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GIFF 2021 call for submissions


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Hi everyone,


In case you didn't see it on social media or the geocaching blog, the 2021 Geocaching International Film Festival has been announced and the call for submissions has been launched.

 

https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2021/05/calling-all-filmmakers-create-a-film-for-giff-2021/

 

For those of you who don't know my history with the GIFF, and are interested (hopefully this will be somewhat inspiring):

  • I attended the original GIFF at the 2013 GCHQ Block Party; I thought it was cool but no way I could ever create my own film!
  • I hosted my first GIFF event in 2016 at a local movie theater; two of the finalist film creators attended and I learned that they filmed their entry using an iPhone 6!
  • I had never made a film of any kind before but I decided to give it a shot for 2017's GIFF
  • I learned about filmmaking from YouTube and Google searches, wrote up a story and a shot list, asked from geocaching friends to help, and got to work, using my iPhone 7 as my camera and iMovie as my editor.
  • I submitted my 2017 entry "A Travel Bug's Life" which was accepted as a finalist film for 2017
  • I created a YouTube channel called Geo Elmo Geocaching, and that was my first video on it
  • Filmmaking has become one of my favorite hobbies!
  • My 2018 entry called ":-)" was not accepted, but I learned from my mistakes and had another entry accepted in 2019 ("The Geocaching Express 6000 GPS Receiver")

 

It's a lot of fun creating these films, and even if they aren't finalists, you can still show the world through platforms like YouTube.

 

Good luck everyone!

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I've been trying to get my husband to make one for several years now. Maybe it will happen someday....not this year, but maybe next year? Just have to push him harder. :anibad:  He wanted to get Bryan and some Lackeys in it, and I said that nepotism probably wouldn't fly if you're trying to submit it for the GIFF. :laughing: :ph34r:

 

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1 hour ago, Ambrosia said:

I've been trying to get my husband to make one for several years now. Maybe it will happen someday....not this year, but maybe next year? Just have to push him harder. :anibad:  He wanted to get Bryan and some Lackeys in it, and I said that nepotism probably wouldn't fly if you're trying to submit it for the GIFF. :laughing: :ph34r:

 

 

I've seen Bryan in at least one GIFF entry, but I don't know if asking a bunch of lackeys would help your husband's chances or hurt them! 

 

The lackeys are great and I've had some in a couple of my videos, including interviewing MissJenn and Bl4ckH4ckGER, and MissJenn helped with a short film I did about the international geocaching community called "Geocaching: The Global Adventure" (it's one of my personal favorites of my own videos, geocachers from 30 countries representing their countries in their languages).

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3 hours ago, Twinklekitkat said:

Is GIFF 2021 a souvenir moment?  Asking for a friend.

Since the previous years are I'm assuming this year is. (Attending a GIFF event). 

Edit: here's what the blurb says: 

However you watch, discover the special tracking code in the GIFF film reel to receive the 2021 GIFF souvenir. If events aren’t available in your area, you can watch the GIFF films on our YouTube channel after November 22.

Edited by Max and 99
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1 hour ago, Max and 99 said:

Since the previous years are I'm assuming this year is. (Attending a GIFF event). 

Edit: here's what the blurb says: 

However you watch, discover the special tracking code in the GIFF film reel to receive the 2021 GIFF souvenir. If events aren’t available in your area, you can watch the GIFF films on our YouTube channel after November 22.

 

Thanks Max! I will be paying extra attention while watching . Oh sorry, I meant my friend will be. :laughing:

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Unfortunately, my GIFF video didn't make the final cut.  I heard through the grapevine that the bar was set high by the 60 or so GIFF submissions.  I can't wait to see those GIFFs that exceeded that bar!  Here is a link to my video to hold everyone over until the GIFF events begin in earnest.  

 

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5 hours ago, yukionna said:

Unfortunately, my GIFF video didn't make the final cut.  I heard through the grapevine that the bar was set high by the 60 or so GIFF submissions.  I can't wait to see those GIFFs that exceeded that bar!  Here is a link to my video to hold everyone over until the GIFF events begin in earnest.  

 

 

I saw this on YouTube and commented on it there.  I thought it was really good!  You immortalized the pandemic's effect on geocaching with that Signal with the mask, gloves, and hand sanitizer.  And you even got some big geocaching names in on it!  Sorry you didn't make it!  My film wasn't selected in 2018, and so I wrote to the GIFF folks and asked why not, just looking for feedback so I could improve the next time.  They told me it was hard to understand, even though I thought it was brilliant.  :-)  I retooled and in 2019 my film was in the festival (The Geocaching Express 6000 GPS Receiver).  Mine's in it this year as well, called "Got A Pen?".

 

Thank you for sharing your entry on YouTube and here as well.  My non-selected entry has a lot of view, likes, and comments on YouTube, so just because someone's film is not in the film festival, doesn't mean geocachers around the world aren't going to enjoy it.

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7 hours ago, yukionna said:

Unfortunately, my GIFF video didn't make the final cut.  I heard through the grapevine that the bar was set high by the 60 or so GIFF submissions.  I can't wait to see those GIFFs that exceeded that bar!  Here is a link to my video to hold everyone over until the GIFF events begin in earnest.  

 


 

I'm glad you posted it here for us to see! I know we wouldn’t have otherwise. It was super - creative and topical, I thought. It didn’t hurt to see people we knew!

