Winner Wednesdays: Lloyd Choi & Simon Yang

The first ever filmmakers to take home the coveted Pepsi Films trophy were Canadian's Lloyd Chang and Simon Yang, with Creative Control for the Hit Delete theme.  Lloyd and Simon will be working with Pepsi Spain on a special commission in 2011 and we'll let you know what they get up to. In the meantime have a read about what they do, how they do it and why they love Pepsi Films

Name:

Lloyd Choi & Simon Yang

Location:

Vancouver Canada

What experience do you have in films and filmmaking and how long have you been making films for:

Simon and I are self taught filmmakers, never having done school for film. We learned from the streets, from the hard knocks. We've been doing this seriously for the last 3 years. 

What are your hopes for your future in film and are you working on any other projects at the moment:

Like most filmmakers, to be a feature film director making the films we want to make. We are currently doing a couple MOFILM Pro projects, as well as a music video and short film (action film!) to be shot in the summer. Long term would be to do a feature in the next couple years. 

Why did you choose to enter for Pepsi in particular:

Making a film that tells a story in a minute is a fun challenge. You see a lot of films that are too long for their own good, so this was a great lesson on how to keep the story and editing tight, keeping the audience engaged. Also, the cash prize and a trip to Barcelona doesn't hurt much either! 

What do you think of Pepsi Films:

It's a great way for filmmakers to exercise their storytelling chops, getting their film exposed, and being rewarded for their hard work and talent. 

Are you going to enter any Pepsi Films contests:

Most likely later on, but for now we are concentrating on MOFILM Pro projects.

How did you come up with the idea for this particular spot:

Like most ideas, it came at the 11th hour, a few days before the deadline. It was all very spontaneous, written in a night, shot a couple days later and edited that same night, submitted a few minutes before the deadline! Creativity springs from desperation sometimes.

What do you think about Pepsi as a brand and how did you try to get this across in your film:

Pepsi is such an iconic brand in the marketing and commercial world. But what excited me most was doing something that wasn't branded, with free reign on the concept, story, and final cut. That's when filmmakers really shine... when we're limitless.

What kind of person were you targeting with your spot, what particular reaction were you aiming for and how did you go about getting it:

Definitely targeting a wide audience. Just wanted to do something fun and cheeky.

What equipment did you use:

Canon 5D Mark 2 and tripod. And a bounce board!

Did you face any challenges in the process of making the film:

We were supposed to shoot it the day before, but it ended up snowing that day. And it rarely snows in Vancouver. Luckily, it all cleared up the next day... then a couple weeks later we were in Barcelona with some cool peeps! 

What advice would you give a filmmaker thinking about entering a Pepsi Films competition:

Keep the story simple. Base it around a core idea, then surprise the audience. 

Pepsi Film Barcelona Overall Winner!

The first Pepsi Films contest is now all over and the first overall winner has been selected. In fact it's two winners, Lloyd Choi and Simon Yang who are the creative geniuses behind Creative Control.

The jury had a hard time choosing - each of the three films had something different to offer, but they felt that Lloyd and Simon's piece was an excellent short that really answered the brief of Hit Delete.

Do you agree with our jury?

Lloyd and Simon will now work with Pepsi Spain on a special commission, we'll keep you updated on how it's going.

In the meantime don't forget that TriBeCa Pepsi Films is open!

Pepsi Film Barcelona Winners!

We are delighted that we can finally announce the first place winners for each of the themes for the first ever Pepsi Films Contest.  There were three themes and we received hundreds of entries, so picking took a while.

Each of the winners has been invited to join Pepsi in Barcelona where they will attend the Pepsi Films & MOFILM awards ceremony, hosted by film critic and TV presenter, Jonathan Ross, and we will find out who the overall prize winner is.

So who are the contenders?

Winner for Hit Delete is Lloyd Choi with Creative Control.


Pop-Fizz-Ahhhh first place was taken by Kevin Harvey with Ants.


Wake up with Pepsi Revolution by Jimmy Rov and Manuel Mira.

Which of these do you think should walk off with the overall prize and the opportunity to work with Pepsi Spain to create a film especially for them with a $20,000 production budget?

Let us know!

Who is the running for Pepsi Films Barcelona?

It's been a long, long time since the 1st November 2010 when Pepsi Films was launched. Since then thousands of briefs have been download, hundreds of films have been uploaded, hours and hours have been spent watching, judging and discussing.

Now, we're finally ready to reveal which videos are in the running for the top slots at Barcelona - you can check them all out from here, or visit our facebook page and tell us which are your favourites.

The winners will be announced soon!

