DepicT! News

DepicT! Filmmakers in the News

Wed, 16 July 00:00:00 +0100

Big congratulations to DepicT! filmmakers Joseph Pierce and Matthew Walker for being named two of Screen International's UK Stars of Tomorrow.

Joseph's films Big on Love and State of Nature were shortlisted in 2006 and 2007 respectively, while Matthew's film Operator was last year's DepicT! winner. It's easy to see why their talents were recognised - though quite different, both animators bring a distinctive style and voice to their work, and we can't wait to see what they do next!

Read the full articles here and here...

DepicT! at Rushes Soho Shorts

Mon, 07 July 00:00:00 +0100

It’s all about shorts! We are only 4 weeks away from this year’s Rushes Soho Shorts Festival and the shortlisted filmmakers have been selected. The festival is bigger that ever, spanning ten days from July 23rd to August 3rd. There will be a huge number of events and guest programmes lined up to keep you entertained and amused.

DepicT! are delighted to be guests at the festival, presenting last year's shortlist along with the DepicT! All-time Top Ten programme in four screenings throughout the festival:

Thu 24 July, 1100hrs, Curzon Soho Mini-Cine
Sat 26 July, 1400hrs, Crown & Two Chairmen
Mon 28 July, 1200hrs, Crown & Two Chairmen
Tue 29 July, 1100hrs, Curzon Soho Mini-Cine

Other events include competition category screenings from 10am each day at Curzon Soho, lunch seminars at Foyles at 1pm each weekday and a Shooting People panel discussion at 5pm every weekday afternoon. In and around these you’ll find guest programmes and screenings to keep you titillated, tantalised and, in some cases, probably a little troubled. The weekend includes a series of presentations from Jenny Hammerton and MAC Cosmetics, Tom Rob Smith and Simon & Schuster with Nicko Straniero and Tenderpixel Gallery completing line up on Saturday. On Sunday it’s all about the Aussies! There will be a horror double bill and Q&A with producer David Lightfoot, followed by an exclusive screening of shorts from the SHORTS Film Festival, one of Australia’s leading short film festivals.

More info and a full schedule can be found here.

Screenwriting Tips

Tue, 01 July 00:00:00 +0100

Hope everyone's DepicT! films are coming along nicely. If you're just starting or need a little inspiration, here are a few tidbits for you:

Yesterday in the Guardian, Frank Cottrell Boyce, esteemed screenwriter of, among other things, Welcome to Sarajevo, A Cock and Bull Story and 24 Hour Party People,has come up with twelve "golden rules" for aspiring screenwriters. While some of what he wrote is specifically directed at features, there are definitely a few nuggets of wisdom that will come in handy in writing a film for DepicT! Take note, in particular, of numbers 3 and 4...

Have a read here.

If you were at Encounters last year, you may have caught Boyce in conversation with East Is East director and long-time DepicT! judge Damien O'Donnell... While we unfortunately don't have that archived, over on dShed, Watershed's online gallery of creative content, we've got a recording of the BAFTA Short Film Paradise featuring director Richard Eyre speaking to Mark Kermode. Other resources there include a fantastic (though slightly fuzzy sound-wise at points) masterclass with filmmaker Mike Leigh.

Operator on the Big Screen

Thu, 19 June 00:00:00 +0100

If you’re going to the cinema this weekend, you may be in for a very special 90 second treat...

Operator by Matthew Walker, last year’s winning film, will be the first DepicT! short to be distributed through the Digital Screen Network when it accompanies The Edge of Love - the Dylan Thomas biopic starring Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller - at cinemas across the UK from tomorrow. Working with Arts Alliance
Media and the support of distributors such as Lionsgate, we are able
to further promote DepicT! shorts and filmmakers on the big
screen through the DSN.

DepicT! films will be appearing before features through Dec ‘08, so watch this space for news on forthcoming titles!

From Fri 20 June:

From Fri 27 June:

Super Shorts Film Festival

Wed, 18 June 00:00:00 +0100

The Portobello Post Super Shorts International Film Festival 2008 runs between Tue 1 - Sun 6 July. The festival will be held at the Covent Garden Odeon and other venues in and around Central London, and events include:

Screenings of 'In Competition' short films
Opening and Closing night parties
Panel Discussions on important topics relevant to short filmmakers
Q&A with well-known directors
Awards ceremony
Late night screenings of horror shorts
Free admission to all events!

The shortlists for the Short Film and Short Script competitions have just been announced - don't miss Joe Tucker's fantastically funny and twisted For the Love of God.

Plus...

Help Super Shorts pick the music video winner by watching the eight shortlisted films and rating them.

And...

Get a FREE copy of Short Cuts, the festival's official magazine, which includes interviews with over 60 filmmakers, experts and experienced crew who share their experiences and advice on all areas of short filmmaking, from script to distribution. Sign up here to get it sent directly to you.

DepicT! Picks No. 1

Thu, 05 June 17:03:22 +0100

Gargantuan

by John Smith

Watch here

Watershed have recently screened artist/filmmaker John Smith's latest work, Hotel Diaries, a series of semi-impromptu musings on the state of things filmed in hotel rooms across the world over the course of 6 years. In researching those films, we came across a Smith film from 1992 which was commissioned by the Arts Council of England and BBC 2's The Late Show as part of the 'One Minute TV' series: Gargantuan gives a great little taste of Smith's trademark word play and wit, and is a brilliant example of how to use a small amount of time to maximum effect.

