THE MUST-HAVES

To make this whole thing work, the following guidelines must be followed for your submission to have any chance of being included in "Occupy Conan".

1. Conan Costume: Your "Conan" must be wearing a tie and have orange hair. This hair can be real, or a wig, or even this Conan hair cutout.
2. Andy Costume: Your "Andy" must be wearing a tie and have blonde hair. This hair can be real, or a wig, or even this Andy hair cutout.
3. Stick To The Script: Be sure to download the accompanying script for the clip you're recreating, and use it -- otherwise your clip won't fit in with the other clips, and then the whole thing becomes a steaming pile of crazy.
4. No "Third Party Materials" This is annoying lawyer-speak for "no stuff that's copyrighted by other people." It basically means that your video should contain...
      • No items with company logos or graphics on them -- including clothing.
      • No photos or artwork in the background. No, not even that rad Nickleback poster.
      • No music in your video that isn't already in the clip you're recreating.
      • No other video you didn't create yourself. If there's a TV in the room, turn it off.
      • No elements from other TV shows or movies (Darth Vader helmets, sexy Wolf Blitzer clips, etc.)

5. Shoot Landscape! Thanks to the iPhone, lots of people now shoot video in portrait orientation (skinny vertical rectangle) instead of traditional landscape orientation (wide horizontal rectangle). If you must shoot video on a phone, please be sure to turn it sideways so it's horizontal!

THE REALLY-GOOD-TO-HAVES

The following guidelines, while not required, will increase the quality of your video and increase its chances of winning.

1. Lights! Make sure your video is well-lit. While we don't expect you to have fancy professional TV lights, please do your best to keep things as bright as possible. Shooting at night? Sorry, that single 40 watt lightbulb in your bedroom ceiling won't cut it. Shooting during the day? Try not to be back-lit by bright windows or the sun, OK?
2. Audio! If you have access to a microphone, please use it. If not, please do your best to keep background noise to a minimum and make sure everyone speaks very clearly. Please, do NOT include a laugh track / audience reaction in your submission.
3. HD Camera! CONAN shoots in high definition video. We'd like all of OCCUPY CONAN to be HD, too. If you have a choice between using a non-HD or an HD camera, please go HD.
4. Costumes! While costumes are only *required* for Conan and Andy (see above), it's still a good idea to put some effort into it. For instance, recreating a Ron Burgundy segment? Don't have your actor just wear a t-shirt and jeans - put a little effort into a Ron Burgundy outfit. Being able to tell who's who will help us fit your clip into the overall episode.
5. For Musical Clips Only:
      • CONAN opening animation sequence/theme: Feel free to use the audio from the original clip, or download the CONAN theme. If you re-record/perform the theme yourself, that's great - we just ask that you do so in the same key as the original, and as close to the same speed as possible.
      • Will Ferrell/Ron Burgundy playing flute: Its use is optional, but feel free to download the original flute track, as performed by Jerry Vivino.
      • Fun. performing "We Are Young": Please record your performance in the same key as the original song, and as close to the same speed as you can manage. (Also, this is neither here nor there, but please note we love sweet dance moves!)

6. Review Your Work Be sure to compare your clip to the original CONAN clip before submitting it. You may be surprised at what you missed.

FINALLY

If you have any further questions or need clarification on something, leave your question in the comments below, and we'll do our best to answer it in a timely manner.

Thanks, and good luck!