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. If you’ve read and understand the rules and guidelines on this page, please click here to submit your film.
LAST UPDATED:
6:40PM EST – 8/18/2023
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).
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.
SUBMIT FILM IN PROPER FORMAT
All films must be submitted in an MP4 file format. Films must also be at least 1920x1080p (HD resolution). The file name should be the film’s title and include the year it was produced. For example, “The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).mp4” would be a perfect file name.
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.
SERVICES ARE NOT GUARANTEED
By submitting your animated film to Skeleton Keyframe, you are granting us permission to upload it to our official YouTube channel, promote it via our social media pages, and consider it for awards at the end of the submission season. With that said, submitting your film to Skeleton Keyframe in no way guarantees any products or services will be provided by Skeleton Keyframe. We reserve the right to reject or disqualify any film, at any time, with or without reason. As aforementioned, submission fees (where applicable) do not guarantee the submitter any product or service either.
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.
RULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Please note that our rules and guidelines are subject to change at any time, with or without notice. With that said, if a rule change directly impacts the good standing of your submission, you will be notified as soon as possible. Please take note of the “last updated” date at the top of this list to ensure you have read and understood the most recent version of our rules.