Wake up Jolt Australia Treasure map Australia Bin Day UK Cruisin Spain Young Greece Pyjamas Bulgaria Keep dreaming Italy Follow Youself USA Pepsi Revolution Spain Award US

Pop-Fizz-AAAAH Enjoy my Pepsi Spain Muse USA Ants USA Take a break India Ice cube UK Inspire USA For the future USA Never want USA Cant get enough UK Chillin UK

Delete it Clean up Portugal Dating USA Problema Spain Standard deviation USA The rewrite USA Freedom NZ Creative control Canada Log out Indonesia Typing of the geek USA

The 5 basic editing tips that will make your short film amazing

You’ve written, produced, and shot your winning film, now you have a week to edit before uploading for the Barcelona contest. How do you make it amazing? Here are 5 quick and simple editing tips:

1. Pacing: Editing is where the storytelling takes place. It’s all about rhythm, so pacing is very important. Pay attention to how long shots are on screen for, a single frame can make a world of difference. A couple ways to keep it interesting is to vary up the shots, quicker cuts for a faster pace, slower cuts to build tension. It’s all about the gut feeling. What feels right to you?
2. Sharing Rough Edits: Step away from your work and allow someone else to look at it. Often you will work on a project for so long that you get lost in your own work and a fresh perspective helps you notice things you may have missed. Remember story is key in filmmaking and a second opinion gives you an idea of how clear it is to the audience. Even let someone else edit work that you’ vedirected, they won’ t select the shots that you are personally attached to (took hours to prep and forever to capture) to but aren’ t right for the film.
3. Sound: Often times filmmakers will pay attention to only what the audience can see and they forget about what the audience can hear. Make sure your sound is smooth, leveled, and consistent. This is a process called mixing. Also don’t be afraid to cut out a shot if the sound makes it unbearable to watch. If your film doesn’t sound right it could ruin the whole experience.
4. Music: Music is one of the most important aspects of film. We would argue almost 50% (or any other arbitrary but significant statistic) of the film experience is sound design and music. Find the right piece or have a friend compose if you can, it will make all the difference and push your good film into greatness.
5. Color: Color correction is one of the biggest factors that will take your video to the next level. A quick color correct helps set the mood for the film, lets viewers feel warm, cold etc. In FCP, drag 3-Way Color Corrector onto your footage and play around with the color wheel to find the right hues that matches the mood of your film.

That’s all we can say for now! Stay tuned till next time!

Lawrence and Hagan

Pepsi Films Barcelona Q&A

Before Christmas we caught up with Thomas Moradpour, global marketing director for Pepsi and put your questions to him about the first Peps Films competition. 

Q: With regard to the Hit Delete theme can we assume that the power  to change that one critical thing is a fictional power or does it need to  be a logical or a practical power?

A: Hit Delete does not need to follow the rules of physics or logic.Your idea can come from pure imagination!

Q: My film has no dialogue; however, it does have a voice over. According to the brief it should be in English; but
would it help to let you guys know that we also have versions in different languages (in case you would want to use it in different countries); or that we could translate it to any other language you needed?

A: Perfect.
If the film has voice-over, it can easily be localized. This is a “plus”. Note though that this would not be “the” deciding factor.

Q: How closely do the Pepsi themes have to be in correspondence with my video? The videos that represent the themes closely, and hit them dead on – will they be favored more?

A: Yes. However, we have picked broad themes, and let you interpret  them in the way you want. We welcome unexpected ideas!

Q: Can I shoot with my iPhone 3GS? Would the quality be acceptable?

A: Talent is in the filmmaker, not in the tool.

However, a film shot with a phone is likely to be of lower resolution than  required to be shown on a big screen. Consider using different equipment  if possible.

Q: I have a good idea for the POP-FIZZ-AHHH!!! category,but it’s  a commercial (i.e. the Pepsi trademark is featured).
I just wanted  to know if presenting my idea in the shape of a commercial is ok  or if points will be deducted for it.

A: No problem. No points added or deducted for shooting a Pepsi ad, as long  as it’s great!!

Q: Do you guys have any special forms for the actors to sign as  contracts/release forms? Or should they just sign the release forms  we usually use (here in Mexico)?

A: We don’t provide any forms unless you are shortlisted, the usual release  ones you use are fine.

Q: We are composing original music, should the author of such  music also sign a release form? Any special format you might have?

A: If you are short listed, we will require proof that you have the rights to the  music but we don’t provide any forms until that point.

Q: Is there a maximum dimension (MB) that my video has to have? And if the video is too large to upload it through your website, is there another way to send it to you?