Have you come across any other brilliant mini-movies that might inspire DepicT! filmmakers? Let us know.

Film Screening Opportunity

Fri, 30 May 00:00:00 +0100

What does it take to build peace?

WHO: video artists and documentary filmmakers

WHAT: Submissions on the theme of War & Peace for screening on World Peace Day at Arnolfini in Bristol, Stroud Valleys Artspace, and the Museum of Bath at Work. Screening fees paid (£100/work selected).

WHEN: September 21, 2008

TO APPLY: submissions in DVD format, statement, CV and SAE for return to Fiona Meadley, c/o Stroud Valleys Artspace, 4 John Street, Stroud GL5 2HA.

Contact & details: fionakammeadley@mac.com or war-and-peace.info

DEADLINE: 11 July 2008

Funded by Arts Council England, with the support of Stroud Valleys Artspace, Arnolfini, and Contemporary Art Programming.

Encounters Call for Entries

Tue, 20 May 00:00:00 +0100

Have you made a great film that's just a bit (or a lot) too long for DepicT!?

Encounters Short Film Festival - the UK's most important international short film festival - is now accepting submissions for this year's festival, which will be held at various venues in Bristol from 18 to 23 November '08.

The deadline has been extended and you will be able to submit your films until Wednesday 18th June. Encounters welcomes films of every genre under 30 minutes: animation, live action, experimental and does NOT have a premiere policy.

'08 Filmmaker Notes (Part 2)

Mon, 12 May 00:00:00 +0100

And here's the second installment of wise words from last year's winning filmmakers. David Gilbert is an animation student at University of the West of England, and it might be good to know that the seeds of his audience-picked film grew out of an all-night doodling session with friends...

Notes from DepicT! '07 Audience Award winner David Gilbert:

I had a magnificent time at Encounters 2007. It was my first ever film festival (due to my relative young age and hermit-like existence) but it was an experience I will never forget. It was a pleasure to be up against competition of such quality, and to come away with the audience award has made the last year cooped up in a dark room all the more worthwhile.

I like to approach filmmaking with just a few basic sketches and a loose idea in my brain. Improvisation is a wonderful thing and I like to use this technique as much as possible when making a film. It is easy to get bored and complacent when sticking to a rigid storyboard and as such I enjoy not really knowing what may leap out at me at any given corner. Usually these corners contain a few small animals and some rather unpleasant birds. I try not to get too excited about my work; excitement and happiness lead to complacency. Being constantly unsatisfied will push you to do radical things you never thought were possible.

My next film contains a couple of birds and a somewhat overweight man with deep-seated psychological issues, it is called Battery and should be completed in the next two months, or else I will fail university.

'08 Filmmaker Notes (Part 1)

Tue, 06 May 00:00:00 +0100

The submissions for DepicT! ’08 are starting to trickle in slowly but surely... If you’re not quite so speedy, though, and are still tossing around ideas but not sure where to start, don’t worry! First of all, you’ve got all summer to go before the deadline on Mon 8 Sept. Also, we’ve got fantastic resources here on the DepicT! website to get your creative juices flowing, from links to pages like the BBC Good Shooting Guide, loads of classic DepicT! films and the ever-popular Filmmaker Notes. Each year we ask the previous competition’s winners to tell us a bit about how they approach short filmmaking and the 90 second format, and we’re delighted that DepicT! ’07 winner Matthew Walker has sent in some tips to add to our archive. Look out for notes from DepicT! ’07 Audience Award winner David Gilbert coming soon too!

Notes from DepicT! '07 winner Matthew Walker:

I made Operator as part of the Animator in Residence scheme at Newport University - incidentally the same scheme on which 2006’s winner Flighty was made. I was originally going to make a film about a lift, then I scrapped that idea and decided I would make a film about Godzilla and then I scrapped that idea and decided to make an idea that I had doodled in my sketchbook while on a plane from Spain (where I hear it mostly rains, although I didn’t notice any). Making Operator was a really good experience, and I really enjoyed making the film with help from the students who all did a really good job. It was made in four weeks although I spent the first two weeks leaving most of what I needed to do until the last two weeks.

There are various ways to make a film of any length and everyone has different methods and tips. I would say there are a few key things you need to make a film:

An idea. An idea is very important. You can try and start to make a film without an idea but at some point you will need to have some form of an idea otherwise how do you decide where to point the camera? You may as well start with the idea, the same way you start a day with the morning, you can skip the morning but you end up regretting it the rest of the day.

Passion. You need to care about what you are making otherwise there is no point unless you are being paid a suitable amount of money to make it worthwhile. It is hard to make something good if you don’t care about making it good. Please note that passion does not necessarily translate in to enjoyment. In my experience the less I have enjoyed making something the better it often turns out to be.

A deadline. Not as important as the previous two but very useful. If you are being paid then a deadline will be provided for you. Competitions (DepicT! being the perfect and appropriate example) also provide suitable deadlines. If however you film is entirely self motivated then you will have to provide your own deadline, otherwise you could end up stretching the production out endlessly until one day you forget you were even making a film or you just get bored and start something new that meets the same fate.

Those are my top tips. Also be prepared to make sacrifices such as friends, family, social life, natural light, healthy diet and sleep.