Nudged Into Semi-Finals Once More

This is just a quick update regarding the news I've received from Yobi Film.  My short, Give it Time has been voted into the preliminary round of the semi-finals for the 2nd time this year without me promoting it.  The very same thing also happened this summer with my project, The Gizmo Tree.

After winning 2nd place in the film making competition back in the spring, these updates from the latest season of Yobi simply reaffirm that people are clicking around to view my videos (which is awesome!).  I haven't even updated my profile on the site since the end of season 2, but it's because I'm waiting to produce something larger and all-new before heading back into the contest.

Neither Give it Time or the Gizmo Tree have been voted through to the semi-finals this year after making the preliminary round, but it's a cool feeling to know that others have helped to put them there in the first place. Thank you to those who have done so! 

New videos are on the roster for 2011. 

Give it Time in Yobi Film

This year I was awarded the 2nd place prize in Season 2 of the Yobi Filmmaking Contest with my short, The Geology Student. Season 3 began shortly after with a brand new set of rules, and a lengthier structure to get more filmmakers involved. Largely I hadn't been paying attention though because I didn't have a new short I wanted to campaign for.

In July the Gizmo Tree was voted into the preliminary semi-final round without my promotion or involvement, and now for the second time this year another one of my shorts, Give it Time has been voted into the contest without my help. It's taken an email both times to bring me back to the site to even check it out.

My stance hasn't changed since this happened the first time. I'm incredibly honored and flattered that people are checking out my projects and voting, but if I'm going to participate in Yobi Film again I'm going to wait until I have something new to share. I'm very proud of my previous work but many have already played a role in a contest, competition or film festival. I don't want to back-track at this point when I feel I can produce new work at an even higher standard (I just need the time to do it).

You can view my Yobi profile here. At the time of this post it hasn't been updated since I was participating in the Season 2 finals.

It's an interesting position to be in as the short could potentially be voted through without my control meaning that I wouldn't be able to compete with another film. I'm not really putting too much faith in that though, and mainly wanted to thank those who have been to Yobi Film to view my work and vote without me even knowing.

I plan on returning to Yobi, hopefully to compete in Season 3 with something new. Right now that's all up in the air. You can view Give it Time below.

On Location: Give it Time

Project: Give it Time
Shot: November 2007
Location: University of Regina - College West
Revisited: March 2009

Upon returning to the University of Regina, I took it upon myself to revisit a number of locations that I shot various projects and short films. Give it Time was one of the shorts I made at the end of 2007 for the Sasktel Cell-ebrities contest. Not much has changed since I was last there. The same desk and chairs remain, and it's not hard to imagine 'Keep the idiot to a minimum' scribbled on the chalkboard. Admittedly, it was still fun returning to College West and seeing the student lounge where I shot some of my own film history. The original 2007 short can be seen below.

Give it Time (2007)

In a rapidly advancing technological age we have to ask the hard questions about what impact electronics, such as cell phones, have on our lives. A short film is the perfect medium to do this, and as a filmmaker, I created a short film that doesn't answer any of these questions! And thus is the beauty of a comedic short.

I created Give it Time in the fall of 2007 for the Sasktel Cell-ebrities Online (Cell phone related) competition. My idea had been a work in progress since the summer that year, but it wasn't until November that things actually got underway. My goal for the project was to create something that seemed stylistically different than the other videos I'd been watching on the site, and most importantly, something that folks would watch more than once.

The intial round of the contest where anyone could upload a video had started in the summer, and it took me until November to make my vid because I wasn't even sure I had a chance. Sasktel is the provincial phone company of Saskatchewan and the contest was only for residents of the province. I was living there at the time going to the University of Regina, but technically, I was still a permanent resident of Alberta. A semester of work, and doubt if I'd even be eligible to win any of the prize money had me second guessing whether it was worth the effort to make a film specifically for the contest. Despite this, I'd been thinking about what kind of movie I would make if I were to enter, largely because my friend Tyler had been quite interested in the contest and had uploaded his film Gilligan.

I talked myself into making a short by reasoning that even if I wasn't eligible to win, it would still be something if they said they wanted to accept my film but couldn't because of technicalities like my address. With so much time to think about and refine an idea, it seemed like a waste not to try. So late in November, living in the dorms I went down to the math lounge at 2 in the morning to shoot my film. I knew exactly what I wanted to do, only needed a few camera setups, and knew that the strength of my project would come from the clues I gave in my dialogue and how I cut the video in post production.

