24CHCH23

WINNER

PIE FACE

RUNNER-UP

THE MONKEY HOUSE
"Solitary Beatlemania"

Our 2023 Sponsors!

November 2023

Our 2023 Sponsors!

The Screening

WHEN: 7pm, Saturday 28 March 2026
WHERE: Little Andromeda (pencilled)
HOW MUCH: Tickets $15 ($5 student/unwaged)Where do I buy tickets for the screening?
We will give teams a code for early access to purchase tickets to the screening event, and then after about a week we’ll open it up for everyone to be able to buy tickets. Watch this space for more details. It’s a good reason to register early.If I participate, do I have to go to the screening on the Saturday night?
No, but we’d love to see all participating teams represented there if possible. It will be heaps of fun, and the point is to get together at the end of the shoot and enjoy each other’s films.Can non-participants attend the screening too?
Yes, anyone can buy tickets for the screening (as long as it doesn’t sell out, that is!). We’ll give teams first dibs for about a week though, before we make tickets available to the Gen Pop.What’s all this about “awards” after the screening?
That’s right, we’ll be giving out some awards. Unless we come up with new ideas, it’ll be the same eight as last time which are:
3x best use of element awards (1 for each element)
3x categories that the judges come up with as they watch the films (yup, it’s that open ended folks)
Runner up
WinnerOkay, so we’ve got awards… do we have prizes too?
There will be some prizes! Think vouchers etc. We aren’t going to be giving out expensive cameras for best cinematography or anything – we kind of like keeping the stakes as low as possible because we like to see what you make when the most important thing you have to do is delight us.But as we all know, the greatest prize and award is glory and the adoration of your peers.If you’re in a position to donate a prize – please get in touch with us!Getting safely home from the screening
We are mindful that some of you may end up not sleeping at all on the Friday night, and some of you might want to make use of our bar. If either or both of these is you, consider whether you will be in a safe state to drive a vehicle home after the screening - we recommend you coordinate with a team member, a friend or another team to have a designated well-rested driver.

The Rules

*NOTE: The organisers reserve the right to change the rules prior to the start of the competition. However, any changes made will be clearly notified on the event and communicated to participants.Most importantly:
The spirit of this competition is that you go away, go nuts with your imagination for 24 hours, come back and show us whatever wild creation you’ve made. It’s run by volunteers and just designed to be a bit of fun in between the big 48 Hours Film Festival competition times.What will the required elements be?
We will announce the elements at the launch. In general, it will have some similarities to 48Hours required elements, but with our own spin on things.What we can say is that teams will not be given a genre, so feel free to start thinking in advance about what style of film you want to make, if you like to preplan things like that.What if I can’t be at the Friday launch event?
Awww, that’s a shame. But no worries, if you really can’t be there, let us know so we’re not up all night worried sick like a concerned parent. And you’ll still get to find out the elements - we’ll be sharing the details online shortly after the in-person launch (by 6.30pm at the latest), for everyone to see.So, no more than 3 minutes, huh?That’s quite short, isn’t it?
Yes and no. Yes, if you’re used to making 5- or even 7-minute films for 48Hours. Unless you’re remembering the special 48Hours of 2020 when it was a 3-minute maximum. Good times. And if you remember that then you know exactly what we’re talking about.3 minutes is obviously shorter, which means your script should be even tighter. Keep it simple, one scene maybe, think the rhythms of sketch comedy, think music videos, find ways to be efficient with your storytelling, get rid of dialogue except where it’s really necessary in your story, show don’t tell. The Briscoes lady sells us a duvet, a dinnerware set and some lovely throw pillows in 30 seconds, I’m sure you can sell us something in 2-3 minutes.But also, no, 3 minutes is still a lot of film to make. The truth is, making a 3-minute film is actually not much less work than making a 5-minute film - you still have to brainstorm, write a script, travel to locations, say “action!” lots, edit the film, maybe do some fancy titles or effects or write some nice music, it all adds up. So be prepared for that.How strict will you be on the duration thing?
For starters, no such thing as too short, we’re all good with 3-minute films and 3-second films. But we are totally going to enforce the high-end, strictly no longer than 3 minutes, cos we like short shorts. Well, maybe we’ll let a few extra seconds go unnoticed if we’re feeling generous. But! if you go a noticeable amount over 3 minutes, our tech is instructed to move on to the next one. You have been warned!

Some good advice!

