|
MUMBAI:
English movie channel Pix has announced a Short Film Festival
initiative.
The
Pix Short Film Festival is open to everyone and aims to open
doors for first time directors to showcase their creativity
to Pix's viewers. There is no participation fee and each individual
is entitled to submit multiple entries. All formats (including
short films shot on video phones) will be accepted.
The
initiative is being sponsored by Sunsilk.
The
closing date for entries is 15 July 2007. Pix says that it
believes that storytelling is the key to great movies, and
through the initiative the channel is reiterating its brand
philosophy by encouraging anybody and everybody to participate
if they have a good tale to tell. Of course, they will all
have to "keep it short". Besides on air promotions
Pix is also doing SMS activity to create awareness.
The
channel notes that making a short film will show fans how
to explore, innovate, and experiment in film and video. In
fact, short films are often popular as first steps into the
cinematic world among young filmmakers. Typically, this is
because such films are cheaper and easier to make. Their brevity
makes shorts more likely to be watched by financial backers
and others who want some demonstration of a filmmaker's ability.
Pix
business head Sunder Aaron says, "At Pix, we are aching
to give new filmmakers an India wide venue to show us what
they've got. We know there's great talent throughout our great
nation. Normally short films are screened before an audience
of 20-30 people. Here we are giving aspiring filmmakers a
chance to reach millions of Pix viewers. If from this initiative
even one great filmmaker gets a start then the effort would
have been worth it.
"We
have also done our best to be open minded and so we have kept
the rules down to a minimum. You never know who will watch
your work and take notice. In India there aren't enough avenues
for makers of short films to have their work noticed. We are
trying to change that."
Short
film making, the channel adds, is growing in popularity among
amateurs and enthusiasts, who are taking advantage of affordable
equipment and the proliferation of website that carry the
works. "Prosumer" or semi-professional cameras,
and free or low-cost software is widely available that is
capable of video editing, post-production work, DVD authoring
and of course mobile phones. Such films are often distributed
via the Internet; on sites such as Youtube, BritFilms.tv and
Newgrounds, which attract large communities of artists and
viewers.
One
has to visit the Pix website and register yourself. Take a
print out of the SFF form. Make an original short film which
does not exceed 30 minutes on any topic.
After
the selection process, all the best films will be aired on
the channel. Some of the best filmmakers will also be awarded
HDD (High Definition) Handycams from Sony.
|
