V48HOURS 2010 – A Furious Filmmaking Competition

OFFICIAL RULES & OTHER STUFF

We reserve the right to alter the rules year to year, to keep those smarty-pants in order. And yes there are new rules below, this isn't yet another cut and paste job from last years rules!

Handing in Your Short

All shorts must be in an A5 envelope

Every year we get handed a dogs dinner at the finish line. And it's completely understandable, your mind is mush at the end of 48 hours. But here's how we're going to fix it. Assign one person whose only job in the entire 48 hours is to do the following. Buy an A5 envelope. That's A5 not A4 or A2. Write team name, short film title and genre on envelope. Put your short in it and then seal it. Tapes have gone missing and teams have missed out because of non-labelling tapes and no envelopes. No envelope means no movie handed in.

Questions and More Questions

Each year there are lots of new teams who need to know the layout of the competition. The best and fastest way to do this is to slowly read the below Rules and First Timers Survivor's Guide and to check out the FAQ's. If what you want to know still isn't answered then go to the Discussion Forum and talk to some old timers there.

Duration of Short

We allow anything between 1-7 minutes including a maximum of 60s of credits. You can also create a nifty company logo prior to the shoot weekend. It doesn't count as running time but please don't make it any longer than 10s.

Deadlines

• Competition will occur between Friday, April 16th at 7pm and Sunday April 18th at 7pm.

• The participating team must complete their film/video work in time to deliver it to a location to be announced, (see City Info) on Sunday by 7pm.

• Please note, 7pm is set in bronze. A countdown clock will be available to view on the website, this is the official time, down to the second.

• Sun 7pm MEANS Sun 7pm not Sun 7.03pm - There can be no excuses. You snooze you lose. Unfortunately one second late is too late (Don't believe us? Ask previous years entrants who are still in therapy.)

Late Films

Films received on Sunday after 7pm will be screened but are not eligible for any audience awards or entry into the Finals. To get your ineligible film screened you MUST hand something in by Sunday 11pm.

• Late films are not eligible for the Audience Award.
• Films must be received by Sunday 7pm to be considered on time and eligible for any awards.
• So what we're saying is this DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT be late.

Supporting Our Sponsors

We love our sponsors who support us unconditionally. Without them we wouldn't exist so we like to keep em happy. What we don't like is piggybacking companies that want exposure within the films but won't come onboard as an official sponsor. These companies are what we call parasitic cinemalice. We are completely happy for you to pull any deal you need to make your film, all we ask is that it's not from a company in direct competition with one of our sponsors. We don't care if they're offering you a couple of cans or some nibbles, they jerked us around for 6 months before bailing on us. We appreciate your support in this ongoing battle. So don't let us down by siding with those who seek to undermine our sponsors. We gave those other companies a chance to put up or shut up. So it's time for them to shut up.

If you need to have a product visible, you can always create a bogus one, which is sometimes more fun. Ultimately this is about supporting the event and you the filmmakers in regards to prizes and merchandise.

Attending the Heats

The Start

Each participating group must have only 1-2 representatives at the V48HOURS kickoff event. (If you are Out of Town then you don't have to be there - but remind your City Manager now via email). Smaller cities may allow more team members at the launch. At the event, each group will choose the genre of its film in a random drawing. In addition, each group will be given required elements that must appear in its film. This could be a prop, a character or something else completely.

Genres

Each group's film must be in the genre it is given and must contain all required random elements. The primary genre must be very prominent in the finished film. The list of final genres won't be known until the drawing on the Friday of the shoot. There may be new genres specifically created to thwart those who think they can plan too far ahead.

Here are some examples that may or may not be included: Road Movie, Thriller, Romance, Horror, Political, Sequel, Educational, Religious, Action/Adventure. Don't know what a genre is? Look up wikipedia and get schooled. Nailing your genre is crucial.

The Cast and Crew

All cast and crew must be volunteers. Hard to enforce but please keep in the spirit of the competition. Word gets around. Feed them well and give them hugs. Don't stress out and make it hell for your cast and crew, they can turn on you like a croc with a toothache. Egos should be locked in closets before leaving home. Read our FAQ on Cast & Crew for some advice.

Shooting Period

In that 48 hour period, all creativity will take place. i.e. Writing, Rehearsing, Costume/Set Design, Shooting, Editing, Sound Design.

Only work to begin prior to the official start time is: Paper-work, Organising Crew and Cast, Securing Equipment, Scouting/securing Locations, Sourcing music, Creating Team Logo.

Footage

All footage must be shot within the 48 hour time period of the project. In a past year, a fantastic short was disqualified because of this rule. Now known as the Del Sur Rule. You cannot use old footage shot unless you fall under the below exceptions. Also, make sure TVs and radios aren't on in the background and if they are either blur the footage or have them playing something you've shot in the weekend or any of the above. Animation and special effects are permitted, but must be created during the 48 hour time period.

