4 hour film challenge

Back in April I did some doc filming for the Northern Net 4 hour film challenge. Taking place in three cities simultaneously, a bunch of film making teams had just, yep, you guessed it, 4 hours to make short films from concept to handing over the finished edit.

Here’s a copy of the finished doc. There’s even a brief interview with yours truly, as I try to FTP the doc rushes to the editors in Newcastle. (Our doc had to be finished in time for the screening that evening).

Some of the filmmaking teams shot on z1s recording HDV, others used HVX200, DSLR’s and one even used RED. Aside from aesthetics, the camera choice proved hugely important. Lesson learned here: do not shoot tape. Most of the teams gave themselves just an hour to edit at the end. Well, with thirty minutes of that lost to digitizing rushes – forget it. Some films were left pretty much unfinished. To make the most of the time available, you really need to have a separate editor working from the get-go, editing the film as it is shot.

Some of the finished films:

Winning entry: