Last year around February I was nonchalantly scrolling through my emails when I noticed an ad for a short film competition. I clicked on the ad which brought me to the My Rode Reel Competition website. The only way I could enter the contest was if I had a Rode product and used it in my film and I happened to have a Rode microphone.
I searched the internet to find the perfect budget-friendly horror story. Days later I came across a creepy two sentence horror story and I turned those to lines into a two and a half minute short called "The Knock." The only category in the contest you could help yourself win was the Peoples Choice award (most online votes.) When I entered this short last year I did all free promotions through messaging around one hundred people a day asking them to vote. I got to the 50th most voted out of 3,000 films!!! And that was the only free promotion. This year I am using some paid online marketing tools, giveaway contests and I have a list of prominent sites to submit the film.
This year I had planned to enter the contest with a horror short called "Perfection" I prepared the three-minute script for months trying to get it right. In the middle of the filming schedule, my actress had a freak accident which messed up her leg preventing her from walking for a few months. I felt bad for my friend, but what was I going to do with the contest opening in a couple months. I scoured the internet for a different horror story to film. I found a few that appealed to me, but they just weren't the one. I relooked at the stories and wrote down the elements I liked. I took these elements and formed it into my own original story called "My Pet Norman."
I made a script of the story, created a storyboard, planned lighting, filmed it and I am now in the editing process. I will be entering the contest on May the 8th. I will post an article about the film and I will post the short story in a couple of weeks. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day.