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AOTS 48HR 2024

The Action On The Side 48 Hour Film Competition

7 teams competed from around London. They had just 48 hours to write, shoot, edit, and submit a 5-7 minute short film. As an additional challenge, one team (Last Minute Singles) was made up of the random filmmakers who met on the day!

The Kick-Off Event was held 7pm-8pm at House of Transformation. Patricia Hetherington gave tips for the weekend; AD Cooper gave tips on storytelling; and Neal Romanek gave tips on sustainable filmmaking and announced The Flint Sustainable Storytelling Award.

From 8pm Friday 5th July to 8pm Sunday 7th, they made their short films. The allocated genres included: Sports, Alien Invasion, Family, Monster Movie, and Revenge. They had to include the three random elements: a prop (a Tablet); a line of dialogue ("What are you thinking...?"), and a shot or filmmaking technique (a whip pan).

Registration was through this Wix site

REGISTRATION: The AOTS 48 HR Film Competition

Important Information

for the teams who have signed up to the 48-Hour Film Competition

Join the Wix Group

The 48 Hour Group

Team Representatives

Click the link and join the Wix group. Access through the Spaces by Wix app or through this website.

Your team members can also join. This is where you will receive announcements and reminders before, during, and after the competition.

Before The Competition

Team

Get a team of people together to help make your film. You'll need cast, writer(s), filming and postproduction crew. Work out where your base will be and make sure they know what they've committed to.

Locations

Arrange potential locations in advance. Find interesting places. Discuss with them whether you can film there on the Saturday. Let them know you'll contact them on Friday night to confirm. Get the Location Release Form signed.

Equipment

Work out what you're filming on, who is supplying it, who is doing the editing and on what. Test the equipment to make sure it works. Best practice: do a test shoot a week before, to make sure you know your workflow.

The Release Form

Preproduction

Catering

An army marches on its stomach - so does a film crew! Make sure you're feeding your team and have caffeine and hot drinks at the ready.

Legalities

You need to ensure all members of your team and anyone else involved with your film signs the Release Form. This can be signed digitally or physically. Print copies or make a copy to distribute. Set up a cloud folder to save the signed release forms (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, Box). You'll use this for submission.

Create Accounts

Set up these up in advance!

Join the Wix Group

Submission will be via FilmFreeway

Rules and Regulations

Rules and Regulations - PLEASE READ

Production Insurance

Picture this:

the boom swings a bit too far, a TV is knocked off a table and breaks - who pays to fix it?
you're filming in a car and there is an accident - who is liable?
the equipment is left unattended and a camera disappears - who is replacing it?

Production Insurance is a good thing to have.It is not a requirement, but it is strongly recommended.

If you do not already have media insurance, you can get insurance for the duration of the competition.

Action On The Side and Busy Kiwi Productions Ltd accept no liability.

Performance Media Insurance has a quick quote option for short periods. (You don't have to use them, and we get no commission for suggesting them. Find a media insurer who is right for you).

You'll likely need Equipment Insurance, Public Liability Insurance (at least £5m), and Employers Liability Insurance (which covers volunteers, meaning your cast and crew).

Again, strongly recommended

The Kick Off

Where we announce the random elements and genres, and prepare you for the competition

These are the locations for the AOTS 48HR Film Competition

Friday 21st February 2025

London, UK

7pm-8pm

House of Transformation, Unit 4, 222 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8AX

All other teams

Online via Google Meets

Teams that miss the Kick Off can find the genre and random elements in the Wix Group when the competition starts

The Random Elements

Every team must include a specific prop, line of dialogue, and shot or filmmaking technique in their film. These are announced at the Kick-Off Event.

The Genres

Every team is allocated a specific genre. Their film must clearly be set within the genre.

These are allocated at the Kick-Off Event.

During the Competition

Photos

Take plenty of photos during the competition! Post them to social media with #aots48hr and tag @actionontheside

Make sure you get a team photo and a photo for your poster.

