I read on the rules the timer should start on the first frame of gameplay which has a lot of caveats:

• When does the game consider gameplay?
• Should the timer start at the beginning of the cutscene or when the player skips it?

I personally would change the rules to "Start the timer when the player starts moving during the gameplay", just for clarity.

To answer your questions

1. The timer starts when the player skips the cutscene
2. The game is considered gameplay when the players is able to move