By Elina Shatkin, October 3, 2003
In May 2002, the Dallas Video Festival tried something that had never been undertaken in North Texas. Over 500 people -- from experienced film professionals to die-hard soloists, to sheer novices -- participated in the ultimate challenge: to create a 5-minute video from start to finish in only 24 hours. To make it a little bit harder, the theme, prop and location were kept a surprise until the beginning of the race. Of the 78 teams that entered, 68 made it to the finish line on time. In one remarkable 24-hour period, a variety of videos were produced -- all featuring a toy wind-up eyeball, a school and a "photo finish" theme.
The 24-Hour Video Race is back! The mission is to create a 5-minute or shorter digital video within a 24-hour period beginning at Midnight, Friday, May 9 at Wahoo Grill at 7402 Greenville Avenue. A few minutes before midnight, teams will be shown a video that will tell them the theme, prop and other surprises. The finish line is at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plazas Seventh Floor. Teams can turn in their completed films as early as 10:30 PM but films submitted after midnight, Saturday, May 10, become pumpkins.
There are no restrictions on genre. The films can be narrative, documentary, mockumentary, personal essay, etc. Works can be produced in any form but final works must be submitted in digital form on the miniDV tape that will be provide to teams at the starting line
. Winners will receive prizes and most importantly, bragging rights over rival teams.
Teams can sign up online at www.dallasvideo.org/videorace/ or e-mail videorace@videofest.org and they will be e-mailed an application. All applications are due by May 5th but will be accepted past that with a $50 late fee. Teams will not be able to register at the starting line. Questions? Call 214.478.8700 or e-mail us.
Team categories include Pro (more than 50% of team are employed in film and video industry) and Amateur (weekend warrior, wannabe pro or student). Teams sizes last year ranged from 1 to 60 but the average size was 3-5 people. Cost $100 for teams up to 5 members $150 for teams over 5 members $75 for solo acts, teams captained by VAD members or teams comprised completely by full time students (any level).
Judging of all the videos will be done tournament style. Videos will be grouped by category (pro and amateur) and in smaller groups of 10 – 15 as needed. Three independent judges will rank each video and videos with the top 2 scores will proceed to the final round. Preliminary rounds will be judged on Tuesday May 13 and Wednesday May 14, and videos proceeding to the final round will be judged on Thursday, May 15. All screenings will be at The Angelika Film Center.
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