Delegate Registration Procedure

Hi all,

The DAM Fest is open for delegate entry registration. Please follow this simple procedure for entring the festival.

- Mail us at thedamfest@gmail.com or log on to http://www.thedamfest.com/ for downloading the delegate entry form.

- Each member should send us the form (duly authorized by your institute/organization/association) with full particulars and two passport sized recent photographs as early as possible.

- The delegate pass is meant for attending the screenings and other events. Entry fee is Rs.150 for Pune based delegates and Rs. 700 for outstation delegates. This amount includes travel and accommodation within the city for outstation students. No entry fee has to be paid by delelgates who has sent a film as an entry in the competetive category for DAM Fest.

- This amount has to be paid either by cash or demand draft in favor of Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, payable at Pune. The passes would be issued only after the receipt of this amount.

- All the things have to be couriered to:

The DAM Fest,

Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication,

Survey No - 231

Vimaan Nagar,

Pune,

Maharashtra - 411014

Till then keep DAMing!!!

Screencapping

A few days back an interested participant asked me this question...

Q. Is it compulsory to submit the stills from the film? Will my film be disqualified if I don't submit them?

A. Well, no. the film will not be disqualified, I said. But there is a possibility that selection committee might not give preference to a film without an accompanying picture. The committee will be given a catalogue with the pictures that will aid them to decide upon the final selection. So, yes, it will be profitable for all participants to submit pictures from their film.

I then went on to tell him that all he had to do was send us some high quality screencaps and the problem will be solved.

Q. But what IS a screen cap?

A. A screen shot (sometimes called a screen capture) is a copy of the screen's contents that can be saved as a graphics file or copied into a document or graphics editor. Various programs are available for creating screen shots, but it is easy to do without any special program.

To take a screen shot on a Windows platform, you press the Print Screen button (usually on the top row of the keyboard) to get a shot of the entire screen. To get a shot of the active window only, you press the Alt key and the Print Screen key at the same time. The screen shot is copied to the clipboard (the memory area that temporarily stores information to be copied to another location ) and can then be pasted into a document in a word processing program such as Word or WordPerfect, or into an image editor, such as Adobe Photo Shop, Paint Shop Pro, or Microsoft Paint if you want to alter the image.

On a Macintosh platform, you press the Command, Shift, and 3 keys to create an image file (called a PICT file). If you press 4 instead of 3, the cursor changes to allow you to select an area of the screen to save. Command, Shift, and 4 with the Caps Lock pressed allows you to create a circular image. Any of the commands with the Control key pressed copies the image to the clipboard.

On a Unix platform, there are different methods for the various interfaces. A common one is the command xwd -out filename.xwd, which allows you to click a screen to make an image file.


Try these links for more info about how to make screen caps:

http://irreproachable.livejournal.com/738.html
http://www.any-capture.com/
http://www.killermovies.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-14607-dvd-screencaps-how-do-you-make-them.html
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=464148


For the purposes of the Festival, we request the participants to send a soft copy as well as a hard copy of the screen caps.
1. A generation of quality will not be lost if you send soft copies and not printouts of the pics.
2. It's obviously easier to get soft copies printed.
3. A hardcopy along with your entry will ensure there is no mix up and confusion regarding the pictures.


Cheers
Madhura

But what IS Digital Filmmaking

Ah, here's something for those a little green about the knowledge of making films digitally:

Digital film making is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data.
Digital film making captures motion pictures digitally, in a process analogous to digital photography. While there is no clear technical distinction that separates the images captured in digital cinematography from video, the term "digital cinematography" is usually applied only in cases where digital acquisition is substituting for film acquisition, such as when shooting a feature film. The term is not generally applied when digital acquisition is substituting for analog video acquisition, as with live broadcast television programs.

Digital vs. Film

1.When shooting on film, response to light is determined by what film stock is chosen. A cinematographer can choose a film stock he or she is familiar with, and expose film on set with a high degree of confidence about how it will turn out. Because the film stock is the main determining factor, results will be substantially similar regardless of what camera model is being used.In contrast, when shooting digitally, response to light is determined by the CMOS or CCD sensor(s) in the camera, and every camera is different. A cinematographer shooting digitally can at once measure and monitor the final result and outcome, without waiting for the result from the developed film.

2.Although very compact and inexpensive digital cameras are becoming more widely available, the image quality is not yet up to the level normally desired for theatrical release. High-end digital cinema cameras tend to be quite large, and some models require bulky external recording mechanisms (though in some cases only a small strand of optical fiber is necessary to connect the camera and the recording mechanism).
In contrast, there are compact 35mm film cameras that produce the full 35mm film resolution and accept standard 35mm lenses

3.Digital acquisition typically offers better performance than film in low-light conditions, allowing less lighting and in some cases completely natural or practical lighting to be used for shooting, even indoors. This low-light sensitivity also tends to bring out shadow detail. Some directors have tried a "best for the job" approach, using digital acquisition for indoor or night shoots, and traditional film for daylight exteriors.

4.Films are traditionally shot with dual-system recording, where picture is recorded on camera, and sync sound is recorded to a separate sound recoding device. In post-production, picture and sound are synced up.
Many cameras used for digital cinematography can record sound internally, already in sync with picture. This eliminates the need for syncing in post, which can lead to faster workflows.

Today, digital acquisition accounts for the vast majority of moving image acquisition, as most content for broadcast is shot on digital formats. Most movies destined for theatrical release are still shot on film, however, as are many dramatic TV series and some high-budget commercials. High-end digital cinematography cameras suitable for acquiring footage intended for theatrical release are on the market since 1999/2000, and have meanwhile gained widespread adoption.

Some notable high-profile directors that have shot with digital equipment include

Sidney Lumet - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski - Speed Racer
Bryan Singer - Superman Returns
Mel Gibson - Apocalypto
David Fincher - Zodiac
Michael Mann - Miami Vice, Collateral
Steven Soderbergh - Guerrilla
Francis Ford Coppola - Youth Without Youth
George Lucas - Star Wars Episode II and III,
Robert Altman - A Prairie Home Companion
Anthony Hopkins - Slipstream
Robert Rodriguez - Sin City, Grindhouse
Lars von Trier - Dogville, Manderlay
David Zucker - Scary Movie 4
Michael Moore - Bowling for Columbine
Sylvester Stallone - Rocky Balboa
Peter Jackson - Crossing the line
David Lynch - Inland Empire
Lee Tamahori - Next
James Cameron - Ghosts of the Abyss, Aliens of the Deep
Tony Scott - Déjà Vu
Jean-Jacques Annaud - Two Brothers
Tim Burton - Corpse Bride

Some of these directors are strong supporters of the change from film to digital, some of them declare that it depends on the particular movie.