Cameraless Film Competition
This competition has now closed. Judging will take place in January 2021.
If you have entered and need to send in your final edit, please click on the final submissions tab, in the above menu for more information.
What is it?
The moving image is an illusion created by a series of images played in a quick succession. Although usually done with a movie camera or computer, there are endless possibilities to create a moving image.
The ‘Cameraless Film Competition’ is the opportunity to create an animated short film by directly manipulating the surface of 16mm film materials. By purchasing our entry pack, you’ll receive two rolls of 16mm film leader, each 25 foot in length, one coloured black, the other transparent. You can also enhance you entry pack with additional tools which we’ve made available when purchasing, such as a metal scribe for scratching directly into the films and an assortment of fine tipped permanent coloured pens.
This is the perfect isolation activity. You won’t need to go out and film anything.
PLUS: For every entry fee paid received, £3 will be donated to the David Lynch Foundation Campaign ‘Heal The Healers Now’. Read the following excerpt from the David Lynch Foundation homepage.
’Heal the Healers Now’ is an initiative launched by the David Lynch Foundation and US TM Organization to provide stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation to medical providers who are battling the coronavirus pandemic. This wellness program has already been offered in hospitals and clinics nationally, resulting in significant reductions in physician burnout, insomnia and symptoms of post-traumatic stress over a three-month period in those practicing the TM technique.’
Your Brief
Create. It could be an animated story, poem, mood piece, music video, abstraction or moving artwork. It’s up to you. You could heat, scratch, scrape, colour, or cut the leader. The possibilities are endless, as long as you do not use a camera.
Once you’ve completed your manipulations, post them back to us and we will scan to HD 2.6K and send your RAW ProRes file(s) for additional editing. In edit, you can add sound or music (with copyright clearance), colour grade, add digital effects, alter the frame rate and crop as you see fit.
There are just a few very simple rules: You must only use footage from the scanned file we send back to you, and your final film must be no longer than three minutes long. You can enter as many times as you like, but you are limited to just one final edit per entry. You can however, combine multiple entries into one final piece, as long as it meets our time limit criteria.
Please either submit your final edit in the resolution that we scanned it at (2640 x 2048 px) or if you wish to crop it send the cropped file @ 2048 x 1536 px. Please encode the final edit as an Apple Pro Res Proxy .mov or high bit rate MP4. Please ensure the file is no bigger than 2GB. When the time approaches for the final submission of your edit - we will send you an upload link.
You cannot submit any material for scanning that you’ve worked on previously. All entry packs carry a unique code imprinted on the headers of the leader we provide. When you submit your manipulations for scanning we’ll need to see this code, intact.
Entrants under 18 years of age will need consent from a parent or guardian. A consent form will be sent out with your entry pack and we’ll ask that this is signed and sent back to us prior to you commencing work on your reels.
How to Enter
The entry pack is available here. For £28 ex VAT (£33.60 incl VAT) + postage, you will receive 50ft of 16mm film leader (25 foot of transparent and 25 foot of black) each on it’s own core. Your entry fee also includes a 2.6K HD scan of your film, once you’ve completed your manipulations.
You will be given an official competition voucher with a unique number (also imprinted on your film). We will post out in batches every few days, so don’t worry if your pack takes a week or so to arrive. Make sure to get your finished rolls back to us by the deadline of 15th November 2020. We will notify you when we receive your film and will scan within five working days. The digital file will be sent to you via MyAirBridge.com and your reels posted back to you. The final deadline for submission of your edit will be 15th December 2020, although if we receive a greater number of entrants than anticipated we may extend this deadline.
We will be in touch about showcasing and winners by early to mid January 2021. Please read our full terms and conditions.
Do’s & Don’ts
Please do not use thick paints that crack (such as acrylics), as being spooled-up and run through a high tension film scanner makes these materials crack and peel off the film, choking the scanner mechanism and ruining your creation. Permanent inks (i.e. coloured Sharpies), scratches and tape all work well.
Please do not use dangerous or non-drying materials. This includes but is not limited to oil paints, grease, metals (e.g. solder or metal filings), poisons and biohazards. We reserve the right to disqualify your entry if our technicians consider the materials you’ve used could damage the scanner or present a health hazard.
Keep the perforation holes intact and clear on your film. The scanner uses a laser to shine through these perforations to register your film frame accurately. If these holes are torn, blocked or otherwise compromised your reels will not scan correctly.
Be wary of warping, shrinking or creasing your film too much, as it may not pass through the scanner successfully.
Please be careful! If using heat, sharp styli, blades or solvent based products please use your common sense. Observe manufacturer precautions and instructions at all times.
We provide you with both black and opaque 16mm leader. The opaque leader is ideal for colouring with paints or permanent markers, whereas the black leader is more ideally suited for scratching into as it has a removable black layer (on the duller side of the film). Please bear in mind that if you colour the black leader (without scratching into it’s black layer first), the scanner will struggle to see colour on the black leader and you may not get the results you hope for.
Prizes
By entering this competition your entry will be exhibited here at the On8mil.space Gallery and you will be invited to our first post-lockdown social/screening event in London.
Five runners-up will all each receive two Super 8 colour films including free processing and 4K scan.
The winner will receive a newly refurbished Beaulieu 4008 ZM II professional Super 8 camera including new battery pack, charger and carry case, reconditioned by former
Beaulieu
camera maker Bjorn Anderson, plus two Kodak Vision 3 Super 8 films including processing and 4K best light scans. Total winning prize worth over £1200!
Examples
Here are some cameraless videos we like. They might serve as inspiration.
