By registering with B-Side, you can track the festival buzz, create your personal calendar, rate and review films, and get recommendations for great films at the festival. Registration is not required to view the schedule or film list.

My Festival Help

Welcome to the B-Side Festival Community. We have compiled a list of common questions to help you participate in the B-Side Festival Community. If you have a question that you can't find an answer to here, please email us at help+heartland@bside.com.

We are eager to know what you think about the B-Side Festival Community. If you have comments or suggestions for improvements, please contact us at comments+heartland@bside.com.

1. How do I find movie listings, showtimes, ratings, reviews and filmmaker blogs?
2. How do I find venues, including maps and showtimes?
3. How do I find filmmaker and filmgoer blogs?
4. How do I find top rated films?
5. How do I find contest information?
6. How do I register for My Festival?
7. How do I change my screen name?
8. How do I use My Calendar?
9. How do I rate or review a film?
10. How do I create my own blog?
11. How do I invite a friend to join bside.com?
12. How are ratings calculated for 'Top-Rated' films?
13. How do I upload and format my trailer for inclusion on the website?
14. Troubleshooting...

How do I...?

How do I find movie listings, showtimes, ratings, reviews and filmmaker blogs?

Search: If you know the title of the movie, type any portion of the title in the search box and press "enter". If there is only one matching title, the movie page will appear. Each movie page details showtimes, ratings, reviews and filmmaker's blog. If multiple movie titles contain the search word, a list will appear. Click on the name of the desired movie to access that movie's information.

Browse all Movies: If you do not know the title of the movie, you can browse all movie listings by clicking the "Movies" link under "Do you want to watch movies?" From the list, you can click on a movie listing to access the movie's information page.

Browse all Movies by Showtime: If you would like to view all movies showing at a particular time, click on "Schedule" under "Do you want to watch movies?" From the schedule, you can click on a movie listing to access the movie's information page.

How do I find venues, including maps and showtimes?

Click on "Venues" tab. Each venue listing provides a link to showtimes at that venue and a map to the venue.

How do I find filmmaker and filmgoer blogs?

To find a filmmaker blog, search for the film title or browse for the film using the "Films" tab. Once on the film's detail page, click on the "Blog" tab.

To find a filmgoer's blog, search for the user and visit their "Profile" page.

How do I find top rated films?

Click on the Buzz tab from the Community home page. There you will find a listing of top rated film, most scheduled films and most visited films.

How do I find contest information?

Click on the Contest tab from the Community home page.

B-Side Festival Community

Register

On the home page, click on "Register here" located on the left side of the screen under the "Login" button

Enter your information in the form:

1. Screen Name: Choose a screen name. Your screen name will be the name others see on your reviews. It does not have to be your actual name.
2. Password: Choose a password that you will remember. This password is kept confidential.
3. Confirm Password: Re-enter your chosen password for confirmation.
4. Email Address: Enter your email address. This is the email address to which movie alerts and showtimes will be sent.
5. First Name: Enter your first name.
6. Last Name: Enter your last name.
7. Zip Code: Enter the zip code in which you reside.
8. Alerts/Showtimes: If you would like to receive email alerts and final showtimes, check the box. [Alerts include: Festival news, Schedule changes, Daily highlights, My calendar by day, Top rated films]
9. Read the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy for bside.com and check the box confirming that you have done so.
10. Click the submit button.

Change My Screen Name

If you would like to change your screen name, please email help+heartland@bside.com.

Use My Calendar

From any movie's information page or from the festival schedule, you can add a film to your personalized calendar by clicking the next to your chosen showtime.

Once you have added movies to your personalized calendar, click on "Your Calendar" located under "My Festival". You can view your calendar by day, by title or by venue, by choosing the option you prefer from the drop down list next to "Arrange:"

Rate or Review a Film

On any movie's information page, you can rate the film by clicking on the number of stars you deem appropriate next to "Your Rating".

To review a movie, click on the "Reviews" tab next to the "Film Summary" tab and click "Add your review"

Create My Own Blog

B-Side community members may create and share personal blogs. If you already have a blog, enter the url for your blog feed under 'Blog URL' under the 'Edit Profile' tab on the 'My Festival' page.

Very simple instructions for creating your own Blogger blog can be found here: Create a blog...

Invite a Friend

Click on the Invite a Friend link on the My Festival home page. Enter your friend's email address and their name and submit.

How are ratings calculated for 'Top-Rated' films?

We use the same true Bayesian estimate formula used by imdb.com to calculate their Top 250 films (described here). This formula takes the average rating for a film, and adjusts it relative to other films based on how many ratings it has, as well as relative to the average rating of all films.

This calculation compensates for the fact that a film with only a few ratings will not be as accurately represented by an average of those ratings as a film with many ratings would be.

For the mathematically curious, the formula for the true Bayesian estimate is:

    weighted rank (WR) = (v / (v+m)) * R + (m / (v+m)) * C    
    where:
    R = average for the movie (mean) = (Rating)
    v = number of votes for the movie = (votes)
    m = minimum votes required to be listed as Top-Rated (currently 3)
    C = the mean vote across the whole report (currently 3.8)

How do I upload and format my trailer for inclusion on the website?

Filmmakers may upload trailers to be included on their film's detail page.

To upload a trailer, follow the guidelines below for formatting, and use the information supplied to you by your festival contact to send in the trailer.

Trailer formatting should follow these guidelines:

Name: Please include the name of the festival and the name of your film somewhere in the filename of the the trailer.
Video Encoding: all trailers should either be MPEG 2 or MPEG 4 encoded at 1000kbps or less into a .MPG .MOV or .AVI file format.
Video Formating: trailers that are 4:3 in aspect ratio and at least 320x240 are preferred, but 16:9, at least 320x180 is acceptable.
Audio Encoding: trailers encoded in PCM, MP3, AAC are all acceptable.
Length: Trailer runtime should be no longer than 3 minutes.

Please do *not* send WMV or H264 encoded trailers or use WMA for audio encoding.

Troubleshooting

I am having trouble registering...

Follow the instructions for registration. If you still cannot register, please contact help+heartland@bside.com.

I am having trouble using My Calendar...

Make sure you have selected which of your listings you would like to view (Films only, Panels only, or all Films + Panels) in the drop down box located next to "Show:" at the top right of the calendar.

I am having trouble reviewing films...

In order to review films, you must be logged in to the website. Once you are logged in, follow the instructions to review a film.

I am having trouble seeing reviews for films...

Reviews will not be available until after the start of the festival.