It's that time of year again - the 3rd Annual GoPro / Racer X Online Amateur Film Festival is underway! Amateur action-sports videographers across the globe have six weeks to put together a killer motocross-based short film and submit it to the contest. The grand prize will get a budget to make an exclusive video for Racer X Online, plus a slew of killer prizes from GoPro, Racer X, and our new sponsor, Unit.

We've made a significant change to this year's contest. We've decided to loosen the definition of "amateur." This year, even if you've been paid on a freelance basis to make occasional videos, you're still welcome to participate. However, if you make your living as a videographer or video editor (i.e. you're a pro), you are ineligible. If you have any questions about your eligibility, contact us to discuss at [email protected] before you get to work. Eligibility is at our discretion.

Here's how it will work, in a nuthsell.

1. The first six weeks will be the submission period. Videographers have between now and 11:59 EST on November 9 to create an original video for the contest.

2. An internal panel of judges will vote on all entries, and the top eight entrants will make the semi-finals. Judge voting will also establish seeds from 1 to 8.

3. From there, we’ll run two videos against each other each week for a month, tournament style. The winner of each week, as determined by viewer voting, will advance to the finals. A final round of viewer voting will then determine our GoPro/Racer X Online Film Festival winner and runners-up from the four finalists.

Want to enter? Go to the official website of the 3rd Annual GoPro/Racer X Online Film Festival, read the rules, download the assets, and get started!

Oh, and be sure to check out these tips. They may give you an edge on the competition.

A huge thanks to GoPro and Unit for their support of this contest and amateur filmmaking in general.