SHIREABILITY Film Festival

Make sure you know what your film is about before you start. Then write your script.

Having a unique concept to grab audience attention is vital. Hook the audience with a plot twist or intriguing interview and leave them with a memorable ending to guarantee complete viewer responsiveness.  

Plan your work and work your plan. Making extra effort to develop a Shot List or Story Board will allow for smooth sailing when filming. Plan for short and simple, but keep it well executed. Though it may take a little time up front, not only will your effort keep you on track when filming, but it will also save you time during your shoot and in editing.

This means finding your actors and finding a great location. Less can sometimes mean more when striving for audience attention. Try to keep the cast small so your audience connects to your story through the characters portrayed. Scout your location in advance. Noise pollution can cause major problems for sound, so either find a way to solve this or find a different, less noisy location.

Get familiar with the equipment. Check that the camera you are using has the resolution needed to show your film on the big screen if you win. Ensure everything is fully charged and be aware of the technical aspects of all items in your kit. You don't want to lose time fiddling with camera settings. Shooting in multi-camera where possible will save time when recording each scene and provide more coverage for the editor.

Recording good quality sound is essential. Make sure you use external microphones even if shooting on an iphone. Where you can, use boom mics. Make sure you use lights when inside or use natural light outside. You may need additional lighting even if you do shoot outside.

When you shoot your film, shoot for editing. That means shoot all the shots in the film with the editing in mind. Make sure you vary the angles and shot sizes. Try to not to have jumpy edits and keep the pace consistent. Make sure that the sound and picture quality is consistent throughout the whole film and make sure the background music doesn't drown out the actors or voiceover.

The ShireABILITY Film Competition 2020.

The ShireABILITY Film Competition is your opportunity to have a voice, share your creative talents and tell us your story in film.

Entries must focus on Ability and Inclusion. They must feature locations and/or people of the Sutherland Shire area and involve at least one person with disability.

• Entry to 2020 Sutherland ShireABILITY Film Festival is free.
• Entry is open to all ages (entrants under 18 years of age must complete a permission form signed by their parent or guardian).
• Cash prizes will be awarded for:
  • The winning entry will receive $2000.
  • Four other category prizes will be awarded at $500.
  • One People’s Choice award will receive $1000

• Winning finalists will be screened on Sutherland Shire Council’s Facebook Page on 27 November 2020.

• Applicants will jointly own the rights to their film with those in their film-making group.

   

• All applicants retain copyright to their films and can submit their films into other festivals.

   

• Applicants are solely responsible for ensuring that all necessary copyright and other relevant rights and authorisations for their films have been obtained prior to submitting their entry. ShireABILITY Film Festival takes no responsibility for any failure by an applicant to obtain the necessary authorisations.

   

• Films created must be age-appropriate and conform to a G rating, as described by the Office of Film and Literature Classification. Information about classifications is available at: http://www.classification.gov.au/Guidelines/Pages/Guidelines.aspx

   

• The ShireABILITY Film Festival committee reserves the right to exclude any entry they consider inappropriate. This may include any video that, in the film committee’s opinion, contains content that is racist, sexist, violent and discriminatory or is otherwise likely to offend community standards.

   

• Applicants must obtain written consent of all people who participate in the creation of their film [on screen, voice over etc]. This must be provided on request using the ShireABILITY Film Festival Consent form.

   

• Films are to be no longer than five minutes inclusive of credits. Any films longer than five minutes will not be considered.

   

• General subtitle and audio capability will be provided. It is the responsibility of the film maker to ensure professional audio quality and where necessary audio descriptions or supporting documents are included. Please see attached Film Tips to ensure your film can be included. If you have any questions or concerns please email: jgan@ssc.nsw.gov.au

   

• Crediting of individuals associated with the films is required.

   

• Films must be entered into ShireABILITY Film Festival via the Shopfront Arts Co-Op webpage, which is accessible via sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/shireability

   

• Films must be received by the closing date 5pm, Friday 30 October 2020 to be successfully entered into the ShireABILITY Film Festival. Confirmation of receipt of entry will be provided by Shopfront Arts Co-op.

   

• Films must focus on Ability and Inclusion and feature locations and/or people of the Sutherland Shire area.

   

• Film entries must involve an individual with disability and be credited accordingly, i.e. this/these individual(s) must:

  - produce and/or

  - write the script and/or

  - appear in and/or

  - direct the film.

   

• The judging panel will consist of two members of the community living with disability, two members of the working group and an industry specialist. They will review the short-listed films. Decisions on winners are final and conclusive.

   

• Short-listed film entries will screened on Sutherland Shire Council’s Facebook page on Friday 27 November where winners will be announced.

   

• The People’s Choice award will be by community voting via Shopfront Arts Co-Op webpage.

The ShireABILITY Film Festival is an initiative of the Sutherland Shire Council Access Committee working group celebrating IDPWD 2020. Further enquiries or information can be made by calling Jayne Gan, Community Development Advisor at Sutherland Shire Council on 9710 0422 or emailing: jgan@ssc.nsw.gov.au

Click to view The Inclusive Filmmaking Toolkit