straight 8 shootout: the isolation edition - winners announced
Gold and Bronze trophies go to Japan, Silver to Spain in industry super 8 film competition’s live-streamed ‘Cannes’ premiere.
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If you missed it on June 25th, you can still see here how the team at straight 8 replaced their annual cinema premiere in Cannes with a live YouTube format for their company charity competition, Shootout.
If you did see it you will have seen an online show in which they live-streamed the work of 13 creative companies from around the world, who finally got to see their in-camera-edited super 8 films, all made under strict lockdown conditions.
In true ‘show-must-go-on’ fashion, the stream included Ed and Alex from straight 8, in two different sheds in different parts of the UK delivering an experience similar to their popular Cannes event. The unscripted format included live attempts to surprise-Skype the winners and featured silly trophy clips starring Monty, the dog of one of the team at partner company: The Machine Shop.
And ‘the show must go on’ was a fitting theme since all the companies who had signed up to compete for charity in straight 8 shootout, subsequently agreed to make their films strictly in isolation as Covid-19 struck. As normal each film had to be shot on one roll of super 8, edited in-camera only, with no post-production, and therefore no opportunity to tweak it or even see it before its global YouTube premiere.
Only the entered companies could vote and they did so immediately after the 13 films had played so that the winners could be announced within the show.
The results are as follows:
Bronze Winner: Mr+Postive, Tokyo with “Shoseph”. Donating bronze prize fund to: The American School in Japan.
Silver Winner: Yolafilmo, Barcelona with “Face Me”. Donating silver prize fund to: Beyond Blue Mental Health Charity.
Gold Winner: NION, Tokyo with “Stay Tricky”. Donating gold prize fund to: 1% for The Planet.
Watch the films here.
Director, Tomoyuki Kujirai of NION comments: “During isolation, there must have been a lot of people who thought about their roots. That’s when I found my finger board. I built different sections using old items that are precious to me, and simply played in them. Under the influence of COVID-19, the economy and the range of activities are shrinking, so ‘you can still have fun at your home by changing the way you think’ was the concept of this film. I did not think I was going to win this contest, so I was simply astonished!”
straight 8 founder, Ed Sayers, comments: “We’re over the moon. It feels like we’ve been on a mad journey together with all the companies that entered and partnered this shootout. The road was more than rough at times and we all got through it and managed to deliver a real show despite the conditions. That’s when great bonds are always made and they really have been. And that’s what it’s all about. The straight 8 ‘family’ continues to grow and everyone is invited. I can’t wait to launch another shootout, after we get our breath back.”
Background:
Any kind of creative company is invited to take the straight 8 shootout challenge: to make a 2.5 minute short film created entirely in-camera on just one cartridge of super 8mm film. Every shot is taken in story order, with no opportunity for re-takes or editing. Any visual effects, colouring and titling must be done the old-fashioned way: as part of the shoot, with the camera. Super 8 doesn’t record sound, so soundtracks are made ‘blind’ and must be original.
Entrants send their exposed but un-developed film cartridges to straight 8 partners Cinelab London who will process and scan the films. straight 8 will then line up each soundtrack with the first frame of the film. It’s that ‘simple’.
In competition for straight 8 shootout - The Isolation Edition, were: adamandeveDDB, Caviar, Iris Worldwide, JAM VFX, Partizan, Rockhound (all from London), Blur Films + 24/7 (Madrid office), Yolafilmo Productions (Barcelona), Voces Imaginarias (Mexico City), Mr+Positive and Nion (both from Tokyo), Gloria Content and 432 Films (Los Angeles).
Since launching straight 8 shootout in 2016 with APA London and Cinelab London, its success has been proven at four Cannes premieres, at Ciclope, and Adfest. straight 8 shootout online #1 took place December 2018 and saw entering companies in USA, Canada, Argentina, London, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Tokyo tuning in to see their work online at 2pm GMT, which was 6am PST and 11pm in Tokyo. Many top creative companies from around the world have now risen to straight 8’s shootout challenge.
See all of the companies who’ve ever entered and the charities who’ve benefited to date, at straight8.net/shootout
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