Topic: Format conversion for film festivals
Let's say if I am able to access funding for an intercultural or cross cultural project, an intercultural project being a film made by brickfilmers from different parts of the world based on the same theme edited as one film, and a cross cultural project being a film made by brickfilmers from 2 different countries.
The goals of the project would be to allow brickfilmers be better filmmakers through knowledge transfer, allow audiences to study the differences and similarities of how different cultural settings affect the creative process and ultimately to promote international understanding. This would also create a platform for budding filmmakers to gain the exposure they need to penetrate into the industry besides having something that looks really good on their resumes.
I'm sure for a project like this, funders would require the final product to make it rounds in film festivals internationally. I'm sure film festivals won't really consider entries in mpeg4, avi or WMA. So, my question is this, what formats must the films be in order to be considered? Is there any way to convert mpeg4s, avis and WMAs into those formats? How much would it cost?
Also, would these formats require professional equipment? If I am doing this, I am afraid I will only start working on it by 2016 or 2017 but I am just doing the preliminary research for it for now just to get reactions from potential funders. Are there any indication that film festivals would be more open to accepting film entries made in streaming formats? I may be able to get advertisers to help out if the film is promoted via video sharing sites but mostly for operating costs.