Apply to Filmworks
Filmworks nurtures original student-created films from the page to the screen through “run and gun” filmmaking.
2020 Filmworks Deadline - October 24, 2020
Submissions open September 15, 2020
Email submissions to Steward Savage
Deadline
Filmmakers may submit work for consideration from September 15 until October 24. Early submissions are encouraged. All filmmakers will be notified shortly after the deadline about the status of their submission. Submissions will not be acknowledged when received.
Procedure
Filmmakers should submit their entries themselves; 12-point type is preferred. The cover page of each submission should include the title of the film, your name and email address, your school name and troupe number, and your troupe director’s name and email address.
Eligibility
Filmmakers must be active members of the International Thespian Society enrolled in high school during the current school year. The critics’ choice of any state’s Thespian Filmworks will automatically be considered for the national Thespian Filmworks.
Guidelines
All submissions must be the original work of no more than one Thespian. We will not consider collaborations, adaptations, or works that include music, lyrics, or dialogue created by anyone other than the submitting filmmaker. Filmmakers may submit more than one screenplay of 10 minutes or less for consideration, but each entry must include THE REQUIRED ELEMENTS BELOW. The work can be in one or more of the following genres: dark comedy, suspense thriller, romantic comedy, zombie/virus, or sports film. All submissions should include a five- to ten-page screenplay in standard format and a short essay (no more than 500 words) about where they found the concept or inspiration for their work.
General Guidelines and Tips
Required Elements
All of the following elements must be contained within your short film. Placing them in the credits or in a post-credits sequence does NOT count. Look for ways to organically and seamlessly incorporate the required elements into your script/film instead of tacking them on.
Workshops
The program culminates in screenings of the films (or portions of them) for the Texas Thespian Festival audience.
Rights
All work is protected by copyright from the moment it’s created. Filmmakers own their films and have exclusive control of the rights to produce, publish, and adapt them. By submitting work to Thespian Filmworks, you agree to allow Texas Thespians (at its discretion) to screen your film. The society may also (at its discretion) publish your script (or portions of it). All other rights remain the exclusive property of the filmmaker.
For more information on Film Works contact Steward Savage.
2020 Filmworks Deadline - October 24, 2020
Submissions open September 15, 2020
Email submissions to Steward Savage
Deadline
Filmmakers may submit work for consideration from September 15 until October 24. Early submissions are encouraged. All filmmakers will be notified shortly after the deadline about the status of their submission. Submissions will not be acknowledged when received.
Procedure
Filmmakers should submit their entries themselves; 12-point type is preferred. The cover page of each submission should include the title of the film, your name and email address, your school name and troupe number, and your troupe director’s name and email address.
Eligibility
Filmmakers must be active members of the International Thespian Society enrolled in high school during the current school year. The critics’ choice of any state’s Thespian Filmworks will automatically be considered for the national Thespian Filmworks.
Guidelines
All submissions must be the original work of no more than one Thespian. We will not consider collaborations, adaptations, or works that include music, lyrics, or dialogue created by anyone other than the submitting filmmaker. Filmmakers may submit more than one screenplay of 10 minutes or less for consideration, but each entry must include THE REQUIRED ELEMENTS BELOW. The work can be in one or more of the following genres: dark comedy, suspense thriller, romantic comedy, zombie/virus, or sports film. All submissions should include a five- to ten-page screenplay in standard format and a short essay (no more than 500 words) about where they found the concept or inspiration for their work.
General Guidelines and Tips
- All facets of your film must be completed for this contest and should not contain any stock footage or previously shot footage.
- All work must be student driven. Teachers and adults should serve in advisory capacities only.
- Adults may be used as on-screen talent. In fact, when your script calls for an adult character, it is always best practice to cast an adult in that role instead of trying to have a teenager attempt to “play older.”
- Any music you use in your film should be in the public domain, or should be available under a Creative Commons license (usually with attribution to the composer). Do not use copyrighted music in your film. Filmmakers are strongly encouraged to partner with a student or local musician/composer that could provide original music for your film.
