Micromovies

Micromovies

I've always been fascinated by short stories. So, when I discovered Micro Fiction: An Anthology of Really Short Stories by Jerome Stern (editor), my reading interest turned to a genere of writing in which stories are told in a paragraph or no more than a couple of pages.

While recently working on the production of Scanning Television, Second Edition, I came across a reference to rADz (radical art ads) produced in New Zealand. A rADz is a short film ranging from a few seconds to no more than 3 minutes in length. Barry Thomas, executive producer with MD YETI Productions, invented the rAdz in 1991 and since 1997 has been the executive producer, or producer of 120 films. All have been made in New Zealand supported by the Screen Innovation Production fund. Most of these productions have been made with emerging film makers who have had some tertiary film making experience under their belts.

New Zealand has two national TV stations that regularly buy and play rADz throughout their schedules.Each rADz filmmaker receives over 30 screenings per year per channel. This provides new filmmakers with substantial exposure and opportunity. For me, rADzs provided introduction to the field of micromovie production.

The micromovie provides both a challenge and opportunity in the age of the Internet and digital cinema.The challenge is to communicate in sight and sound an idea, story, or experience in a very short period of screen time. My quest for short film libraries on the web has lead me to several sources. I've learned that there are hundreds of film makers out there wanting to share their work with others. The goal for many is telling an exciting, well-told story that can be quickly screened by today's Internet audiences. A result of this activity seems to be a resurgance of interest in the short film genre.

Here is a list of web sites to start your own discovery of micromovie production. Knowing that many of you are interested in animation and film making please note that some of these sites, or others you can find on the Internet, may be a place for getting your own first works screened in public.

Ten Second film Competition. A competition for short films. Currently presenting 20 finalist from over 1,000 submissions. http://www.tensecondfilms.com/

60 Second Movie Hour. Started as a college web project it is now a site which showcases submitted 60 second videos. http://www.60secondmoviehour.com/html/aboutsite.html

120 Second digital film festival. A CBC annual competition for short videos of no longer that 2 minutes in length. http://filmfestival.120seconds.com/main.html

Six Minute Cinema. Open to all producers of any experience level. The only constraints are that none of the entries may have any footage shot in film nor may exceed 5:59 total running time including credits
http://www.sixmincin.com/

Seven Miunute film Festival. Provides a FREE opportunity for people to publicly experiment with film and video in an environment fully conducive to concept driven creative expression.
http://www.sevenminutefilmfest.org/ehome.html

Atom Films. A leading provider of short-form entertainment for the Internet,
http://atomfilms.shockwave.com/af/home/

Auror Picture Show. A nationally recognized venue for viewing traditionally underrepresented film, video and media arts http://www.aurorapictureshow.org/aurora56.html

Micromovies: Film Festival dedicated to the exhibition and promotion of short films compatible to mobile devices. http://micromovies.mindworks.fi/front.html

rADz (select rADz from all genre menu) No film over 3 minutes. These are broadcast on New Zealand TV and provide an opportunity for introducing new film makers: http://www.in-movies.co.uk/index_films.php

Finally, How to Watch Online Films by Greg Pak, filmmaker, is a handy and practical guide to getting yourself set up to visit sites with film content.