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Things are starting to feel just a little bit GIFFerent… it must be time for the 2021 Geocaching International Film Festival! This year, there are two ways to join in the GIFF fun.

 

 

Online: The GIFF reel, featuring 17 finalist films, will be made available on the Geocaching YouTube Channel on November 22, 2021 at 6:00 pm UTC.

In person: If it is safe to attend an event in your area, you can attend an official GIFF event to see the films. GIFF Events will take place between November 11-21, 2021. See a list of GIFF 2021 events here.

Whether you watch the GIFF reel online or in person, you can earn the GIFF 2021 souvenir by discovering a special trackable code at the end of the GIFF film reel. You can also vote on the People’s Choice Award winner using a link from the GIFF reel on YouTube or from an announcement posted to all GIFF Event cache pages.

 

Want some fun GIFF merchandise? It’s not too late to get yours! Visit Shop Geocaching or International Retailers.

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On 11/8/2021 at 10:06 AM, yukionna said:

Unfortunately, my GIFF video didn't make the final cut.  I heard through the grapevine that the bar was set high by the 60 or so GIFF submissions.  I can't wait to see those GIFFs that exceeded that bar!  Here is a link to my video to hold everyone over until the GIFF events begin in earnest.  

 

I saw this video/ad on a cache page today. 

Nice!

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On 11/8/2021 at 11:06 AM, yukionna said:

Unfortunately, my GIFF video didn't make the final cut.  I heard through the grapevine that the bar was set high by the 60 or so GIFF submissions.  I can't wait to see those GIFFs that exceeded that bar!  Here is a link to my video to hold everyone over until the GIFF events begin in earnest.

[We've Waited a Year for This!]

How long until YouTube adds its boilerplate message about inaccurate COVID information because [spoiler deleted]?

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On 11/3/2021 at 8:06 PM, Max and 99 said:

What is the time limit on getting the souvenir? What was the time limit in previous years?

This year, there is no time limit on getting the GIFF souvenir. As you mentioned, the GIFF reel will go live on our YouTube channel on November 22, 2021 at 6:00 pm UTC. The trackable code is in the GIFF 2021 reel, and can be discovered (and the souvenir earned) at any time. 

 

In previous years, it was only possible to earn the GIFF souvenir by attending an official GIFF Event during the limited timeframe of GIFF (which varied from one weekend to 2 weeks). This year it is based on discovering a trackable. This way everyone can participate in GIFF, whether it is safe to attend an Event or not.

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Just now, ari54321 said:

This year, there is no time limit on getting the GIFF souvenir. As you mentioned, the GIFF reel will go live on our YouTube channel on November 22, 2021 at 6:00 pm UTC. The trackable code is in the GIFF 2021 reel, and can be discovered (and the souvenir earned) at any time. 

 

In previous years, it was only possible to earn the GIFF souvenir by attending an official GIFF Event during the limited timeframe of GIFF (which varied from one weekend to 2 weeks). This year it is based on discovering a trackable. This way everyone can participate in GIFF, whether it is safe to attend an Event or not.

You are awesome for responding and letting us know. Thank you!

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On 11/8/2021 at 11:06 AM, yukionna said:

Unfortunately, my GIFF video didn't make the final cut.

 

It's a great video buuuuuuut, I can see in theory a few points that could possibly have dissuaded them from including it. It's not always about how great a video is on its own. Heck a fantastic video may not make the cut only because some brand logo appears in frame. Personally when I saw the implication of no more finds for a time, I thought "eh? geocaching was still going where I was, and it was the safest hobby for exercising one could still do!" (which of course could also be entirely regional depending on local regulations for being outdoors - the point).  Plus maybe they didn't want to risk that 'misinformation' flag that somehow geocaching (or Signal) destroys the virus :lol: These days almost anything can be tagged for misinformation if it doesn't follow the narrative. And, the events and gatherings shown were US-centric, where worldwide lockdowns and heavy restrictions are still in place (even in some places in the US).

It was a risk making a positive covid-related GIFF film, but if I'm being honest, I can kind of understand why they wouldn't have included it in the worldwide GIFF reel, unfortunately... Feel free to disagree! :)

 

ETA: "Geocaching Is Back" made me think similar with the idea at the beginning that geocaching came to a halt. But that one seemed to focus on more solo adventures going on. *shrug*

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On 11/17/2021 at 9:33 AM, thebruce0 said:

Heck a fantastic video may not make the cut only because some brand logo appears in frame.

This seems to be honored more in the breach than the observance.  There were plenty of logos in this years finalists.  Some even felt like product placements here.  Most seemed incidental.  

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We also filmed something, but we finished two days after GIFF. Because the video is current and may be incomprehensible in a year, we did not wait for the next year of GIFF and we published it on Youtube.

Some context:
In the spring, the publication of new caches was stopped in the Czech Republic and events were banned (plainly - lockdown).
In August, Czech reviewer Sopdet ended.
In the autumn, there
were elections to the House of Commons. Political parties claiming the non-existence of Covid also wanted to get into it.

And pencils and geocoins are disappearing from the geocaches all the time.

The rest is our fiction. Have fun watching and I hope that English subtitles are not wrong.

 

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Another intermission is very disappointing.  GIFF is one of my favorite parts of geocaching, as a host, as a filmmaker, and as someone who really likes the international part of geocaching.  Knowing that I'm sharing this film experience with geocachers from over 50 countries is something really cool.

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