Any tips for how to structure the 24 hours?
Let’s work out a thread closer to the time for people who have done the competition to share their tips!What about music for my film? What are my options?
If you think you’re up for it, we would love to see teams create original music for their films. But let’s be real, a) not everyone has the chops to do that, and b) even if you can do that, 24 hours is very little time to do it in.Other than original music, there are free music libraries available online. Do your research in advance, read the fine-print (e.g. make sure you’re only using music that is royalty-free), and be sure to include appropriate acknowledgements in your credits.Is there anything I can’t include in my film?
We’re not prudes, and we want to respect your artistic freedom and all that. But there are obviously some lines in terms of objectionable content that we don’t want crossed. Hopefully what those are should be clear, but please contact us if you’re unsure which side of the line your masterpiece falls on.We won’t get a chance to properly review films prior to the screening so there’s going to be a bit of trust here. But we reserve the right to cut your film off mid-screening if we feel it’s inappropriate.Upon hand-in, we will ask you whether your film contains any content unsuitable for children, eg explicit language, nudity, adult themes. This probably won’t stop us from screening your film, but it will help us to programme the screening strategically and warn the audience in advance.48 Hours says this (we feel the same way): When in doubt, cut it out.Am I allowed to prepare anything prior to the 24 filmmaking period?
Great question. Ultimately this is your decision, in terms of how much you want to be restrained by the rules, versus this just being an excuse/motivation to get a film made. Either option is valid, although we would ideally like for at least the majority of your film idea and creation to be made within the 24-hour period, to preserve the spirit of the thing.Can I use pre-existing footage in my film?
Again, the more that’s made within the 24-hour period, the better. But if it’s your own footage, all good. If it’s not yours, just remember that all the usual copyright rules apply. If in doubt, don’t use it.If the rules are unclear:
This competition is (even) less serious than our big/legitimate brother at 48 hours, so PLEASE don’t get too hung up on the rules. We’d love you to delight us. Last year, somebody finished their film by cutting to live action in the theatre. Iconic.But if you’re really unsure, contact us and ask!
Text Michael: 021 223 6693Are under-18’s allowed to participate?
Absolutely! You’re allowed in our licensed premises too, you’re just not allowed to purchase booze from the bar :-)Test your workflow!
Speaking of things you can do before the weekend, please check your workflow. Make a practice 30 second film and make sure everything works the way you expect it to.

Handing in your film!

What does our film’s video file need to include?- TITLE CARD
At the beginning of the video (i.e. before your film), please include a title card onscreen for 5 seconds, white text on black background. It should say:
Your team name
Your film name- YOUR FILM
Note that the 3-minute maximum length does not include the 5-second title card, but it does include any film credits you may have.What file and video format should we submit in?
We’ll do our best to make anything play for the screening, but please make our jobs easier by not handing in weird and obscure video file formats.Our preferred format is the same as the 48Hours competition format:1080p (1920x1080)
.mp4 file
H.264 Encoding
Video bit rate average 10Mbps (max 12Mbps)
Audio in stereo (two channels)
Audio bit rate 192kbps
Audio sample rate 48kHzPlease feel free to read the following notes too:FRAME RATE:
Export in whatever frame rate you shot in which is likely to be either 23.98fps, 24fps, 25fps or 29.97fps. No need to convert.FILE CONTAINER:
We’d really prefer that you don’t export in .wmv or .avi but we’ll probably be able to play it if that’s what you have to.RESOLUTION:
1080p is preferred. If you’d like to hand it in UHD then do so and it should be fine (although our projector is 1080p). If you have time to make a 1080p backup then great.BIT RATE:
Aim for 10Mbps. (If you do UHD then no more than 25Mbps.)
ENCODING:
If you’re choosing between “1 pass” and “2 pass” encoding, I’d probably recommend “1 pass” if you’re in a hurry. We’re going to use the file once for the screening so that extra pass isn’t worth getting DQ’d over. You can upload your video in higher quality later.FILE SIZE:
Your file should be a few hundred megabytes (well, it should be less than 100 megabytes per minute of film). If your file is more than a gigabyte then you’ve definitely done it wrong. And if it’s more than a gigabyte, it will take longer to transfer as well as risk of dropped frames if our computer doesn’t keep up. As long as you aim for 10Mbps for the video track bit rate, the file size should work out about right.Please don’t hesitate to text Michael on 021 223 6693 if you have any questions or issues.How should we name the file?
Please name the file as your team’s name and 24CHCH26, e.g. OURTEAMNAME24CHCH26.mp4
E.g. TOOTTOOT24CHCH26.mp4
(But don’t write TOOTTOOT, write your team name)What if I can’t find a USB stick?
Buy one. They’re really handy. And if you ask nicely, we’ll even hand it back to you once we’ve copied your film off it. If you really can’t find one, you can WeTransfer the file to us ([email protected]) and you need to still arrive at the Little A finish line by 6pm with a piece of paper that has the words RELEASE FORM written on it. That will satisfy us.Wait! Before you leave the house, send us a copy online!
To be clear, this doesn’t replace physical hand-in at the finish line, but it’s a safety option - for example, if your USB stick is corrupted and we can’t read the file on it. Also, we’d rather you didn’t drive like a maniac to get to Little A by 6pm, so just calmly send us a copy first via WeTransfer, then get to the venue as soon as you can.Go to: wetransfer.com
Follow the instructions
In the Email to field, put: [email protected]What if I can’t physically hand in the film at Little A for some reason?
Look, we really like the whole in-person finish line aspect, but we’re not going to be dicks about it. If you’ve got a really good pre-planned reason (e.g. that you have work or something), talk to us first so we know the plan, and then use WeTransfer as per the details above. But we still expect to see you at Little A shortly after for the screening…