Oct 5, 2012 - a) Genre: Do you want to produce something high concept? Something with a strong hook rather than a simple
Introduction Blue Harvest Shorts is a Premiere Shorts EP Pod consisting of Steve Barr, Daniel Story and Paul Swadel. We will executive produce up to two short films in the 2012/2013 financial year with a budget of up to $90,000 each. Blue Harvest Shorts has a focus on ‘genre’ short films, giving our future feature filmmakers the opportunity to develop and display a commercial sensibility and talent. Hence, our choosing the name ‘Blue Harvest’ – which was the Hollywood code name used for the production of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Commercial intentions are important to us. Our Objective We are searching for highly skilled filmmaker teams to make short films that demonstrate mainstream commercial tastes. Visceral films that will make an audience laugh or cry or jump in their seats. If you want to make an engaging and entertaining short film that millions of average people would want to see, let’s talk. If your self-contained short is also a pitch piece for a proposed feature film – great, that’s the attitude we like! The purpose of Premiere Shorts is to develop talent for a successful long-term career in feature filmmaking. Therefore we want to place filmmakers in a competitive environment where mainstream appeal is applauded. We feel the best way to do this in a short film setting is via smart and snappy genre short films. Some kick-ass examples: o o o o o
Neill Blomcamp - Alive in Joberg (2005) Nash Edgerton - Spider (2008) Fede Alvarez - Panic Attack (2009) Spencer Susser - I Love You Sarah Jane (2009) Dan Trachenberg - Portal: No Escape (2011)
By ‘genre’ films we mean Sci-Fi, Horror, Comedy, Action ... films that have commercial appeal and an instant ‘hook’.
What are we looking for? Short film projects that focus on entertaining the audience – not expressing the filmmaker’s inner turmoil. If you are a dramatic film maker looking to get your slice-of-life film into arthouse film festivals – there is a home for you – but Blue Harvest is not it. We are looking for filmmakers who have a clear idea of their career trajectories. We are looking for smart genre short films that pack a punch. We’ll consider films of up to 15 minutes, but prefer under 10 minutes. We are looking for NZ short films that attract the attention of international industry heavyweights and lead to significant opportunities in feature filmmaking. Keep in mind that we are not looking for a short film that is spectacle only – it must have dramatic depth, engage the audience’s heart, and have something to say. Be original. Know your audience. Be realistic – remember these are $90k films only. This is not a scheme for first time or inexperienced filmmakers – we are looking for the cream of the crop. We will accept applications without producers attached. If you submit an application without a producer, and that application makes it to the short list, we will introduce you to potential producers to join the team for the development process. However, the short list process will put your teamwork to the test, so it’s probably in your best interest to build a team of trusted collaborators before you apply. Criteria Those who wish to apply must fit the following criteria: · · · · · ·
Be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents. Have a proven filmmaking track record, or have achieved a high level in an allied field. Have a feature film career in active progress. Have a passion for genre film. If you’re a Director, you are only eligible to be funded through Premiere Shorts twice. We will only accept a maximum of 2 applications per individual or team.
Some other points you might like to consider: a) Genre: Do you want to produce something high concept? Something with a strong hook rather than a simple drama? Are you interested in genre filmmaking and see this form of film as your future feature film career? b) Script: Is the premise appealing? Is your kick-ass script appropriate for the short film format and developed to a stage expected of Premiere Shorts applications? c) Attitude: Are you focussed, passionate, and hard-working but balanced with a positive attitude?
d) Vision: Are you focussed on being the first “XXX” rather than trying to copy some other successful filmmaker? Are you looking for long term career advancement rather than short term plaudits? Can your short push the genre film to another level? e) NZ: A focus on genre doesn’t have to mean a generic pseudo-American film. We are making films in NZ and we want to celebrate that in the short films we executive produce. Submissions Okay, enough philosophising, let’s get to practicalities. How are you supposed to get past all those wannabes and have us recognize your genius? Simple - just send us these things: 1. A cover letter with an introduction and your contact info. 2. A properly formatted screenplay of 15 pages or less (preferably ‘less’. Remember, we’re making ‘shorts’, not ‘mediums’). 3. A logline. 4. A synopsis of at least a few paragraphs but no longer than one page. 5. 1-page biographies of the key team members. 6. A lookbook or some other document to convey the director’s visual intent. 7. A link to an online showreel. We’d prefer a reel that demonstrates storytelling ability, not just a montage of cool shots. 8. An outline of projects you have in development. 9. Your plan for your careers. If this short opened a lot of doors for you, how would you take advantage of those opportunities? 10. Anything else you think we should know to make an informed decision Put the screenplay into one PDF, and everything else into a separate single PDF, then email your application to
[email protected]. If your PDF is too large to email, upload it into Dropbox and send us an invitation. Call for submissions will be on 5 August. The deadline for submissions will be 5:30pm on 5 October 2012. A long short list will be announced by 5 November 2012. Those in this list will be invited to formally pitch their projects to Blue Harvest Shorts in person. Based on the pitches, we’ll create a short list of projects to go through a detailed development process. At the end of that process, we’ll pick up to two movies to greenlight. Greenlit projects will be announced in early 2013. You can find out more about Blue Harvest Shorts or contact us at www.blueharvest.co.nz
