September 24, 2014 – London, UK.
Colchester Film Festival is hosting a 60 Hour Film Challenge from 3rd – 6th of October 2014. Filmmakers from across the world are challenged to write shoot and edit a film between 2 and 5 minutes in length in just 60 hours.
Film challenges are an excellent way for emerging talent to get their work noticed in a filmmaking landscape that is saturated with content. With the success of competitions such as Sci-Fi London’s 48hr Film Challenge and 100 hour Film Racing these short form competitions have become a legitimate and cost effective way into the industry. Sci-Fi London winner Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, 2014) is a prime example and 60 Hour Film Challenge winner Rob McLellan is also having huge success (MGM’s feature film). It is not all about winning the completion as many other films that are entered into the challenge go on to do well on the festival circuit.
Time constricted challenges take the emphasis away from budget and allow the talent and creativity of the filmmakers to come through. Filmmakers entering these competitions are not competing with heavily funded shorts with named actors as they would when entering the majority of film festivals, leveling the playing field and forcing filmmakers to rely solely on their skills as a storyteller. Entering a film challenge to fun and exciting way of making a film and encourages filmmakers to get out and create something rather than sitting around talking about it.
The 60 Hour Film Challenge is one of biggest competitions of its type with over 600 teams already registered. The challenge is accessible to all filmmakers because it is free to enter and is open to filmmakers of all skill levels whether you’re shooting on a smart phone, DSLR or cinema camera. The challenge aims to nurture the next generation of filmmaking talent by offering the winning team the chance to work with Corona pictures (‘The Liability’ – Tim Roth, Jack O’Connell / ‘Truth or Dare’ – Jack Gordan, Tom Kane) on the winning teams next feature or short film production. All of the shortlisted films will be screened at the 2014 Colchester Film Festival.
The challenge will be judged by our panel of experts, editor Eddie Hamilton (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class), writer Tim Loane (Teachers, Casualty), producer Richard Johns (Shadow of the Vampire, The Liability) and director Rob McLellan (ABE).
Winning teams will receive over £5,000 worth of prizes including:
iOgrapher case for IPad and iPhone 5/5s and accessories including a lens, light, mic, tripod, Rode Microphones VideoMic Pro and DeadCat, Delvcam LCD Monitor, Boris FX Continuum Complete (BCC), Think Tank Photo backpack, Vid-Atlantic anamorphic looks filters Film Convert film stock emulator software bundle, Black Magic Design’s DaVinci Resolve 11, HitFilm Video editing, Composting and Video Effects software, Final Draft 9 professional screenwriting software, Editor keys keyboard (PC or Mac), Lighttools $300 voucher, LensPen outdoor pro kit, Muraro Four 30” C Stands, AKM Music Bundle of Royalty Free Music Downloads, Sampler Banks Bundle of Royalty Free Music Downloads, Loop Masters Bundle of Royalty Free Music Downloads and Sight and Sound Magazine Subscription.
The challenge is free to enter and teams can register online until the 2nd of October.
Connect with other like minded filmmakers by joining the challenge’s facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/60hrFilm
https://twitter.com/ColFilmFestival
https://www.facebook.com/colchesterfilmfestival
http://colchesterfilmfestival.com/
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