Summer 2022

Straight Up: Mobile Phone Challenge

Ever wanted to make a film but you don’t know where to start? The best place to start is using what we always carry in our pockets - a phone! 

Working solo or as a team, we challenge you to make a short film using your mobile phone. The goal of the challenge is to get comfortable with composing shots in a straight-up, vertical space.

Challenge Details

RULES

• All participating filmmakers must register here or at the bottom of this page

• All participating filmmakers must be 24 years old or younger at the time of project completion. 

• Participants can enter as individuals, or in teams of up to three (3)

• Everything must be captured vertically and on a mobile phone

• The films can be any genre (music video, documentary, day-in-the-life, narrative, experimental, animation, etc.) 

• Films must be between 1-3 minutes in length

• All dialogue and narration must be original recordings

• All films must be the original work of the submitter(s), created solely for the purpose of this competition

• If you choose to use music or graphics that are not your own creation, they must be royalty free or used with permission of the artist(s)

• All submissions must be sent to leomary [at] nffty [dot] org via https://wetransfer.com/

• NFFTY reserves the right to omit any submission from live or online programs at our sole discretion

Timeline

DEADLINE TO REGISTER & SUBMIT

Monday, August 15

CHALLENGE BEGINS -- CHALLENGE FILMS DUE

Wednesday, June 1 Monday, August 15

If you’ve never made a short film before, you can still apply to this challenge! 

We hope that this will be a positive and rewarding learning experience if this is your first time. Here are some videos and reading materials to build your confidence:

Mobile Filmmaking with Cassius Rayner via FiLMiC Pro

Damien Chazelle's Vertical Cinema Shot Breakdown

A Master Class in Framing Shots for Vertical Cinema

How to make a short film on your phone

Making a movie with your iphone

How to make a short film with your smartphone

AWARD CATEGORIES

Ages 18 and under
Ages 19-24

AWARDS & PRIZES

3rd PLACE

• T-Shirt/NFFTY Swag

• Michael Wiese Productions Books

• Credit to redeem for Moment filmmaking courses

2nd PLACE

• T-Shirt/NFFTY Swag

• Michael Wiese Productions Books

• Credit to redeem for Moment filmmaking courses

• $50 cash prize

1st PLACE

• T-Shirt/NFFTY Swag

• Michael Wiese Productions Books

• Two (2) All-Access Passes to NFFTY 2023

• $100-250 gift card credit for Moment retail store

• $200 cash prize