Criteria of quality films

Here are the criteria that I feel make a quality film (note – each of the terms could and should be defined, and the list might be limited, a little biased, and subjective, but according to my experience and research these seem to hold true for most film critics):

1. Originality (story, plot, types of shorts, colors, quality of script/ writing, etc.)
2. Imagination
3. Creativity (the ability to engage the audience with a compelling idea)
4. Pacing (speed ratio – story, shot use and selection)
5. Relations (music to picture, image to image, story to sound and image use)
6. Time (use of time in video – purpose// ex. slow, fast camera shots, duration of shots, etc.)
7. Speed (use slow and steady motion; speed of transitions, camera shots, etc.)
8. Flow (use of clips; how things fit together; relevance, tells a coherent story.)
9. Direction (movement of film, movement of camera shots, movement of sound, etc.)
10. Coherence (use of clips; everything has reason; fits)
11. Composition (rule of thirds – divide into three parts – position subject anywhere but in center box)
12. Angles (use multiple angles/ camera shots; ex. shoot low for kids)
13. Transitions (use of clips)
14. Sound (pitch, loudness, reason/ use, timbre)
15. Information (message – what is being told – why – how useful)
16. Ability to evoke feelings (use of clips)
17. Focus (depth of field, etc.) – tone down the zoom (too much zoom is distracting)
18. Lighting (light the subjects, not the space; use added light in moderation; light to create a standard video image)
19. Pace (flow)

These are the criteria that we will use to evaluate and assess your short films.