may not claim copyright or other rights in any NASA Material used in any of your Videos.
You agree that NASA shall in no way be liable for any costs, expenses, claims, or demands arising out of your use of NASA Material.
NASA does not indemnify nor hold harmless users of NASA Material, nor release such users from copyright infringement, nor grant exclusive use rights with respect to NASA Material.
NASA Material is not protected by copyright unless noted. If copyrighted, permission should be obtained from the copyright owner prior to use. If not copyrighted, NASA Material may be reproduced and distributed without further permission from NASA.
If a recognizable person, or talent (e.g., an astronaut or a noted personality engaged to narrate a film) appears in NASA material, use for commercial purposes may infringe a right of privacy or publicity. Therefore, permission should be obtained from the recognizable person or talent, if the proposed use of the NASA Material could be viewed as a commercial exploitation of that person. However, if the intended use of NASA Material is primarily for communicative purposes, i.e., books, newspapers, and magazines reporting facts of historical significance (constitutionally protected media uses), then such uses will generally be considered not to infringe such personal rights.
Some NASA audiovisual material may incorporate music or footage, which is copyrighted and licensed for the particular NASA work. Any editing or otherwise altering of the work may not be covered under the original license, and therefore would require permission of the copyright owner.
NASA audiovisual material may include visible NASA identifiers (e.g., the name of the vehicle and the NASA Insignia or Logotype in photographs or film footage of Space Shuttle vehicles). Use of such materials is generally non-objectionable, provided the NASA identifiers appear in their factual context.

In addition, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Submission must also comply with the restrictions below:

The Submission may not contain obscene or pornographic material; contain threats to any entity, place, group, or world peace; or violate any applicable laws.
The Submission may not infringe any third party’s intellectual property rights or infringe any third party’s privacy rights.
The Submission must not contain any third party work, INCLUDING ANY MUSICAL RECORDING OR COMPOSITION, unless (1) you have a license to use such work in the Submission from the owners/licensors; (2) such work is in the public domain; (3) your use of such work is clearly “fair use” under United States copyright law.
Where required by law, you must have obtained appropriate releases for every person who appears recognizably in your Submission.
No live animals may be used in the creation of a Submission unless you have obtained the consent of the animal’s owner and an affidavit from the animal owner or wrangler stating that the animal was not harmed in the making of the Submission.
You must not breach any contractual obligation in submitting your Submission.
You must provide any licenses, permissions, or releases to CineSpace upon request. Failure to provide such documentation or comply with any the foregoing requirements (in CineSpace’s sole determination) may result in the disqualification of your Submission.
By entering your Submission, you represent and warrant that it complies with the requirements set forth in this Section 5.