Are you ready for a video challenge? The 3rd annual Film Racing Tour is preparing to “race” across North America and all you need to enter is some creativity, a camera, and the guts to get it done in 24 hours.
Sponsored by NYC Midnight Movie Making Madness, this annual video challenge is open to anyone wishing to participate, as long as they can follow the guidelines, work in the cities the race reaches and deliver a finished product by the deadline. Rules and sponsor cities can be found on the website: www.filmracing.com
How one of these Video Races work is, typically, after you’ve signed up and been accepted, you pull together a team of local producers, and then wait for your Midnight Assignment. You can’t start working on your video project until you have an idea of your Theme, or assignment requires, such as a particular prop, or a line that needs to be spoken, or even the genre you’re required to film in, like Western, Sci-Fi, Romance, etc.
Most of us are lone wolf producers, and challenges like these are great ways to network with other videographers in your community and get some creative juices going. Read the press release below to find out more, and get ready to race!
NEW YORK, NY (February 19, 2009) The 3rd annual Film Racing Tour (www.filmracing.com) is inviting filmmakers of all levels of experience to challenge their creative comfort zones by writing, shooting, and editing an original film in just 24 hours. The 2009 tour, kicking off in New York on March 27th, will be visiting 20 cities across North America and giving aspiring filmmakers the chance to have their work premiere on the big screen and compete for thousands in cash and prizes.
For each city on the 2009 tour, filmmakers are e-mailed a theme (such as revenge or greed) and surprise element (such as a prop or an action that must be performed in the film) at 10PM on a Friday night. The filmmakers, who may work in teams, then have 24 hours to create an original short film no longer than 4 minutes and submit their finished film at a designated drop-off location by the 10PM deadline the next evening. All of the completed films premiere on the big screen at a local theater a few days later and the top films from each city compete online for thousands in cash and prizes.
Film Racing is operated by NYC Midnight Movie Making Madness, LLC, an organization that has been holding unique film competitions since 2002. Since launching the Film Racing Tour in 2007, NYC Midnight has awarded over $120,000 in cash and prizes. It’s very important for us to provide our top filmmakers with the prizes and exposure to help them take their career goals to the next level, says competition director, Charlie Weisman. In addition to the prizes, Film Racing presents anyone who ever wanted to make a film the opportunity to go through the entire process overnight, and be rewarded with the unbeatable experience of seeing an audience react to their work on the big screen. he said. With digital technology, creative minds and a little inspiration, anything is possible. Even in 24 hours.
The 2009 Film Racing Tour will be visiting Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Brooklyn, Calgary, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington, DC. The early entry fee is $95 per team and space is limited in each city. Visit the official competition website at www.filmracing.com to register, learn more, and watch winning films from past events. Interested teams can also enter the discount code FILMRACER to receive $10 off the entry fee.
