06 December 2011

Calling for conference abstracts & new video category

We are calling for abstracts, posters and videos for the 2012 Australian Community Engagement and Fire Awareness Conference.

The conference will be held from 31 May - 2 June 2012 at the Novotel in Wollongong. For more information and to download an abstract submission form go to the NSW Rural Fire Service website - http://bit.ly/hdXIs8

Applications to attend the conference will open in January 2012 (exact date to be confirmed). An online registration form will be posted to the website in the coming months. We'll let you know when the form goes ‘live’.

We are excited about the new video category! For tips on making your own masterpiece this website has some great advice for novice filmmakers - http://bit.ly/cxlKof

I worked in film and television production including many hours spent making low budget short films. Below are my 5 top tips for making a short film.

1. It's all in the planning
Plan your story before you turn the camera on. What are you trying to achieve? Who are your audience? What is your start, middle, and end? Most short films are between 3-7 minutes. Can you tell your story in this time frame?

2. Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS)Keep the number of locations to a minimum. This will save you a lot of time and you can film more footage each session. Keep the number of actors, characters or presenters to a minimum as well.

3. Watch your shooting ratio
The more you shoot the more footage you have to watch, then edit. Some filmmakers aim for a shooting ratio of 5:1 (i.e. that ratio of filming compared to the final run time of your project). Shoot more than 20:1 you may have an epic on your hands … ‘Gone With The Wind II’?

4. Great catering, stay hydrated and breaks
Trust me, this is essential! I have been on too many short films with terrible or stingy catering. Include lots of protein at lunch and produce sweets for a 3pm ‘sugar hit’. Keep your fluids up and take breaks. Without catering, water and breaks you may have a crew mutiny on your hands.

5. Giving thanks and crew screening
Don't forget to thank your cast, crew and others that have helped you, especially those who offered their homes or businesses as a shooting location. If you have promised your cast and crew to list them in the credits don’t forget to do so and carefully check the spelling of all names. A nice touch is to provide everyone involved a copy of the film and to hold a screening party.

Good luck!

For more information regarding the conference please email community.engagement@rfs.nsw.gov.au or call 02 8741 5416.

Kind regards,


Nicole

Nicole Miller
Community Engagement Coordinator
NSW Rural Fire Service
community.engagement@rfs.nsw.gov.au




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