Rules of Dogme95, in Other Words

1. Natural locations only, with sets being barred from use. Location is dependent on whatever props may be necessary, meaning that space is determined by the needs of the devices that might be employed.

2.  Images and sound are interconnected. Diagetic sound only, with no audio created outside of the filming environment.

3. The film determines where shooting occurs, meaning that handheld cameras are used so that camera placement does not dictate the course of the film. The body becomes the means through which action is captured, rather than fixed camera placement.

4. Lighting present in the environment may be the only light, aside from a light on the camera in cases of darkness. Black and white filming is barred in favor of color exposure.

5. The lens must not be altered by application of any filters, and no special effects are to be present in the films, making all visuals an honest portrayal of what actually was in the scene at the time the shoot took place.

6. Scenes of violence are considered "superficial action," and are therefore prohibited from being depicted directly.

7. Fantasy and history are forbidden as subjects of the story, for the films must take place in the present, rather than in an alienated temporal/physical space.

8. Dogme films cannot be patterned around genres, but must reject these Western categories.

9. The same ratio that was employed for silent films is to be used for Dogme films, putting quality ahead of technological change.

10. There is no auteur, for the director of the film is not to be credited.