A: Max file size is 300MB and there is no other way of sending it. Check out the FAQ for details.

Q: Am I allowed to use sounds from websites that provide free sounds?


A: You are but please be wary of sites that advertise “royalty free music or sounds” as there are end user agreements that often do not cover commercial use.

Q: What does it take to make a winning film?
A: A great creative idea, and talent to bring it to life!

Q: Can the same Actors act in Different Brand Ad’s?


A: Yes. The only thing you can’t do is submit the same ad for different brands.

Q: Are we supposed to use both the Pepsi intro AND
outro bumpers, or just one or the other?
A: You need both the intro and the outro and it needs to be 60 seconds including them both.

Q: When is the deadline to upload our films? Originally the brief stated that the date was January 15; however, in the MOFILM page it says it is January 22. So, when is it?


A: The deadline has been extended to 22nd Jan – make sure you like Pepsi Films on facebook as that has the latest information.

To download the Pepsi Films brief and to upload your video click here

Click here for more details on the Contest

MOFILM Goa 2010 Pepsi Winner: Change for Pepsi by Rahil Patel

We've just left Goa, where the last Pepsi winner of 2010, Rahil Patel was announced after the took first place with 'Change for Pepsi'.



Rahil spent four days at a five star resort in Goa with the rest of the winners. Next year it could be you as the final competition for Pepsi Films 2011 is Goa, but first we move onto the inaugural event in Barcelona.

Entries are already coming in, so go check it out and start thinking about your ideas for your first Pepsi Film of 2011!

Winner Wednesdays

It's going to be a while before we can announce the first set of Pepsi Films winners in February 2011, and a little bit longer before we can crown the first overall winner who will go on to work with Pepsi Spain and a guaranteed $20,000 product budget. So while we wait, and you work on your entries, we're going to look at the winners of previous Pepsi and MOFILM competitions.


For the Barcelona MOFILM competition in 2010, we set five different themes - one dollar, one euro, one pound, here's to the crazy ones, if youth ran the world, paint your world and Tomorrow. The creators of the first place film in each category won a cash prize and were flown to Barcelona to find out who would win the overall prize.


The winner of the If Youth Ran the World category was filmmaker Matt Snyman and his musical partner Tom Godfrey, better known as Busker Rhymes on Twitter, with this upbeat, fantastical piece - No Vegetables



Following their win, they were invited to make an ad for Pepsi Spain and created a whole web series about their adventures in Spain trying to find the star of their commercial, which you can start watching below or on the Pepsi Espana YouTube channel





If fancy having crazy adventures in Spain, just like Matt and Tom, go download the Pepsi Film brief for Barcelona and you might feature in a Winner Wednesday post in 2011 as well as become a YouTube Star

Pepsi Films Barcelona Short Film Contest

Our first challenge is here!

We're going to be in Barcelona in February 2011 and you could be there too.

We’ve picked three themes to inspire you and we want your best, most creative, innovative and refreshing 60 second shorts by January 15 2011. In return you’ll get some amazing prizes and not just cash, though there is a prize fund of $13,000 for each theme.

The first place winner from each theme will also be invited to come spend four days with Pepsi in Barcelona and there, at the Pepsi Films/MOFILM awards, the Barcelona Grand Winner will be announced.

The grand winner then gets the opportunity to work with our Pepsi marketing team in Spain, getting mentoring from them and our advertising agency, BBDO. They’ll also be a production of budget of $20,000 available.

Some Rules
To enter, you need to be over 16 and make sure you include the Pepsi Films intro and outro bumpers within your 60 seconds. That's it.

The Themes
WAKE UP!
Life in your twenties is not meant to be slow, quiet or calm. Give us an insider peak... Show us what you got with a wake up call!

POP – FIZZ – AAAAAAH!!!
Gotta love those sounds? It only means one thing...or does it?

You can use our “sounds of refreshment” library for this challenge...or create your own. You will find them in the ‘assets’ on the competition page.

HIT DELETE
You have the power...tell us what happens when you change that one critical thing?

A few pointers
Remember it's about short films, not commercials. It's about your talent, not our brand. So feel free to put our products in your work, or not. No special favours either way. It's a global competition, so if you don't shoot in English please give us English subtitles Don't use any copyrighted materials, we'll provide music for in the assets folder, and please don't use any other brands' logos and images either. It also needs to be family friendly, so no swearing or nudity.

We've tried to be as unrestrictive as possible, you can find more information and download the brief and assets from the Pepsi Films Barcelona competition page.

You can also ask questions directly to the Pepsi Films team on Twitter and facebook