Few tips to the Participants

a few details and some tips for the participants . . . .

Dear Participant,

A note to give you a few details and some tips which I hope will help.

What we NEED FROM YOU

1. We need stamp-sized photographs of your Core Team for the Photo IDs. The Core Team includes – you, your editor and whoever will be assisting you on your edit and needs 24 hours access to the 24×7 Hub at the multiplex.

The Core Team will get Photo-IDs.
The other members of your team will get a temporary entry pass if they wish to attend on a particular day for a short while – the screening of the films etc.
The photographs should be passed on to us at least one day before the workshop date, at the pre-registration counter, between 11am & 1 pm and 4pm & 7pm. The counter will open on 23rd September. Out-of-town participants can hand over the photograph on the day of the workshop.

2. Please email us as soon as possible the names of the members of your team. Please mention the part they play in your team – Director / Editor / Cameraman / Assistant / Scriptwriter / Actor. Also tell us which of them are part of your Core Team and require Photo IDs
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EQUIPMENT & SOFTWARE – you will work with.

1. Camera: MiniDv Camcorder – Panasonic AG-DVX102B

2. Editing: Final Cut Pro (FCP ) editing software from Apple.

3. The equipment will be at the 24×7 Hub at Fame Multiplex, 24th September onwards.
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SOME TIPS:
We do hope you are working on the following aspects or at least giving them some thought.

1. Screenplay – though you have already submitted your screenplay/ script we hope you are still mulling over it.
Think about your characters and characterization; how the screenplay is unfolding; the logic in the story – is the story convincing; has it captured the mood of the story; the beginning, end and climax of the film etc. etc.

2. Music: if you are planning to use music, make sure it is not copyright protected. You are free to even record your music beforehand if you have friends who are musicians.

3. Locations: make sure you have identified the locations – take into account the traveling time. The locations should ideally NOT be too far apart, since the traveling time will eat into the shooting time.

4. Actors/Casting: cast your characters well. Once you are done with casting, rehearse the script with your actors. This will allow you to not only test the ability of your actors but also the effectiveness of your script and dialogues.

5. Time-line: divide the 24 hours between your shoot and edit optimally. Ideally the shooting time should be 8 to 10 hours (including travel time) and 14 to 16 hours for editing (picture edit, sound + music track-laying, titles).
Work out your shoot schedule carefully. The locations you decide on, should ideally be close to each other. to save on travel time.

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The Schedule & Final List of Participants

The final shooting and workshop schedule is . . .

Broadly the schedule is as follows
– Workshops . . . . . . . .23rd Sept to 30th Sept
– Filmmaking . . . . . . . 1st Oct to 8th Oct
– Awards Function . . 9th Oct

The SCHEDULE – Workshop and Shoot Dates

sorted by Name
sched_Oct06_name

Click here for the exact timings
for the Script Workshops of each TEAM

sorted by Shoot Date
sched._Oct06_date

Call for ACTORS

Call for Actors: If you are an Actor and would like to act in one or more of the films . . . .

35 short fiction films will be made
5 films every day for a week
starting 1st October 2006, at the 24×7 Program.

The participants are young creative people, who have something new to say, in a fresh, innovative style.

If you are an Actor and passionate about acting, you may wish to act in one or more of the films.

You would wish to act in these film because:
– the participants are young, up & coming filmmakers, with interesting stories to tell;
– it is an opportunity for you to show-case your talent;
– and if you are a veteran actor, you may wish to support new talent;
– the filmmakers will be mentored by renowned filmmaker, Mr. Dev Benegal;
– each film will be shot in not more than 8 to 12 hours – that is all the time that you will need to commit;
– the films will all be shown on the big screen at the Fame Multiplex as soon as they are made;
– the films will be sent to film festivals, both national and international.

If you are interested, please write back to entries@24x7makingmovies.com with your CV and photographs, and we will try and put you in touch with the filmmakers. Please mention ‘Actors – 24×7’ in the subject column of your mail.

Schedule
Pre-production:
The filmmakers will begin interacting with the actors during the workshops, 25th Sept onwards, at the Fame Multiplex, where they will be casting and working out the production details of their films. The exact time and date will be put up on the website.

Production:
The films are being made in 24 hours flat – that is about 8 to 12 hours for shooting and the balance for editing and completing the film. The filmmaking week is between 1st Oct to 8th Oct 2006

Screening:
Films made each day, will be screened the following day.

The entire event takes place at the Fame Multiplex, at the InOrbit Mall in Malad, Mumbai. The films will of course be shot at locations the filmmakers choose – not at the multiplex.

Please go through the rest of the website to know more about the program.

Please Note:
– We are only helping create a platform to bring the actors and filmmakers together.
– The casting is entirely up to the filmmakers themselves.
– If you expect any fees, you may discuss this directly with the filmmakers. However considering that most of them are students, it is unlikely that they will be able to afford any payment.

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Note from Dev Benegal to the Participants

Screenplay tips from Dev Benegal . . .

Congratulations!
The team at 24×7 has loved your ideas and the stories you want to share with the world.
At this point you must be working on your scripts and polishing your stories.

Here are a few things we’d like you to keep in mind;
I’m going to keep this simple.

1. Please SHOW us what happens.
2. Let us SEE how events unfold in the lives of your characters.
3. If they are happy or sad do NOT tell us they are happy or sad.
4. SHOW us a detail or something that happens to them which conveys this to the audience.
5. Write in the active tense. This will help you.

