Participation Guidelines

General Guidelines

• All about movies. Amazon Studios is designed as a platform for making movies. It is not a platform for vlogs, epic fails, or funny animal outtakes (unless, of course, you think that you can make a good movie about them).
• Use judgment. Movies can be shocking, but that shouldn't be their only purpose. Don't submit content that has the sole purpose of being shocking or disgusting or that shows animal abuse or gratuitous violence with no artistic value. Platoon is OK. Faces of Death is not OK. If you upload a movie or script that is only suitable for viewers over 18, identify it as such.
• No pornography. Movies like Risky Business are OK. Movies like Deep Throat are definitely not OK. You know what we mean.
• Respect copyright. Do not contribute content that you do not own if you are not authorized to do so. You can use music, photos, and clips from outside Amazon Studios in your movies, but you need an appropriate license to do so.
• Be respectful. We encourage free speech. Movies and scripts sometimes have strong language and provocative themes. However, your movies or scripts shouldn’t be bigoted or hateful when taken as a whole and we don't permit movies, scripts, reviews or other content that are nothing but hate speech.
• Keep the site clean. Behave as if you were a guest at a friend’s dinner party. No profanity, boorishness, spiteful behavior or obscene gestures. Your movies may have vulgarity and sex and violence and over-the-top conflict in them, but your reviews and discussions should not.
• No creepy behavior. Don’t stalk, threaten, harass, denigrate or intimidate other participants. Don’t incite others to commit violent, illegal or immoral acts.
• No spam. We encourage you to get people involved in your projects on Amazon Studios, but no advertising or spam is allowed. Advertisements and watermarks are not allowed in videos. Don’t make repeated discussion posts, especially across forums. You may not send advertisements through StudioMail.
• Be yourself. Don’t misrepresent your identity or affiliation. Use only your own words in reviews or discussions.
• Don’t game the community. Don’t create misleading descriptions, tags, titles or thumbnails to trick people. Don’t badmouth another’s work to drive people away, or talk up your friends to boost their popularity. Don't be intentionally unhelpful or add irrelevant or disingenuous content to projects or discussions.
• Don’t over-expose. We recommend that you don’t post your phone number, email address or physical location. Don’t intrude on the privacy of others, or reveal their phone number, email address or physical location. Don’t include any personal information about children under 18.

Review Guidelines

• Remember, Amazon Studios is producing commercial movies, so focus on the story's prospects as a major motion picture.
• Be constructive. At Amazon Studios, writers and filmmakers can develop their work through multiple revisions, based on your feedback. Your suggestions can make a big difference.
• Be detailed and specific. Feel free to leave helpful advice at any level, from story arc to individual line of dialogue. You may talk about other related movies and how this movie or script works in comparison.
• Stay on topic. Reviews should be directly relevant to the movie or script. Criticism should be directed at the work, not the creator. Don’t respond to other reviewers—that’s what the discussion forums are for. Don’t try to tell us about issues with the site in a review; instead, you can always reach us directly in the Feedback section at the foot of most pages.

You may wish to frame your feedback using some of the following time-honored criteria. Or choose your own standards—the important thing is to give story advice that can lead to a better movie.

• Premise. Is the concept of the story unique or original? Does it have a compelling hook?
• Structure. Does the story have a clear three act structure? Is it well-paced? Are there enough reversals and twists to keep it interesting? Do you clearly understand what world you’re in, and what the story is about?
• Character. Is the lead character sympathetic? Does he or she grow and change over the course of the story? Are the character’s wants and needs clearly defined?
• Stakes. Is it clear what is at stake for the main character? Do the stakes increase over the course of the movie?
• Dialogue. Do the characters each have a distinct voice? Does the dialogue sound natural and real?
• Genre Conventions. If the movie is a genre story, does it effectively and artfully fulfill the conventions of its genre?
• Visual Style. Does the test movie have a compelling look? Does the director effectively use visual images to help tell the story?
• Acting. Do the actors effectively bring their characters to life?
• Cinematic Value. Does the script lend itself to visual storytelling? Are there directorial set pieces within the story? Could this screenplay just as easily be a play?
• Special Qualities. Does the script or test movie have a special quality to it, like the adroit use of theme, unique style and tone or an indefinable magic that permeates the storytelling?