Doing my weekly scan of the top 100 photography blogs, I found on Imaging Buffet and article about a new and pretty innovative video contest sponsored by Canon on Vimeo.com.
What particularly caught my attention was the claim that it's the first ever user generated HD Video of the year contest where photographers become filmmakers and But all get to see the story beyond the still image.
So, you have the camera, a drool-worthy arsenal of lenses and a trained eye honed by years of experience. So what the hell you waiting for? Get planning, building, editing and submitting!
We all have our own stories to tell. And, we all have our own unique style of telling them. Either as the spoken word or, in the vast majority of our cases, in print.
I'm sure that most of us have seen the Vincent LaForet short movies demonstrating the potentially endless capabilities of both the Canon 5D MkII a more recently, a 7D. Yes, they are visually beautiful and in the case of the 7D video, quite a compelling little story. But, he is a photographer, you are a photographer and I am a photographer. So why don't we all give it a go. Just for a laugh, if for nothing else.
If you haven't already jumped to the Vimeo.com page and would like to know more. Click to continue reading after the jump where I have basically cut and pasted their information. Personally I wouldn't bother, as you might as well just go there and read it. At least then you are in the right place to start getting your entry ready.
Participants are invited to use the HD video capability of their
camera to create short, two to four minute videos that tell a story
based on the final still frame from Laforet’s piece, and then from each
successive winning “chapter.” Videos can be submitted to and viewed on
a dedicated site within the Vimeo online community before they are
judged.
The “Story Beyond the Still” contest provides filmmakers with a unique opportunity to showcase their storytelling abilities in a new style of filmmaking utilizing an HD-capable camera to capture moving images while also demonstrating the social appeal of collaborative storytelling. To kick off the contest, Laforet collaborated with Grey New York to bring his interpretation of a still image to life in a short film entitled “The Cabbie,” which serves as the first installment of a seven chapter collaborative work in which each participant will be asked to interpret the previous winning photographer/filmmaker’s final still image to start their vision for the subsequent chapter.
In “The Cabbie,” Laforet’s interpretation begins on a still image depicting a teddy bear left on the sidewalk outside of an airport before telling the “Story Beyond The Still” that gives the viewer more to appreciate beyond the original moment the image was captured. Viewable exclusively on Vimeo at http://vimeo.com/groups/beyondthestill/, Laforet shot in stunning 1080p HD image quality utilizing Canon’s new EOS 7D Digital SLR camera.
“The concept behind the ‘Story Beyond The Still’ Contest was to find a way to involve people in the new realm of HD DSLR video,” said Laforet. “Working with Canon, Vimeo and Grey NY to bring the contest to light, there is tremendous anticipation to see how the story unfolds in this wonderful social experiment in filmmaking.”
Six winners will be chosen (one for each chapter) based on their submissions and will join Laforet on location to collaboratively film the final chapter of the film, In addition, winners will receive a choice of prizes including Canon EOS 7D and 5D Mark II DSLR cameras or select Canon lenses.
For complete rules and to submit “The Story Beyond the Still” videos participants can visit http://vimeo.com/groups/beyondthestill/. Projects will be judged based on how well participants execute the four criteria including:
1. Best incorporation of initial still and quality and evocative nature of final still
2. Cinematography
3. Storytelling
Each chapter winner will be selected by a three-step judging/voting process including the initial selection of 50 semi-finalists by a three member panel comprised of Vimeo, Grey NY and/or Canon U.S.A employees. Five (5) finalists will be determined by representatives from Vimeo, Grey NY and/or Canon U.S.A., and a distinguished panel of award-winning photographers and cinematographers (subject to scheduling availability) including:
Vincent Laforet – Director / Canon Explorer of Light Photographer
Russell Carpenter – Cinematographer “Titanic”, and “True Lies”
Rodney Charters – Cinematographer/Director of Photography FOX Network’s “24”
Shane Hurlbutt – Cinematographer “Terminator: Salvation”, and “We Are Marshall”
Stu Maschwitz – Filmmaker/Author of The DV Rebel’s Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap
Rick McCallum – Producer “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace”, “Star Wars:
Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith”
Philip Bloom – Director / Director of Photography – Co-owner F-Stop Academy
Blake Whitman – Director of Community and Product – Vimeo
Nick Childs – Director/ Director of Content – Grey New York.
Following the selection of the five chapter finalists, their videos will be posted at http://vimeo.com/groups/beyondthestill/ where members of Vimeo will have five days to view the videos and vote to determine the chapter winner.
It's so nice to have you do all of the research for us. It makes our decision making so much easier!! Thanks.
Posted by: MBT Sandals | July 16, 2011 at 12:44 PM