Keep it simple.

The best entries we have received are the ones where the idea is simple.
Don’t worry. The best movies are the ones with simple stories.

That’s it!

So here’s an example I just made up:

Agastya Sen steps onto the platform.
He looks around.
The station is tiny. The sign reads Madna.
He can’t see anyone.
He’s all alone.
In his jeans and t-shirt Agastya is totally out of place.

But don’t write it like a novel:

Agastya Sen was lost on the platform. He wondered if someone was going to come and meet him. He wasn’t sure how he would get to the rest house. These thoughts overwhelmed his mind.

(I’ve made that up as well and it’s not from the novel. Which is my favourite!)

Animators:

Please send us your story boards. Not the whole movie just the KEY FRAMES.
They should be small jpeg Not larger than 1024×768 or 720×576.
Send us your script as well.
Tell us what visual style you will adopt.
Will you use paint, crayons, chalk, clay, digital or some new style and technique we have never heard of.

Whatever it is TAKE RISKS. Be ORIGINAL. Do something NO ONE is doing!

All the best,
Dev Benegal

The list of participants by 12th August 2006

We should have the list of the 35 selected participants by 12th August 2006 on this page.

The response to the Program has been fantastic.
And it is going to take us a bit longer than we had initially anticipated to go through all the entries carefully.
Many of the stories are simply fascinating and selecting one over the other, making a choice, is often very difficult. But we are at it . . .

We should have the list of the 35 selected participants by 12th August 2006 on this page.

Do logon once again.
And thank you all for the tremendous response . . . .

Event Oct 2006

The ‘Event Oct 2006’ link will have regular updates of
the 24×7 October 2006 Event

1. The List of Selected Participants will be put up here on
12th August

2. The 35 Selected Participants will be required to . . . . .

The Event Oct 2006 link will have regular updates of the Event

1. The List of 35 Selected Participants will be put up here on
12th August and not 6th August as earlier announced.

2. The Selected Participants will be required to submit full screenplay by 31st August 2006

3. The Event Schedule will be put up in the
1st week of Sept

4. The Shooting & Editing Schedule of the individual participants will be put up in the 1st week of Sept

5. Any other relevant information will be posted from time to time.

The Ground Event – the Workshops & the Filmmaking Week

6. The workshops with the participants – script and technical – will be held in the last week of Sept.

7. The Filmmaking Week will be in the 1st week of Oct.

The dates for the ‘ground event’ are subject to change. We will inform the selected participants by individual email of the final dates. The participants can also get the latest updates on this page.

8. Participants please read the Frequently Asked Questions FAQ’s before sending your application.
So watch this space regularly

24×7 Making Movies – Free

24×7 invites all aspiring filmmaker above the age of 24 years to make a short feature on the theme of “Laughter & Terror”.

1. The 1st Edition of the 24x7making Movies Program, 2006, is being held in Mumbai at Fame Malad, Inorbit Mall

2. The last date for submission of entries is 31st July 2006. To apply go to the SUBMISSION Form page. Read the RULES carefully

3. This program is for people over 24 years of age. You have to be born before 1st Jan 1982.

4. Mention in bold letters in the subject columnEntry – 24×7 FREE

5. The participants will be selected on the basis of the originality of their concept – their interpretation of the theme Laughter & Terror.’

6. The selected participants will be informed by 4th August 2006. The list of selected participants will also be put up on this website.

7. The selected participants will be required to submit the Script by 25th August 2006

8. Mini DV camera will be provided for the shoot. You may however use your own miniDV camcorder if it is okayed by our technical team.

9. You will have to edit the film at the Apple Final Cut Pro editing workstations set up by us at the Multiplex.

10. Choose your team well. You will need actors, and friends to help you out.

11. The Ground Event – the Mentoring Workshops and the Filmmaking Week – will take place from end-September to mid-October. It will be held at Fame Multiplex at Inorbit Malad, Mumbai. The participants will be informed the exact dates once the schedule is drawn up for each of the selected participants.

12. Mentoring Workshops will include Script workshops with Dev Benegal and his team and Technical workshops – camera and editing – with the technical team.

13. The 2 best films selected by a panel of eminent jury members, will receive Certificates. There are no prizes for this section. But we will have Instant World Premiers of the best films.

These dates for the ‘ground event’ are subject to change. We will inform the selected participants by individual email of the final dates. The participants can also get the latest updates on the website.

Laughter & Terror – the theme

Laughter & Terror is the theme of our program this years.
It can be a story based on . . .

Laughter & Terror is the theme of our program this years.

You are free to interpret it in the way you like.
Your story can be based on either or both these emotions.

It can be a story based on ‘laughter’ or ‘terror’ or a combination of both.
Remember, ‘Terror’ is not associated with terrorism alone.

Develop your Concept!! Make sure that your concept is original, unique and world class.

Make us all look at this theme in a way we never have.

Note: Send us the complete story in not more than one page – with a beginning, middle and end.
Don’t send us just a treatment or simply a sketchy interpretation of the concept.

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The duration of the film can be anywhere between 24 sec to 24 mins. But do bear in mind that the film has to be made in 24 hours flat.

A neat, crisp film would be more effective than a rambling story which you may not be able to shoot within the given time.

Think BIG but don’t be over-ambitious.

Participants please read the Frequently Asked Questions of FAQ’s