- Before writing your script, take an inventory of anything and everything you have available to you that you might be able to use in your film. Not just camera equipment and post-production software, but physical locations, objects, and costumes as well. Don’t write down things you might be able to get access to. Might is a pretty big word, and you won’t have time to follow up on maybes. In other words, don’t write a script that will require shooting locations and costumes or even actors that you just don’t have access to. For example, maybe you or someone you know owns a cowboy hat which might make sense for one of your characters to wear, but that certainly isn’t enough to believably set your film in the old west.
- Stabilize your shots -- use a tripod. Even when pros shoot handheld shots, their cameras are usually stabilized in some way to prevent too much unwanted “shaky cam” movement. If shooting on a phone camera, you can purchase a phone adapter for your tripod, or follow this DIY approach HERE.
- If at all possible, and if your budget allows, use an external mic that is not mounted to your camera. Pair an external mic with a boom pole (or a DIY boom pole -- a broom stick or a painter’s pole) and you’ve taken a huge step in controlling the audio you capture while shooting. Another audio tip: turn off the AC in the room while you are shooting. Trust me, those AC units are louder than you might think.
- Filmmaking Guides -- nofilmschool.com is an incredible resource. You have to look around the site and do some searching, but there is a wealth of information there.
- Screenplay Software -- Yes, you could write your screenplay using MS Word, but why not use software specifically tailored for writing screenplays? If you don’t constantly have to worry about the proper formatting, it gives you more time to concentrate on your actual screenplay. Here are two highly suggested FREE options.
- Windows and Linux users should take a look at Trelby. Did we mention it was free? The Trelby website is HERE.
- Mac users should give Highland 2 a try. Hey, this one is free too! Well, your PDF will have a watermark. There is a paid Pro version ($49.99), but the creator -- Hollywood screenwriter John August -- is very willing to waive that for students. High school students will need an administrator reach out to them, but it is very possible for you to also have the cost waived!
Required Elements
All of the following elements must be contained within your short film. Placing them in the credits or in a post-credits sequence does NOT count. Look for ways to organically and seamlessly incorporate the required elements into your script/film instead of tacking them on.
- Line of dialogue -- This line of dialogue must be used verbatim. It can be either heard (spoken or sung), or it can be written. It may even be in a language other than the main language of your film. Regardless, it must be clear to the audience that it is the required line of dialogue, so subtitles for this line might be necessary if the line is spoken/sung/written in a different language.
- The required line of dialogue for this year’s challenge is: “We wouldn’t be in this mess if you had just listened to me.”
- The required line of dialogue for this year’s challenge is: “We wouldn’t be in this mess if you had just listened to me.”
- Character -- This character does not have to be a main character, but we do have to see him/her on screen. We should hear them identified by name, and their occupation must also be clearly identified in some way.
- The required character for this year’s challenge is: Carl or Carla Fesler who is a Pest Control Technician.
- The required character for this year’s challenge is: Carl or Carla Fesler who is a Pest Control Technician.
- Prop -- The required prop should appear in your film in some meaningful way. It is up to you whether the prop figures prominently in your film or not, but the use of it in your film should be clear to the audience.
- The required prop for this year’s challenge is: a toothbrush.
- The required prop for this year’s challenge is: a toothbrush.
- Cinematic Technique -- The required technique should appear in your film in some meaningful way. How you incorporate it is up to you, but use it sparingly in your film to avoid it becoming a gimmick.
- The required Cinematic Technique for this year’s challenge is: a POV shot. This could be either a shot that represents a character’s POV, or it could even be the POV of an inanimate object. Watch this video that defines POV shots with various examples and even discusses when they are most effective. Keep in mind that this specific technique was chosen this year because it requires coordination between the cinematographer and editor of your project to make it work. There is an example HERE.
Workshops
The program culminates in screenings of the films (or portions of them) for the Texas Thespian Festival audience.
Rights
All work is protected by copyright from the moment it’s created. Filmmakers own their films and have exclusive control of the rights to produce, publish, and adapt them. By submitting work to Thespian Filmworks, you agree to allow Texas Thespians (at its discretion) to screen your film. The society may also (at its discretion) publish your script (or portions of it). All other rights remain the exclusive property of the filmmaker.
For more information on Film Works contact Steward Savage.
