What is the Corpus Christi 7 Day Film Project? (CC7D)
CC7D is an annual filmmaking competition hosted by the Corpus Christi Film Society designed to encourage and facilitate more filmmaking in our area, boost amateur filmmakers' skills, boost the skill set and create resume experience for local casts and crew, and celebrate area filmmakers--both veterans and amateurs. Filmmaking teams have one week to make a short film from start to finish. The entire process must occur in seven days. In 2009 that time period will begin on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at 6:30 PM and end the following Wednesday, July 15, 2009, at a time to be determined at the Kickoff Party. The completed films will be screened at Harbor Playhouse on Saturday, August 15, 2009, followed by an awards presentation for the best films and performances.
When and where is it?
All events prior to the screening will be at The Venue at House of Rock located at 511 Starr St. in downtown Corpus Christi. House of Rock is an all ages nightclub meaning that any age can enter. Any participating filmmakers under 21 who attempt to purchase alcohol, consume alcohol or attempt to sneak alcohol during any CC7D events at HoR will be immediately disqualified from competition and ejected from the facilities.
The official CC7D Kickoff Party will occur on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 6:30PM. Here you will finalize your entry and receive the list of mandatory elements that must be present in your final film.
The official filmmaking time period is July 8th, from a time determined at the Kickoff Party to July 15th at that same to-be-determined time.
Any films not turned in by this time are not eligible for competition. We will be receiving films until 9PM that will be viewed, but--REPEAT--films not in by the to-be-determined official stop time will not be eligible for competition.
The CC7D 2009 Screening will occur August 15, 2009. The time of the screening is to-be-determined. Awards will be presented at the completion of all the films.
I've never made a film before and I'm scared to death that people will think that anything I make will suck and laugh at me and throw rotten fruit at me. Should I enter anyway?
Yes. Over 50% of 2008 CC7D films were made by first time participants. Use this opportunity to MAKE YOUR SHORT FILM. Use whatever camera have, whatever editing software you have, whatever friends you have, whatever sound equipment you have...and SIMPLY DO IT! Use any time between now and the 2009 Kickoff Party to practice. Borrow or beg some kind of sound equipment and practice using it. Practice loading your sound and video into a computer. Practice editing. THEN MAKE YOUR MOVIE!!! Then NEXT YEAR your 2nd entry will be better...then year three...then year four......
What are the films about?
That is completely up to the filmmaker. The filmmaking team picks the genre and writes the script. The scriptwriting process can not occur prior to the Kickoff Party.
What keeps people from cheating and starting their films prior to the official 7 day time period?
To prevent work from being done before the official 7 day time period, teams are given a character, a prop and a line of dialogue at the Kickoff Party that must appear in their film.
Also, we are banking on a little honor from the participants. Teams should not begin doing ANYTHING creative prior to the 7-day filming period.
Who will see the films?
The films will be screened at Harbor Playhouse on Saturday, August 15, 2009, at a screening open to the general public. This event will sell out. Team Leaders will recieve two passes to the screening.
Who may participate?
CC7D is open to anyone. Participants under 18 years of age need to have their parents sign a release.
How do I participate?
The easiest way to particpate is to create your own team. If you do not create your own team, you can try to get on someone else's team. This is true for actors, musicians and potential crew members.
How do I create a team?
Get some friends together who you can rely on and call yourselves a team. Come to the Kickoff Party on July 8, 2009, pay the entrance fee and you are officially a team.
How do I get onto an existing team?
You need to get in front of and meet existing team leaders. The easiest way to do that is to attend the 2009 CC7D Cast and Crew Call on June 23, 2009 (click here for info) and/or you may register in the CCFS Local Production Guide database that other teams can look at if they require crew/cast here. You must be a registered user of the CCFS website to use this function. Registration is easy and free. Being on this database or atteniding the Cast and Crew Call does not insure that you will be placed on a team. It will ultimately be up to you to get onto a team. Visit the Teams Page to either pre-sign up (no money down!) or peruse existing teams to contact.
How long are the films?
These are short films; they must be a minimum of 4 minutes and a maximum of 8 minutes long. Short films force emerging filmmakers to consider editing choices they might not otherwise and are designed, also, to keep your shooting time down.
What are the prizes?
Here are the categories where a team can potentially receive an award when they enter their films in the "In Competition" Category:
Grand Jury Award (1st Place Film) - Determined by jury
Jury Honorable Mention (2nd Place Film) - Determined by jury
Filmmakers' Award - Determined by Team Leaders present at public screening via ballot
Technical Achievement Award - Determined by jury
Audience Award - Determined by public screening audience via ballot
New for 2009:
Jury Third Place - Determined by jury
Young Filmmaker Award - Determined by jury. Team Leaders who are 19 years of age or younger as of July 8, 2009 are eligible for The Young Filmmaker Award. This Award will go to the eligible Team Leader whose film is chosen best by the Jury.
All of the above will receive a CC7D Plaque to display and use forever as bragging rights. In addition there will be a cash awards for at least the 1st place jury awards in each category. We work every year to raise enough funds to give cash to all of the above winners. These amounts are not currently known.
In addition to the above awards the jury will also pick several individual awards (Best Actor, Actress, etc.). A full list of these jury awards will be posted here soon.
How will the winners be selected?
