TRICKS AND TIPS /UPDATED OCT 5TH 2006

• 1. PLAN AHEAD!
  reading this hints & tips section, well you're off to a good start. As you have just 48-hours in which to make your short film , you are going to need help from your anyone and everyone don't use friends and family go on UK screen and shooting people talent circle mandy.com and find semi pros up for being on your team as your going be using cutting edge equipment and your need to know what your doing , You need to ensure that you will have a HDV camera or DVCAM Camera ready, a crew, a way to edit your film and produce a Final Cut or Avid , Adobe Premier Pro . Consider all of the obstacles you will face and overcome them BEFORE you event start to take part in this event get your hands on a HDV or DVCAM camera and learn as much as you can before hand it will save you more time later i promise !
  2. GET A CREW
  Ask around on film networks like shootingpeople or UK screen ask whether anyone would like to help you on the Halloween 48 Hour film Challenge.make a list of people (who may also double as actors) or just encase you get let down on the day by someone ,make a list of people who you can call on the day if someone lets you down . You may not need to use everyone else but you never know who may want to participate, but at least you'll know when you collect your title/genre etc who you have on your crew your crew need to be waiting for you ready to go .
  3. GET A HDV or a DVCAM CAMERA
  If you already own a HDV or DVCAM camera (of the accepted formats - preferably MiniDV size Tpaes only ) then you are already sorted. However, if you don't own one go out and HIRE one and learn how it works ( VMI may do a discount for teams taking part in the challenge )-if you rent one! just For a 48-hour period,then hire one a weekend before the event and practice with it before hand ,book it well in advance because it will be held over the weekend loads of other teams will be thinking the same thing as you , VMI have only 20 HDV kits so book it the start of SEPT Oct. ,Their are other rentals which maybe much cheaper so shop around and get a good price ,if this fails find someone on ukscreen or shooters with their own camera who's looking to join a team to take part just ask around as I'm sure someone will have a HDV camera as they are selling very well at the moment
  If you have never used a HDV or DVCAM camera before read up about it and find out as much as you can about them to get the right one for the event , I recommend that Prior to the event you get hold of one to practice with . You need to learn a bit about the lighting settings sound functions etc etc in order to get the most out of the HD FORMAT . You don't want to waste time during the CHALLENGE wondering which bit of equipment you need for a night shoot ?
  4. LEARN TO EDIT WITH HD
  So you've got a HDV camera sorted ,but how are you going to have to learn how to edit your footage down to a 3-minute short film ? Your need editing software which has HDV in the menu and your need to learn how to use it before the event FINAL CUT HD OR AVID HD are the two biggest HD editing software package's on the market !
  For this type of event, I can honestly say that FINAL CUT HD is by far the easiest and quickest solution to work with. , It's not cheap or is Avid but you can find people with Final cut HD . A full version of the software will cost you a bit if you don't have a Apple computer but it is the best for the money .pleace ads on shooing people or ukscreen to find editors
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  The software detects your timecoded scenes within your footage so you can drag and drop into a film timeline. Then it is easy to adjust to length of each shot, add effects, add a uncopyrighted soundtrack, and then add titles all within the three mins you have been given in the challenge and then output back to MiniDV HD format .IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS WE WILL BE THEIR TO HELP OUT
  Check out www.apple.com
  For those who want a more professional touch with the editing, you might want to check out Avid Pro HD But beware,IT cost a packet!
  5. SET OUT A TIME-FRAME
  Once you have your film title back on to hd MiniDV size format look at it and see if it looks and sounds OK cos we cant change it in the projector room and you don't want to be hunted down by the rest of your cast n crew for messing it up when you made a copy !! . the pressure is on. You may think you have 48-hours to film but it goes very quick trust me i know !
