GOTHTOBER FAQ

QuaranWEEN! (This year’s Gothtober Pin design by Julianna Parr)

 

2020 Theme: QuaranWEEN

This is Gothtober’s 17th endeavor. We helped usher in the digital age in the early aughts with our collection of Hallween treats. Since then we’ve been through many natural disasters, five presidential elections, two recessions, and a smattering of ill-fated pastimes and fashion fads. 

However: 2020 is the most terrifying year Gothtober has ever had so far! 2020 brings a global pandemic causing a new (3rd) recession in the midst of the 59th quadrennial presidential election. The murder of George Floyd was the result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy. It is a crazy, painful, difficult time. 

Thus we bring you this year’s theme: QuaranWEEN 

The Great QuaranWEEN of 2020 is messing up this year’s supernatural efforts to bedevil the mortals of planet earth! You are invited to explore this fact! 

Quarantine-specific ideas:  Distanced trick-or-treating, ghosts staying 6 feet apart, werewolves applying hand sanitizer, mummies cursing from afar, Travel restrictions from the US to Transylvania, zombies doing zoom meetings… 

Toilet paper shortages, 300 hour long Tuesdays, 5G Tower Conspiracies, Time as a flat circle, Extreme homesteading, Mask wars, The EDD, Zoom Fatigue, Finding out everyone’s real hair color, Staycations, Sourdough starters, Hand Washing, Working AND Teaching from home, Alcohol-fueled introspection, Telemedicine, Everything Cancelled, etc. 

And of course feel free to explore other horrors: Voting, BLM, supplemental income, health insurance, the post office, science, testing, mortgages, small businesses, the rising death count, the  economy, travel, trade, prisons, supply chains, restaurants, public spaces, hospitals, essential workers, contact tracing, social media bots, government, fraud, etc. 

And As Always: Theme is too much this year? “Halloween” is always the default theme for every calendar. 

Lastly, I get it: what reason to make art about a global pandemic that has completely flipped and gutted our lives, and has caused untold levels of stress, pain, and tragedy? History shows that when society is hurting, we turn to the humanities. The humanities offer us the reminder that we are still the same blue marble ball that’s been twirling around the sun since before we can recall. We will be the teachers of this age, our art part of its history. 

RULES for PARTICIPATION

 
• Movies not to exceed 3 minutes in length, slideshows not to exceed 20 frames! You can do 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes! But do not go over 3 pretty please with pumpkin spice on top! 
 
• Please only show NEW or never-before seen material to debut on Gothtober.

• Please wait until January of 2021 to distribute your piece outside of Gothtober.
 
Gothtober is powered by SparkleBlob, a Los Angeles based 501-C3 non-profit organization that also runs Artist Workshops, Art Happenings, Performances, Weekly CraftNight, and The SparkleBlob Annual Holiday Puppet Show. 

DETAILED MEGA FAQ

TECHNICAL FAQ

 

What are the requirements of making a:

What is Gothtober?

The Gothtober Countdown Calendar™ is a curated time-release flash-based online museum of 31 works of art by 31 different artists. It is the original social-distancing Halloween art/film festival. The official run of the show is from October 1st to the 31st, a new piece being revealed with each day of the month.The best way to see what it is though, is by visiting it!

What size do I need to design for?

Movies can be either ye olde TV ratio of 4:3, or 16:9 (letterbox) or square (ie Instagram size) our programming will adjust the size to fit various movie sizes. We don’t recommend vertical phone-style. 

When can I put my piece on YouTube?

Please don’t! Gothtober artists agree not to launch their Gothtober piece anywhere but Gothtober until January of the following year (a waiting period of three months.) Why? We seek premiere status, because when you tell others about your film on Gothtober, it promotes the other 30 artists together on the calendar. It’s about sharing. This is “together-art” and does not bring the curator or any of the Gothtober staff any revenue. When you debut on Gothtober for the Halloween season, you are doing PR for yourself and everyone else that has work in the calendar, and they are also doing that for you. 

Slideshow-Style Presentation

(Some Examples in Gothtober 2012 are DAYS 4, 6, 19)

  • This could be a gallery of works, a story w/pictures, a recipe w/steps, comics, a poem w/visuals, etc.
  • Show can be activated by viewer pressing buttons (interactive mode) or a timed show that has no buttons that runs by itself.
  • Limited to 20 images or less.
  • Please include a title page for the beginning of the piece, the “next” and “back” buttons will be made for you.
  • Please make all slide images of uniform size and dpi
  • Give JP time to work with you if you need configuration of your images, like 2 weeks or something.

