In 2016 the Dublin University Film Society held their first 48-Hour Smartphone Film-making Competition. The event combined the society’s three aims of film production, education, and appreciation; and allowed students, especially those without film-making experience, to get a taste of what goes into making a short film.
Thirteen teams of three to five people registered for the competition in 2016. Based on the success of this event, DU Film will be running the competition again this year.
The opening night will take place on Monday 16th October at 7pm downstairs in Doyle’s. On this night, the rules for the competition will be explained and all attendees will be given a mini-workshop in cinematic storytelling and video editing.
Participants will then be given three elements that they must include in their film. These will be a location, a prop and an action or gesture that at least one of the characters must perform.
Last year, participants were given steps as a location, a key as a prop, and a high five as a gesture. The competitors then took these elements and combined them in ways that were creative and unexpected. The opening night will conclude with a screening of the winning films from last year’s competition.
When the opening night ends, entrants will have from midnight on Monday 16 to midnight on Wednesday 18 to write, shoot and edit their short film. All genres are accepted, with last year’s competition featuring thrillers, dramas, comedies and horrors.
The most recent winning film was the black and white silent film “The Perks of Being a Halls Resident” which followed the trials and tribulations of a mature student and a young first year student who live together in the same apartment in Trinity Hall.
On Thursday night at 7pm, all the entries will be screened in a Showcase and Award ceremony at Against The Grain on Wexford Street. Refreshments will be provided and awards will be presented for Best Film, as well as a number of other spot prizes which will be revealed on the night.