  plan everything down to the coffee breaks to travel time back to the cinema on Monday the 31st oct ,If you think about it, if you want a hell's chance of completing your project on time you need to finish all filming by the end of the first night . The editing process (which is where your film will come alive if you do it properly) will take a good 12-18 hours to compete it and make sure your editor has not been up all day he need to sleep beforehand it makes for a better film trust me on this one a fresh editor is worth his or her price in gold , and don't have 20 people in the edit room just the director and the editor it will save you loads of effort later . Let's face it - most of the footage you shoot will be rushes full of stuff you don't need . However, successful editing will disguise this which is why you must allow extra time for it.i found by filming 20mins on each tape it saved time trying to find the footage later , never eject the tape unless you have finished as it breaks the timecard and your editor will have a nightmare with it in post , make sure your sound is perfect it the most important part of your film with crap sound you may as well not bother talking part in the challenge as your film however shot on whatever format will look bad so get the sound not right PERFECT and make sure you have headphones and lesion to everything you shoot please , their is nothing so upsetting to a cast n crew than a great film with bad sound , make sure its perfect ....
• FIX IT IN POST
  If anyone on your crew says" we can fix it in post" i want you to shoot him or her there and then , you have no time to fix anything in post so get it right in the shoot as you will have no time to re shoot it so get it right 1st time Also, don't forget you will all need some sleep at some point which will give you even less shooting time so plan your sleep around the shoot , you only need three hours of sleep to give yourself enough sleep
  Here is a recommended outline for the 48-hours: from a team who took part in 2003
  1st -2 hours - Write a script, it doesn't have to be word for word just a Outline of your idea, decide what you are going to film and what locations you have close to you , how are you are going to do it and who is going to do what.
  2nd -6 hours- to Shoot your film! If you need food send someone to get it for you. You have no time to waste sitting in pizzahut unless you use it in your film ?.
  3rd - 6 -7 hours later - Rest whilst reviewing everything you have filmed so far. So important you do this half way through or else you may not have noticed any problems on your film
  Hour 7-12 - Continue filming.
  Hour 12-13 - review footage.
  Hour 13-15 - Import all footage into your computer for editing
  Hour 15-24 - Eat. Sleep. Rest.
  Hour 24-36 - Edit. This will take most of the day . Remember your project must be exactly 3-minutes long including any credits,During this period you may need to do "cut away shots" (stuff you didn't film originally but things you may need to fill in some bits which you need to fit together, so keep the camera handy.
  Hour 36-40 - Sound Editing. Some people suggest that sound is 90% of the movie-going experience. Sound is crucial that's for sure. If you want to make your project LOOK professional it needs to SOUND professional. You may need to buy quality music and sound effects. Check out www.sounddogs.com for high quality sound files. Sound effects google them or raid a library
  Hour 40-41 - Transfer your 3-minute short to one of the accepted formats DVCAM OR HDV preferably MiniDV size tapes. Ensure you put it onto a blank HD tape,leave a few seconds "black" at the beginning and then record. Label your tape with your teams name a mobile number an email and film theme and title. Then repeat the labeling for your entry envelope and pop it back into the IMAX cinema before 12:00 noon Monday the 31st Oct. deadline , if you get it in any later you will still have your film screened but your film will not be in competition so get it in before 1pm
  MOST IMPORTANTLY: CHECK YOUR FINISHED PROJECT WILL PLAY BACK OK !
• If you don't check your tape and it fails to play (or messes up halfway through) when we check it, your team will NOT GET IT SCREENED . So check, double check, triple check, on a HD camera WORK OUT HOW IT WORKS BEFORE HAND
  Hour 41-47 - Sleep!
  Hour 47-48 - Get your ass down to the cinema to hand your film in.
  
• 6. NEVER GIVE UP - WHATEVER IT TAKE !
  No matter how bad the project is looking. No matter how MAD you may have got. Keep going. Remember ITS NOT JUST YOUR PROJECT ITS EVERYONE'S PROJECT you never know some people may enjoy it even though you hate it cos you have been looking at it for the last 12 hours !- if only for the one good reasons you must get it screened . This event is meant to be fun and exciting so don't panic
• Remember their are no critics in the 48hr hour film challenge just people who have been through the same exp as you , who just love to make films critics are the ones who miss out on the exp and love of movie making , "its easy to be a critic is harder to be a film maker !!" johnnie oddball