Get Your 72 Hour Shootout Spring Filmmaking How-To Series On

Thursday, April 05, 2012

And that's a wrap!

Yeah...I know...

Thursday, April 12, 2012
7:00pm until 12:00am in EDT
The Azure Lounge, 333 E 91 St., Manhattan (possible video option)


To enable our members to put their best foot forward in this year's 72 Hour Shootout and maximize their marketing potential at the 2012 Asian American International Film Festival, in conjunction with Asian CineVision, Film Lab is rolling out a spring series of how-to filmmaking seminars! Come, learn, network, and start putting together your shootout teams!

Seating will be limited. RSVP to industryspotlight@aafilmlab.org or here on facebook.

For those not in NYC, please email IndustrySpotlight@aafilmlab.org to inquire about seminar video footage and written materials.

Our first two events will take place April 12 and May 10, 7:00-9:00 pm, so mark your calendars now!

We'll also be offering early bird discounts for filmmakers who pre-register to compete in the Shootout. The seminars are, thanks to AAFilmLab, FREE to attend. Here are all the details (SCROLL DOWN FOR ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SHOOTOUT FILMMAKING COMPETITION):

April 12:
Making Your First Short Film -

Tips and Strategies for the First Time Filmmaker

With the 2012 72 Hour Film Shootout soon approaching, writer/director J.P. Chan will share his thoughts and experiences on getting your first short film off the ground. This audience-led event will answer your questions (and then some) on how to get started and include a screening of some of J.P.'s short films. This evening is geared towards those with little or no previous filmmaking experience and will provide an overview of the filmmaking process.

J.P. Chan (www.jpchan.com) is a self-taught filmmaker and playwright living in New York City. J.P.'s award-winning short films have screened at film festivals around the world including Slamdance, SXSW, Tribeca, and Comic-Con. He also teaches DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB, a popular filmmaking workshop based on his experiences making films while holding down full-time employment. J.P. holds a graduate degree in urban planning from NYU and was born in New Jersey to working-class immigrant parents.

May 10:
Adding Production Value to a Low/No Budget Film

Money. Obviously the more you have the better. But you've got no money and barely any time to complete your short film. How do you hide the fact that your short film is low or no budget? How do you make people believe what they are watching is real and is happening at that very moment?

Low/No budget films are notorious for things like bad acting, bad locations, bad lighting, etc. It's also hard on the morale of your cast and crew when they walk onto a set knowing that a bad film is an inevitable fate.

In this workshop, we'll discuss how to increase the quality of a film that is running on practically no budget. We'll cover our experiences in all aspects of production from producing and acting to location and sound. Half of the discussion will be technical and the other half will be "big notes to think about." We'll field any questions you guys have along the way and try to find a solution or offer some alternatives on the spot. Feel free to network with us too.

Descendant Films is a narrative film production company based in New York City and Philadelphia. We've been active since 2010, and a lot of what we do involves working with Asian American artists from actors to models to musicians. We want to share the Asian American experience and hope that these stories can reach a wide audience around the world. You can check out who we are and our work at descendantfilms.com.
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MORE ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What is the Shootout?
The 72 Hour Film Shootout (“Shootout”) is a nationwide competition organized by AAFilmLab in which filmmaking teams have a total of 72 hours to write, shoot, edit and produce short films up to five minutes in length on a common theme. The competition creates opportunities for Asian Americans to demonstrate their talent, gain exposure in the entertainment industry and significantly impacts the visibility of Asian American stories and characters in film and television. At least one key production member and a lead actor from each team must be of Asian descent. The top ten finalists films will screen at the Asian American International Film Festival in New York City. The festival runs July 25, 2012, through August 5, 2012.

What if I don't have a team?
Come to the filmmaking panels, meet people, network, and put together a team. OR register for the shootout as an individual and email a request to shootout@aafilmlab.org explaining that you've registered as an individual and would like to be hooked up with other individual registrants for a shootout team.

More Details Soon To Come. . .