13 Online Competition will begin streaming at 8:30pm EST at https://watch.72fest.com

Thanks for your interest in YEAR 20, 2025!
This year is all about celebrating the milestone, and we can’t wait to see what filmmakers come up with (new and returning alike).

Team Registration to be completed over at the Team Portal.  https://teams.72fest.com.

Launch Party: 9.25.25 7th Sister
Make a Movie: 9.25-9.28.
Films Screen: 10.10-10.11.

We have divided 2025 Registration into Two BRANCHES:  FREDERICK and ONLINE.

FREDERICK MARYLAND:  Someone from your team must be physically present at the Launch Party on Sep 25th and also attend at least one night of the 72 Film Fest at the Weinberg Center.  Your film will be judged against other FREDERICK films and screen at the Weinberg Center Oct 10-11 at one or both of the nights.  Tickets available at weinbergcenter.org

ONLINE: Your film will screen online as part of the 72 Film Fest Online Festival on Oct 10-11 and will be judged against other Online films.  Select Online Films will play a Weinberg Center during the 72 Film Fest Saturday Oct 11th 12:30pm Block.  Tickets/ Passes will be available soon.

There are 3 Registration Levels for Teams: Student/Amateur/Pro.
Each Team will receive 2 Tickets to the Fest and/or one online Pass.

Student – $45
Amateur – $85
Pro – $120

STUDENT:  Team Leader and/or Director must be a Student with a Student ID or .EDU.  No professionals of any kind (or any union) are allowed on a STUDENT TEAM.

PRO: Director, Editor or Director of Photography is a professional and paid for their work in video/film, or someone on team is in a film related Union.

AMATEUR: Everyone Else.

Before Launch:

1) Register your team at teams.72Fest.com. Decide whether you will be a FREDERICK team or ONLINE team.  And choose your skill level: Student/Amateur/Pro.

2) Fill out and Return Terms and Conditions on Team Portal.  There will be additional paperwork for teams that utilize SAG/AFTRA talent.

3) Join Our Discord Here and Follow our Instagram @72FilmFest. 

4) Assemble your team.  It’s a good idea to have a rough idea of duties.

6) Test your equipment and workflow.  This is the time to figure out what needs you may have and fill in the gaps now.  Test your equipment: camera/lighting/ sound and editing computer.  AND test your workflow from ingesting footage/editing/rendering and especially do a run through with exporting and uploading.  These things can take a long time depending on speed of computer and internet.

Make your 10 Second Team Video if possible.  Teams are encouraged to use 10 seconds to introduce their team in a fun way.  Do NOT just do your logo.  You will be uploading Team Video at Team Portal.

Releases will be available in the Team Portal at Launch to sign digitally throughout production (or print).

At 7th Sister 228 N Market St Frederick MD 21701

1. Sign In.
2. Grab your goodies.
3. Eat/Drink/Be Merry.
4. CHAT.  There will be two interactive stations at the Launch.  First up is a live podcast recording throughout the event that all teams are invited to hop onto.  Second is a confessional booth where teams will be asked to answer a few specific questions (to be edited and shown at Fest!)
5. ~ 8pm Await the hosts to take the stage to see what this year is all about.
6. ~ 9pm Go make a movie!

ONLINE:

1. Sign In.
2. Eat/Drink/Be Merry and Chat in the Discord
3. ~ 8pm Await the hosts to take the stage to see what this year is all about.
4. ~ 9pm Go make a movie!

Are you signed up for this year? Have you participated in the past, even just for one year?

We want to screen your BTS as part of our preshow “Before the 72”. Put together some Behind the Scenes Videos, B-Roll, Outtakes, or Stills from your past films. Send a video and we’ll include it in our preshow. Only rule – maximum running time. Under 10 years (30 seconds), above 10 years (1 Minute).

We know 30-60 seconds isn’t much but think of it as a sizzle reel…if you post a longer one online, tag us and we’ll share it on social media. Let’s celebrate your team and their creativity!

Due by Sep 21

Remember that you are required to post some pics to Instagram every day.  Exact Instructions available at Launch.

You have your criteria, now’s time to BRAINSTORM.  Some teams like to keep this just to the writers, other teams like a big “writers room” where lots of heads can crack the criteria…but regardless it’s a good practice to keep the other folks in the loop.

