We invite you to take part in our Instagram Close-up Video Contest.

THE CHALLENGE:  Use a smartphone or other mobile device to shoot a short video—60 seconds or less—featuring one or more close-ups. The close-up or close-ups must play a key role in the movie. You may submit an excerpt from a longer movie as long as the excerpt runs 60 seconds or less.

THE BIG PICTURE: There’s no entry fee. There are terrific prizes (listed below). The new—final— deadline is September 30, 2019 (California time). You enter by posting on Instagram with #closeupvideocontest.

THE RULES:

1. The video must be shot using a mobile device. That means shooting with one of the following: smartphone, tablet, drone, GoPro. You may shoot with more than one of these devices.

2. The video can be in any genre such as documentary, music video, vlog, travelogue, news, comedy, commercial, horror and sci fi. It should have a rating no higher than PG13.

3. You may use gear—for example, a stabilizer or an attachable lens.

4. You may edit the video with any app and you may include visual effects. The finished video—60 seconds or shorter— can be entirely silent or it can have a sound track (spoken words, music, sound effects).

5. You should give your movie an onscreen title.  Text within the movie is acceptable, for example, silent-movie-like text screens containing dialogue or descriptions.

6. You must have permission to use copyrighted material (music, etc.) and permission to photograph anyone who is identifiable. (You don’t need permission of people in crowds.)

7. Prizes will be awarded by our jury and also by audience responses. An entrant can win only one prize. In case of ties, duplicate prizes will be awarded. The categories are:

• Grand prize:  awarded by the MobileMovieMaking staff. The staff will use standard criteria such as clarity of the message, technical competence, and visual creativity.
• Second prize : the entry that gets the most views.
• Third prize: the entry that gets the most comments. (A comment must be more than a single word like “wow.”)
• Additional prizes determined by the jury

The prizes are:

• Larry Jordan video training
• Inktip membership for marketing screenplays
•  iOgrapher camera rig
• Moondog Labs lens
• Movie Plan Pro template for making a movie business plan
• Storyboard Quick visualization software
• Michael Wiese Productions book on moviemaking

The first 50  entrants will receive a copy of “Moviemaking Illustrated, which features Marvel comic book art, and a copy of “Movie Quotes to Live By.” More prizes might be added.

8. To enter, upload your video to Instagram and include the hashtag #closeupvideocontest. In the comment, name the gear that you used including the camera, e.g., iPhone X or Samsung Galaxy S10.

9. You may enter up to three videos, but each one will be treated separately. In other words, we will not combine the views or comments from different videos.

10. The contest is open to everyone except for people living in a place where such contests are prohibited or in a place where U.S. companies may not do business. Entrants who are too young to sign contracts will need the permission of a parent or guardian to enter. This will be checked only if the person wins a prize.

11. The final deadline is September 30, 2019, midnight, California time.

12. If we discover a problem with these rules, we reserve the right to make changes, but we will notify you via our Instagram page. (Please follow us .)

If you have questions about this contest, email us at info@mobilemoviemaking.com

We look forward to seeing your work.

NOTE: The close-up of the steamed milk is from “The King of Coffee,” a MoJo report directed by Philip Bromwell.