Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Final Call For Doc Challenge Registrations

There's no backing out! We're doing it!

-----Original Message-----
From: filmchallenge-bounces@filmchallenge.org [mailto:filmchallenge-bounces@filmchallenge.org] On Behalf Of Doug Whyte
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 11:25 AM
To: filmchallenge@filmchallenge.com
Subject: Final Call For Doc Challenge Registrations

Just a few more days to get your ideas and filmmaking teams in order and register for the upcoming International Documentary Challenge!
The Final Registration Deadline is Wednesday March 5 at 5:00pm ET.
Filmmakers from around the world have just 5 days to make a short non- fiction film: we give you the theme and genre of your film, you choose the subject and make the film from first shot to final edit in only five days. The Doc Challenge is a great way to hone your documentary making skills, a fun weekend project, and with the potential for a screening of your film at Hot Docs, amazing international exposure!

It is shaping up to be a great competition with registered teams so far from 15 countries! The Doc Challenge takes place March 6-10 and the finalists will premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto in April. All 12 finalists will receive a full pass to the festival ($400 value) and the winner will receive $1,000 - not to mention that the films will be screening at one of the top documentary festivals and markets in the world!

Spaces are limited - so register now! More information and register
here:

http://www.docchallenge.org/

The Doc Challenge is produced by Doug Whyte of KDHX Community Media and sponsored by Hot Docs, SILVERDOCS, the International Documentary Association, the Documentary Organization of Canada, SILVERDOCS, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Film Action Oregon and the creators of the 48 Hour Film Project.

The International Documentary Challenge.
Real Life. Filmed Real Fast.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Doc Challenge Paperwork and More

Sig has confirmed that she will most likely not participate in this documentary challenge because she will be going on a cruise to Europe. I wish I were going on a cruise to Europe. Oh wait, I'm going to Vietnam! I guess I can't complain. In any case, Sig won't be handling the paperwork this time around. Hmm, I wonder if Joanne will take on this task?

By the way, I realize that this pic has no relevance to this blog whatsoever. Whenever I get a chance to put my dog's mug on my blog, I will!

-----Original Message-----
From: info@documentarychallenge.org [mailto:info@documentarychallenge.org]
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 8:18 PM
To: Nguyen, Tony
Subject: Doc Challenge Paperwork and More

Hello Again Doc Challenge Filmmakers,

Only a week left to prepare for your documentary challenge! A few more things I want to let you know about:

1) PAPERWORK: You must complete and turn in all of the paperwork with your film to be eligible for awards. All the required forms can be found here:

http://www.docchallenge.org/filmdocs.htm

Please note that the Participant’s Agreement need only be signed by the Team Leader.

2) TIME ELEMENT: To ensure the films were made within the required time frame, each team must prove the date the film was made by adding a time element to the film or credits. Feel free to be creative, but make sure that it is obvious to the judges. If the judges have a hard time determining the time element, the film will be disqualified. An example of an accepted time element: The main subject is holding a newspaper and the date is large enough to read. This can be done in the credits of the film so as to not affect the flow of the film.

3) THEME: You will be given a broad theme (such as "Faith") that must be addressed at some point in your film. This can be as simple as one reference to the theme (such as a question asked of an interviewee) or the whole film can be based on this theme. In the end, the judges have to be able to recognize that at some point the theme was addressed in the film.

4) LEGAL QUESTIONS: I am here to answer specific questions about the competition itself, but I am not a lawyer and am prohibited from giving teams advice on legal matters when it comes to shooting their films. All I can say is that you must have rights to all of your footage, photos, music, etc. You should use whatever means you would use on any other documentary to find out what is legal and what is not. Sorry, wish I could be more help (but we could get in a lot of trouble if I started giving out legal advice!) What I can do is recommend that everyone look at the "Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use" that was put together by The Center for Social Media and the Washington College of Law with input from AIVF, IFP, IDA, NAMAC and Women in Film & Video. You can find it here:

http://www.documentary.org/resources/src/Fair_Use/bestpractices.pdf


Get some sleep now while you can!

Doug Whyte
Doc Challenge Producer

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Join the Doc Challenge Group on Facebook

For those who have Facebook accounts, this is worth checking out:

-----Original Message-----
From: filmchallenge-bounces@filmchallenge.org [mailto:filmchallenge-bounces@filmchallenge.org] On Behalf Of Doug Whyte
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 11:22 AM
To: filmchallenge@filmchallenge.com
Subject: Join the Doc Challenge Group on Facebook

Join the International Documentary Challenge group on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24323502432

or search "International Documentary Challenge" on www.facebook.com

I believe you need to be a member of Facebook before joining the group - but that only takes a few seconds to set up.

