Online
Quick-Fire Film Comedy Festival
The first online Quick-Fire Film Comedy Festival ran over the bank holiday weekend, with teams of up to six people working
completely remotely and without breaking social distancing rules to produce 30 short films. This video features the results.
How it worked
After a briefing on Zoom at 10am, the teams had until 5pm to submit a 90 second mini-masterpiece, based on a theme and including a specific prop. The films premiered live on YouTube at 8pm, and viewers had 10 minutes to vote for their favourite film using Google Forms. Awards were presented during a 'black-tie-on-top' ceremony, also held on Zoom.
During the day, participants kept in touch using the hashtag #QFFilmFest on Twitter, sharing behind the scenes content and bloopers.
The live-action and animated films featured more than 60 performers, 4 dogs, stop-motion eggs, green-screen action sequences, sentient balls, killer boxes, and even a life-sized Barbie doll.
The event was run by Benjamin Sutton (BBC Studios), who is no stranger to creating innovative, short-form content, having produced BBC3's Quickies, and Charlie Dinkin, a live comedy director and current BBC Radio Comedy contract writer.
Benjamin says: "I nearly burst a blood vessel trying to manage the tech from my bedroom, but seeing what a group of both experienced and totally brand-new comics managed to produce in exceptional circumstances was absolutely magical."
Charlie says: "I hope that anyone who is feeling creatively blocked right now sees the incredible films that our teams managed to make under pressure, with extremely limited resources, and feels inspired to give it a go themselves."
| Charlie Dinkin | Host / Presenter |
| Benjamin Sutton | Host / Presenter |
| Hamish Lloyd Barnes | Ensemble Actor |
| Tristan Robinson | Ensemble Actor |
| Charlie Dinkin | Creator |
| Benjamin Sutton | Creator |