As you are brainstorming you will probably be figuring out:

Characters
Locations
Costumes
Set Design Needs
Make Up Needs

This is the time to get those folks working on the various aspects of production.  Don’t wait until you have a final script to jump on these things.

It’s time to write!  Some teams will write a full script.  Others will write a treatment with shots.  Remember that deciding to rewrite or cut a scene now saves HOURS later- so try to get the idea down so you aren’t shooting for 6 hours on a scene you want to cut later because you don’t like your dialogue or it “didn’t work”.

It’s a great idea to have someone storyboard but at the BARE MINIMUM have a shot list.  This will go a long way and also prevent you from just placing a camera down and then having actors act in front of it.  It’s tempting when you have so little time, but if the script/idea calls for it – try to be dynamic with your camera, with your action/blocking.  And make sure to get COVERAGE – don’t just do a master shot.  It’s good to have options to cut to…and even if you have a perfect shot list, things can go wrong so it’s nice to have options if you have time for them.

It’s finally here, the shoot day!

Everyone runs sets differently, so like most of the advice on this page- work how you work best.   Most folks shoot between 1 1/2 to 2 days on the 72 Film Fest with Sunday almost exclusively editing and exporting.  The size of your team, the amount/complexity of pages of script and your ambition will determine this schedule, but don’t forget some important stuff:

Don’t forget:

1. Coverage.  Most 72 Film Fest team directors either edit or work closely with their editors but not having the proper coverage can make an edit take way longer. Yes you may have it storyboarded and you have a lot of dynamic shots planned and locked in in your head, but stuff happens.  So maybe do a master on a complicated scene, or if you don’t have time- hit record on a rehearsal or blocking take and frame everything in.  Something you can fall back on if needed.
2. Audio!  Get proper levels ON SET so you don’t have to struggle later in the edit.  This is the number one thing teams mess up.  Remember to never let audio PEAK (never above 0db) but also make sure it isn’t too low or only a little higher than say a fan, or cicadas.  Get the mic close.  You don’t need amazing equipment to get decent audio.  You just need to be close with your mics (and making sure the mic/actors aren’t right in front of something loud) and monitor the sound.
3. Food.  These folks have given up sleep to come out and help you make your vision.  Feed them. Keep them hydrated.  Make sure you pay attention to people’s dietary needs when you place your orders.  If someone isn’t making food for your set, it’s a good idea to have the menu out at the beginning of the day and just have everyone write their orders to make the breaks most efficient.
4. If it’s just a few people (as it often is with 72’s own productions) take a lot of stuff to set you THINK you might need (everything from snacks to lights to batteries and chargers, tape, cables and wires, even that extra lens you rarely use etc), that way if you need something it’s only a tub away.  If you have an extra person – put them in charge of doing Assistant Director stuff.  Get that off the plate of the Director so they can focus on the movie.  The last thing you want to do is have to hold for a trip somewhere to get a battery or wait to charge something.
5. First Aid Kit. Have one on set every day.

So Assembly cuts may or may not be feasible with the time allowed (unless you have a dedicated editor).  If the director will be editing, most likely they’ll need to crash after ingesting footage after the first long shoot day.

But IF you have an extra person tho – it is a good idea to assemble your footage in a timeline.  Understand what you have shot, know about how long your scenes are running, and also get a rough idea of what’s working and what isn’t.  You can still make changes on the second shoot day to accommodate anything you learn.  Are you going too long?  Do you even need scene 3 because someone ad-libbed in Scene 2 and got out the only info you needed in scene 3.  Was the closeup in Scene 4 completely out of focus and needs reshot?  Are your audio levels low and need to be fixed.   All sorts of decisions can be made and problems solved if you check what you have BEFORE you go back out to shoot that second day.

Many teams will just shoot until they’re done then ingest on Saturday Night or Sunday Morning and then start editing and realize they messed up something big.  This is the worst case scenario (and has happened to quite a few teams).  An assembly prevents this.

Most folks won’t have time to do an assembly cut (or it just isn’t part of your workflow) so this final day will just be scrambling to finish shooting any pages that haven’t been touched.

But if you have time, this is also a great way to flesh out that cut.  Maybe add an insert, maybe get a different line delivery for something that didn’t work before, or even reshoot a scene if necessary.

