archived-videos ITOOFC #4 Rules, Details, and Knick Knacks

NicklausLouis

NicklausLouis

Indie Talk's Online Original Film Competition - Round 4

Important Dates:

Start of competition: Friday, September 16th 12 Midnight PDT
End of competition: Monday, October 31st 5 PM PDT

Start of voting: Monday, October 31st 5 PM PST
End of voting: Monday, November 14th 5 PM PST
Poll void and closed.

Category is the following: Horror In honor of Halloween dream up and shoot the best damn 5 minute Horror movie the net has ever seen!

Concept is the following: "A man/woman tries to communicate with the dead." This is the general theme your movie must have in order to compete in this competition. Head Judge Poke and the panel of judges will reserve the right to disquailfy any entry that they deem does not meet this qualification.

BONUS is the following: Prop - Knife It must appear prominently at some point in the film. Any type of knife will do, but here's the catch: the film that is judged to have the most horrific knife will be awarded 2 points, all other films utilizing knifes will be awarded 1 point. Head Judge Poke and the panel of judges will reserve the right to award or not award points based on their judgement.

Now before you go thinking this bonus is only a couple points, just remember that a few points can make the difference between winning and losing!

EARLY BIRD BONUS is the following: All entrants that PM Poke or Indie by 5 PM PDT on October 29th (the original deadline) will receive one point.
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Who, How Much, and Prizes:

Any registered member of IndieTalk can submit a film. (Prem, non-Prem, etc)

You do not need to "sign-up" in advance, though posting a reply with your intention to submit something would be handy. (So we can gossip about you)

There is no entry fee. Not a penny. Just your desire to be the best.

Important Requirement!!

Once you have uploaded your completed, qualifying entry you *must* PM IndieTalk or Poke with the URL of your online film.
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Note: There may be a few changes in the upcoming days... mostly clarifications.

Prizes!


Everyone that uploads a completed, qualifying entry will receive:

One Detonation Films Data-CD title of choice

and

"What They Don't Teach You At Film School : 161 Strategies to Making Your Own Movie No Matter What" by Tiara White & Camille Landau

_______

Awards By Merit:

"Judges' Choice" Award

This is the big one.

Head Judge Poke will be working with other selected judges, to determine which entry is simply... the best. The winner not only gets some well-deserved recognition on the boards, but also:

1) 1 Year IndieTalk Premiere Membership (if already Premiere, your membership will be extended one year, no matter what level you are).
2) A copy of Judith Weston's "Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television"
3) A copy of John Alton's "Painting With Light"

_______

"Peoples' Choice" Award
Category removed.


_______

"Best Score" Award

This Award is only available to entries that have 100% original scores. No royalty-free tunes, nothing left around from last year... simply a score generated for the film in question. Fot the boardmember musician in question:

1) 6 Month IndieTalk Premiere Membership (if already Premiere, your membership will be extended 6 months, no matter what level you are).
2) A copy of "Knowing The Score: Film Composers Talk About the Art, Craft, Blood, Sweat, and Tears of Writing for Cinema" by David Morgan

_______

New Category
"Best Acting Performance" Award

This Award goes to the best acting performance, male or female, as determined by the judges. Actors will be judged on a point system, much like the films.

1) 6 Month IndieTalk Premiere Membership (if already Premiere, your membership will be extended 6 months, no matter what level you are).
2) An actors' CD for dialect-training (pick one dialect) (Details TBA)

_______

What Topics Can I Submit?

You have 6 weeks (an astonishingly long time) to come up with an original story that is no longer than 5 minutes in length.

6 weeks is enough time for weekend-warriors to get something done, and should also be long enough for full-timers that want to join in to do something on a weekend.

(Note: 5 mins is the maximum allowed, not required. If you can get the job done in 30 or 60 seconds, go for it.)

I'll Just Submit Something I Made Last Year.

No, you won't. To make sure that it is a genuine new effort made, a "genre" and "general concept" has been assigned. Head Judge Poke and the panel of judges will reserve the right to disquailfy any entry that they deem does not meet these basic qualifications.

What Is The Appropriate Online Viewing Format?

For films shot on mini-dv (720x480), reduce to half size.

That means 360x240, for the math-impaired.

There is an allotted 25MB hosting per film. For a full 5-minute film, that is 5MB per minute. Here are some codec suggestions to make it fit.

VIDEO

Sorenson 3
MP4

AUDIO

Q-Design 2

Quality % can be set to 100 for both audio and video.
Setting the BPS between 60 to 80.
Setting a keyframe every 15 frames.

Depending on suggested video codec(s) (and BPS setting) you can compress as low as 1MB per minute, to as high as 5MB per minute.

Also, all the above codecs are included in the basic install of Quicktime for end-users... which means everyone will be able to see/hear them.

If your submission is an .swf or similar, please set the stage at 360x240. (And e-mail or PM IndieTalk or Poke any funky embedding options)

What Else Do I Need To Know?
  • Don't use unlicensed copyrighted material in your film. If you try to pull a fast one and use copyrighted music, you'd better be ready to provide documentation that you had permission.
  • You do not lose any "rights" to your film, by submitting. It remains yours, all yours.
  • This is not the mud-tossing thread. GO HERE if you want to do that. (Not too rowdy, though)



:director: Be creative and have fun, dammit!

