Time to enter 48hr Film Race

KNYSNA NEWS - With two weeks to go until the start of this year's 48 Hour Race Film Race, organisers have put out a call to budding and aspiring filmmakers to ready themselves.

The minds behind the Garden Route International Film Festival (Griff) which is all set for 23 September to 12 October, are also behind the second annual 48 Hour Film Race.

On the Griff website, the Film Race is described as "a crazy, fun-filled weekend in which you have 48 hours to write, shoot, and edit a movie".

The Film Race is scheduled to get underway on Friday 17 September, and at 19:00 that night each team/individual that has entered will receive the genre, prop, and line of dialogue to include in their film.

The entrants then have the weekend to put their movie together and on Sunday night the film, which must be between three and five minutes long, has to be submitted digitally online. .

Alongside the chance that the best films will be screened during the Griff, there are also great prizes to be won.

"The Film Race aims to afford filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their talent and get everyone excited to make movies in the Garden Route," Griff's website reads. The kick-off event will be streamed live via Facebook and YouTube at 18:00 on Friday 17 September where organisers will give some last-minute tips and announce the start of the event. The genre, prop, and line of dialogue will be sent to entrants an hour later.

There are three different categories that people can enter, enabling enough scope for anyone and everyone with an interest in film-making to enter the competition. In the 'Amateur' category entrants are only allowed to use a mobile phone for filming and only use natural or existing light.

You may use a microphone that is plugged into the phone. You are not allowed to use any type of grips other than a tripod. Editing can be done on the phone, a tablet, or a PC. You can only use royalty-free music and SFX.

Things ramp up a bit in the 'Semi-Pro' category where you are allowed to film with a DSLR camera or consumer-level handy cam. You are allowed to record audio with any type of microphone but recording must be done directly onto the camera while you shoot video.

You are allowed to use lights, a tripod and a gimbal. No drone footage is allowed. You can edit on any device, but you are not allowed to make use of any visual effects that do not come standard with the editing programme that you decide to use. You may only use royalty-free music and SFX.

In the 'Professional' category it is pretty much open season. You can shoot on any camera and use any grips, audio gear, and lighting. There is no limit on editing and visual effects. You are allowed to use a drone, but only if you can legally fly it within the rules set out by the South African Civil Aviation Authority.