The Shortie Awards Student Film & News Festival
Film Judging Rubric
Story/Script
Excellent 4
Good 3
Satisfactory 2
Needs Work 1
Score
Structure
The story is engaging
with a clear beginning,
middle, and end. It is
not too long or too
short. The ideas and
themes have been
adequately explored.
The story has a
beginning, middle,
and end. Not all
the ideas have been
explored fully.
The story has a
beginning but then
becomes difficult to
follow. Little thought
seems to be given to
the ending.
There is little or no
sequence to the action.
It seems either too long
or too short.
Characters
The characters are
clearly defined with
telling and interesting
details. The dialogue
(words) and actions of
the characters are
appropriate to the
story.
The characters
speak and act
appropriate to the
needs of the story
and have some
interesting,
defining details.
The characters are
stereotypes without
much, if any, specific
characteristics. The
dialogue reveals little
about the characters
or does not seem
appropriate to them.
It is not clear who the
characters are and why
they are in the story.
The dialogue reveals
nothing about the
characters and does not
seem appropriate or
believable to the story.
Performance
Excellent 4
Good 3
Satisfactory 2
Needs Work 1
Score
Vocal
All actors speak
clearly, are understood
and use a voice
appropriate to the
character(s) they play.
All lines have been
memorized.
Most actors speak
clearly and are
understood by the
audience. There is
some attempt to
use character
voices.
Only a few actors can
be understood. No
one tries to use a
voice appropriate to
the character.
It is difficult to
understand the actor's
speech. Dialogue and
narration is lost and
misunderstood. It is
obvious lines are not
memorized.
Physical
Actors move
according to the needs
of the character(s)
they play. They move
with appropriate
energy and
commitment. All
actors stay in
character.
Most of the actors
move with the
energy of a
character and stay
focused and in
character.
Actors rarely move
with appropriate
character energy.
They do not seem
"present" in their
acting and often do
not stay in character.
Actors' movements are
unfocused and
sometimes
inappropriate. There is
no attempt to move in
character. Actors laugh
or act in other ways to
break character.
Camera Work
Excellent 4
Good 3
Satisfactory 2
Needs Work 1
Score
Framing
Shots are focused,
varied, well framed
with excellent and
meaningful
composition.
Shots are focused
and framed to
adequately tell the
story.
Shots are occasionally
out of focus and
unframed. There is
little variety in
composition.
Shots are unfocused
and unframed with no
attention to
composition.
Movement
The camera is steady
and pans, tilts, zooms,
and follows when
appropriate. Hand-
held shots are not
distracting, but
appropriate to the
narrative.
The camera is
steady and most
shots move with
the action
appropriately.
The camera is mostly
steady. The camera
does not always follow
the action or is
distracting to the story
(i.e. too many zooms
in and out). There is
no camera movement
whatsoever.
No attempt has been
made to hold the
camera steady. The
hand-held is distracting
and unfocused. There
are unnecessary pans,
tilts, and zooms that do
not contribute to telling
the story.
