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The race is right around the corner!

If you don’t know about it, the 24 Hour Film Race challenges groups or individuals every year to write, shoot and edit a short film (under four minutes) in just 24 hours based on a predetermined (and secret) theme. The theme could be anything from revenge to spare change, and it’s kept secret up until the beginning of the challenge. It’s up to the filmmakers to incorporate that theme into their film however they seem fit. There’s an entry fee of $99.00, but, if your film wins, you move on to the finals where you have the chance to win cash prizes as well as some great recognition. Your film also has the chance to be voted on in their “Best of” awards which include Direction, Leading Actor, Leading Actress, Acting Ensemble, Writing, Cinematography, Editing, Original Music Score, Sound Design, Animation, Visual FX, Special FX, Set Design, Costume Design, Make-Up and more.

I participated in a previous Film Race with a group of college classmates and, even though we didn’t win, we had a great time doing it. It was both extremely challenging but fun. We were also lucky enough to be in a city where they held screenings so we were able to see our short film on the big screen along with all of the other competitors. This year, screenings will be held in Atlanta, Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver; so, if you live in or near any of those cities and you choose to compete or you just want to see what all the filmmakers who entered have done, definitely check it out.

Registration ends April 27th with the competition beginning Friday, April 29th at 10:00 P.M. Eastern Time and ending on Saturday, April 30th at 9:59 P.M. Go to their website to register, get all the details and have some fun!

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Do you love writing for the visual medium (screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, graphic novels, etc.), but you can never seem to find the time to actually sit down and write? Perhaps you will want to take a peek at Script Frenzy.

ScriptFrenzy.org is a website built on the simple idea of giving writers a community in which to write in. There’s no fancy award when your script is finished (except a nice web icon), no entry fee, and no bull. There’s just the challenge of completing your script during the thirty days of April. So, why do thousands of writers from all around the world come together in an attempt to write their scripts? Part of it is Script Frenzy allows anyone to enter regardless of age or financial backing. Part of it is because they have one of the largest communities dedicated to writing, and that their forums are always populated with writers of all skill levels willing to help in a time of need. Part of it is because it’s just so much fun!

Popularity of the contest has gotten so big that local writing groups have started forming in cities all around the world dedicated to giving contestants a quiet place to go to finish their scripts and network with other writers so you won’t have to work through your script alone. After you finish your script, the forums have a wealth of information on what to do with that stack of papers (or chunk of kilobytes) from revising to selling.

If you’ve had an idea rolling around your head for a script but could never find the time, sign up at Script Frenzy (it’s free) and make room in April to finally get that script done! The contest begins April 1st and goes all through the month. You can enter at any time, but you have to be done by the end of the month so get cracking!

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Although the deadline for submitting work to the Vimeo Fesitival + Awards has ended, the real fun is just about to begin. Coming this October 8th and 9th, in New York City, you can experience a unique awards show and festival geared towards the visionary creatives from all corners of the globe that use the internet as a medium to showcase their work at the Vimeo Festival + Awards.

The Vimeo Festival and Awards will be a celebration of the best original and creative video that has premiered online. Our goal is to reward the individual creators behind online video and acknowledge the internet as a quality medium of expression and distribution. And of course, we’re going to do it in style.

The awards will be open to anyone who has premiered their work on any online platform. This isn’t just a Vimeo thing, it’s a video thing, and we’re opening it up to everyone. The festival will then highlight the best of online video in an exciting offline environment for all to attend. We’re cooking up some pretty cool stuff for these events, folks, and we can’t wait to tell you more about our plans.

They are cooking up some cool stuff, indeed. With official lists coming soon, we know Vimeo is getting together panels with some of the best creatives in the industry, and, if that wasn’t enough, you will be able to sign up for one-on-one sessions with some of the hosts. Of course, this being a festival celebrating the best of web video content, there will be 10 screenings displaying some of the best work submitted to the contest, all in the luxury of a theater. They have also set up workshops on such things as HD DSLR filmmaking, traditional to digital filmmaking, Vimeo tips & tricks and video editing, among many others; a community tent for everyone to mingle and for a select group to show off their work; and, of course, a few special events and parties.

The awards show is the culmination of a lot of hard work from both those on the Vimeo staff and those who participated in the event, and both have a lot to look forward to as the event draws closer. From the moment the final submissions were being taken, projects from different categories including music videos, motion graphics and experimental were being judged by the top players in many different fields including Roman Coppola, Vincent Laforet, M.I.A, Nick Campbell and David Lynch, among many others. The participants are all aspiring to win the top prize of a $25,000 grant for their next project, as well as the recognition of the entire Vimeo community, professionals in attendance and the rest of the world.

The Judges for Vimeo Festival + Awards

Even if you didn’t enter a submission, the Vimeo Festival + Awards is an amazing event to behold. We all know networking is a very important piece of this industry and staying ahead of the game is equally an important piece, and there’s no better place to do both than at an event such as this. Learn tricks from the pros, Q and A with some of the industry leaders, seeing what others in the industry are up to and networking galore; this is one event you don’t want to miss.

Early bird rates are available now: $175 for a two day adult pass, $135 for a two day student pass (purchase tickets). Visit the Vimeoawards.com for updated lists of events, judges and more. Also, follow @Vimeo on Twitter for up-to-date news and changes.

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The Interactive Open challenges Artists and Developers to use the open-source content from Sita Sings The Blues to make something new.

There will be a Gallery Showing of works with hands-on stations at The Grassy Knoll Gallery in Portland, Oregon from 7pm-9pm on Thursday, October 29th. If you can’t meet the deadline – make something anyway! There will be an online gallery to feature all works as they are completed.

Sita Cries a River in The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told

The only rules:

1. The final piece must have some sort of audience interaction, and be playable in a web browser.
2. You must release the source code under the same license as the content (CC-BY-SA)

You can leave comments, questions and works-in-progress on the official page: The Interactive Open