| Challenge Overview | About the Challenge | Frequently Asked Questions | Official Rules | Team Information |
WHAT IS A 48-HOUR FILM CHALLENGE??
WINTER FILM AWARDS challenges the local community to create a 4-7 minute short film in a specified genre, tagline and prop in just a single gonzo weekend! Thirty teams of the most creative people in the tri-state area have just 48 sleepless hours to decide what they are going to do, write a screenplay, assemble props, costumes and actors, rehearse, shoot, score and edit their film. Students, amateurs, and seasoned industry veterans alike learn the importance of caffeine, team work and time management in successful filmmaking.
Completed films are uploaded to YouTube to garner the coveted “Fan Favorite” vote. All films are then screened at a local venue the following weekend and prizes are awarded for Best Picture, Fan Favorite and more!
For the 2012 Challenge, teams had to contend with a large brightly-colored snowflake sugar cookie and a tagline from Fight Club. For the 2013 Challenge, we made it even more difficult — Teams had a tagline from Ghostbusters and Gray Line New York provided each team with one-hour private shooting time on a double-decker sightseeing tour bus, complete with Tour Guide and Driver. For the 2014 Challenge, teams had to include Citibike in their story line. Visit the WFA YouTube playlist to view all of the amazing films. What can we possibly come up with next??
Entries may be shot either via traditional filmmaking equipment or teams can do the whole thing on smartphones.
OMG! WHEN IS THE CHALLENGE??
The 2016 WFA 48-Hour Film Challenge gets under way on Friday June 3 at 8pm. A representative from each team must come to our offices at 31 West 34th Street, 8th Floor, New York NY 10001 at 8pm on Friday June 3 to sign in to the Challenge.
READY TO ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE?
To ensure you get a spot, your Team should REGISTER in advance to take part in the Challenge! Registration is just $10 per team.
WHAT CAN I WIN?
The prizes for the Challenge are amazing – over $13k in awesome prizes!
Best Picture winner will receive a $7500 prize package from AJA Video Systems, including an awesome AJA CION 4K/UHD and 2K/HD Production Camera, plus the following accessories: AJA Pak Dock for Ki Pro Quad Pak SSDs, AJA Pak256 256GB SSD for Ki Pro Quad, AJA Pak512 512GB SSD for Ki Pro Quad, AJA Front Baseplate for CION, AJA 6″ Rosette Extension Arm, AJA Wedge for ENG Plate on CION, AJA Heel for ENG Plate on CION, AJA Adjustable Viewfinder Mount for CION, (2) AJA 7″ 15mm Rod for CION
Fan Favorite winner will receive a $6500 Canon prize package courtesy of B&H Photo & Video, including a Canon 7D Mark II DSLR and three lens package, the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L-Series lens, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L-Series Lens, and Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L-Series lens.
Additional prizes include equipment from B&H Photo & Video, software from Jungle Software, Comic Books from A&S Comics, bottles of BleuStorm 5x distilled vodka and Snappple, a group parkour class from Brooklyn Zoo NY, software from Cyberlink, fun nights at Modern Pinball NYC , go-kart racing at Pole Position Raceway and Lucky Strike Bowling, cosmetics from Scented Secrets, a pair of tickets to see Sleep No More, memberships to Sonic Yoga, a team scavenger hunt at Watson Adventures, “Learn to Rope” classes at Brooklyn Boulders and more awesome stuff!
Best Picture, Fan Favorite, Honorable Mention and Runner-Up receive a beautiful crystal Winter Film Awards icicle statue and will have their winning films screened at the 2017 Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival along with a pair of All-Access Festival VIP passes.
HOW IT WORKS
Click here to read the OFFICIAL RULES of the Challenge. By registering for the Challenge, you are confirming that you agree to all Rules listed.
CHALLENGE BEGINS: A representative of your team must come to our offices between 8-10pm on Friday, June 3, at which time you will be provided with your Prop, Tagline and Film Genre. At 10pm, we open any open slots to our waitlist, so if you have not checked in by 10pm, you may lose your slot.
CHALLENGE ENDS: Submissions must be delivered to WFA via WeTransfer no later than 48 hours after sign in.
Completed films will be uploaded to YouTube by the WFA Team. Winter Film Awards will open voting via YouTube on Tuesday June 7 by 9am. Voting for FAN FAVORITE will be open for at least one week.
JUDGING: Completed films will be judged by the WFA Jury. WFA will award the BEST PICTURE award to the film we think best. WFA Jury will also award other prizes to films we think deserve it (criteria to be determined solely by Winter Film Awards). FAN FAVORITE prize will be awarded to the film that earns the most votes, which will be a combination of LIKES on YouTube plus in-person votes at the Screening.
SCREENING & AWARDS: Finally, if your film is selected for screening, a representative of your team should attend the screening in person in order to accept awards. And, since in-person votes count for a whole lot more than online YouTube Likes, the more people you bring with you to the screening, the better your chance at a win!
Completed films that meet minimum criteria for eligibility will be screened on a date TBD within two weeks of the competition. WFA Jury may choose to exclude films for screening if we feel that the content is inappropriate or offensive. In addition, in some cases, though they are not eligible for awards, WFA may choose to screen films that did not complete by deadline but we find awesome none-the-less.
Click HERE to read the Official Challenge Rules
Click HERE to read the Challenge FAQ
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