The Staff of the USC School of Cinema-Television have put together some hints and tips on what they'd be looking for when judging any user created movie. Follow these suggestions and you'll be well on your way to creating fantastic flicks with The Sims 2 in no time.

Cinematography
Cinematography means writing with light and movement. Good cinematography uses the visual elements of perspective, composition, contrast, color and movement to convey subtext, mood and theme to the audience. To judge the cinematography for machinima movies, one would ask the simple question, "How do the visual elements contribute to the successful experience of the viewer?" In other words, do the visual elements contribute in a meaningful way to the experience? One would not be as concerned with 'seeing', as they would be with the feelings motivated by the movie's imagery. Is the lighting, shot composition, and editing professional? Do they go with the tone of the film?

Story
Is the story compelling? Does it move you emotionally or make you laugh? Story is the narrative events that happen to a character or group of characters. For a story to be meaningful, the events need to have some sort of affect on the characters' lives. Can we discern whose story it is and what they want?

Originality
Originality begs the question have I seen this before? Does it break new ground? Does it cause the viewer to look at something in a new way and think about it differently? Does it surprise the viewer? Is the viewer seeing a different creative reaction to what is (in the case of The Sims 2 Contests) the same source of inspiration?

Characters
Is the dialog believable/interesting? Are the characters believable? Are they fleshed out? Does the viewer care about the characters?

Set Design
Sets establish the world the character(s) inhabit. Does the set design fit with and enhance the story? Is it a fully realized, coherent, physical universe?

Voice Over
Does the voice over fit with the character(s)? In short, does the viewer believe it?

Music
Does the music enhance the dramatic or comedic experience?