All About Film Racing

Film races are contests designed to give filmmakers a fun exercise in teamwork, creativity, and beating the clock. They are located all over the country, and are typically open to anyone and everyone.

RULES:
This is how film races typically work: Late at night, usually between 10pm and midnight, filmmakers will meet up at a certain designated place. There, they will be given their prompts. Prompts range from themes, actions, lines of dialogue, and locations, and must be incorporated into the film. The maximum length of the film is typically between 3 and 7 minutes. After receiving the prompts, the filmmakers must have their film made, burned onto DVD or tape, and turned back in within the time limit. Film races usually run 24-48 hours. Sometimes, rather than meeting at a specific location to begin the race, filmmakers are emailed the prompts. However, all the other rules still apply.

WINNING:
Every team that turns in a video on time that meets the requirements is considered a qualifier. If your tape/DVD is turned in after the deadline, you are disqualified, and your video doesn't get to compete. Typically within a couple weeks of the deadline, the films are screened for different awards. By process of elimination, a panel of judges knocks out a certain number of films, leaving just a few finalists. Those films are usually screened once more, and voted on again to determine an overall winner. Some film races have different categories, I.E. The Dallas 24 Hour Film Race. These categories typically have to do with age groups and number of people within your team. However, some just have one general race without a category breakdown, for instance, Austin.

STRATEGIES:
It's very difficult to go into a film race with a pre-arranged script or idea, because the prompts are often very specific. Many people also consider this cheating. Judges can tell very easily when filmmakers have randomly spliced a prompt into their pre-made script, and typically save their votes for the more creative productions. The entire point and fun of film races is being prompted to think of a creative idea on the fly. When teams bounce around the guidelines, they are just cutting corners to win, and this is not an attractive quality for judges. The best strategy is to have good team preparation. Know who will be directing, who will be acting, who will be writing before receiving the prompt. It is sometimes a good idea to establish what genre you plan to do before getting the prompt, as well. Know what your strength as a crew is: comedy? Drama? Action? Know at least that much going into the contest.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:
Film Races are usually held in the more popular metropolitan areas of each state. In Texas, for instance, contests are held in Dallas, Houston, and Austin. The best way to find out where they are held where you live is to do a quick google search. Plenty of different companies sponsor different contests. Some contests have a bit more prestige than others, but the goal is to just have fun. If you want to compete, and there's a contest near you, go for it. Don't worry about how "big" the contest is, and don't worry about how shoddy your equipment may be compared to others. Judges are able to look past this, and take a good assessment at style and substance. Plus, it's about having fun. Guidelines for signing up should be available on the contests' main websites.

EXAMPLES:
Examples of some prompts may include: "Healing" for theme, "A coin toss" for an action, "A sports field" for a location, "I'm sick of all this" for a line of dialogue. Usually, competitors aren't given this many prompts, but you never quite know what your combination will be.

I personally competed in and won the 2009 Austin Film Race, which took place in April of this year. Our film, "Breathe", as well as the runner ups, are located here. Our theme was "Hunger" and our action was "A wave". These are some examples of how the videos turn out once they are completed. If you browse around the website, you will find top films from prior contests and other cities, as well.