Editing

Plan for your edit! Take notes of what you're shooting, make sure you leave enough space for transitions before you call cut, and picture the edit when planning shots.

You'll speed up your workflow if your Editor is working while you're shooting - that way, they can point out any shots you're missing, that you can get while you're still shooting.

Schedule

A schedule is going to to help you. Plan when you are going to do each part of the production, and set deadlines. Part of the challenge is working out when your team can catch some zzzzzz's.

Submission

Don't Panic!

Things can easily go wrong. Make sure you're exporting your video with enough time for rendering, uploading, and processing. Give it at least an hour before the deadline. Don't do it last minute!

FilmFreeway

FilmFreeway asks a lot of questions when you submit. You don't have to answer all of them. At a minimum, we need your film, the film's title, and a password to access it. The rest can be added after the film has been submitted.

Send the Film File

Once you have submitted to FilmFreeway, email us a link to download the film - WeTransfer, cloud storage (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, Box), or Vimeo (paid accounts allow downloads). Also email us a link to check your signed release forms.

Checklist

Submission Checklist

Has everyone signed the release form?

Make sure everyone involved in the film signs the release: all cast, all crew, the locations you filmed, and anyone who made something for it.

You may need to print copies or set it up so you can easily send it to people online. Adobe Acrobat or DocuSign are good for these. Set them up in advance.

Here is the link to the release form

Get digital copies of the signed forms. These could be pdfs or jpgs (as in, take a photo of the signed document). Put them in a cloud folder. Make sure the cloud folder has access enabled for anyone with the link.

Before Export

Does your film have good sound? Can we hear the dialogue? Have you mixed the music, sound effects, and dialogue?

Have you credited everyone? Did you send all of your team the credits so they can check their name is there, spelled correctly, and they have been credited for the correct role(s)?

Have you included the end card for at least 3 seconds?

Have you included a 5-second lead-in that includes, white arial text on black background, the Film Name, your Team Name, and the Genre?

Is the film the correct duration? at least 5 minutes long and no longer than 7 minutes (from after the lead-in until the end card graphic)

Is the genre clear? Are the random elements clear?

Upload

Upload your film to a video platform. It cannot be public. On Vimeo, make it password-protected. On YouTube, make it Unlisted.

Upload the finished film to a site where we can download it.

FilmFreeway

Have you created your profile page for the film? Have you included the access password? Is the film's title there?

What happens after we submit?

YAY! Well done!!!

We will download the films at 8pm. Don't change your video file after you submit - if you do, you will be disqualified.

You can update your FilmFreeway page after submission. Include your behind-the-scenes images, add a logline and synopsis, add details about your team and their roles, add a poster.

The judges will preview the submitted films to make a shortlist of films for screening. Keep an eye on your email for announcements.

If your film is selected, CONGRATULATIONS! Get your tickets to the screening.

If your film is not selected, still accept our Congratulations for getting it done! You can make your film public and we'll share it. Do get a ticket to the screening so you can see the films at the screening.

After the screening, all of the films can be made public, and the winners will receive their trophies!

Use FilmFreeway to submit your film to film festivals (more on that to come!)

After the Competition

Join our community

You and your team are welcome to join the AOTS Alumni group on Facebook and the AOTS Alumni group on this site. This is a group for previous participants in the AOTS Film Projects and competitions, and it's a great way to build your community.

Promotion

Share your behind-the-scenes stills, photos, and screengrabs with us in the Wix Group, and post them on socials, with #aots48hr and tagging @actionontheside

Film Festivals

Continue to submit your film to festivals using FilmFreeway. We'll be posting further tips and tricks on distribution in the Wix Group. Keep us up-to-date on your successes!

Your film's page

Your film has an allocated page on the Action On The Side website. Check it out in our Screening Room.

The Screening & Awards Event was held at ActOne Cinema, Sunday 4th August 2024