Doug Whyte
Doc Challenge Producer

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Hello From the Doc Challenge Producer

I'm excited about this documentary challenge, but I'm also a little nervous about it. Making a non-fiction piece scares me a bit. But I guess that's part of the excitement. I'm also flying out to Vietnam the day it's due. I planned this trip to The Mother Land around this doc challenge! Hopefully, I won't be too burnt out!

-----Original Message-----
From: info@documentarychallenge.org [mailto:info@documentarychallenge.org]
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 3:19 PM
To: Nguyen, Tony
Subject: Hello From the Doc Challenge Producer

Hello Doc Challenge Filmmakers,

With the competition approaching in just over 2 weeks, we hope you’re getting everything together for your wild five days of filmmaking! So far there are 100 teams from 15 countries participating with more signing up each day. (But not too many – so you’re chances aren’t bad!)

All of the Doc Challenge forms (releases, team rosters, etc) will be on our site by the end of the week. Please print them out and be sure to turn all of them in with your film:

http://documentarychallenge.org/filmdocs.htm

Below are some Doc Challenge filmmaking tips.

More emails to follow,

Doug Whyte
Doc Challenge Producer

---

1. Plan well. Set a schedule and stick to it as best you can. Remember - 15% of teams in competitions like this do not make the deadline. This includes “Experienced teams.” So yes, it could happen to you.

Find out when your post office or FedEx store closes. Give yourself plenty of time for outputting the video, and getting the film shipped with a March 10, 2008 postmark. Computer crashes happen all the time. Small last minute glitches have caused teams to be late.

2. Test your equipment ahead of time. Make sure everything works.

Since many teams work with borrowed equipment coming from many sources, we suggest that you check your whole system. Shoot 5 minutes of footage with the mic you will be using, digitize it, do minor edits, fix sound levels, and make sure you can output to a tape.

3. Make sure you have the correct tape stock for your submission tape (standard def miniDV or DVD). After the contest starts, the first thing your editor should do is lay down 5 seconds of color bars and tone, 5 seconds of black, your slate (team, city, title, genre) then 2 seconds of black and YOUR FILM.

4. Sound problems are the most common technical problem.
a. Find someone who knows how to do sound b. Test your sound gear with your camera and editing system in advance c. Make sure you have good audio levels on your final tape

5. Do as much as you can ahead of time — researching potential subject matter as well as securing equipment, team members, and locations. Don’t forget to also buy and prep the food for your crew (if needed).

6. Make sure you have the required theme in your film. The theme can be as simple as one reference to it or one question asked about it. Or the entire film can be based on this theme. This is up to you, but in the end, the judges need to be able to recognize that you addressed the theme. If they can’t find a reference to it, your team will be disqualified.

7. To ensure the films were made within the required time frame, each team must prove the date the film was made by adding a time element to the film or credits. Feel free to be creative, but make sure that it is obvious to the judges. If the judges have a hard time determining the time element, the film will be disqualified. An example of an accepted time element: The main subject is holding a newspaper and the date is large enough to read. This can be done in the credits of the film so as to not affect the flow of your film.

8. Begin editing early. While you shoot, have a runner take completed tapes to the editor, who can start digitizing and logging your footage as well as editing the rough cut.

9. Don’t be afraid to edit your film. Most teams err by using the entire 7 minutes when they could have told their story in less time. We have found that films with a TRT of 5 minutes or less have more of a market than longer films.

10. If your film is another language besides English, you MUST subtitle it in English. Failure to do so will result in the judges not being able to understand your film.

Monday, February 18, 2008

The NFL Season Is Over

...and Sundays are just oh so boring. So to fill the void, I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos. Here's one of my favorite NFL related clips:

Monday, February 11, 2008

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Dog Motion Graphics.

I'm hoping Evan Donn will turn my dog into an After Effects Master. That's why I bring this mutt to school every Saturday!

Friday, February 8, 2008

Documentary Challenge

IDOM Peeps!

The Documentary Challenge is right around the corner, and IDOM is signed up! Evan, Mike, and I are in. Anyone else? The catch this time around is that this event officially starts on a Thursday (March 6th) and runs through the weekend. I already took the days off, as did Mike Eyvazov. Let me know who's interested so that I can start planning. I have some new people who are interesting in participating as well (they are in Evan's current AE class).

Tony

-----Original Message-----
From: filmchallenge-bounces@filmchallenge.org [mailto:filmchallenge-bounces@filmchallenge.org] On Behalf Of Doug Whyte
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2008 1:02 PM
To: filmchallenge@filmchallenge.com
Subject: Doc Challenge Early Deadline Feb 11

Hi all,

I'm sending out a reminder to get your ideas and filmmaking teams in order and register for the upcoming International Documentary Challenge! The Early Deadline is this coming Monday Feb. 11, just 3 days away! The Doc Challenge is a great way to hone your documentary making skills, a fun weekend project, and with the potential for a screening of your film at Hot Docs, amazing international exposure!

