The Sims 2 Student Life Movie Contest with USC School of Cinema-Television The Sims 2 Student Life Movie Contest with USC School of Cinema-Television Impress the Judges with your film-making talents! Create a film about a Day in the Life of a Student with The Sims 2 and/or The Sims 2; University Expansion Pack for the possible chance to win $5,000 or a four week position as a Maxis Associate. Contest Overview To Enter The Sims 2 Student life Movie Contest with USC School of Cinema-Television, use the game's content to create your own movie about the Day in the Life of a Student using The Sims 2 and/or The Sims 2 University Expansion Pack videogame(s). Movie submissions will be judged by Electronic Arts Inc., and University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television faculty. Movie entries will be judged based on Story, Character development, Art Direction, Originality, and Music. Winners will be selected and prizes awarded as follow: One (1) Grand Prize Winner for Best Overall Film will receive either $5000 or a four-week Maxis Associate position, One (1) 2nd Place Prize Winner for Best Overall Film will receive an Nvidia powered PC (excluding monitor), Three (3) Third Place Prize Winners for Best Comedy, Best Drama, and Best Documentary respectively will each receive an Nvidia 3D videocard. Go here for hints about what the judges will be looking for. Requirements Movie entries must be created using tools and content from The Sims 2 and/or The Sims 2 University Expansion Pack videogame(s) only. Footage must be captured in-game, and may be edited with any Windows PC movie-editing software. Movie entries must be created in either MPEG (.mpg), Quicktime (.mov), Windows Video (.wmv), or AVI (.avi) file format. Movie entries may be in the genre of comedy, drama or documentary and up to three minutes long. Movies entries can only use your original music, , or the downloadable music tracks offered from the Tunes page in the "Cool Stuff" section of www.thesims2.com website. Personal voice-over is also permitted. However, no movies featuring copyrighted material, including audio from movies, or other copyrighted music, or any 3rd party properties, will be accepted for entry in this Contest. Movie endings must be tagged with the 'Made with The Sims 2' animatic and the Nvidia "The Way It's Meant To Be Played" Logo, available in our "Cool Stuff" section of the www.thesims2.com website. The content of movie entries must be appropriate for Teen audiences (as determined by us). All movie entries must be submitted using the online entry form anytime between 4/22/05 and 11:59 p.m. PST 5/30/05. How To Enter To enter, after you have created and uploaded your movie to your MySim page, fill out the entry form including the url to your MySim page and the name of your movie entry. ENTRY FORM Official Rules and Conditions NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID IN QUEBEC, CANADA AND WHERE PROHIBITED. 1. Entry. If you have not done so already you will need to create an EA online account by registering your previously purchased copy of The Sims 2 videogame (the "Game") and The Sims 2 University Expansion Pack videogame (the "Expansion Pack") to participate in this Contest. You can use the EReg application (C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2\Support\EReg.exe.) within the Game or Expansion Pack, or visit www.thesims2.ea.com to register your Game and/or Expansion Pack for free. To enter, (a) first create a MySim page at www.thesims2.ea.com; (b) use the movie making tools and content from within either the Game or the Expansion Pack to create a movie around the theme 'A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A STUDENT' following the guidelines* below; (c) apply the 'Made with The Sims 2' animatic and the NVIDIA 'The Way It's Meant To Be Played logo' to a blank screen slate at the end of your movie and post your movie to the "My Uploads" section of your MySim page (the 'Made with The Sims 2' animatic and the NVIDIA 'The Way It's Meant To Be Played' logo are available for download for free in the "Cool Stuff" section of www.thesims2.ea.com website) and (d) submit your user or screen name, email address, and the url for your MySim page, along with your specific movie file name, with the prefix, 'Contest Entry' (collectively, the "entry" or "entries"), via the Contest online entry form on the www.thesims2.ea.com website (the "Site") anytime between 11:59 p.m. PST April 22, 2005, and 11:59 p.m. PST May 30, 2005 (the "Contest Period"). Completed entries must be entered electronically during the Contest Period and received by 11:59 p.m. PST on May 31, 2005. No other methods of entry will be accepted. Limit: One entry per person - if your MySim page has multiple movies please be sure your movie's name is labeled with the prefix 'Contest Entry' so it can be easily identified for entry in this Contest. Team entries are permitted, but entries must be submitted by a single individual and any prizes will be awarded in the name of that individual. Guidelines: Movie entries must be created in either MPEG (.mpg), QuickTime (.mov), Windows video (.wmv), or AVI (.avi) movie file format (if your movie is selected as one of the finalists, we may contact you to request you provide a final DVD high resolution version of your movie in either of the above formats). Movies may be in the genre of comedy, drama or documentary and up to three (3) minutes in length. Movie soundtracks, if any, may only include (a) original player-made voices; and/or (b) original player-made music and/or those downloadable tracks offered in the "Cool Stuff" section of the Site under 'Tunes'. Movies which incorporate any other music and/or sounds, including copyrighted music, or other third-party materials, or which are not submitted in one of the formats specified above will not be accepted for entry in this Contest. The content of your movie must be appropriate for teen audiences, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. By entering, entrants warrant that their submissions are their own and original creations and do not violate or infringe the rights, including, without limitation, copyrights, trademark rights or rights of publicity/privacy, of any third party. Entries must be suitable for publication (i.e. not obscene, offensive or indecent) and must not have been submitted in other contests or been previously published. