About || The Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival Cheyenne

Our Mission: Provide cultural education to the public and promote, advance and develop the art of filmmaking by organizing and operating nonprofit film festivals that (i) provide opportunities for amateur and professional filmmakers to further their knowledge and experience, and (ii) provide a unique setting for the community to experience the filmmakers’ work and share in the excitement and filmmaking artistry.

LIVE THE LEGEND

Cheyenne. The name brings forth romantic images of the West – cowboys, rodeos, railroads and majestic plains. Recently named a “True Western Town” by True West Magazine for the second straight year, the town’s slogan, “Cheyenne – Live the Legend,” is a fitting invitation for travelers to come visit and take a step back into the Old West. What not a better place to have a Shoot Out?

Prop from Sleight of Hand - Best Film 2009

For more information on Cheyenne, contact the Cheyenne Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, at (800) 426-5009 or visit its comprehensive Web site at www.cheyenne.org.

WE MAKE IT EASY AND FUN!

Each TSOC Classic can be no longer than 7 minutes in length (including credits) and must be edited in-camera and returned to the event organizers no later than 24 hours after the start of the event. All films must include 5 of the eleven items announced at the start of the event in “The Brief.” All films are judged to come up with the Top 10 Films for the Gala Screening Event. In 2012, two new categories will be pioneered - 3D and Smart Phone

SHOOTING STAR: ACTING FOR THE MOVIES

There are opportunities for actors to engage the filmmakers in their craft.

Enter as a Shooting Star - The actor that can be in the most number of films in the 24 hours in speaking and non-speaking parts. At sign-up on Friday, we'll provide a check list to use and will help make introductions to the other teams so that you can get the ball rolling. $45 participant fee includes a ticket to the gala screening on Sunday.

TYPES OF EQUIPMENT NEEDED

The Shoot Out requires that ALL material be captured onto tape or hard drive / storage media. Final productions must be submitted in as a digital file (h.264; mpeg4, mov, wmv, avi) copied onto the flash driveprovided by The Shoot Out Cheyenne. You must provide your own equipment - usually a laptop computer.

You can provide your final digital movie in HD or SD - learn the workflow before hand to save yourself headaches.

It is the responsibility of that team to transfer their final film directly onto the Read/Write DVD provided. In the new digital age, you must learn how to compress files. If you've ever made a Youtube video, that is the same process for The Shoot Out Cheyenne. You'll be able to write and rewrite to the disk until you get it correct.

If you do not compress your file and submit the raw video, it will probably not fit on a 4.7GB dvd and will have to submit your film on a hard drive formatted for a Macintosh. If you enter your movie compressed as a DVD (as opposed to a digital file copied onto a DVD), it will be ripped and converted and likely will be lower quality.

ENTRY FEES & CONDITIONS

There are a couple different fee structures for entry. When a team signs-up, the entry fee also covers additional participants depending upon your team type. Additional team members pay a per-person rate. Each registered and paying participant receives (1) one comp ticket for the Sunday awards screening and makes them eligible for any categorical awards i.e. Best Actor. Go to Sign Up to learn more!

SCHEDULE, AWARDS AND VIEWING

The Shoot Out Cheyenne 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival kicks off on October 5at 5:55 PM inside of The Historic Plains Hotel lobby. Top 10 Films are screened at the Atlas Theatre. Doors open at 1 PM on Sunday to Celtic music by Peat Bog Mysteries. The screening is open to the public with $5 advance ticket sales online and also available at Phoenix Books and Music 1612 Capitol Avenue or $10 at the door on September 25th. Go to Schedule to learn more!

Award Categories: For the TSOC Classic Films You only have 7 minutes and so great stories carry the day in The Shoot Out Cheyenne 24 hour filmmaking festival. The 3D films are no longer than 90 seconds. The Top 10 films have the best stories. This means a beginning, middle and fulfilling ending.

* Best Film: This is the movie that is the best all around. Great acting, videography, sound, lighting and most of all a great story!

* Best 17-Under Film: This is a category reserved for student teams. The Best 17-Under Film can and has been the Best Film. The under-17 crowd have many years of digital production experience under their belts, compared to others and the films are very creative and competitive.

* Best Comedy: Fun and humor are important aspects of The Shoot Out Cheyenne and there are a variety of film genres produced from dramas to comedies to documentaries to animations. If you are zeroing in on the category, be sure you follow the basic tenets of comedy - nobody gets hurt physically or emotionally or dies, the humor is tasteful (some bathroom humor is allowed).

* Best Story: The Shoot Out Cheyenne emphasizes the use of great stories. Does your story grab the audience right off? Is there development of characters who change through the story and does the story have a fulfilling ending?

* Best Director: The Shoot Out Cheyenne honors the best director - how is the acting: Is it over the top or is it believable? What about blocking and use of camera motion? Who will be The Shoot Out's Kate Bigelow?

