SXSW Film Announces New Competition and Panels
New for 2010, the SXSW Film Conference and Festival has established the annual SXSW Film Design Awards, including a new competition for the "Excellence in Title Design" Award that will feature the best in contemporary title sequence design. All title sequences that exist as part of a completed film finished in 2009 or later are eligible, and includes international submissions. The deadline to submit is December 11, 2009.
Finalists will be announced in early February 2010, and will be showcased at a dedicated screening during the SXSW Film Festival. Contestants will be judged by an expert panel and will also be eligible to be chosen by the public for an Audience Award. Due in part to the success of the 2009 SXSW Film/AIGA Austin Film Poster Award and as part of the Design Awards, SXSW will continue to honor exceptional film posters under the "Excellence in Poster Design" label (open to all accepted films).
Title sequence submissions are $10 per entry, and can be made via the SXSW Film Title Sequence Competition application form. All title sequences must be hosted online -- YouTube, Vimeo, or personal website. Finalists will be notified upon acceptance and will then need to send a broadcast-quality version of the sequence.
In related SXSW film news, visual fundamentals panels have been announced including:
- First Impressions: The Art of Main Title Design
- Floating Heads are Dead: Why Traditional Posters Suck
- Direct a Great Film by Storyboarding with Stick Figures
- Cinematography for Improvised Films: Lighting the Unknown
- Blow Something Up! Live Action Special Effects
I'm particularly intrigued with "Cinematography for Improvised Films," which will be moderated by Paul Harril of Self-Reliant Film and will address how to deal with live actions that can't be controlled. Check out the SXSW Film News for more information on any of these panels. The 2010 SXSW Film Conference and Festival will take place from March 12 through 20 next year.