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Use of a false email account will disqualify an entry. Sponsor is not responsible for technical, hardware or software malfunctions, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incorrect, lost, late, misdirected, inaccurate, incomplete, garbled or delayed entries or other communications or other technical problems related to website entries. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any fraudulent entry, or any entry containing racial or ethnic slurs, explicit language or sexual content or otherwise offensive or illegal material. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, further reserves the right to disqualify any person who tampers with the entry process or the operation of the web site, or who otherwise violates these rules. By entering, entrants accept and agree to abide by the terms of these Official Rules. 2. Eligibility. This Contest is only open to residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (except Quebec) who are 13 years of age or older at time of entry and who had Internet access and already owned or had access to a copy of The Sims 2 and The Sims 2 University Expansion Pack videogames as of 4/8/05. This Contest is void in Quebec, Canada. Employees and faculty of Electronic Arts Inc. ("Sponsor"), the University of Southern California and its School of Cinema & Television, non-student USC and/or other full time employees ("USC"), Rooster Teeth Productions, and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, parents, representatives, advertising, promotion and publicity agencies ("Sponsor and its agents") and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household of each are not eligible. Contest is void where prohibited, restricted or taxed by law. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. 3. Winner Selection; Prizes and Notification. Five (5) prizes will be awarded in this Contest. Additionally, winning entries may be featured on the Site. On or about July 1, 2005, Sponsor or its designee, and USC faculty (collectively, the "Judge of the Contest"), in their sole discretion, will rank entries and determine the winners, from all eligible entries received, based on the following criteria: - 20% Story - 20% Character Development - 20% Art Direction - 20% Originality - 20% Music One (1) Grand Prize Package for Best Overall Film: Winner's choice of either a check for five-thousand dollars ($5000) USD, or, if winner is 18 or older, a four (4) week Associate position working alongside The Sims 2 development team at Electronic Arts' Maxis Studio in Redwood City, California. The four-week Maxis Associate position includes: a trip for winner to Redwood City, California; roundtrip, economy/coach class airfare for winner from a major commercial airport near the winner's residence; roundtrip airport shuttle transfer; housing accommodations for twenty-eight (28) days / twenty-seven (27) nights at location of Sponsor's choosing in Redwood City, CA, or nearby vicinity; transport to and from Sponsor's place of business and wage compensation for a minimum work schedule of thirty-two (32) hours per week (or a total of one-hundred, twenty-eight (128) minimum total hours), for which total compensation shall be no less than $6.75 (USD) per hour worked and no more than five-thousand dollars ($5000) USD. Incidentals, including, without limitation: meals, telephone calls, facsimile charges, Internet charges, facsimile charges, Spa/beauty salon services, laundry, tours/excursions, gift shop purchases and all expenses not mentioned herein are the sole responsibility of the winner. Housing and airfare cannot be used separately. To accommodate the four-week Maxis Associate position, Sponsor will notify the winner of the proposed date for travel by no later than 9/1/05, and in no event less than thirty (30) days before the intended date of departure. Winner must notify Sponsor of his or her availability for travel by no later than ten (10) days prior to the intended date of departure designated by Sponsor or prize may be forfeited. Travel and accommodations are subject to availability and certain restrictions, so Sponsor cannot guarantee prize trip will be available on the exact dates specified. All travel must be completed by 12/1/06 or prize will be forfeited in its entirety. Any extra nights' stay and any additional costs associated with an extended stay are the sole responsibility of the winner. Additional restrictions may apply. The Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of the Grand Prize Package is $5,864 (USD) (ARV includes presumed minimum wages earned for a minimum work schedule of thirty-two hours per week, for four (4) weeks). Actual value of trip and the four-week Maxis Associate position portion of the Grand Prize Package may vary depending on winner's residence and seasonal rates, and actual hours worked. To participate in the four-week Maxis Associate position component of the Grand Prize Package winners must be eighteen (18) years of age or older and, prior to commencement of the Internship, must sign Sponsor's non-disclosure agreements and provide proof of the legal right to work in the United States. Any Grand Prize Package winner who is between thirteen (13) and eighteen (18) years of age may not participate in the four-week Maxis Associate position component of the Grand Prize Package and will instead receive one (1) check in the amount of $5000 (USD) in full satisfaction of the Grand Prize Package award. If