Shoot Out Footage

The Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival Cheyenne was this weekend. Twenty-one teams competed, and twenty made it back with film in the can after a short 24 hours of frantic filmmaking in Wyoming's capitol. We'll post a few of their seven minute movies as soon as we get access, but in the mean time, check out this footage of the weekend's festivities:

Film Festivals

It seems that film festivals around the web have have heard their favorite phrase: "Yeah sure. We'll post it for you." As such, here follows a list of contests and festivals from the darkest depths of our in-box. Have at you!

The Shoot Out Cheyenne
This is the important one. It's a Wyoming-based contest. It's in its first year. It could be awesome. And oh yeah, the Wyoming Film Office is a sponsor. Attend! Any dang way, here's some copy from the website:

The Shoot Out Cheyenne asks filmmakers to trust their courage, imagination and determination by making a 7-minute film in just 24 hours. The challenge and skill involved becomes evident with the list of required technical, material, and timing 'rules' for creating the films.

The 1st annual The Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival Cheyenne will kick off on October 23th at 5:55 PM inside of the Historic Plains Hotel lobby. Hope to see you there!

Dark Woods Con
Dark Woods Con is now accepting film submissions. This first year festival is quickly becoming the most prestigious festival in the Midwest. Don't delay send you film in today and take advantage of the early entry special.

Dark Woods Con is a NON-GENRE Film Festival!!!!

Dark Woods Con! Don't Go In Alone!!

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the premier venue for nonfiction film in the American west, is seeking submissions for its seventh annual event. From February 12-21, 2010 the festival will screen 100 films, including world and U.S. premier, classics rare and experimental works on Montana's largest screen.

The Song Bird Film Festival
Houston Comedy Film Festival
The first annual Houston Comedy Film Festival will be held in Houston, Texas over three days, December 8-10, 2009. The HCFF serves as a forum for comedy films and comedians from all over the world to showcase their films in Houston, Texas. categories include: Feature Films, Short Film, Animated Films, Music videos and Stand-up Comedy videos.

All films will be screened in a DLP theater on Blu-Ray DVD or Standard DVD. There are also 13 different awards the will be given at the awards ceremony including the $1000 USD Audience Choice Award.

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One of the more unique entries in the 2009 Wyoming Short Film Contest. Submitted by Gregory Asay of Dos Buenos productions.

The Shoot Out Cheyenne asks its filmmakers to trust their courage, imagination and determination by making a 7-minute film in just 24 hours. The challenge and skill involved becomes evident with the list of required technical, material, and timing 'rules' for creating the films.

Once again we will be offering pre-event workshops to help people get ready for the event by learning about the event from past winners, obtain a better understanding of the rules of in-camera editing and challenging limitations designed by the organizers. Sign up for a pre-event workshop or go here to learn more.

The 1st annual The Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival Cheyenne will kick off on October 23th at 5:55 PM inside of the Historic Plains Hotel lobby. Hope to see you there!

The Shoot Out Cheyenne Half Hour Show from Michael Conti on Vimeo.

THE PROCESS IS SIMPLE!

Each film 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. Go About The Shoot Out Cheyenne to learn more!

EDITING IN CAMERA: What It Means

Films must be shot in sequence, i.e. produced in a linear fashion (NO EDITING). This means that teams may rewind tape, preview and tape over what was last shot. Teams may not edit i.e. you can not use an editing suite, any method that views it through a monitor or by connecting several cameras or VTRs together or use of a computer or any other technology other than one camera used to shoot the video/film. This also means you can not use camera's internal memory sticks nor can you reorder your scenes using any memory or DVDR functions that the camera may have. You may only record onto tape i.e. MiniDV, even if the camera has an internal hard drive.

Pictures of a Cowboy

Filmmaker Arden Oksanen shows off some top-notch photography (and his own cinematography), in his biopic entry in the 2009 Wyoming Short Film Contest.

In the filmmaker's own words:

“Pictures of a Cowboy” is the story about the extraordinary life of Wyoming resident Carl Oksanen, told through the lens of his camera. From the early days of being a Cowboy to the call of the mountains and the countless images that have shaped his life.

Winter Migration

Shot in Wilson, Wyoming on National Forest lands, filmmaker Carrie Noel's dance film "Winter Migration" was a serious contender in the 2009 Wyoming Short Film Contest.

To learn more about Carrie, her company Hole Dance Films, or to see more of her work, check out this blog.