Contest Round Up

I was wrong about being able to work on FX Friday. That'll most likely be pushed back to Monday or Tuesday, as it seems this script for this untitled detective short has decided to take presidence (sp?). Also it seems I have to work. Seems appropriate somehow that I would be spending the first of the year killing zombies.

In doing research for this particular short, I find myself looking up subjects on google along the lines of, handcuffs, binary explosives, and firearms, and I begin to wonder if the government can somehow secretly see what I'm searching for and if they think that I'm some sort of rogue terrorist that has a bondage fetish. I assure you all these subjects will most likely be featured in this newest short (except for the bondage). Although the topic of big brother spying on you does make one paranoid about the topics of porn one searches for.

Anyhoo, I've decided to compile some of the current contests for you digital video enthusiasts. Most of these I will most likely not be partaking in due to time constraints, but it's fun to contemplate what kind of commercial one could shoot for JVC, and Dove, and the Coke contest does seem intruiging.

IFC MEDIA LAB Independent Spirit Awards Short Film Contest 2007
Make a short film (90 seconds or less) with the theme:
What does independence mean to you?
May give this one a shot. We've already got The Midnight Special Trailer uploaded on the regular IFC Media Lab, why not throw them one more.
Deadline: January 19th, 2007

Carson Daily's It's Your Show.
It's like a Ghetto version of triggerstreet.
Deadline: On going.

And speaking of triggerstreet

Kevin Spacey's TriggerStreet 3rd Season Contest Begins Soon.
Still my favorite, granted I've only been on the site a few times this year. I still catch some really great shorts on this one and I like the contest structure.
Deadline: On going.

JVC Create Our Commercial
Oops, my bad. This one ends in two days. Well good luck. :)

COCA-COLA Poetry In Motion Video Contest
That whole Mentos and Coke fiasco really started something.
Deadline: Not a clue.

DOVE Cream Oil Video Contest
Sorry fellas, this ones for the ladies only. Make a TV spot for Dove.
Deadline: January 15th, 2007.

Make Your Mark
Short film contest offering huge money.
Deadline: January 3rd, 2007. Hurry.

The First Annual Francis Coppola Presents Rosso Bianco Theater Movie Contest
The winning short gets to have images from the movie put on a bottle of wine. Something all aspiring filmmakers really want. Thanks Francis.
Deadline: April 30th, 2007

SHIFTING BASELINES
Enter your 60 second short about Shifting Baselines. Find out for yourself what that means. Prizes include: Final Cut Studio and $2500 cash. Celebrity Judges include Zooey Deschanel and Michael Rapaport.
Deadline: March 1st, 2007

Convenient Truth aka TreeHugger Contest
An Inconvenient Truth presented a problem. They want you to show them how to solve this problem. Create an actionable, inspiring follow-up to the movie. But you've got 2 minutes to do it in.
Deadline: February 28th, 2007

VBOXX Video Contest
Honestly, this one doesn't look all that appealing, and actually looks like a big hassle.

Zannel Fest
Submit a kick ass short film under 10 minutes and you could win cash and a rubber chicken. No really.
Deadline: April 1st, 2007

Panasonic Undeniable Power Video Contest
Create a live-action or animated video that demonstrates the Undeniable Power of something. Win panasonic products. Enter your 5 minute short. And checkout Jamie Kennedy's video intro on youtube. Pretty funny.
Deadline: January 11th, 2007


I'll post more as they come up.

Video Round Up

Here are a few vids I find very creative and, dare I say, brilliant. Some really creative stuff here. The last one I can't seem to get out of my head.

Animator Vs. Animation


Animator Vs. Animation Part 2


HellHoles Episode 1


Batman: Dead End

Before Batman Begins, this was the most impressive rendition of Batman since the original Burton 1 and 2. Great idea and excellent execution.

405

405 was the first composite fx short to really get some attention. It was a wake up call to most indies that it was possible to achieve big budget fx on the independent level.


The last few vids are from SNL. But I have to point out that they were made possible by Andy Samberg and the original crew he rolled with called The Lonely Island. In my opinion The Lonely Island is one of the best things to ever happen to SNL. They've been responsible for much of the Video Recuts and Digital Shorts. They were always good at making great comedy/parody music videos, but now on SNL they can use big celebs in them. Genius. I never thought I'd ever see Tom Hanks or Natalie Portman like this. Some great beats too.

Natalie Portman and Andy Samberg "Gangsta Rap"


Tom Hanks and Andy Samberg "Please Don't Cut My Testicles"

Tom Hanks - My Testicles - video powered by Metacafe

Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg "Dick In A Box"


Be sure to check out Jorma, Akiva, and Andy aka THE LONELY ISLAND. Watch their rejected Pilot for their Fox Comedy Show "Awesome Town" and check out "The Bu".