hitvidi Web Pilot Competition

Posted on Thursday, April 22 by Jill

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Everything's coming up web series these days. Latest: hitvidi's call for entries into its hit video web pilot competition... All right, maybe it isn't "latest" exactly. Deadline's May 1 which doesn't leave you a lot of time to get your act together.

What do you got to do?

Create a hit web show of any kind

comedy, prank, reality, lifestyle, doc, drama - it's up to you.

Nothing to it.

Shoot your pilot episode.

Easy stuff.

Then upload it along with your series proposal to hitvidi for a chance to win $10,000 to shoot your first season.

Okay, not the big bucks, but it's better than nothing which is what most of shoot our first web series on.

Anyway, all the deets over at hitvidi.

What is hitvidi? This is from their about page:

hitvidi was created to produce original shows of the highest quality.

The hitvidi platform will serve as a global stage for the most talented show creators while providing viewers with an on-demand lineup featuring only the best shows.

hitvidi is advised by a group of executives and media minds with connections to such companies as The Moving Picture Company, The Field and VANOC, with programming input from a diverse group of successful artists, storytellers and craftsmen from film and television.

VANOC?! The Vancouver Olympic Committee?!? I can't find another all caps VANOC, so maybe. In the rules and reg, it says all the money will be given out in Canadian fund, so maybe. Not sure whether the Moving Picture Company is this one and The Field is this, but those are what I could find.

Lemme know what you know about this and whether you're applying!

Web Series Pitch Competition

Posted on Wednesday, April 07 by Jill

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Just for Laughs Comedy Conference announced a pitch competition for comedy web series. I've read the guidelines which are sort of on the confusing side. Even the title of the thing is confusing:

“PITCH ‘TIL YOUR SIDES SPLIT” JUST FOR LAUGHS COMEDY CONFERENCE PITCH PROGRAM and the COMEDY BOOTCAMP FOR FILM

This is how I understand the thing. There's going to be a web series pitching competition as part of Just for Laughs. The competitions will be held Saturday, July 17th, 2010 at 10:15 am – 11:30 am at the Hyatt Regency in Montreal. At the competition, you get five minutes to pitch your comedy web series idea before an audience and a panel of judges who will then give you feedback "regarding the strength of individual pitches, the appeal of the project and anything else the panelists feel appropriate to impart." There will also be a 15 minute Q&A with the audience.

To be part of the pitch competition, you have to apply and pay a $40 fee. It's open to anyone from anywhere around the world. The submission deadline is May 1th, 2010. The details on what you have to submit are below and verbatim from the site. It looks to me like you need a lot of material and maybe the submission guidelines were based on what you need for TV and not created with any particular understanding of web series.

Nonetheless this is another indication that web series are coming of age and considered a real part of the entertainment industry.

The following materials must be included at the time of submission for the Multi-Platform Web Series:

  • Completed pilot episode (digital video up to five (5) minutes running time) to be screened as part of pitch;
  • Budget top sheet
  • Complete series ‘bible’ (includes project synopsis, character breakdown, first season episode descriptions);
  • Bio’s of creative and producing team;
  • Evidence that one (1) of creative and producing team has at least one (1) professional credit on a currently airing or recently aired webisode, music video, - TV commercial, on-line game or feature/short film (link to reel should also be included in submission);
  • It is understood that submitted materials will not be returned.

In all categories, please ensure that all uploaded and submitted documents and materials are clearly labeled with the project title, applicants name, contact telephone and email. All applicants will be contacted via email so please ensure that you provide a working email address.

What do you think? Are you going to apply?

Make An Ad for a Brand Competitions

Posted on Friday, December 04 by Jill

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Is it user gen or pros working on spec?

A number of prominent film festivals are running "make-an-ad-for-a global-brand" competitions. The project is an initiative of MOFILM who describe themselves as follows:

MOFILM is a privately funded company with offices in Manchester, London and San Francisco. Started as an artistic project in early 2007 with the Sundance Institute and GSM Association, MOFILM has grown into a global community of filmmakers working with world-leading brands and distributing content to much of the globe. MOFILM has pioneered 'made-for-mobile' content working with leading filmmakers such as Kevin Spacey, Robert Redford, Isabella Rossellini and Spike Lee to highlight and champion talented MOFILMers from around the world. MOFILM also run the world's largest mobile film festival in Barcelona, Spain once a year in conjunction with the GSM Association, as well as working with leading film festivals, including Shanghai, Cannes, Sundance, Locarno and London.

MOFILM's mission is to allow creative people from anywhere in the world and with any background to 'Get Creative - Get Noticed and Get Famous!' using the MOFILM platform as a base to run 'Make and Ad' and film competitions to showcase talent. Currently MOFILM works with mobile operators in over 50 countries around the world to distribute content to mobile from within the MOFILM community, sharing any revenue 50/50 with filmmakers.

The Barcelona and Tribeca Film Festivals have upcoming competitions. London had one in 2009 and you can see the winners work on the site -- they definitely feel like ads, but they are pretty good. There's also a Pepsi Short Film Competition (download the brief if you're interested) and an American Idol/Warmart video competition (among the prizes, a $5000 Walmart gift card and the chance to "Attend Walmart Saturday morning meeting").

What do you think? Are you grabbing your camera and shooting for fame and fortune? Or do you need a contract before you start work?


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