Reel Visions seeking submissions

KET offers opportunity for Kentucky filmmakers

By Lucy Jones

Want to see your short film on television? KET is giving you the chance to do so.

The statewide public television network is seeking submissions for the 2011 season of Reel Visions, a program dedicated to showcasing the work of Kentucky filmmakers. The series aired its first episode during the summer of 2009 and has since broadcast three seasons of the half hour show. The content of featured shorts has ranged from meditations on love filmed at fast food drive-thrus to a “Twilight Zone” inspired tribute to the sci fi genre. But all of the films are unified by a common thread: they are made by folks who have lived and worked right here within our state.

Series producer Sara O’Keefe enjoys the creative heterogeneity of Kentucky filmmakers, and seeks to highlight it within the individual shows. “We like to have a hodgepodge of different styles for each episode. A single episode could feature a documentary, an art film, and a fictional comedy. We like to emphasize the diversity of Kentucky filmmakers and the fact that they make great work no matter what genre.”

In the interest of maintaining this focus on diversity, the submissions criteria are limited by little more than runtime. As O’Keefe explains, “We are looking for quality work that expresses an interesting idea or tells a great story. The films can’t be longer than 25 minutes in length and must be acceptable for an all ages viewing audience. There are no specific qualifications to have your film selected for Reel Visions. You could be a seasoned filmmaker or a student who just completed your first film. As long as the film is of good quality, follows a good idea, or tells a good story, then it has a great chance of making it onto Reel Visions.”

Once the content for an episode has been selected, the Reel Visions team (including Ben Allen, Allison NeCamp, Clark Bradshaw, and Ms. O’Keefe) inserts original stop motion animation between the shorts. The animation component of the show has been a fixture since Kelli Burton first conceived the series, and the Reel Visions crew seeks to introduce new animation each season.

But it’s not just the animation that continues to stay fresh. O’Keefe feels that technological accessibility offers new opportunities for people who have long had a creative voice, yet may not have had the earlier means to express it. As she explains, “With people being surrounded by video technology it seems a less daunting task to create a short film. There are cameras as close as your iPhone.”

O’Keefe hope that the series will inspire people to take advantage of this newfound accessibility. “My goal for Reel Visions is to give both veteran and aspiring filmmakers an outlet through which they can share their ideas or stories. I also hope that viewers might be inspired by the work they see and create their own art.”

The submissions deadline for the 4th season of Reel Visions is January 1, 2011. To enter, send your film and contact information to:
Reel Visions
KET
600 Cooper Drive
Lexington, KY 40502

Films must be sent in one of the following formats: DVCAM, DV, Mini-DV, DVD or high resolution video file. Films must not exceed 25 minutes and must be appropriate for all viewing audiences. For more information, please visit: http://www.ket.org/arts/reelvisions/