Give it Time - Cell-ebrities Version 2007


Fast forward to early January 2008, and Give it Time and the other short film I made for the contest just weeks later, The Gizmo Tree, had both been selected as Top 10 finalists in the contest. Feeling that the Gizmo Tree was a more mainstream approach, I chose to promote that film in the voting round leaving Give it Time on the sidelines.

When all that was said and done, I was left feeling that Give it Time hadn't really had a chance because the whole contest suddenly became about my other short. I still felt that I should do something with the project because so many, including the judges at Sasktel, told me how much they enjoyed the twist in my film, and how it got better with each viewing when you were in on the joke. It was around the same time that I began thinking about submitting something to the Youngcuts Festival in Montreal. I made a few minor changes to Give it Time, including new credits, sfx and a music track and sent it off.

Fast forward a few months again, Give it Time had been accepted at the 2008 Youngcuts International Film Fest and was a nominee for Best Short Short (film under 3 minutes). All and all I got everything I wanted from the project. It was a great experience being the only person in the Cell-ebrities contest to have two films in the finals, and getting to weigh the feedback between those who thought Gizmo Tree was better and those who thought Give it Time was. Youngcuts gave the project legs of its own, and for the sake of my portfolio, distinguished it with a notable credit outside of Cell-ebrities. Even my current employer mentioned to me that it was my editing in Give it Time that sparked her interest in offering me the job.

Give it Time - Youngcuts Version 2008


It always amazes me how connected things actually are in terms of the benefits and positive word of mouth that occurs when I'm on a promotion kick. A lot of it I never hear until well after the fact, but it just goes to show that even without winning on this particular project, I was still able to improve on my portfolio, get people talking about my work, and motivate myself. The evolution and result of making Give it Time has proven to be a signifcantly positive experience. My point behind all of this, is that the payoff came simply from talking myself into trying, even when it seemed like I might not have a chance at the reward. It's a lesson I hope I continue to follow.

Youngcuts 2008 Program

I managed to get a hold of a program for the 2008 Youngcuts film fest in which my short Give it Time is playing in just a couple days (August 20). It just seemed worth sharing as I'm usually so far from the action that it's nice to get my hands on something with my name on it that someone else actually made, haha. As you can see from one of the preview sheets including the short descriptions (there are 10 more sheets that I didn't include), the festival has a wide range of films this year from documentaries, animations, dramas and musicals from as far away as Australia, Europe and all over North America . It feels good to not have to talk up my project for once, and just feel proud about the company I'm in. I can't wait to hear about how the festival turns out.

Give it Time @ Youngcuts!

I just wanted to pass on some great news that I received today. A couple months ago I submitted my short film Give it Time to the Youngcuts Festival. You may remember that Give it Time was a short I originally made for the Sasktel Video Competition in November of last year.

In the Sasktel competition I put all my efforts into promoting my film the Gizmo Tree, which turned out to be the right thing to do as it won 2nd place. However, I was left feeling like my other entry, Give it Time, despite being in the Top 10 of that contest also, hadn't reached its potential.

Today I received the email saying that Give it Time has been accepted to the 2008 Youngcuts International Festival taking place in Montreal, QC next month. It's an accomplishment I feel excellent about as I've submitted to the festival over the last 4 years, and have only had Keys to Existence be accepted at the 2005 festival in Toronto.

Give it Time is now one of the Top 100 films out of (what they said was) nearly 1000 submissions. It really makes no difference to me if it wins in its 'Best Short Film' category, as i'm just so thrilled that it'll be playing to such a large and diverse crowd.

You can check out Give it Time below:

Youngcuts Submission 2008

For the last few years I've been entering my work in the Youngcuts International Film Festival. It's for filmmakers 25 and under, and in the 3 times I've entered I've only been accepted once. That's actually about average as far as festivals have gone for me. To be honest, this festival in particular has always been a last minute, end of the semester push to get something sent away before their deadline. That, once again, was the way it happened when I entered my film Give it Time.

You may remember seeing the original film when i was taking part in the Sasktel competition Cell-ebrities earlier this year, but because I had 2 films in that contest and put all my energy into my entry the Gizmo Tree I felt like I had a film that I hadn't really used to its potential. So, I took the original version of Give it Time and added a few sound effects, spruced up the text and titles, and added a background score to freshen up the project before sending it off.

It'll probably be awhile before I hear whether or not my entry made it into the 'shorts' category that I entered it in, but in the meantime I thought I could share the revamped version with you. Enjoy!