Film Forum West Midlands

Filmrats is upon us again on Wednesday 22nd July at the Bristol Pear in Selly Oak. Entry’s £1.50, so pop along and remember to send your short films in DVD format for future screenings to Filmrats, Flat 3, 889 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6ND

Local filmmaker, Olly Jones of Better Feeling Films is looking for an actress in her early to late 20s for 5-6 days during August for their feature, Lost in the Headlights. Expenses and food will be provided. The film centers on a rock band who have to deal with the tragic loss of one of there members.

They are also looking for extras for gig/pub and party scenes, as well as still being in need for a DoP.

Contact Oliver Jones for more details at: betterfeelingfilms@gmail.com

You can find more details about Lost in the Headlights here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=86061531543

http://viewaskew.com/theboard/viewtopic.php?t=68419

Tony Wilkes is on the look out for an animator to work on some limited animation for 2  one minute scenes. As the budget is self funded the rate is £75/min of footage.

Here’s Tony’s explaination of the scenes:

• A spaceship in space – there’s some narration about emotions, and different parts of the ship light up accordingly; and there is a face in the middle of it that reacts to the different emotions. The spaceship would look something like the ELO album cover, if you know the one I’m talking about, and the camera would move around it. Originally thought this would be 3D modelled, but I’m sure it would look just as good in Flash.

• A Doom-type scene, first person perspective – a guy walks around in the dark with a big gun, until he bumps into other people (traffic warden, Big Issue seller, little girl with a balloon), screams and runs away firing wildly. Some designing of characters, but as they are sprites they only need a few frames of animation each.

In terms of quality, it’s simple and effective rather than detailed and involved – I wouldn’t want people working away for weeks. If it’s recognisable and it moves, it’s fine. Both scenes are approximately sixty seconds long. I could pay you £75 each scene. Not a lot I know, but I’m trying my best.

The scenes don’t really work as standalone pieces as the animation tends to support the narration in the film. I can send through the pages if you’re interested.

So if you are interested contact Tony Wilkes at: tonywilkes@hotmail.com

Film Forum members Kelly Kaos and Kel Webbo of Kaos Productions have launched 2009′s Halloween Monster Movie Challenge. The challenge is to make a 5-10 minute film that contain only monsters (NO humans!) by the 19th October.

To enter the competition email monstermoviechallenge@hotmail.com with your team name. They will then send you three lines of dialogue. One of which will must be in your film for it to be a valid entry (this is so we know it was made specifically for the competition). They will also send you a postal address to send your entry to.

Submission is open now and the deadline is the 19th October.

The location of the screening event will soon be confirmed apparently, so we’ll keep you posted on the events section of the site. Non-filmmakers will be welcome to go along to the screening and should prove to be gut gushing, boogie-faced fun.

If you’ve got any questions or queries send an email to monstermoviechallenge@hotmail.com or visit the Facebook Group

Here’s the competition rules:

• Films must be 5-10 minutes in length (including credits)
• ONLY feature monsters. NO human beings! Monsters can include: vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein’s monster (or variants), zombies, swamp monsters, mummies, ghouls, etc.
• You must use at least one of the lines of dialogue provided to you by the organisers to count as a valid film.
• All entries must be submitted on a DV Tape or DVD and must have a 16:9 ratio.
• Films must not contain copyrighted material. The filmmaker is responsible for the content of their work and all copyrights must be obtained by the filmmakers prior to their submission.
• Film must not contain any pornographic or hate-related content.
• The judges’ decision is final and they reserve the right not to accept an entry without explanation.
• No allowances can be made for late entries.
• All films must be in English or have Engish subtitles
• All filmmakers must be 18+
• All films must be made between the opening date (1st July) and the submission date (19th October)

See the fruits of The Great Animation Challenge, the best entries to last year’s Flip Animation Festival and chew the fat with Animation Forum WM members at the next Animation Forum West Midlands event, Out Of Hours: Animation on Tuesday 21st July 2009 at the Light House, Wolverhampton.

The event starts at 7pm, with screenings of The Great Animation Challenge entries preceded by the best animation from Flip Festival 2008 and a talk by stop-motion animator behind Small Birds Singing Linda McCarthy. Following this, the results of The Great Animation Challenge will be announced with the competition entries screened in the courtyard area. The Great Animation Challenge is the culminatation of a competition run by Animation Forum WM, Flip and Imagine Magazine over the summer which gave animators tracks from several up and coming bands to download and animate to.

The evening will continue with a chance for a chat over a drink with fellow animators in Lock Works, the Light House café and bar.

To attend this free event, simply RSVP via the Facebook group or by email.

(via Sarah Arnesen & The Light House) Local filmmaker, Nerina Villa, has been commissioned by Screen West Midlands to make a short film and is looking for participants from the general public to be stars of her production. Nerina is an experienced documentary director who has made films for Channel 4 and regional ITV and has been shortlisted for a Royal Television Society Award. Her new film is called Ladies Loos and takes a comical look at what girls get up to in toilets, revealing why they never go by themselves and why they always take so long. The production team for Ladies Loos has already filmed at Gatecrasher and the Custard Factory in Birmingham with great success using Light House’s new HD camera equipment. Nerina said,

You can go in to the ladies loos and talk to a complete stranger about anything, knowing the moment you walk out you’ll never speak to them again. We are now looking for pairs and groups of girls to be filmed on their nights out. If you always seem to have a dramatic night out and someone ends up in the loos crying, or arguing, or worrying about boys, then maybe you could be part of the film! So if you’ve got a birthday or hen do or just a big night out please get in touch and be part of our short film!

Ladies interested in taking part in the film should email Nerina Villa at: villaspeedy@aol.com

Rage Arts are looking for an experienced editor to edit a short film they will be making with a group of young people from 23 July to enter into a number of short film festivals.

They are looking to appoint an editor on a self-employed basis the total fee payable is £250 inclusive. To apply please send your showreel to 48 Upper Ashley Street Halesowen,B62 8HJ with a covering letter.

All other correspondence should be by email to Owen Radmore through Rage’s contact form.

To find out more visit here and here.

To see a previous short film made by young people from the same organisation visit here.

The opportunity is also listed on Talent Circle.