Animation

The same rules for live action apply for all forms of animation (Cell, CG, Stop-Motion). You can pre-build your characters, backgrounds and sets, just as you would secure actors and locations. Though we must state that 2009's National Winners Team Line Men did everything (design of characters, backgrounds, and animate) in 48 hours. Others have also created everything from scratch in 48 hours, however there's a big difference between traditional stop-motion, cell and creating animation using Flash and other assisted software. So we're being more lenient in 2010 to make it fairer and to give animators in other mediums a chance to take part and compete in V48HOURS. You obviously cannot animate one frame before Friday 7pm of the shoot weekend. If we see or hear of any old animation you've previously done being used this year then yep, you got it, disqualifiedaroonie.

Cheating

Any team found to have cheated in some way will be disqualified from any award and screening. Please keep the spirit of the competition in the back of your mind throughout the process. And keep in mind how vindictive and small NZ is! You're supposed to be having fun, not trying to screw the system.

Equipment

Any type of video or film camera may be used. There is no limit to the number of cameras that can be used. And any format for shooting is acceptable, (HD, 35mm, super8, pixelvision, PXT etc) as long as the finished film is on Standard Definition Mini-DV or DVD.

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT HD, HDV, LP or NTSC TAPES - OR WE WILL KILL YOUR PET.

For more Info check our Technical FAQ.

THIS BIT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. The finished short must be handed in on
Standard Definition Mini-DV or DVD.

DVD-Rs have a habit of not always working, so that's the risk you take handing in a DVD. If you must do one make sure it plays on a few machines. If it doesn't play on our machines then we can't do much about it.

The Mini-DV tape must be clean, i.e. you cannot hand in a tape that has your finished short appearing after all your wild footage. Believe me this can be embarrassing at your world premiere. The tape must include the following after 10 seconds of bars and tone, a 5-10 sec countdown (see Technical FAQ) and then

In standard Arial/Helvetica Type onscreen for 5 seconds :

• TEAM NAME
• THE CITY/REGION
• TITLE OF YOUR SHORT
• GENRE

Please make this type filling 3/4 of the screen. The audience needs to read this. So make it big please. White text on Black background. Please keep a copy of the master for yourself. If we cannot view your film on our equipment, it will be disqualified.

If shot in a 4:3 ratio, your finished film must be presented as 16:9 pillar-boxed to us. The projector will not be switched to fit the picture. Credits at the end of each film are limited to a maximum of 60 seconds (6m + 60s = 7m) of course they can be a lot shorter.

For more info check our Technical FAQ.

Films must include the following end credit:
This film was made as part of V48HOURS 2010

Check List

• Fill out online registration and tick the Participation agreement.
• Complete Credit Card payment online.
• Finish Wrap Up Form Online.
• Bring to the finish, signed release forms for all talent/location/music in your finished short. You should get releases whenever you can. This is your responsibility. Cover your ass is the phrase, if you think it may be a problem then get a release. Typically, we do not require releases for public spaces. The rule of thumb is if you can make out a person in the background of a shot then you should try to get a release from them. Release forms are available from the site as a PDF form under Paperwork to Download. We do not require permits. The city may technically require permits for certain obvious areas. So please talk to your city Council in your area if you are unsure, they are there to help. If you have to break in somewhere, chances are its off limits.

Content

Have fun with your short, however keep in mind, the organisers reserve the right to not screen any film that cannot be screened on Free-To-Air Television. Check out the Classification area under Help.

Music

This year we are lucky enough to have some additional music labels participating in V48HOURS. These labels are offering up a smorgasbord of brilliant tracks for sole use within V48HOURS. We thank them and especially all the participating artists who are so kind in spreading their talent to the film scene. So go check the Music area for full details after reading these rules. Participating groups are also encouraged to work with local composer and/or musicians to write and record music for the films. We realise that this may be difficult to achieve in 48 hours. Therefore, it is permissible for a participating group to use pre-recorded music, however the participating group must have the rights to any music used in its film.

If you're not using tracks from the labels participating in V48HOURS then you'll need releases for all the music/songs in your short. This is very important; otherwise the short is not eligible for future screenings and all prizes. The downloadable PDF Release form covers talent, music and locations. Royalty free music is acceptable. You can use a song/music from a friends band as long as you have them sign a release. Pre-recorded, public domain Sound Effects are ok.

To be certified as an official entry, each participating group's film/video production must follow all the rules above. V48HOURS reserve the right to screen only certified shorts. All certified shorts are eligible to compete for the title of best V48HOURS film for their city. The V48HOURS team may add to or amend these rules at anytime prior to the beginning of the 48 Hour time period.

Please direct all questions to the 48HOURS Discussion Forum or Facebook Group.