Short Take

Everyone wants to cut a long story short, skip the sob and leapfrog to the end. That8217;s the way life is, in a super fast track...

The film circuit8217;s abuzz with one-minute captures and contests

Everyone wants to cut a long story short, skip the sob and leapfrog to the end. That8217;s the way life is, in a super fast track, so fast that even three-hour features have zipped it down to two, sometimes even an hour-and-a-half to keep the fidgety, short-on-time viewer in his chair. Short, now that8217;s the keyword here. In a world that has too much to say, but too little time, short films come to the rescue. To the point, these witty pieces of imagination and captures say it all in nano seconds. Call them the two-minute maggie noodle films or micro-wave popcorn entertainment, the increasing number of short film contests and festivals doing the circuit are making sure that the shorties get to stand tall.

Surf this: There8217;s the Get Shorty short film contest for amateur filmmakers on Zee Studio, Filmaka India always has one going on on its website, Buzz18 too has announced an Indian short film contest in association with the production house Pritish Nandy Communications called Shortcut, Passion for Cinema8217;s out with the second one-minute film contest, Short Film Festival of India is always open to entries, Indyarocks too has a short film festival to its credit, YouTube has already become the centre of short takes8230;8221;It is very important that one starts with short films, it8217;s like testing the waters first,8221; feels Aamir8217;s director Rajkumar Gupta. There is no dearth of stories, the universe is made up of them, and Gupta8217;s of the view that sometimes, a short take justifies the piece more. 8220;The short film contest is a very encouraging platform, one which acts as a stepping stone to bigger features, and here, aspiring filmmakers can experiment with their art and tell very compelling and moving stories in just a minute!8221; he adds. Road to the big screen, the short film with its big ideas and shoe-string budget proves just the right push for an amateur. 8220;But please, do not confuse it with home videos,8221; pleads a very skeptical Onir. The My Brother Nikhil director feels that it8217;s too early to club this genre with cinema. 8220;Because we don8217;t have a very big market for this, and we are just beginners as of now,8221; he refers to the difference in use of language, form, technology and content here. 8220;No doubt it8217;s a growing industry in India and there is talent appreciation, but the unfortunately, there8217;s no money here, the filmmaker has to dish out every penny. Even the festivals don8217;t pay! So you have to be sure and not treat it as a hobby,8221; he opines.

Unlimited internet access, websites mushrooming all over the virtual space, accessible cheap technology, all aid the short filmmaker. 8220;But till your content is not strong, nothing will work,8221; says city8217;s Dr Gaurav Chhabra. Brevity lies in the soul of wit, and after dabbling in short films, the doc8217;s realized it8217;s the right platform and push only when you succeed in saying something real big in few words. 8220;Chhota mooh, badi baat,8221; he reminds us of his local fest. 8220;It8217;s a boost, but avoid using mobiles, use only DV cams or high definition cameras to shoot, and make it picture worthy. It has to look like a complete piece of art with a thought, it has to have an impact,8221; Onir sums it up with words of caution and advise. Good things always come in small packages!.

Contest call
Zee Studio8217;s Get Shorty where participants can send in their short film of about five minutes on a DVD to Zee Studio and the five best films received will be played on national television.
The Wild Card Contest on Filmaka. Submissions close November 25th, 2008. No specific subjects, but duration limit is one to three minutes. filmaka.in
Buzz188217;s out with Shortcut. The entries cannot be more than 10 minutes long.
You can log on to shortfilmfestivalofindia.com for info.
Check out passionforcinema.com and try the PFCOne contest
For the environmentalists, BBC8217;s Wildscreen is an option and so is India8217;s CMS Vatavaran films.
If you are interested in telling in a short poetry format, log on to sadho.com