Quicktime Movies

Some examples in Gothtober 2012 are DAYS 5 and 11  THE MOVIE TIME LIMIT IS 3 MINUTES! THE MOVIE TIME LIMIT IS 3 MINUTES! THE MOVIE TIME LIMIT IS 3 MINUTES! This includes creepy music videos, eerie murder movies, tales of gruesome revenge and strife! Talk to us about compression, every movie is different. We will provide the loading bar. Movies need to stay within the 4:3 aspect ratio, the “TV” ratio or 16:9 the letterbox ratio. Remember to use bright colorful imagery and stay away from tiny objects and signage, since when things get compressed, it becomes unreadable or looks kinda crappy. You can give your work to JP in person, or mail it on disk or hard drive or flash drive. You can also (easiest) send your film via DropBox, Hightail, WeTransfer, Google Drive, Amazon Drive, Cloud Drive what else have you, and Gothtober will download and compress files. Please try to keep your file within a reasonable size (not in the GB range, please).

Printable Things

A file for download that can be printed: Paintings, Mini-books, Halloween Masks, Cards, posters, fold-&-print projects, gameboards, trading cards, ANYTHING made on paper that you want to share with the world that can be printed and assembled/displayed by the viewer. Actual physical artwork delivered must be no larger than 8 1/2 x 11″ (must be sent earlier for digital prep) Digital files must be same measurements (for easy printing) sent as Illustrator, Photoshop or hi-res jpg file at 180 dpi or larger.

Downloadable Music Files or other goodies:

CD-quality recordings of tunes or spoken word you’ve made that you want people to have for listening! Home-made gothtober sound effects, 1 minute of evil laughter, dippy country song about pumpkins, plunking the guitar and yodeling about goblins…etc.

Where can I view Gothtober?

 Visit www.gothtober.com!

Can I view Gothtober on my smart phone?

Yes! We figured out how to show Gothtober on Smart Phones, Tablets and everything else that is mobile! You can also just watch from your desktop. Hooray! This was achieved for the very first time in 2015.

How do I apply to Gothtober?

To apply to be a Gothtober artist, simply follow this link to the application

If you don’t see the link to the application, it means that applications are closed. 

Do I have to be an artist or film maker to apply for Gothtober?

NO! You don’t have to be an expert or a proclaimed certified anything to apply and make something for Gothtober! All you’ve got to have is an idea, and a way to make your idea, it can be recipe cards, stories, things that people cut-out or listen to, ANYTHING you think would be spooky or weird enough to interest the masses for Halloween! Chefs, body-builders, retail clerks, office workers, managers, teachers, travelers, students, families, couples and individuals have ALL participated in Gothtober!

When are applications due?

Applications are due August 31st, 2020 Artists will be notified of admission on the 1st of September. This will give artists a month or more to work on a project. Criteria for picking pieces for Gothtober is NOT time-based, getting your application in early doesn’t affect admission. Gothtober likes fresh blood, if you’ve never been a Gothtober artist before, you have an excellent chance of being selected for 2020! If you have been part of Gothtober before, but you were very late or overdue in getting your piece to Gothtober Headquarters last year, it could definitely influence your chances of gaining admission to this year’s calendar. Artists who are picked for Gothtober are asked to pay a $25 entrance fee.

Why do I have to pay a $25 entrance fee?

2020 Note: The $25 entrance fee is optional this year. People have been out of work since the pandemic, so if you CAN donate, please do, and if you can’t, it’s okay. 

Gothtober basically a film festival, featuring not only films, but downloadable files, recipes and other cool stuff. Most film festivals charge a fee. Your festival fee goes directly toward running Gothtober:

Hosting Gothtober costs about $250 per year. The Gothtober commemorative pin costs about $450 to manufacture, we pay to mail them to Gothtober participants packed with other premiums. Our staff consists of two people in separate haunted houses in northern and southern California covered in candy and bat guano.

Gothtober is powered by SparkleBlob, the arts non profit that cleverly tricks people into making and doing art. Because of covid-19, we are especially bereft of funds right now as all the regular programs we run have been cancelled. We LOVE donations. If you wish to make a contribution. Ask us how! 

So I don’t have to pay to apply, only if I am accepted?

That’s is correct! Filling out the application costs nothing, only when it’s been established that you are going to be featured as a Gothtober Participant will you receive a notice asking you to pay your entrance fee.

What is the theme for Gothtober this year?

2020 Theme: QuaranWEEN

This is Gothtober’s 18th endeavor. We helped usher in the digital age in the early aughts right after the two towers fell. Since then we’ve been through FIVE presidential elections and TWO recessions.

2020 is the most terrifying year Gothtober has ever been in existence. 2020 brings a global pandemic causing a new (3rd) recession in the midst of the 59th quadrennial presidential election. Gothtober has always been an unusual voice of solace and catharsis for difficult times.

