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Hey there film lovers! If you follow Barigord Studios regularly, you know we like to enter the International Film Races. These are timed competitions, with required elements, where the goal is complete a film. We’ve done a few of these now, and we’ve done pretty well. Better than I ever could have imagined.
These are hard competitions. Making a film is hard. The time crunch, and the required stuff make it even harder because you can’t just do whatever, whenever, however best it suits you. I find the hardest thing to be scheduling people, and getting them out to do a volunteer contest film in the first place. A lot of such film endeavors fail.
Some are made, but with enormous compromises. Some are okay, but flawed in some way. Some are legit great. I think everyone aims for legit great, but honestly, how does one do that?
My biggest hurdle for this one is getting some cast together, but if you wanted to take part in this or other film races (and you can – click here) I have some recommendations, tips and tricks for you!
Film Race Overall Strategy
Keep Flexible! The required elements will never be what you expect.
Do things in advance whenever possible, like preparing paperwork and starting a timeline in the editing software.
Scheduling
Set clear blocks of time for writing, filming, and editing.
Some overlap can occur. Filming can start if enough of an unfinished script is ready, and editing should start as soon as possible.
In the case of a multi-day film race, having at least the final day set aside for editing is essential.
Be prepared for your people to be late, lost, or not make it at all. Remember they are doing you a huge favour, and don’t fault them for these things if they happen. Instead, don’t design a schedule that falls apart if someone is late.
Food and sleep are not necessary evils, they are your fuel and your reset. If you cannot find time to eat and rest properly, the production is going to suffer for it.
Hungry actors need to eat, even if they’re not doing much for most of the day. A pizza or two is a small price to pay for happy actors, and keeps them on set instead of off looking for lunch.
Writing
You can’t really write in advance, but…
You can know what you have, and what sorts of scenes and plot progressions you can get out of that. More specifically, you’ll ideally know what actors you have, and what locations you have access to. If you have two actors, and can use a cafe for a whole day, a lot of your plan should revolve around that.
By the same token, this isn’t the time to dream big, then let a director figure it out. Write to what you have, not to what you wish you had. Probably no space operas.
Having some loose plot structures in your back pocket is a good idea. For our 24hr film this year, Window of Opportunity, a Top 10 finalist, I used a time-jump structure to frame the writing. That means there’s a scene, then we jump forward in time to another scene, and again, and so on. That was one of several structures I had in my pocket in advance as something we could do with the 2 actors we had, regardless of what the plot or the characters ended up being.
Another way to frame things is with a technique. We’ve used stop-motion several times now, both with humans and Lego people. Knowing you’re going to use something like that, or another specific technique like a silent film, can work to your advantage when writing.
A final way to have a writing plan is choose a genre. This is risky because it might directly conflict with the required elements, and for the 72hr Horror film race, might not be an option at all. It also can require a lot of specific set/costume/prop stuff that isn’t worth it.
Horror is always a popular choice as a genre, as making comedy is much harder than making fake intestines. Something that works really well for a large cast of well-meaning people with little experience is a mockumentary.
Cast
Availability, reliability, and enthusiasm are the best traits of contest film actors.
Reaching out to your actors to find out what sort of roles they’d like to play is a great source of material for your writers, will make your actors happy, and will usually give you a window into what wardrobe options your actors have. Also get their dietary restrictions, etc.
If you have a large number of parts to give out for some reason, assign the parts rather than get the actors to figure it out. We’ve done stop-motion Lego with lots of characters and actors playing multiple parts, and it’s just better that way.
Schedule actors so that they arrive early, have lots of prep time, and can deal with parking or transit. Ideally have a place ready for them to sit, and if possible get them to sign a form right away. Film sets are fun, and actors can be very social, so it’s important to keep them focused.
Crew
Have realistic expectations, and be grateful to everyone willing to put their time and energy into crewing for the film. Food and other refreshment go a long way, and really should be required.
That being said, and this goes for actors as well, there is still a professional standard required. Safety is always paramount, as is the comfort and personal well-being of everyone on set.
