myMA
Downtown Campus: Submissions for the Moravian Academy Media Arts Film Fest are now open!
The Moravian Academy Media Arts (MAMA) program was created for the purpose of providing opportunities to our students and the overall community for creative expression through film and other media arts.
Over the past eleven years, we've created and shared our film projects typically in the form of divisional assemblies. During the coronavirus pandemic things have looked quite different. And although we’re not back in full swing so-to-speak, we are inching closer to relative normalcy and hoping to revive our film fest this year. While we’re busy working in our classes to create videos, we still want and need submissions from outside of school. As is always the case, we’re never sure what we’ll get, but let’s see how we do!
This is your invitation! Please consider creating a short video-based project and sharing it with us. For submission guidelines and rules, please see submission form below.
Below you will find a list of ideas for making a short film. You may choose to do one of these, but you should surely feel free to think outside the box. You will also find some tips for making a good short film. Finally, you will find a link to our Vimeo showcase featuring some of our films from the past. This showcase is not an exhaustive list of everything that we've done, but it should give you a taste of some of the works that have been produced and shared over the years. You should feel free to use the films as examples of what can be done, but again, feel free to think outside the box.
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The Trailer Challenge – Make a trailer using any iMovie trailer template
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The Commercial/Mockumercial Challenge – Make a TV commercial or a parody of a TV commercial
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The Music Video/Music Video Parody Challenge – Make a music video or parody of a music video
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The Adaptation Challenge – Make a trailer or short film version of any book you’ve read in school this year
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The Documentary Challenge – Make a short documentary-style film
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The Animation Challenge – Make a stop-motion or animated film
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The Original Film Challenge – Make a short (feature-style) film
Tips for making a good short film:
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Write a sample script with a streamlined plot and a minimum number of characters. You will run out of time and be unable to flesh out complex story arcs or large casts of characters.
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Consider what locations, props, costumes, and other basic production needs you have available or can easily obtain, writing your script with this in mind. A story set in a modern-day American suburb will have greater verisimilitude than an 18th-century Chinese epic.
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Keep your pacing lively with sharp editing and a good mix of shots, even five-minute films can seem like an eternity with too slow of a tempo.
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Don’t forget about the sound. Audio can make or break the audience’s experience of your film. Imagery is important, but inaudible dialogue or inattention to your audio mix can wreck an otherwise great film. A well-designed soundscape can greatly enhance even mediocre cinematography.
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Look at other short films on Youtube, Vimeo, TikTok, and other platforms!!! You will get a sense of what works and what doesn’t. Here’s our Vimeo Showcase.
The deadline for any or all submissions (SEE submission form) for MAMA’s Film Fest will be May 20, 2022. Please contact the point person at your respective division or campus for more information.
For questions, please contact:
Sara Polefka
Moravian Academy Lower School Downtown Campus, Grades 1-5
Bud Brennan
Moravian Academy Middle School, Downtown Campus Grades 6-8
Attention Swain School Campus student creators: If you would like to submit your short film to this year's MAMA Film Fest, simply read the information above, fill out the submission form, and send it all to Mr. Bud Brennan!
Please note: This information pertains only to students on the Downtown or Swain School Campuses. For information about the Upper School Film Fest on the Merle-Smith Campus, please click here.