* Best Sound Editing: The Shoot Out Cheyenne allows you to edit your sound. In Cheyenne, sound is a particular challenge because of the wind. Keep this in mind and remember the best locations are the ones that you have the most control - indoor locations. If you have a small camera with built in microphones, remember to get as close to the subject as possible to get the best possible sound. Avoid dialogue while shooting longer establishing shots.

* Best Actor and Best Actress: Are the characters believable or do they act"over the top"? Do the characters have an "arc" (i.e. do they exhibit change by the end of the movie?)

* Best Videography: Be sure that your movie is in focus. There's nothing more distracting than a fuzzy picture. Remember, you can go back and reshoot scenes, as long as it remains in sequence. Keep the camera steady. At the beginning and ends of shots remember to wait a beat before signally "action" and "cut". Hand held shots are okay, but have a tripod on hand. Judges will look at your framing and use of camera motion to help tell your story.

* Best Sound Editing: Be creative with your sound. There are multiple ways to add music to your movie without adding a sound track. Have a background musician as part of your story who adds music, for example. Be sure your sound levels are the same. Listen for background noise like cars and airplanes before shooting or coach your actors to hold and wait for the noise to pass before delivering their lines.

* Best In-Camera Editing: Since The Shoot Out Cheyenne requires a bit of preplanning, The best in-camera cuts are those that are properly set up before the camera rolls. Use of camera motion - zooms, pans and tilts to tell stories are also important elements of the in-camera edit. Creative titling and ending credits also are evidence of great in-camera editing.

* Best Art Design: Hand in hand with in-camera editing is art design. Be creative in how you dress your locations and use the required locations, use of lighting to get across mood and use of image systems are signs of great art design.

* Best Music: You are required to use original music or have rights to use previously published or performed music. Generally, original music wins this award, however, the criteria also includes how the music is used to help tell the story.

* Shooting Star: People can sign up to be a Shooting Star. They ask teams if they can appear in their films as actors, extras. The person who appears in the most films is awarded the Shooting Star award.

THE BRIEF

Examples of items might be a fire hydrant, a willow tree at the corner of such and such street, an alien character (in any medium you like, a live character, a cartoon drawing, a sculpture.), the words "exit", and a phone booth.

At the official start of the event, an announcement will be made, and The Brief (a hand-out) will be provided to all entrants with a list of eleven items. These items are specific to Cheyenne, and are not necessarily locations from which entrants must select a minimum of five to use in their film. One of which MUST be in the first thirty seconds (30) (including credits, headings, etc) of the film. FIVE of the items must include at least 1 LOCATION, PROP and PHRASE.

All eleven items are within 5-10 minutes distance from city center, so bring some good walking shoes.

USE OF COPYRIGHT MATERIALS

You must hold the music copyright or create your own music. All copyrights are the Producer's responsibility and may need to be obtained prior to the event. The Shoot Out takes no responsibility for any breaches of copyright.

There are many resources available to filmmakers for music (i.e. online), but in the spirit of the event, we encourage you to create your own music by working with a composer or musician.

ACTING FOR THE MOVIES

There are opportunities for actors to engage the filmmakers in their craft.

MISSION STATEMENT

To provide cultural education to the public and to promote, advance and develop the art of filmmaking by organizing and operating nonprofit film festivals that (i) provide opportunities for amateur and professional filmmakers to further their knowledge and experience in the art of filmmaking, and (ii) provide a unique setting for the community to experience the filmmakers’ work and to share in the excitement and artistry of filmmaking.

A SHORT HISTORY BUT A LONG TRADITION

The Shoot Out is a unique, internationally promoted 24 hour filmmaking festival that has captured the imagination of young filmmakers and achieved outstanding results since the initial event was launched in Newcastle, Australia in 1998. Since 2009, The Shoot Out Cheyenne challenges participants to make a film in 24 hours, using in-camera editing only.

Initially in Boulder, Colorado during October 2004, 74 teams, made up of students, families and professionals, took up the challenge one Friday night to each create a seven-minute short film in just 24 hours.  An incredible 66 teams made it through the grueling 24-hour challenge, and turned in their videotape by the deadline on Saturday night. Saturday night 30 volunteer preliminary judges became teams of two and three and watched those 66 seven-minute films to narrow the field to the top ten by Sunday afternoon.  Sunday evening our gala screening exhibited those top ten films (plus the best 17 & under category film) to a packed house at the historic Boulder Theater. At that exciting event twelve entertainment industry professionals from Colorado watched the top ten films with the enthusiastic Colorado audience, and picked the top artists in their categories, including acting, writing, music and direction, and, of course, the best overall film. Go to Press to learn more about previous events!

"Fast filmmaking is an entirely new category of filmmaking, and is not just limited to professionals, but open to everyone, from families to college students to middle schoolers…This event is the real thing, in your own backyard, you can actually participate yourself, and walk home with the main prize."

Alan O'Hashi, Executive Producer of The Shoot Out Cheyenne

Bringing community together is one of the things The Shoot Out Cheyenne does best!