How film festivals work

How Film Festivals Work

Independent filmmakers might remain forever in obscurity were it not for film festivals. These annual events, where films are screened and professionally judged, are held around the world. At film festivals, cinema fans can see the new -- and sometimes daring -- films they would never be able to find in their local movie theatres.

Film festivals give new talent an opportunity to shine, while also showcasing the work of already well-known and respected filmmakers. Festivals can range from huge, star-studded events, such as the Cannes festival in France or the Sundance Film Festival in the United States, to small, independent, local awards that garner just a few hundred attendees. But all festivals have something in common: They celebrate the art of film and they champion the artists who produce it.

What are Film Festivals?

Film festivals are events staged by universities, private organizations, local governments, arts associations and/or film societies. They provide an opportunity for unknown filmmakers to get their movies in front of a real live audience and to have their films reviewed by professional critics. Filmmakers whose movies get accepted into a festival also get valuable press attention and exposure to prospective agents and buyers, not to mention a sometimes-sizeable cash award if they win.

Some festivals are broad in scope -- they welcome a wide range of subject matter and film lengths. But other festivals are far more specialized: They may accept only comedies, only Jewish films or only films made by female directors, for example. Some festivals are specific to one film genre, such as documentaries, or to one length, such as shorts.

What differentiates a film festival from, say, the Academy Awards, is the open submission policy. Most festivals accept submissions from any filmmaker, regardless of his or her past experience or budget. A number of festivals even invite students to enter and may have a special award category for student films.

As technology races forward, film festivals are evolving to keep pace. Many new filmmakers are starting to produce and edit their films on computers rather than on celluloid. And many film buffs are looking to the Internet for the latest independent releases. Following this trend, a number of festivals have expanded into the online arena. Toronto and Sundance are just two of the film festivals that have an online branch. Although they may lack the budget of their real-world cousins, online film festivals can reach far larger audiences.

How Can I Submit a Film?

Each film festival has its own set of rules. Generally, filmmakers are given a deadline by which they need to submit their film(s). Some festivals accept films that have already been screened elsewhere; others require that films have not been broadcast anywhere prior to the festival.

Movies entered may range from shorts that are just a few minutes in length to full-length features that run 1.5 hours or more. Festivals accept one or more formats, including 35mm, 16mm, Super 8, VHS, Beta and/or DVD. Filmmakers pay an entry fee (anywhere from $5 for a five-minute short to $100 for a feature film) and fill out a form describing their project. They may also be asked to submit a director bio, a film still, a synopsis and a list of production credits.

Not every film is right for every festival. Submitting a film to the wrong festival is likely to end in rejection. Before submitting a film for consideration, filmmakers need to research which festivals are most appropriate for their subject. The biggest and most prestigious festivals (Cannes and Sundance) are usually the hardest to break into because there is so much competition for a limited number of slots. In 2004, the Sundance festival received nearly 6,000 submissions; it accepted 255 of those films. New filmmakers have a better chance of getting into a smaller festival and then working their way up to the big-name festivals once they have achieved a few successes.

Film festivals are typically divided into categories. Categories may include:

• ·       Drama
• ·       Documentary
• ·       Animation
• ·       Short film
• ·       Experimental
• ·       Music video

If a movie is accepted, the festival organizers notify the filmmaker. At the festival, the movie is screened for the jury as well as for the audience. The jury is usually made up of film critics, professors and/or filmmakers who will judge each film for its artistic merit, production value, creativity and overall impression. Judging differs from festival to festival; but usually, each member of the jury votes by secret ballot, and the film that receives the majority of votes wins.

Most film festivals also give the audience an opportunity to judge. Its choice is reflected in a special audience award.

Often, while the screenings are underway in one part of a film festival, there are simultaneous workshops on screenwriting, film production, finding an agent and other subjects related to the art and business of filmmaking. They are usually open to filmmakers and anyone else interested in film.

http://www.leedsfilm.com/leeds-film-guide/

Metropolis Work Experience

I started an internship at Metropolis on Friday 9th August and finished Friday 30th, the day before my birthday. I was able to get in contact with an employee in the production team through a family friend where i sent him my CV & examples of my work from first and second year and he was happy to meet me.

The experience was great, even though i worked for 3 weeks without pay. It took me roughly 1 hour 20 minutes to get there every morning. The environment was very friendly, creative and relaxing at the same time. A lot of music industry people walk through the studio doors which helps create a buzz around the place. I was able to learn about the craft of filming, directing, and the use of lighting from helping out setting studios to film in and watching the professionals in action.

During the quieter hours, i was assisting with editing, running for standard jobs such as delivering packages to Soho and other places. I was also researching the industry and asking film technique related questions to help better my understanding.


http://www.thisismetropolis.com/

I joined the production team to make up 4 of us. The day i started, a band called Arcane Roots were performing in the studio. They were recording a live studio music video that we were filming. I helped set up, move objects around, whilst observe the DP in action. There was another external cameraman, and an assistant cameraman who was on our team as well as the DP. The rooms were lit up with two kino lights, and they were using equipment such as shoulder rigs and the track and dolly. This was my first film experience of shooting a studio music video. The effects of the slow moving track and dolly produced completely organic shots. The mood was enhanced with the smoke machine that i was in charge of keeping on a consistent level.

Later on we put a giant industrial fan into the studio and attached silver tassels around the rim. We put a huge single source light behind the fan with each guitarist separately in front of the fan. This put the guitarist into a silhouette and after pumping up the smoke it looked really effective. These shots were filmed on 240 fps to be able to get an incredible hi-sped and slowed down footage.

Recording in Studio A

Arcane Roots

https://vimeo.com/72426772

I helped set up a room for an interview. We placed 3 dedo lights around the room to brighten up the interior, along with a kino light placed to the side of the person who was being interviewed. Two cameras were used, one directly in front of the interviewee and another further below from a slightly different angle.

Mark Ronson

We filmed an interview with Mark Ronson at his studio by Kings Cross, London. There were two cameras, one head height and the other waist height from a slightly different angle. We used a kino light positioned from a low angle almost completely side on of Mark. A medium side single source directional light was positioned a little over 90 degrees to Marks other side, pointing towards Marks shoulder. The coloured lighting was the ambient lighting of the room that added more character from the environment.

Miki Lmai & Incognito
https://vimeo.com/76413213

I had started reading and writing about lighting in film making because of my dissertation question, which was an investigation into lighting in filmmaking. So when the gaffer was setting up the shoot I wanted to see how he would set up. He told me he would be creating a soft ambient feel to the room, to help him create this, he had loads of equipment. T-stands, additional arms, scrims, flags, umbrellas, grids, soft boxes and more. All the cables were neatly hidden away and coiled easily for future use. In the end, only two lights were used. The kino light had a diffusion material to soften the intensity and the big single source light that was diffused by a scrim.

Further to Miki Lmai and incognitos performance together, Miki was also doing a duet. A Kino Light in the corner of the room, along with 1 soft box light with a large white card placed underneath reflected a much softer light source that was intended to light up Miki Lmai for when she was about to do a duet with a pianist. The Surrounding room was darkened out to focus the attention completely on the performance. A hand held camera and a camera on a track and dolly were used to film. 

We filmed partly in the studio as well for additional coverage shots for the music video. The light was more stylised with the use of one kino in the background of some of the shots in this location. The other kino was creating the ambient light along with some of the studio lights.