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About the 48/5 Film Competition

At the East Lansing Film Festival 48/5 Film Contests, filmmakers come together to write, shoot, edit, and premiere an original five-minute film in a mere 48 hours. The 48/5 contests draw an exciting array of talented teams, including amateurs, professionals, students, and local film fanatics.

At the start of the contests, teams are given three specific elements they must incorporate into their finished film. To add to the challenge, each teams draws a genre from a hat. Finished films that meet the deadline are judged on how well they incorporate these elements.

Team leaders may register online or in person the day of the contest. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Unregistered late teams will be disqualified. The winners will also be shown at the East Lansing Film Festival in the Fall.

48/5 Film Competition Rules

 

Concept

Filmmaking teams have 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a short film.
Duration of the Short
4 minutes minimum – not including credits. 5 minutes maximum – including credits. 
Credits at the end of each film are limited to a maximum of 60 seconds 
 

Deadlines

The teams will meet at Beggar’s Banquet, 218 Abbot Rd, East Lansing, MI 48823 no later than 5:45pm on Friday. Competition will begin at 6 pm on Friday, and end at 6pm on Sunday. The participating teams must turn in their completed film on DVD (see below submission format requirements) no later than 6pm on Sunday, at Beggar’s Banquet. There is no grace period. 
 

Films must be turned in on DVD.  No other formats will be accepted. No exceptions! 

 

Label Your DVD

Make sure your team name and title of your film is clearly labeled on all DVD copies submitted to us. If they are not labeled, they are disqualified. You will be tired and brain dead but try to remember this. 
 

Late Films

Films received on Sunday after the final deadline may be screened at the discretion of the ELFF staff but are not eligible for an award.
 

The Start

Each participating group must have at least one member at the 48/5 kick-off meeting, preferably the Team Producer. At 6pm on Friday, one member from each team will receive an envelope containing a pre-selected line of dialogue, prop and location to be included in the film. Drawing a Genre. When the team leader receives his/her envelope at the kick-off meeting, he/she will draw a genre from a hat and the film must clearly possess the cornerstones of this genre. If, for example, you receive Thriller and your film is more in the spirit of a comedy, your score will be adversely affected. The genres used in the competition will be selected from the following: Comedy, Drama, Action or Horror.
 
These elements must be included in the submitted film. Failure to include any of these elements will render the film ineligible for prizes. Judging will be based on: story, the originality and creativity used in including these elements in the final product, and the film’s overall production value.
 

Shooting Period 

All creativity will take place within the 48-hour period (scriptwriting, rehearsals, costume/set design, shooting, editing, sound design, etc.). The only work allowed prior to the official start time is: organizing cast and crew, securing equipment, scouting and securing locations and sourcing music.
 

Music

Participating groups are encouraged to work with local composers and/or musicians to write and record music for their films. We realize that this may be difficult to achieve in 48 hours. Therefore, it is permissible for a participating group to use pre-recorded music with permission (see Video Shoot Release Form & Limited Liability Release Form). Pre-recorded, public domain sound effects are allowed.
 

Footage

All footage must be shot within the 48-hour time period. No stock footage or footage shot or created prior to that time may be used. Animation and special effects are permitted, but must be created during the 48-hour period. 
 

Cheating

Any team found to have cheated in any way will be disqualified.
 

Equipment

Any type of video or film camera may be used. There is no limit to the number of cameras that can be used. Any format for shooting is acceptable (HD, 35mm, super8, etc.) as long as the finished short is submitted on DVD by the Sunday deadline of 6pm. No other formats will be accepted.
 

Team Roster/Team Release Form

A full team roster with all participants’ names, signatures and e-mail addresses must be handed in at end of the contest with the completed film. The Team Release Form is the acceptable and preferred way of fulfilling this requirement
 
Your finished short film:
• The finished short must be handed in on DVD by Sunday at 6pm. 
• The submitted DVD must be cued at the start of your film, with sufficient black space to allow for comfortable screening. 
 
The tape must include the following after ten seconds of black – in standard typeface:
TEAM NAME
TITLE OF SHORT FILM
GENRE OF FILM (new this year!)
Please make this text fill most of the screen. White text on black background, please. 
 
Please keep a copy of the master for yourself.
 
If we cannot view your film on our equipment, it will be disqualified.
If shot in a 16:9 aspect ratio, your finished film must be presented to us letter-boxed. We don’t have time during the public screening to switch our machine back and forth to compensate for a mix of aspect ratios. It will be set to fullscreen/4:3. (The only benefit of not letterboxing a 16:9 film under these circumstances is to make your actors appear thin.) 
 

Films must include the following end credit:

This film was made as part of the East Lansing Film Festival 48/5 Film Contest.
 
The 48/5 staff may add to or amend these rules at any time prior to the beginning of the 48-hour time period.