* 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.
- Come down to the Historic Plains Hotel on
Friday, September around 4PM with a smile, a head shot and a cell phone, and casting
opportunities will present themselves!
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!