It is shaping up to be a great competition with registered teams so far from France, Qatar, Armenia, China, Austria, India, Israel, Turkey, Mexico, United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S.! The Doc Challenge takes place March 6-10 and the finalists will premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto in April. All 12 finalists will receive a full pass to the festival ($400 value) and the winner will receive $1,000 - not to mention that the films will be screening at one of the top documentary festivals and markets in the world!

Spaces are limited - so register soon! More information and register
here:

http://www.docchallenge.org/

Check out Hot Docs here:

http://www.hotdocs.ca/

Watch prior Doc Challenge films here:

http://www.docchallenge.org/results2006.htm

The Doc Challenge is produced by Doug Whyte of KDHX Community Media and sponsored by Hot Docs, the International Documentary Association, the Documentary Organization of Canada, SILVERDOCS, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Film Action Oregon and the creators of the
48 Hour Film Project.

The International Documentary Challenge.
Real Life. Filmed Real Fast.

--
Doug Whyte
Doc Challenge Producer

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

DSRL Challenge

I think I'll have a DSRL Challenge of my own. I'll challenge some of the guys at work.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Interview

And the follow up interview...

Monday, February 4, 2008

The Double Stuff Racing Challenge

Back to back Super Bowl wins for the Manning boys. Woo Hoo! This Double Stuff Racing League ad is my newest favorite commercial...

Sunday, February 3, 2008

New York Giants 17, New England 14

Woo Hoo! The Giants beat the Patriots! No perfect season for you, Tom Brady and Bill Belichik! HA! As you can see, I am loving life right now. But that's all I will say about the Superbowl. Blogged Arteries: The Unrendered Files is a blog devoted to my video life, so I won't bore you with any football banter. Instead, I will post my favorite commercials from Superbowl 2008:













I'm bummed that the NFL season is officially over. My season ended three weeks ago when my Colts lost to San Diego at the RCA Dome. What a devastating loss that was. The consolation prize was watching the New York Giants beat the Bucs, the Cowboys, and the Packers en route to the Superbowl. Hey, if Peyton can't play in the big game, then you can sure bet that I will be rooting for his kid brother. Also, I'm not a big fan of New England. I don't think there are too many Colts fans that are! In any case, I am ecstatic that The Giants spoiled the Patriots' bid for a perfect season. Right now, I'm doing the 1972 Miami Dolphins dance of joy. Football is over. I'm excited about next season. I hope to see both Manning brothers duke it out in the NFL's grandest stage next year!

Saturday, February 2, 2008

IT DONNED ON ME Kick Off Party

Tonight was the IT DONNED ON ME 2008 Kick Off Party. Woo Hoo! This really was just another excuse to have a party, eat, drink, and watch some films. Oh yeah, there's also this little thing called planning for upcoming competitions, and there is quite a few! This is what IDOM has to look forward to:

Rogue Ale Short Film Festival

Alice 3 Minute Film Festival
Brainwash Film Festival
The Unnecessary Sequel Film Festival
San Francisco 3 Minute Film Festival
The 2008 Film Racing Tour
Blood Shots 2008
Cinesports 2008

Almost everybody showed up for this kick off event. Missing were Tom Flowers and Rob Carey. We used to have these get togethers/screenings on a quarterly basis, but things slid a little due to this little thing called the 48 Hour Film Project. Of course, this wouldn't be an IDOM event without a screening. The challenge is bring a film that says something about yourself that we don't already know. Joe Kirsch submitted a very entertaining piece called Camp Revenge and Dinah deSpenza turned my living room into Yoshi's with her incredible jazz piece. I have to say that the members of IDOM are getting damn good, and this is evident in the films that we are producing. Kudos, everyone.

I, of course, waited to the last minute, but I did manage to submit a film. Since the challenge is to tell something about myself that people don't know, I figure this would be the perfect time debut my podcast! The first webisode is titled "Hula, Como Esta?"

Friday, February 1, 2008

Rogue Ales Short Film Festival

The Rogue Ales Short Film Festival could possibly become the Rogue Ales Donned On Screening this year! When Rogue Ales put out there call for submissions for their 2008 screening, I made sure that the members of IT DONNED ON ME knew about this. As a result, we have eight films entered:

Urgent Care - It Donned On Me
Le Car Nivore - Joe Kirsch
No Suit Case - Tony Nguyen
Vintage Jazz: Paris On The West Coast - Dinah deSpenza
Which? - The Crack of Donn
Max - Rick Kemp
Featherweight Blues - Tony Nguyen
The AE Project - Michael Eyvazov

Can you imagine if Rogue Ales selects all eight our our films? Can you imagine if we win the top three prizes? I participated in the Rogue Ales Film Festival twice now, and both times have been very positive experiences. Though I did not win, what Rogue Ales did was inspire me to make more and more films. Below is the film that started it all. Titled "STONED," this four minute piece tells the story of internal physiological pain and how it affects the mind.