Do not underestimate sound, or assume appropriate music will be easy to find or make. If you’re not sure, you might need a person to help do this. Many, many contest films have poor sound.
Do not underestimate editing, or assume it’ll just get done. You need an editor. Or else you don’t make a film. The end. If this person is working for free, shower them in all the love and appreciation you can afford.
If you are not satisfied with the results of someone editing for you for free, learn to edit.
Equipment
Getting a camera is easy. If you have a smartphone, you have a camera. Beyond that, it’s a matter of taking better ownership of how the film looks. But if your plot is great, and your actors are great, don’t let only having a phone hold you back. Just get the footage.
Phone cameras, and even great DSLR cameras, often have terrible onboard sound recording. In addition to that, you will be dealing with ambient noise, which will be a big roar when you up the volume to hear the actors. Make a plan. Rent or buy microphones, or go silent. Maybe even dub it.
Make sure the editor has an appropriate editing computer. This is usually a simple check, but you never know.
If you’re inside, make sure someone knows the basics of lighting for camera, and that you have lights to do this. If not, and things are going to look terrible, daylight is your best friend.
As with everything else, use what you have, not what you wish you had. But also don’t feel like you have to use something just because you have it, like a green screen.
Sets/Locations
Lock these up beforehand. Don’t leave them to chance or the last minute.
Keep things simple and ambiguous if possible. Try to avoid locations that need a lot of prep, or need to be created out of your living room somehow.
That being said, your living room can play a lot of parts. All your rooms can. Sometimes it’s just a matter of framing. Any interior shot with a brick background in a Barigord film, like Friday Evenings Together, our 72hr 2023 Top 10 finalist film, is in front of a 4’x4′ square of fake brick paneling you can buy at many hardware stores.
If you’re lucky enough to secure someone’s home, business or other property, give them love and respect and credits. Providing a location in this way can totally be an Executive Producer credit. Treat this location like it’s yours. Take ownership of all damage immediately. Only leave when it’s back to standard.
Props/Costumes
Keep things simple. Don’t have 100 props and several changes of clothes for every character. Figure out if someone is only seen from the waist up in most shots, and if they are, same pants/skirt and shoes for all of it.
Actors have clothes that fit them. Unless you need a very specific clothing item, they’ll likely wear something they brought. If they audition at all, they likely already know not to wear logos or those shirts that mess with the camera. Watch out for those shirts! Plain colour/no pattern is safe.
One of the required elements for these specific film competitions is a prop, so put your prop energy into that first and foremost.
Avoid guns and other weapons unless it’s a parody or something. Same goes for the kit/uniforms for police/army/etc. Most available options will be Hallowe’en quality. You may also run into trouble filming in public with weapons.
If you don’t have someone who can do hair and/or makeup, don’t ask for anything more than normal, ‘everyday’ looks from cast. It’s also best to let actors know in advance and get them to arrive to set ready for camera. They’ll be just fine.
Expectations
These film races are contests. If you enter, some part of you not only wants to win, but thinks you can. This is okay. This is actually good. And even if you fail, it’s still the way you should approach things.
That does mean you need to be smart about things. Not winning is the most likely outcome. Finishing a film is a huge achievement, even if it’s low quality. Trying to win at all costs is the easiest way to fail hard.
One great way to think about expectations is continuity, ie. is this film process repeatable in any way? Why/why not?
Sometimes the reasons are a total grey area. Did it not get the job done? Did it turn all your friends against you despite producing a great film? Did it work well as a film-making process, even if this particular film wasn’t great? Does this process make me even want to make more films?
The real prize from the film races is the ability to execute a film. If you are a finalist, you get a laurel, an IMDb listing for the film, and a poster/trailer that you learn to make by making them. Some of the films may find distribution, but the goal here is experience and career-building, which is something all entrants can come away with.
Conclusion
The 100hr film Race 2023 starts at 5pm PST on Thursday, December 7th. We’re registered, and looking to make something really awesome.
As always, I’d love to promise an ongoing journal of the race, with behind-the-scenes photos, and as always, I’ll do my best, but once the race gets going, my focus is on making the film. Can’t wait!
Thanks for Reading!
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