odds makers in Vegas make book on how many clips are a direct ripoff of Star Trek or Star Wars

Never let it be said that the television networks cannot beat an interesting idea into the ground. After news of NBC's user generated video competition (and others), now The Sci Fi Channel and the Sundance Channel are teaming on their own user-generated video competition.

Dubbed "Exposure," the eight-week competition sees the channels inviting independent and amateur filmmakers to submit two- to eight-minute sci-fi, horror or fantasy short films on their Web sites.

The films will first be judged by a committee formed by the two channels. Each week, 'the experts' will select a number of the films to be showcased on the two channels' Web sites. You and I will then be invited to vote to determine a weekly winner. Eight finalists will be featured on Sci Fi Channel and viewers will be invited to vote online to determine the competition's grand prizewinner.

The winner will receive a trip to New York City to pitch a project to the Sci Fi Channel's Pictures Group.

If you want to do this, you must get it done by November 20th, and online voting will run from October 23rd through December 17th.