JayJay Zifanwee of the University of Western Australia (UWA) informs me that The Sci-Fi Film Festival will once again be held in Australia, hosted and sponsored by the Parramatta City Council.
Taking place over the three days of October 30th through November 1st inclusive, the Festival will once again include the Project Sci-Fi Challenge, in which film makers and machinima makers from around the world are challenged to create a short sci-fi film in just 30 days.
The UWA is once again partnering with Project Sci-Fi organisers Screen My Shorts, and will cover the Challenge entry fees for any machinima filmed in Second Life. There is a prize pool of AU $5,750 on offer, and according to JayJay, Second Life machinima makers should be eligible for the Animation and International Film categories as well as the overall prizes.
“We feel that in a SciFi category, those filming in Second Life have a huge advantage over those using conventional filming methods, and we hope that all of you machinimatogtraphers and filmmakers in Second Life use this advantage fully,” Jayjay said.
It has certainly been fertile ground for SL machinima makers in the past. In 2013, Tutsy Navarathna was the best overall winner in the machinima category of the 2013 Challenge (then sponsored by Western Digital) with his brilliant The Residents, a remarkable tale of worlds within worlds, and a clever twist involving SL (seen above), with Erythro Asimov taking the 2nd prize with Looking Around (below), as well as several other prize-winning entries.
So, if you’re interested in applying, take a read through the guidelines linked-to above, and make sure you read the Project Sci-Fi Guidelines and the official rules to fully understand the requirements of entry and the competition time line. When you enter, please consider letting Jayjay know, either via in-world contact or via e-mail (jayjayaustralia-at-hotmail.com), and good luck!
Sponsored by the Parramatta City Council, and a part of the Parramatta Sci-Fi Film Festival activities, the 2014 Project Sci-fi competition, in partnership with Screen My Shorts, challenges filmmakers from around the globe to write, film, edit, produce and upload to YouTube a 3-10 minute long film with a science-fiction theme. On offer are prizes totalling $5,500 Australian dollars.
The competition is open to both live action and machinima entries, and filmmakers are responsible for putting together a team, cast and crew (producers, directors, cinematographers, writers, etc..), as well as securing equipment, locations, and costumes. Each team needs to be represented by a Producer. The challenge sets no limits on age or budget and welcomes all filmmakers.
Films can be submitted by individuals and groups but those wishing to participate must register with the competition by October 3rd, 2014.
When submitting their entires, participants are asked to nominate two of the following themes for their film:
Sci-romance – love between aliens, robots and more! (Can be happy, sad, tragic)
Sci-comedy – sci-fi that is humorous in nature. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a good example of sci-fi comedy
Save the Environment: a theme focuses on saving the dying planet and/or ecosystem
Zombie / disease: a theme focuses on the effect of a disease in the future
Apocalyptic / post-apocalyptic sci-fi: stories about the extinction or near extinction of humankind either by forces of nature or by our own means. Post- focuses on telling the tale of the survivors of an apocalypse
Spy-fy: Science fiction about futuristic spies and espionage, and the effects of technological advancement on their professions
Super hero: stories related to super heroes who get their powers from technology or because they are from another world. Often focuses on futuristic superheroes
Robots / AI – fiction in which the science of Artificial Intelligence and robotics is a central theme, typically relating to Robot stories
First contact / alien: the various scenarios in which humanity makes contact with other civilizations
Social sci-fi: – fiction in which future societies are extrapolated, explained and often criticised, usually for the purpose of social satire. The social sciences are the over-riding theme in this type of fiction; however, science and technology will usually play a central role in the structure of the extrapolated society.
Prior to Kick Off of the competition on Friday, 3rd October 2014 at 7 pm (19:00) local time in each participating city and town , the organisers will then e-mail each entrant with one (1) of their nominated subjects/topics. The entrants then have 30 days in which to make and edit their film. All films must be uploaded to YouTube (and set to Private) no later than midnight local time in each participating city and town on Sunday November 2nd November 2014. An e-mail with the YouTube link should be sent to info@scifilmfestival.com as notification of the film’s completion.