A Jury is assembled to select the winners. Past Jurors include employees/representatives of The Texas Film Commission, Austin Film Society, Southwest Alernate Media Project, The Corpus Christi Caller Times, Corpus Christi Independent School District, Corpus Christi City Council, and the Texas A&M-CC Communications Department. Jury tabulations are handled by Audit Masters Accounting and Tax Professionals. There will also be an audience award given determined by audience ballot so, yes filmmakers, pack the house with your friends and family.
Does the maximum length of the film include credits?
No. Your film may be 8 minutes long plus 1 minute of credits. Action can occur in the credits that does not advance the story (bloopers, etc).
Are credits in the beginning permissible and do they count against the credit time limit?
Opening credits are allowed but they DO count against the film's time limit. The audience is here to watch, not read. Judges will be given the directive to judge films based on start to end, including opening credits. An 8 minute film with a 4 minute opening credit sequence may be unfavorably judged.
We're limited to using two cameras. Does a still camera count? And what about having a back-up camera?
The two camera rule is an equalizer between novices and pros. A still camera does not count against the two camera limit. You may have a third camera on standby in the event that one of your cameras goes down. However, you MAY NOT have more than two shooting cameras. (i.e., Two are shooting and a third is set up and ready to go awaiting word that one of the first cameras is finished—this is NOT allowed.) Many of you barely have one camera. Don't sweat all these details. Have fun and make a movie!
I know that stock film and video footage is not permitted. What about stock photos? If you have the rights to the photos then use them.
Should we shoot in HD? Should we shoot in widescreen? Should we use surround sound?
Your film will be shown in Standard Definition in stereo or mono with an aspect ratio of 4:3. You may shoot in HD, in widescreen, or in surround sound, but the film will not be projected that way. We highly recommend that you submit a Standard Definition, letterboxed, stereo or mono version of your film. Anything else can lead to problems during our mastering process. New filmmakers, don't get discouraged with all this mumbo jumbo...make your movie however you can.
If the "required character" is audible off screen—-like on the other end of a phone conversation—-does that count?
No. We must actually see the required character in some way on the screen. Remember, he/she need not be the star of the film, just make an appearance.
Does the required character have to say his name or wear a name tag?
As long as the audience can infer who the character is, he/she doesn't need to be further identified.
Does the required character have to be human? Can the required character be an inanimate object?
Of all the required character questions this is the trickiest. The required character can be inanimate IF it is truly a character. The filmmaker must present the inanimate object in a way that elevates it to a character. This usually involves giving the inanimate object human characteristics (Wilson the Volleyball from Cast Away, for example).
New! - Does the required prop have to be handled or can it be sitting in the background?
For the purposes of this contest, the required prop must be handled onscreen by a character. If the required prop is an umbrella, for example, the umbrella must be held in the hands of an onscreen character. If an umbrella is seen onscreen on a table, but no one touches it, that would not count. The umbrella can be any size or color--a golf umbrella or a tiny umbrella in a cocktail--but it must be handled.
Who 'owns' the films once they are submitted?
The filmmakers will share ownership of the film with CCFS in one respect: the filmmaking team/team leader grants CCFS the right to use the film and still images of the film to promote CC7D in the future. CCFS may show the film in future screenings, future CC7Ds, etc. Other than that, the filmmaker/filmmaking team owns the film and can do whatever they want with it including re-editing the film without the elements, etc. In the past, filmmakers have reedited their films and submitted them into other projects/festivals. More power to you.
How solidified do teams need to be at the Kickoff Party? Do I need to know who my entire team is before the Kickoff Party date, or can I assemble my team once I'm ready to shoot? Do you need a list of everyone on my team at some time?
The only information needed at the Kickoff Party is the Team's name, the Team Leader's name and whether or not your film will be "In Competition". At the Kickoff Party, you will get a packet with all your paperwork including a blank team list that needs to be turned in with your film at the end of the official 7-Day Time Period.
Can CC7D Jury Members or Sponsors make films for CC7D?
Anyone can make a film. Films made by sponsors, steering committee or jury members will not be eligible for ANY jury-picked awards.
Who will know the essential elements before they are given to the filmmakers at the Kickoff Party?
The CC7D Steering Committee is responsible for creating the essential elements. Historically, they are chosen a few days before the Official 7-Day Filming Period. Once they are chosen they will be guarded like the Academy Award winners until revealed at the Kickoff Party. No one outside of the Steering Committee will know the essential elements until they are announced at the Kickoff Party.
Can a team or person make more than one CC7D film for competition?
Yes. It has been attempted but never accomplished. Maybe this is the year.
If Art, Betty, Cathy and David are on a team together and want to make 4 films and enter them into CC7D, here are the rules. Each film entered must have a different Team Leader. Each film will pay a separate entry fee. Team Leaders should lead the team (think the director of a film). All four films should be completely original. One team cannot shoot their raw footage and then use it over and over for different films. In other words, there should be no identical shots from film to film. You can not reedit a film and submit it twice. The filmmaking process should be original for each film made.
Can actors be on different teams, and in multiple films?
Yes, as long as duplicate footage is not used in multiple films. All content for each film must be original. As stated in the question above, you can't shoot a bunch of footage at the same time to re-edit into more than one film. The process and content must be original for each individual film submitted.