Now that you have finished shooting, it’s time to really get that edit going.  Or Start the edit if you weren’t able to do an assembly.

Smooth out any edits that were rough in the assembly with different takes or pick up shots (or throwaway “cat in the windows” if it’s really rough).   It’s best to go scene to scene as much as possible without spending TOO much time dialing in one particular scene.  Get a good rough cut first so you can stand back watch (and potentially share it)…and also understand what you have to do to get it under maximum length.  And once you have that initial rough cut- there may still be time to get a shot if necessary.

If you’re under the maximum, watch it a couple times then move on to audio.

Remember Audio!
Never go above 0db!  It’s best to peak at around -2db-6db.

This is a good gauge taken from a variety of sources (although it can very much be dialed in better according to your specific film/needs/style).  Music may need to be much lower if dialogue is over it or if the music is big sounding (some folks recommend music to be about 20db lower than dialogue).  This is by no means a requirement…but if you’re at a loss here’s some basics:

• Peak: -2db through -6db.  Never go above 0db!
• Overall Mix Level: -10db to -14db
• Dialogue: -12db to -15db
• Music: -18db to -22db
• Sound Effects: -10db to -20db with occasional spikes up to -8db.

Once your audio levels are good, then you can move on to color correction, matching color on shots/takes etc, and finding that overall look for your film.  Some folks may throw a LUT on everything while editing the rough, but here is where you can dial that in.

Do NOT do this before you do a decent audio edit making sure your levels are good.  We have seen too many teams jump right to this and not have any time to fix their audio levels (too low, or all over the place).  Remember it doesn’t matter how pretty it is if people can’t hear it – folks tend to zone out if they have to struggle to hear something.

Grab a screenshot or two that will be used in the online catalog for your film.

Put 1 frame of black before and after your film.
Put 10 Second Team Video directly after the 1 frame of black and begin your film directly after that.

Accepted Format for screening is  H.264 or H.265 (1080p Files preferred).  25Mbs max.  Sound: Stereo AAC.

Put your film, your still image(s), Official Entry Form and any releases into a folder.  Make sure Your film is titled “Team Name-Title”

In Person: 7th Sister 9.28 6:30-9pm. – Turn in then Dive into the podcast room and share your experiences!

Online:  teams.72fest.com Team Portal!  Upload your film, team video, screen still, and fill out official entry form and cast/crew.

BackUP: We accept GOOGLE DRIVE, DROPBOX and other cloud storage links.  Put your film, your still image(s), Official Entry Form and any releases into a folder.  Then on Google, click GET SHAREABLE LINK on the folder.  Or on DROPBOX select COPY DROPBOX LINK on the folder itself.  Message the link to us on Discord (or email staff@72fest.com). We must be able to download the link in its entirety by 9pmEST.  We will update the Discord as we receive and verify. Failure to provide us a fully downloadable link by 9pmEST will constitute a late entry.

Make a 30 Second Trailer of your short and upload it same way as uploading film.  They will premiere at 72@KNIGHT which is a collaboration between us and Movie Knight at Frederick Arts Center.  Come out, show off your trailer and chat about your experience making a movie.  Afterward we’ll also post it on our Instagram and 72Fest.com Website!  Can be anything you want for a trailer – just max 30 seconds.

2) Snag Team Tickets.

If you didn’t come to launch – Two 2 Day Tickets will be set back for your team at Weinberg Center by Oct 3rd 2024.  Additional Tickets can be purchased from Weinberg Center.

ONLINE:  You will receive online pass by Oct 3rd.  Films premiere Oct 10th online.

Promote your teaser, Share the events, and get ready for 72 Film Fest at the Weinberg.

Note: Team Registration Fees only cover part of our expenses, so the more folks we get in the theater, the bigger Fest we can make in the future.

Friday Night Premieres (FREDERICK)
All Frederick Films will premiere at Weinberg Center Oct 10th.

6:30pm – Students/Amateurs
8:30pm Amateurs/Pros

All Online Film entries will premiere online on Oct 10th.

Saturday Night Main Event:

12:30pm –   Select Online Films will screen.

3:00pm – The Black Hills Night Hike Anthology Screens!

7:00pm – Finalists screen followed by Award Ceremony!