Poke
 
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Upvote 0
Boz Uriel said:
What is the difference between a horror film and a terror film?
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Boz,

I believe that the generally accepted academic distinctions would be as follows:

Terror = When an individual or small group feel a direct threat to their safety, well being, or life. (e.g.: Cujo terrorized Dee Wallace and her son in the car.)

Horror = A broader sense of doom or dispair. (e.g.: finding a dead body on a dark road would not pose a direct threat to you, but you may feel a sense of dread.)

Schopenhauer School of Horror = When the cause of the horror is something that defies our current understanding of truth/logic (e.g: demonic possession, alien invasion).

Hope that helps!

John
 
So how far are people along with this?

Script done?

Actors aquired?

Locations scouted?

Permits in the works?

Film Stock/Tapes bought?

Sound check 1...2...check 1.....2...3.....4.....BOOM?

For me.. I have thought about the most horrific knife! Also the story is good. I just have to script it.
 
Ok good to know Poke. I have the idea for sure Id like to go with, I just bought a cheap mini-dv cam (interim before I go hi-def and 16mm - was considering 16mm but I dont want the extra week to send it over the hill for processing and telecine), and Ill see whether or not I can go ahead this week. It may not leave a lot of time for a score but Im usually very quick in the editing room so we'll see.
 
You know.. I have been thinking about this since my other post... I have got an interesting idea for this round of the ITOOFC... so maybe I'll try to squeeze a quick project into my hectic schedule, I guess we shall see, eh. :)
 
CootDog said:
So how far are people along with this?

Script done? Actors aquired? Locations scouted? Permits in the works? Film Stock/Tapes bought?
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One entry concept/storyline is finalised, complete with actors and location.

The real entry is still being brainstormed. :cool:
 
You're right but...

Boz Uriel said:
In light of our contest here at indietalk, one of my brainstorming sessions sparked an interesting question.

What is the difference between a horror film and a terror film? More to the point, will my film be disqualified if it's a terror film instead of a horror film?

I was always told that in a horror film the audience is supposed to have sympathy for the 'monster'. i.e. Frankenstein's monster (later named Victor by a blind man) isn't out to harm anyone and the audience can sympathize with him. Dracula has a broken heart and a grudge against God, all he really wants is love. Both of these being horror films.

Freddie Kruger, Jason, and others have one goal in mind; kill people, die a horrible death and re-animate somehow at the last minute only to be killed agian and re-animate for the next film. These all being terror films where the audience sympathizes with the moster's victims.

At least that's what I've always thought. Anybody else?
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Boz,

You're right but the genre has changed... DRASTICALLY. Using your definition, just about all TERROR films are now HORROR films... At least that's what Hollywood is calling them.

The CLASSIC HORROR will always be CLASSIC HORROR. They can't take that away from them and I will always respect them for what they have taught me...

The new horror is what you're calling a terror film however, I think for this competition, you could make either one and get away with it...

I really want to enter this one but not sure if I can find the time... I'm thinkin'...

Good luck to everyone giving it a shot...

filmy
 
Anyone need a composer? Let me know, I'm dying to get in and get my name on some projects. What a killer oppurtunity :)
 
C'mon, filmy! Jump on in! Call Hollywood back and tell them they're just going to have to hold the cheques until after the Indietalk Challenge!

Skankis- I've got one lined up, but I'm sure there's lots o' folk here who'd love an offer like that- ye kind sir!
 
We had a killer story idea (no pun intended... or maybe there was) and it would have been the champ hands-down. We plotted out scenes, got started on storyboards... then re-read the contest rules. I don't know what I was thinking - I missed the "communicating with the dead" concept requirements. Rats! Well, that'll teach me not to read contest rules on my opium day!

Oh well, back to the old electronic brain... tried to brainstorm but couldn't even manage a light drizzle!
 
I'm still floundering.
smiley_pac.gif


Slow down, peeps. :lol:
 
Well to let you all know... I'm going to fly to Florida and shoot some of the short there. I'll be using the set of the http://sticktowhatyouknow.com crew. In fact, we're putting the entire planning process online, in their forum. So for those of you that need some sort of boost you can see what we're doing.

Principal photography will be Oct 13th to Oct 15th EARLY AM since I'm flying back to IL on that day.

We're MAKING our own custom knife, since Liza is a wizard when it comes to all things being made, welded, crafted, etc.

If you want to see part of the set and the progress, you can go here:

http://www.sticktowhatyouknow.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=5426

And make sure to use your OWN ideas...
 
Sounds like fun guys. If we weren't knee deep in pre-pro for another project we would definitely be taking home your awards!

Just kidding. Wish we could participate.
Maybe next time around. Good luck everyone.
 
Does the concept limit the film to just a man/woman contacting the dead, or does the film just have to contain a man/woman contacing the dead?

Thanks,
IanH7976
 
Well my film isn't about the people contacting the dead, but it does have it in there.. It's an intregal part in the story. Without that scene the story wouldn't be the same.
My whole movie is about the knife.... but don't tell anyone :D

BUT Poke is the main answerer here... so wait for him to respond.
 
...also...

If a main character is never seen, but has substantial v/o dialogue... could that quailify for "Best Actor"?
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