The Shoot Out is a filmmaking competition where the competitors must make a film in one day. 24 hours. Straight. In that time competitors must make a short film that is no longer than 7 minutes. No editing. Just "in camera editing". Which for most, amounts to using the pause button and then shooting the next scene.
The event started in Newcastle in 1999 and the event is also staged annually in Toowoomba (Queensland, Australia), Geelong (Victoria, Australia), Hamilton (New Zealand) and Boulder (Colorado, USA).
100+ teams compete in the Newcastle event. Each team consists of 1 or more team members. The average is around four, but there can be plenty more depending on how elaborate the production is.
The competition starts on Friday, with registration and sign up. And then there's a briefing at 8:30pm when the competitors are told the ground rules and also a list of items/locations of which 5 need to be in their films (so the Organisers know that the film was indeed made in the 24 hours). The stories can be about anything.
The prizes are quite prestigious and worth the time and effort to put together a team.
$18,000 first prize package for the Best Film. And also cash prizes for categories such as Best Cinematography and In Camera Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Script, Best Music Composition, Best Soundtrack, Best Direction and best Under 18's film.
On the Friday at 9pm after a briefing, the competition kicks off. Some head straight out to begin filming. Others scout out the areas, and also instruct their teams on what their plans and script is about. Before trying to get a good night sleep and begin filming the next morning.
The film has to be handed in no later than 9pm Saturday night. If it's handed in one minute past 9 the contestant is disqualified, no ifs or buts.
From the afternoon of Saturday the first lot of films that have already been handed in are sent off to the preliminary judges. over the next 12 or so hours three shifts of judges sort through the submissions. Culling the good from the bad. And as the night progresses it gets whittled down to the best of the best. Early to mid Sunday morning they've finished and the final 10 (or sometimes 11 or 12) are transfered to a secure location and locked away.
The weekend event culminates on the Sunday night where a large booked auditorium (in the case of Newcaste it is at Panthers) hosts the Awards Night. At Panthers the main auditorium is filled to capacity. The top ten films are shown and a panel of Industry judges (producers, television personalities, Australian film actors, etc) vote on selected criteria.
No one knows that they've been chosen until they recognise their film on the big screen. You know when someone has become a finalist when cheers erupt from their group.
After all the films have screened, the votes are tallied during an intermission and then the winners from each category is announced. The Best Film is announced until last.
It's a big event on the local calendar. It's a fast, fun and action packed weekend.
For more information check out:
What Is The Shoot Out?
How Shoot Out Works
How To Shoot a Short Film In 24 Hours
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 4
I've been involved is just about every part of it, also as a competitor. And it's like an extreme sport. It's a real rush.
I know he would love this Shoot Out.
It kicks off on Friday, with enough time for a person to get there after normal working hours to register. 24 hours of mayhem, unwind on Saturday night (and your body and head is still buzzing from the adrenaline, no matter how gentle or thoughtful your film story is), sleep in on Sunday, hang out with your crew or network with the 1000+ other people who are doing the same thing as you, and then Sunday night you get to see the best of the best and walk away with a prize right there and then if you win.
Some people have never heard of The Shoot Out until the week leading up to it and have entered and won.
With the prize you can use the cash and non-monetary prize components to go and shoot a decent short film at your own leisure. Some have shot short documentaries, short films (which have shown on television here in Australia). One year the first prize winner used theirs to shoot a trailer for their screenplay so they could then pitch it at the studios.