Where the numbers stand

We're at about 35 entries and 94 people currently planning on coming to the screening.

Since this is the first year and I'm still figuring out how to run this properly, I've set a max capacity for the screening night at 100 people. Everyone can still make a film, that part's unlimited, but getting into the screening itself is going to be first come, first served. I'll be sending out an official RSVP form as we get closer, so keep an eye out for that.

On prizes

I reached out to a bunch of local camera shops, film festivals, theaters, basically anyone who might want to sponsor something, and this year, nobody bit. So instead of sponsored prizes, we're doing trophies. The grand prize is being made by students at AHO, inspired by the famous two-faces shot from Ingmar Bergman's Persona. There'll be smaller trophies too. More on all of that once they're actually finished.

A schedule change

Given how many entries we're getting, doors are now 18:00 instead of 20:00, the screening runs 19:00 to 22:00, and Kruttverket stays open until midnight after that for drinks and mingling.

The full schedule, updated

More coming into focus as we get closer.

Looking for volunteers for next year

There are already a bunch of ways I can see Oslo Film Jam improving for next year, but I can't do it alone. Prizes are something I want to do better next time, and so is getting the word out earlier instead of scrambling the way I did this year. Most of this could use more hands than just mine. If you'd want to help find sponsors, run logistics, or be involved in putting this together for edition two, shoot me an email or come talk to me at the screening.

Talk soon,
Mason

Where the numbers stand

We're at about 30 teams and around 90 people, which is a lot more than I was picturing when I started this.

When I began I figured maybe twelve people would sign up, and I had a whole plan built around twelve people, so I've been rewriting that plan for a few weeks now.

This week, in awkward silences

I spent the last two weeks wandering the city, going to meetups and film club nights around Oslo, introducing myself to as many filmmakers as I could find and telling them about the Jam. Most of the time it went great, pretty much everyone was supportive and encouraging. Sometimes though the awkwardness was PALPABLE. I didn't get any real photo evidence of this, so here is a photorealistic recreation:

What that means for the screening

I said early on that we'd all watch every film together in one room, and I meant it when I wrote it. Then I actually sat down and did the math. Even if I lowball it and assume everyone comes in around five to seven minutes, which is generous given the cap is fifteen, we're still well past three hours of film before anyone gets up for a drink. If a decent chunk of you use the full runtime, it climbs from there. I don't think I could sit through that, and I'm the one organizing it.

So the 22nd is going to be a curated program, which I'm calling the Limited Release. Judges pick the strongest films first, and then it's a matter of arranging them so they actually play well together across an evening, some variety in pacing and tone, since five dramas in a row would kill the room no matter how good each one is on its own.

Everything submitted goes online afterward whether or not it screens that night, and I'm calling that the Wide Release. Bigger audience, worse snacks.

What the night is actually for

Mostly you're going to be in a room with a bunch of people who also spent 24 hours making something ridiculous, and I think that's the part worth showing up for. Whatever you make in a single day probably isn't the thing you'll be showing people ten years from now, and that's completely fine. Nobody's coming to Kruttverket expecting Scorsese.

There's an in-person kickoff

Friday, September 18, 23:00, at Olaf Ryes plass in Grünerløkka.

To be very explicit: the meetup starts at 23:00 on Friday, September 18. Kickoff itself is 00:01, one minute after midnight, which technically falls on Saturday, September 19. That's just the calendar flipping over, not a different night out, you show up Friday evening, and about an hour later, right there in the same hangout, the clock turns and kickoff happens.

Everyone's welcome, and you don't need to sign up for it, just show up. We'll all hang out for a bit, and then right at 00:01, when the prop, line, and location go out by email and on the site, we head off together to start filming. Feels a lot better than finding out alone at your computer.

I'm going to keep doing these updates every week until kickoff.

Talk soon,
Mason

From me

Hey everyone. I hope you're feeling as good about this as I am, because I'm genuinely thrilled with how this first year is coming together. Submissions have been coming in faster than expected, enough that we're actually considering splitting the screening across two nights instead of one. More on that as soon as it's decided.

Thank you to everyone who's helped get the word out so far: Oslo By Steinerskole, Nordic Black Theatre, University of Oslo's IMK, Kristiania University College, Kampen Filmklubb, Norsk Filmklubbforbund, Oslo Pix, and Oslo Filmmakers. Especially Oslo By Steinerskole, who made this an actual class assignment for their students, easily the biggest single push this has gotten so far, and honestly still a little surreal to me.

If you know someone who'd want in, now's a great time to send this their way.

Schedule

No changes here, just a reminder.

Kruttverket

Count so far

And climbing.

Before you shoot

1. Charge every battery you own the night before, camera, phone, mic, gimbal. You don't want to lose shooting time to a dead battery at 3am.
2. Come up with two or three flexible story ideas in advance. You won't know your prop, line, or location until midnight, but having a few loose shapes ready means you're adapting instead of starting from a blank page.
3. Keep your ambitions in line with your time. A tight, finished three-minute film will always beat an ambitious one you didn't have time to edit properly.
4. If you only have time to fix one thing before you submit, make it the audio. Bad sound is far more noticeable to an audience than imperfect picture.

On the night

Prizes are still being arranged.

Get involved

Entry is free, teams are any size. If you know someone who'd want in, forward this along.

I'll also be at the Oslo Filmmakers Hangout on Friday, August 28, 19:00 to 23:00, at Vega Scene (Nedre Foajé), a collaboration between Oslo Pix and Oslo Filmmakers, talking about the jam in person. Come find me if you're around.

Following along day to day is easiest on Instagram: @oslofilmjam.

What it's looked like from here

A few photos from the last few weeks, roughly in order.

Drawing with my two-year-old when the idea for the logo came to me. I used his markers, at his little desk.

A few more attempts in my journal after that.

Traced properly on the iPad the next day.

Testing the shape digitally.

Getting closer.

Colour finally went in.

The version that made the poster.

Once the logo was done, I got the itch to build the site and posters too.

Working on the poster.

One of the first off the printer, about to go up somewhere in the city.

Coding the site.

Picking colors.

Laminating the posters, between everything else.

Laminating one of the posters.

Slowly turning into a stack of finished posters.

Somewhere in here I sent about a hundred emails and questioned every decision that led to this.

OMW to visit the venue for the first time.

It was perfect.

Immaculate vibes.

The room where the screening will actually happen.