Above: Tutsy Navarathna’s “The Residents“, overall winner in the machinima category of the 2013 Project Sci-Fi challenge
The total prize list for the competition comprises (all in Australian dollars):
SciFi Best Film $2000
Project SciFi Runner Up Film $1000
Project SciFi Best Performance – $500
Project SciFi Best Cinematographers – $500
Project SciFi Best Special Effects – $500
Project SciFi Best Production Design/Art Direction – $500
Project SciFi Best Machinima Film – $300
Runner up Machinima Category – $200
In addition, the UWA has determined that machinima makers wishing to enter the same film to both this challenge and the UWA’s Transcending Borders Machinima Challenge may do so, providing the theme requires of both challenges are met in the same film.
Judging will be by a panel of selected jurors, and a special awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, November 16th 2014 at the RiversIde Theatres, Parramatta, commencing at 18:30 local time, as a part of the Parramatta Sci-fi Film Festival.
For further information, please refer to the links below.
If you had the power to choose to make a film in any time or place in the Universe – when or where would you choose? Another planet or perhaps another time or reality on Earth? Filmmakers, Animators and Machinimographers’ will have 30 days in November, to write, shoot, edit, produce and upload their creative masterpieces.
So read the opening piece for the WD Project Sci-Fi challenge, which I reported upon back in October 2013. As noted, filmmakers, animators and machinima makers were invited to spend 30 days from the 1st November 2013 through until the end of the month writing, shooting, editing and producing a sci-fi short, with a total of $10,000 Aus. in prize money for the winners.
The machinima section of the challenge was held in association with the University of Western Australia, and has $1,500 Aus. (L$230,000) on offer specifically for machinima films, with $750 Aus going to the 1st prize winner, and all machinima entrants additionally in with a chance to win any of the main prizes.
The results of the challenge were announced on December 22nd, and once again, Tutsy Navarathna tops-out the machinima winners with his piece, The Residents, a remarkable tale of worlds within worlds, and a clever twist involving SL.
Following hard on Tutsy’s heels and in 2nd place is the appropriately named (given the sci-fi theme of the challenge) Erythro Asimov, with his piece Looking Around.
The remaining winders in the machinima category comprise:
If you had the power to choose to make a film in any time or place in the Universe – when or where would you choose? Another planet or perhaps another time or reality on Earth? Filmmakers, Animators and Machinimographers’ will have 30 days in November, to write, shoot, edit, produce and upload their creative masterpieces.
So reads the opening piece for the WD Project Sci-Fi challenge. As noted, filmmakers, animators and machinima makers are invited to spend 30 days from the 1st November 2013 through until the end of the month writing, shooting, editing and producing a sci-fi short, with a total of $10,000 Aus. in prize money for the winners.
Entrants must make a short film between 5 and 10 minutes for live action and a promo piece of between 30-60 seconds. Machinima must be between 3 and 10 minutes in length, promo piece optional and no longer than 30 seconds.
To ensure no-one gets a head-start in things, all films submitted must be on one of four colour themes – “everyday life”, “the environment”, “network/connections” and “speed and technology”. Entrants are asked to nominate two of the themes as the potential subject for their film as a part of the registration process. One of their nominated themes will then be allocated to them by the organisers at the start of the competition on November 1st, 2013.
Calling Machinima Makers
As noted above, Project Sci-Fi is open to machinima makers. This section of the competition is being sponsored by the University of Western Australia, and has $1,500 Aus. (L$230,000) on offer as part of the main competition prize pool, with $750 Aus going to the 1st prize winner.
In addition, further prizes are on offer for machinima featuring the UWA Centum created by West Australian Artist, Len Zuks and brought into Second Life by FreeWee Ling. The Centum does not have to be filmed in situ, copies may be taken for use in filming anywhere in Second Life.
The UWA Centrum, Second life – right-click to obtain a copy for filming
Essential Points for Machinima Entries
Entry length to be between 3 to 10 minutes
If entering a promo – maximum length to be 30 seconds
All entries are to be made specifically for the ‘WD Project SciFi’ Competition
Entrants must register before the 1st of November & nominate 2 of the listed themes (see below for how they might be interpreted)
Prizes for machinima will be awarded as follows: 1st prize: $750 Aus (+WD prizes); 2nd prize: $300 Aus; 3rd prize: $150 Aus; 4th and 5th prize: $100 Aus
Entrants can also win any of the overall prizes, including the $,3000 Aus first prize
Further prizes for the inclusion of the UWA Centrum in machinima entries.
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