WCCC to Host Amateur Film Festival
The students, alumni, staff, and faculty of Washington County Community College are invited to create and submit amateur short films for a festival organized by the college’s library-based Riverview Production Studios. Films submitted for the competition will be reviewed by a panel of three judges; the winning creator will receive a GoPro Hero+ camera, a $199 value.
“The main goal is to get as many entries as possible,” Librarian John Leavitt said. “We want it to be low key, fun, and with no pressure to encourage creativity.”
The event will give participants the opportunity to explore their talents while gaining familiarity with the process of film making. “Talent can be found anywhere,” Instructional Technologist Tatiana Osmond said. “Around here, though, there aren’t many opportunities to showcase talents.”
While the library is not able to loan out equipment, students and staff wishing to create a video can utilize the cameras in the college library, which includes professional lighting and green screen capabilities. After shooting the desired footage, the library’s advanced Apple iMac desktop computer can be used to edit it into a film. Anyone needing assistance in the process will receive all the help they need from the library staff, and several books on filmmaking are available as an additional resource.
The festival is specifically focused on short films, and as such, it is recommended that films be under twenty minutes. Films that are longer will still be accepted, although participants with longer films should be prepared to select the best segments for judging purposes.
The deadline to submit an entry to the WCCC library is April 7th. Films should be in MP4 format on disk or on a USB stick. Films will be shown at a venue to be determined based on the number of entries. The winner will be announced tentatively on April 28th. For more information, please contact John Leavitt at 454-1051.