any activity relating to the Grand Prize Package is otherwise unavailable, cancelled or postponed for any reason, Sponsor reserves the right to award a cash payment or a substitute prize of comparable value not to exceed $5000 (USD) and this will constitute full and complete satisfaction of the Grand Prize Package award. One (1) Second Place Prize for Best Overall Film: One (1) new PC, keyboard and mouse (excluding monitor), with minimum specifications of: Windows XP, 512MB Ram, 80GB system drive, CD-RW/DVD-Rom media drive, 6600GT video card, AMD XP3400 or equivalent Intel CPU, ARV: $2000 (USD). Three (3) Third Place Prizes for Best Comedy, Best Drama and Best Documentary respectively (as determined by the Judge of the Contest One (1) NVIDIA 3D 6600GT graphics/video card, ARV: $250 (USD) each. Prizes are not transferable. No substitution of prizes for cash or other goods and services is permitted, except Sponsor reserves the right to provide a substitute prize of approximately equal value. Specific PC or 3D video card brand(s)/make(s)/model(s) to be awarded as prizes are within the sole discretion of Sponsor and subject to availability. All expenses not specified above, including, without limitation, all federal, state and local taxes, and international tariffs, are the sole responsibility of the individual winners. Grand and Second Prize winners will be issued 1099 tax forms for the ARV of the prizes. Winners may be required to complete and sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and, except where prohibited, Liability/Publicity Release, in the form provided by Sponsor, within 14 days of attempted notification in order to claim prize. If a minor wins a prize, it will be awarded in the name of the minor's parent or legal guardian, who will also be responsible for signing any necessary releases, consents and affidavits. Winners will be notified on or about July 1, 2005, by an email sent to the email address specified on the Contest entry. If the winner cannot be contacted at this email address, is contacted and does not respond as directed within 14 days of attempted notification, refuses the prize or is ineligible to accept the prize, the prize may be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. All prizes claimed in accordance with these Official Rules will be awarded. Winners may be required to provide a U.S. or Canadian shipping address to claim prize. Grand Prize Package certificate and information outlining trip restrictions and booking procedures will be sent via overnight mail. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of all other prizes. 4. General Conditions. Sponsor and its agents are not in any way responsible or liable for damages, loss or injury resulting from participation in this Contest or the acceptance, possession, shipping and handling, loss, use or misuse of any prizes awarded in this Contest. Winners assume sole liability for injuries, including personal injuries and/or damage to property, caused or claimed to be caused by participating in this Contest or the acceptance, possession, shipping and handling, loss, use or misuse of any prize awarded. Sponsor has the right to cancel, terminate or modify this Contest if it cannot be completed as planned due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, technical failures, or other conditions beyond Sponsor's control. Sponsor is not responsible for any failure to contact entrants whether due to technical or human error. By entering this Contest, entrants (i) agree that Sponsor may post their entries online and has the right to use the entries, including, without limitation, by making it available for download, along with entrant's first name or user or screen name and hometown on Sponsor's website and in any and all publicity and advertising for Electronic Arts Inc., The Sims 2 videogame franchise, The Sims 2 University Expansion Pack videogame, Maxis, EA GAMES, this Contest or other promotions by Sponsor without any further attribution, notification or compensation to entrants, except if winner is a resident of TN or otherwise where prohibited by law, (ii) agree to be bound by these Official Rules, the decisions of the Judge of the Contest and Sponsor's privacy policy, (iii) agree to be contacted by Sponsor or its agents by telephone, mail and/or email and (iv) irrevocably assign and transfer to Sponsor any and all rights, title, and interest in the entry, including without limitation, all copyrights and a waiver of all moral rights in the entry, including without limitation, the movie. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may edit, composite, morph, scan, duplicate, alter and/or otherwise modify and commercially exploit any entry, in whole or in part, without any restrictions as to changes, for publication or for any other purpose, including, without limitation, in future The Sims 2 videogames or other products. Sponsor shall have no obligation (express or implied) to use any of the entries, including the winning entries. Entrants shall not be entitled to any damages or other relief by reason of Sponsor's use or non-use of any entry. The Sweepstakes is governed by the laws of the United States and all claims must be resolved in the United States. If there is a dispute regarding the identity of an entrant, the entry will be deemed submitted by the person in whose name the email account is registered. 5. Winners list. A winners list will be available at www.thesims2.ea.com approximately two (2) weeks after all winners are determined and verified and will remain posted for approximately one (1) week. A winners list is also available by sending a stamped, self addressed envelope to: "The Sims 2 Student Life Movie Contest" c/o The Sims 2 Marketing Team, 209 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065, for receipt by July 10, 2005. 6. Sponsor. This Contest is sponsored by Electronic Arts Inc., 209 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065.