Thus we bring you this year’s theme: QuaranWEEN 

Quarantine-specific ideas:  Pantless work meetings, Toilet paper shortages, 300 hour long Tuesdays, 5G Tower Conspiracies, Time as a flat circle, Extreme homesteading, Mask wars, The EDD, Zoom Fatigue, Finding out everyone’s real hair color, Staycations, Sourdough starters, Hand Washing, Working AND Teaching from home, Alcohol-fueled introspection, Telemedicine, Everything Cancelled, etc. 

And of course feel free to explore: Voting, BLM, supplemental income, health insurance, the post office, science, testing, mortgages, small businesses, the rising death count, the  economy, travel, trade, prisons, supply chains, restaurants, public spaces, hospitals, essential workers, contact tracing, social media bots, government, fraud, etc. 

And As Always: Theme is too much this year? “Halloween” is always the default theme for every calendar. 

Can I put old-ass stuff that I’ve made before on Gothtober?

PLEASE NO! As things that have debuted on Gothtober have made it into film festivals around the world, we ask that you only make fresh stuff for us never before seen by human or inhuman eyes for visual consumption. I mean, whatever, if you made it in 1985, and no one has ever seen it, that’s fine, but I think you know what I mean: nothing that’s been submitted to festivals or YouTube or out in the world.

WHY? Because our PR is basically YOU and 30 other people. All of you promoting each other HELPS bring people to the calendar. This calendar is about SHARING, you aren’t just one little nugget by yourself without anyone else, you’re inside something bigger than your one piece, it’s about all of them together, you’re part of a set, a box of chocolates. 

What benefits are there to being a Gothtober Artist?

If you are always kicking ideas around, and you want to make something, but need some motivation to make that something: Gothtober could be a good fit. We exist to celebrate all things that go bump in the night, as well as the cinnamon and apple scents of Fall, and the anticipation of grabbing gobs and gobs of Halloween candy.

We exist as a platform for artists/participants who love this time of year to make something for the world. You make it, we share it and we tell everyone to pay attention to you. Also: contributors telling people to look at their piece draws the public toward the site as a whole, creating a togetherness in celebrating each other’s Gothtober pieces. 

You get a pin, designed by me, and you get the satisfaction of having art come out of your brain and into the world. You also get to work with me, JP, and I get to work with you. My mission in life is creating collective effervescence. I was born to make art and I want you to join me. We’re doing it because we can, we’re doing it because we want to, and we’re doing it because we must. 

Some art from Gothtober contributors have gone on to premier at film festivals! Barry Morse’s piece “Ookie Cookie” from 2008 went on to show at OutFest and Homo A-GoGo, as well as Jimena Sarno and Ms Bea’s film El Miedo (Fear) that showed in the 47th Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival 2009. Totally Tulip by Fast and Funsters played in Paris 2015!!! Selections from Helen Hill and Paul Gailiunas were screened in Canada in 2019.

Who makes Gothtober?

Gothtober consists of TWO ghouls who love Halloween! The Gothtober Countdown Calendar is produced, curated, directed and illustrated by the Head Candycorn, Julianna Parr (that’s me) she works with Our High Priestess of web, Cristin Pescosolido. Cristin makes sure the calendar doesn’t break, and helps out with compression, programming tweaks, and launching some of the days at midnight. 

Past Gothtober Calendar architects and programmers have been: Jack O’ Lantern Jesse Albini, Creepy Cathy Davies, Barnacle Bill Luttrell, Lycanthropic Laura Mann, and Murderous Mike Soderstrom. And, of course, the calendar would simply not exist without the weird and wonderful work of our Gothtober Contributors, past and present. We proudly have over 300 wonderful works of art in our archives, and we’re seeking out a grant to make a fancy searchable database that will live online forevahhhhhh.

How did Gothtober start?

Hi I’m Head Candy Corn, JP.

Once upon a time, I was experimenting with time-release options in the program, Flash, and came up with a Xmas advent calendar back in 2002. I designed all the art and work behind the doors myself. I found out quickly that doing it all solo, while fun, was overwhelming and crazy. The following year, I invited 25 friends (as there are 25 days toXmas) to contribute to the piece. But you know, not everyone celebrates Xmas, and mostly people want to get super sweet and sentimental for the holidays, which is great… but not all that weird. And I like to give people space to be as weird as they want. Then I thought… how can I get more doors and make it less about Xmas and make it way weirder? I know! I’ll make a countdown to Halloween! The first Gothtober was born in 2003, I’m proud to offer our 17th round of insane offerings.

-Julianna (JP) Parr Head Candycorn Executive Director, SparkleBlob